2025 Gateway Outdoor Summit

The Gateway Outdoor Summit is a one-day event that brings together industry professionals, nonprofit leaders, educators, and advocates to explore how outdoor recreation connects people to purpose, community, and the natural world.

The Summit precedes the Gateway Outdoor Expo on November 15-16. (Note: The exhibit hall is not open on November 14.)

All Summit sessions will take place on the lower level of the St. Charles Convention Center in Junior Ballrooms A-D. The day concludes with a VIP & Vendor Party featuring hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and networking opportunities.

The Summit is free, but space is limited. Please register here to attend.

The keynote speaker will be Eddy L. Harris, a critically acclaimed author, lecturer, filmmaker, and lifelong traveler. Part memoir, part reportage, his books combine adventure with questions of race and identity and always have place as their foundation. Harris’ work poses the fundamental question of our time: Where does the individual belong, where does the individual fit?

Preliminary Schedule

2:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Summit Check-In

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.

Summit Welcome and Schedule Overview

3:15 – 3:30 p.m.

Introductions and Sponsor Recognition

3:30 – 4:15 p.m.

Session 1A: Equity on the Trail: Expanding Access to Leadership and Prosperity — Practical ways to make outdoor leadership more inclusive and equitable.

Session 1B: Natural Value: Tourism Audits for Outdoor Recreation Economies — Tools to assess local assets, balance growth with preservation, and drive economic development.

Session 1C: Beyond the Finish Line: How Race Events Fuel Outdoor Economies — Exploring the lasting cultural and economic impact of outdoor race events.

4:15 – 4:45 p.m.

Transition Break – Happy Half-Hour

4:45 – 5:45 p.m.

Keynote Address: Call of the Wild by Eddy L. Harris — The Mississippi River became my sanctuary and teacher. Though I wasn’t born to the wild, a 2,000-mile canoe journey taught me endurance, solitude, and self. From catching a catfish as a child to finding my voice on the river, the call of the wild ultimately saved my soul — and my life.

5:50 – 6:00 p.m.

Closing Remarks and Summit Wrap-Up

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

VIP & Vendor Party