SECTION ONE
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK C SMITH
E X E C U T I V E D I R E C TO R S M E S S AG E | M A R K C . S M I T H
The 2017 AGLOW annual conference is right at our
doorstep and it is my favorite time of year. The plan-
ning and logistics can get a little hectic but just seeing
my AGLOW family makes it all worth while. People
ask me all the time “What makes AGLOW so special?”.
Truth is, I don’t know exactly what it is. I just know
that I am not the first, and likely will not be the last, to
refer to it as my AGLOW family.
Regarding the conference, in direct response to the
survey that I sent out after the 2016 conference, there
are some significant changes. Most noticeable is that
there are opportunities to be out in the field every
day of the conference. The reason for this is twofold.
First, it allows opportunities for fishing and hunting to
more members that are in attendance. The second, and
perhaps most important, is to get more media produced
about the host area. The host CVB of any given con-
ference has hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars
invested in hosting our event and they expect, right-
fully, to see some return in the form of media exposure
which promotes their area. The small amount paid for
the registration fee to attend doesn’t even come close to
covering the meals, not to mention cocktail receptions,
speakers, hunting and fishing trips, other excursions
afield, and transportation to and from the various
events. This is the number one topic of conversation
when I am recruiting a CVB member to bid a confer-
ence “How much media exposure can I expect from
hosting this event?” My answer to that, every time, is
that these are outdoor communicators, you must get
them “outdoors” if you want them to produce. More
opportunities in the field leads to more opportunities
for storylines, photos, etc.
Another significant change with this conference is an
emphasis on electronic communications. Like it or not,
the world of outdoor communications has changed,
and is still changing. The foundation of our member-
ship used to be writers who wrote for newspapers and
magazines. Those folks have not become extinct, but
are surely on the “endangered species” list. At the very
least a working understanding facebook, twitter, and
instagram (to name a few), blogging, podcasting and
producing written, audio and video content specifically
designed to be distributed on the internet is a must.
There are a variety of sessions being offered throughout
the conference to achieve a better understanding of
these outlets for both beginners and more advanced us-
ers. You will notice that the sessions have been spaced
over the entire conference rather than all in one day.
Also in response to the survey returns, the Corporate
and Tourism Break-Out days have been combined and
moved to Thursday afternoon. This has been done to
boost the attendance at both events. Real Avid will
once again host an open bar during the Break-Out and
that no doubt will not hurt attendance. This will also
afford the opportunity for the Corporate and Tourism
members to attend the auction, as it will immediately
follow the Break-Out Day.
It is not too late to register, but I really wish you would
do it already!
HORIZONS | 09
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