• Category: Business of the Year Award

    The Pennsylvania Wilds Planning Team each year recognizes individuals, groups, organizations, communities or businesses that in the last year have made significant contributions to help grow and sustainably develop the outdoor recreation economy and nature tourism in the Pennsylvania Wilds by marrying economic development and conservation goals. These prestigious awards are typically presented at the Annual Champion of the PA Wilds Dinner + Awards Banquet. However, the 2020 Champion Awards banquet was postponed due to the pandemic. The next PA Wilds Annual Dinner & Awards will be held in 2021. Date to be announced.
  • BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARD: Honors a new or existing business owner that has taken bold steps to grow their business in a way that embodies what it means to marry conservation and economic development and to offer an authentic experience or product to visitors and residents.

    JUDGING CRITERIA: Award nominations will be judged by the degree to which they help advance one or more of the following goals: to create jobs, diversify local economies, inspire stewardship of natural and cultural resources, and improve quality of life. Award nominations will also be judged by the degree to which they reflect the hallmarks of the effort to grow the outdoor recreation economy in the Pennsylvania Wilds. These hallmarks include: use of creative partnerships and planning; fostering a strong sense of place and community pride; ability to replicate new ideas or models in other communities; and demonstration of strong grassroots support.



  • Last Step

    Thank you for nominating a Champion of the PA Wilds. As part of the application process a photo of your nominee is required. If the nominee is selected, this photo will be used on the PA Wilds Center's website and during the awards presentation, as well as other announcements. In addition, support letters, reports, news articles, maps, renderings, video links and other supporting documents that bolster the application are strongly encouraged.
  • When uploading files, please include the name of the nominee and award category in the name of the file, for example “John-Doe-Outstanding-Leadership-Award.jpg”.

    In the field below, include a brief description of the materials you are uploading; for example, “photo of John at work with volunteers, Clarion River clean up, May 2020”.

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