Jenny Kordick / Executive Director with Maine Outdoor Brands speaks with Matt  about being outdoors.

With the pandemic, we’ve seen a surge in outdoor participation and spending on outdoor goods and services – that is a positive in helping Maine’s people and economy recover with how much our state relies on outdoor recreation

The outdoor recreation industry is growing and thriving in Maine – outdoor gear and equipment manufacturing in Maine alone has increased 47% in the last 5 years. MOB was started by a handful of companies who saw this potential and wanted to work together to further grow the industry. It is an industry where Maine has a competitive advantage compared to other states – outdoor rec is 4.8% of Maine’s economy, double the national average and third highest of any state (behind MT and HI). They also need to think about better leveraging the outdoors to help recruit more people to move to Maine and create more jobs here.

 The outdoor brands are pursuing a new license plate for the state of Maine and we need Mainers to sign up by September 1 to make it happen! The proceeds will support workforce training, marketing and education for the industry (similar to how the lobster plate supports the lobster industry)  Visit, https://adventureplate.com