Outdoor: Did you hear?…

For the week of April 19-25

>> On the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, more than 5,000 Timberland employees, business partners and consumers volunteered in community service projects in 24 countries. On April 22, they generated approximately 30,000 hours of service, benefiting more than 125 communities worldwide. Timberland said it believes that companies and individuals have the power and responsibility to create meaningful impact in the communities in which they live and work. Timberland’s Earth Day activities addressed a range of pressing social and environmental needs across the globe, helping out local schools, parks, social service organizations and environmental agencies. Among the projects for the day were: Timberland’s Earth Day service projects in the United States and in other countries included: working with high-school students to construct an outdoor classroom and water-testing station along the lakeside at their school in Epping, N.H.; planting a community garden and revitalizing the surrounding area in South Bronx, N.Y.; cleaning up litter along the banks of the Thames River in England; and painting and planting trees and flowers in a North Toronto park in Canada. For more details on Timberland’s projects, check out www.timberlandserve.com. For more information on Earth Day, visit www.earthday.net.

>> Looking to break out of old habits and reach for the next level? The OIWC-sponsored spring leadership training workshop, “Leading From Within: Ourselves and Our Organizations,” may give you the tools for change. Facilitated by the Strozzi Institute in Petaluma, Calif., the two-day workshop is designed to integrate thought, intention and action in order to produce sustainable changes in the ways you work. The OIWC said whether you are a leader, manager or team member, this training will help you gain skill and mastery to be your best. Cost is $695 ($595 OIWC Gold Sponsors) for the May 6-7 workshop with lunch provided. Workshop size is limited. For more information or to register, visit www.oiwc.org.

>> Yoga Journal magazine is expanding its audience way across the pond with plans to publish a Russian-language edition — the first of several foreign language editions it plans. Yoga Journal will work with Independent Media Publishing House (IMPH), the largest magazine publisher in Russia, to publish the magazine in Russian where yoga has become a health phenomenon in the last five years. The premier issue will be published in May, with a print run of 20,000 copies. The Russian edition will contain 70 percent content from the U.S. edition of Yoga Journal, 30 percent local content, and will initially be published four times a year. IMPH, based in Moscow, is the Russian publisher of Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, Harpers’ Bazaar, Esquire and Good Housekeeping. Other foreign editions will launch in Italy and Brazil later this year. Yoga Journal, LLC, (www.yogajournal.com ) is based in San Francisco, Calif.

>> GERMANY — The International Kayak & Canoe Exhibition also known as Kanumesse is moving to the larger Exhibition Centre in Nuremberg, Germany, to accommodate more exhibitors of canoes, kayaks, folding kayaks, inflatable boats, rental boats, paddles and accessories. Scheduled for Sept. 15-17, the show is a trade-only event with free entry for visitors — buyers, manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and the press — and reportedly low-cost booth space for exhibitors. The show has been shortened to three days and does not conflict with the Friedrichshafen Boat Show (Interboot ’05). For more information, visit http://www.kanumesse.de/index_en.htm

>> With birding reportedly on the growth fast track, REI Adventures is partnering up with Nikon Sport Optics to lead birding trips to Costa Rica, Botswana and Ecuador. Nikon-sponsored ornithologists will hitch along with REI Adventures’ guides and include a Who’s Who of the birding world, including Chuck Hagner, editor-in-chief of Birder’s World; Bill Thompson, editor-in-chief of Bird Watcher’s Digest; and Julie Zickefoose, author, artist and commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered. Among the birding trips are Botswana’s Okavango Delta, a birding destination with its 550 species; Costa Rica kayaking and hiking along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts with visits to Tortuguero National Park, Manuel Anotonio National Park and Rainmaker Mountain; and La Selva Jungle Lodge in Ecuador adjacent to a lagoon and forest with 450 bird species. For more information, contact REI Adventures at 800-622-2236 or www.rei.com/adventures/activity/bird.html.

