Arkansas's Booming Outdoor Recreation Industry with Katherine Andrews of AR Dept. of Parks & Tourism скачать в хорошем качестве

Arkansas's Booming Outdoor Recreation Industry with Katherine Andrews of AR Dept. of Parks & Tourism

Summary On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell had the opportunity to sit down with Katherine Andrews, the director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation with the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism. James and Katherine had a lot to talk about as they both have a background in economic development, a love for Arkansas outdoors, and of course, a drive to showcase Bentonville to the world. Thanks for joining us! Show Notes (0:50) Introducing Katherine Andrews (3:12) A History of the Office of Outdoor Recreation (11:43) How Companies Today Are Choosing Locations for Their Businesses (14:11) How Katherine’s Office Is Helping Businesses Say Yes to Arkansas (18:05) Northwest Arkansas’s Competitive Advantages (20:37) Why Bentonville? (21:22) How Outdoor Companies Can Capitalize on Bentonville (24:22) Katherine’s 5-Year Goals for the Office of Outdoor Recreation (27:00) Superpowers and Closing Thoughts Quotes “Arkansas’s outdoor recreation scene is unmatched. We are a state that prides ourselves on the abundant opportunities in our great outdoors. In the Natural State, we have over 100,000 miles of navigable streams and rivers, 600,000 acres of lakes, 5 world class Epic Rides mountain bike trails, thousands of miles of hiking trails, over 3.2 million acres of public land, America’s first National River, the Buffalo National River…America’s first Reserve National Park, which is Hot Springs National Park…the highest waterfall between the Rockies and the Appalations, big game hunting…and on and on.” Katherine Andrews, (5:43) “One of the hardest challenges for recruiting companies [is] actually getting someone from the company to come here. But once we actually got them here, then they [say] ‘ok now I understand. It makes sense to me.’ There’s an incredible opportunity as a state right now to capitalize on attracting new companies and workers to the state by leveraging our natural assets.” Katherine Andrews, (11:09) “Today, one of the biggest driving forces for companies when they’re making location decisions is workforce. Some of the others are business friendliness, cost of doing business, cost of living, proximity to suppliers and consumers. Fortunately for us, we have all of those things. We are one of the most business-friendly states in the US, we are located smack-dab in the middle of the country…and we have a very diverse industry in Arkansas.” Katherine Andrews, (11:43) “There’s something special happening here. Bentonville is a community that cares deeply about its people and about creating a sense of place. It draws companies in. So if you look at the investments being made by the philanthropic groups, large corporate organizations, and others, that only just becomes more clear. Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest growing metros the US, so…that choice to me would be a no-brainer to move here.” Katherine Andrews, (20:37) “My overall goal is for this office to become the one-stop-shop for all things outdoor recreation, a gathering place for knowledge, information, and resources.” Katherine Andrews, (24:10)