OIA Taps Paul Gagner and Charlie Lunan For Special Projects

Outdoor Industry Association® (OIA), has retained industry heavyweights Paul Gagner and Charlie Lunan to assist with special projects targeted at increasing the communications and business resources for association members in the uncertain economic business climate.

Paul Gagner, former president of Sierra Designs and former OIA board member, will be tasked with the formation of a regional rep force that will expand the customer service and outreach to specialty retailers in this critical time. Utilizing the existing network of independent sales representatives in the outdoor industry, OIA plans to recruit and train a select regional rep force on all its new retail programs to ensure these vital programs quickly and effectively reach the small specialty retailers who most need them.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to work with OIA to develop the infrastructure for this timely resource for both retailers and manufacturers,” said Gagner. “Reliable information for business operations and management is critical to success. OIA has tremendous resources available to help support the outdoor industry and I’m happy to help translate the association’s vision into a reality with this project.”

Charlie Lunan, well respected for his journalistic work at SportsOneSource, has been contracted to provide timely and in-depth content for WebNews, the association’s weekly enewsletter, as well as other forthcoming publications.

“I am very excited to be working with an organization and an industry that does so much to preserve and promote the great outdoors,” said Lunan. “I look forward to getting input from across the industry to ensure that OIA is providing information members can use to anticipate and plan for the pivotal challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

The addition of Gagner and Lunan follows the recent announcement by OIA of its strategic priority for 2009 to increase the value and speed to market of information and resources critical to OIA members.

“OIA is rallying all of its available resources to ensure we provide the vital information the industry will need to survive in this new business paradigm. Our members need to evolve and anticipate new market trends instantly. Paul and Charlie are great additions to the expert team being assembled to expand OIA support of outdoor companies,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president of OIA.

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About Outdoor Industry Association
Outdoor Industry Association® (OIA) is a national trade association whose mission is to ensure the growth and success of the outdoor industry. OIA provides trade services for over 4000 manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives and retailers in the outdoor industry. OIA programs include representation in government/legislative affairs, market and social research, business-to-business services and youth outreach initiatives. Educational events include the annual Rendezvous, Outdoor University, and the Capitol Summit. Outdoor Industry Association is based in Boulder, Colorado, and is the title sponsor of the Outdoor Retailer tradeshows. For more information go to http://www.outdoorindustry.org or call 303.444.3353.