>> New pants-maker Mountain Khakis LLC has appointed Dow Bauknight as its first outside board of director’s member. Bauknight is a former Accenture partner who was responsible for the Global Supply Chain Practice. He also initiated ePValue a global online purchasing company for Accenture, managing concept development, fundraising and the merger with ICG Commerce. He is presently executive director of NPower Charlotte Region, Inc., a non-profit that provides consulting services to other non-profit organizations. Mountain Khakis said Bauknight’s appointment to the board brings seasoned strategic and business experience to the company as it continues its successful expansion within the outdoor marketplace.

>> Peter Whaley has joined Wenonah Canoe/Current Designs as the Eastern Canadian sales rep, covering Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Islands and Nova Scotia. Whaley has been working in the adventure travel industry for over 20 years, and is the founder and president of Pure Canadian Adventures, a web-generated adventure travel company and Coastal Spirit Expeditions, a sea kayaking company in Nova Scotia. Over his career, Whaley has guided tours both personally and professionally from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast as well as countless rivers throughout Canada. Whaley spends his winters in Collingwood, Ontario and summers in River John, Nova Scotia. He’s available at 705-445-5785 and cspirit@coastalspiritexp.com.

>> After more than a year and a half with the company, Andrew Howe is leaving White Sierra as vice president of business development. The company said Howe was hired to see the company through an important transition, specifically, to refine the branding of the company in relation to outdoor retailers and consumers. White Sierra said the transition is complete and Howe is leaving to pursue new opportunities. During the last two years, it has added over 250 new accounts, and is looking to put the same emphasis its successful broad market business as well. It plans to apply the branding developed to its entire business model.

>> Atlas Snow-Shoe Company has picked up K2’s PR agency, Seattle-based Hayter Communications as its new public relations agency. Hayter Communications will handle all aspects of public relations for the company, from material development and strategy to media relations. Hayter Communications is a long-time public relations agency for K2 Sports, and several of its acquired outdoor brands. Among its client list are Ride, Helly Hansen, Reactor Watch, Valandre, Raleigh America, Diamondback Fitness and RealTime Productions. To reach Hayter Communications, contact 360-874-2170 or ryan@hayterpr.com.

>>Lowe Alpine USA has hired Gary Fleming as director of sales. Previously, he was with head USA as director of marketing and has also worked for Trek Inc. and Salomon.

>> Geoff Duckworth is leaving MontBell as its wholesale manager to pursue a different career path. Todd Johnson will be taking over and is available at sales-mba@montbell.com.

>> Sugoi Performance Apparel has hired Tim Hanifin to fill the company’s newly created position as U.S. sales manager. Hanifin, who has worked at both Hind and Pearl Izumi, will work out of his office in Boulder, Colo. Hanifin’s addition will also allow Sugoi’s director of sales, Charles Russell time to focus on growth opportunities in other strategic international markets; in particular Europe and Canada.

>> Ah, technology… created to make our life easier but sometimes our bodies just can’t keep up. Case in point: Those handy little BlackBerry devices for email and other tech tasks are allegedly causing users to experience pain in their thumb, fingers and wrists, according to a Washington Post article. Orthopedists say they are seeing an increasing number of patients with these symptoms, a condition known as “overuse syndrome” or “BlackBerry thumb.” BlackBerry subscribers now total 2.51 million, more than double the 1.07 million subscribers a year ago. Some other handheld devices, such as PalmOne Inc.’s Treo and T-Mobile Inc.’s Sidekick phones, use similar thumb-operated keyboards. The small keyboards are tough on hands and wrists, according to Paige Kurtz of the American Society of Hand Therapists. The society issued a consumer alert in January saying that handheld electronics are causing an increasing amount of carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis, the Washington Post reported. With that warning, the society included directions on how to properly hold the devices, urging users to take breaks and, if possible, place pillows in their laps so their wrists are in a more upright position. To read the entire Washington Post article, click here.