Cheryl Strayed to Speak at The Conservation Alliance Breakfast

Bend, Ore., October 19, 2012 – Author Cheryl Strayed will be the featured speaker at The Conservation Alliance Breakfast at the January 2013 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. Strayed is the author of the acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Wild. The breakfast, which is open to the public, is Thursday, January 24, 7:00-8:50 AM at The Marriott in Salt Lake City.

At age 22, Strayed found herself shattered by two major life events: her mother’s sudden death from cancer and the end of her young marriage. To cope, Strayed used drugs and sex before she hit rock bottom and confronted her emotional pain by attempting to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Wild tells the amateur hiker’s tale, and illustrates the healing power of our wild places.

“Cheryl’s story is a remarkable testament to the importance of adventure in wild landscapes,” said John Sterling, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance. “Like many of us, Cheryl found what she needed in the wilderness.”

In addition to Strayed’s talk, The Conservation Alliance Breakfast will feature a review of the grants the organization made during its Summer 2012 funding cycle, and successes that grantees have achieved with the funding. The Conservation Alliance Breakfast is open to the public. For complete information, see: http://www.conservationalliance.com/UserFiles/File/W13%20OR/S12breakfastSTD_V2%20copy.pdf

About the Conservation Alliance:
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas.

Membership in the Alliance is open to companies representing all aspects of the outdoor industry, including manufacturers, retailers, publishers, mills and sales representatives. The result is a diverse group of businesses whose livelihood depends on protecting our natural environment.

Since its inception in 1989, the Alliance has contributed more than $11 million to grassroots conservation groups. Alliance funding has helped save more than 29 million acres of wildlands; protect 2,700 miles of rivers; stop or remove 25 dams; designate five marine reserves; and purchase nine climbing areas.

For complete information on the Conservation Alliance, see www.conservationalliance.com.