Some “en-deering” qualities of the area will start to come to
light today when the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association
Conference begins in Bradford.
The writers will start arriving tonight for the state conference
that runs until Sunday. The conference is designed to give writers
ideas for articles.
“This is going to mean publicity a community like yours can’t
buy,” co-chairman Mike Bleech said. This is the first time the
state conference has been held in Bradford.
Bleech, who said a conference like this is invaluable to
publicize the facets an area has to offer, is still writing about
areas he visited for a conference 20 years ago.
“It familiarizes our members with your area so they can write
with confidence” what they experience.
“You can’t beat first-hand experience and they will get that.
They will get a feel for McKean County.”
Giving outdoor writers a taste of the area is exactly what
Bleech had in mind.
“I love the Bradford area and wanted to share that with other
outdoor writers and get some publicity,” said Bleech, who had also
chaired a conference in Warren several years ago.
“What affects your area is good for ours and vice versa.”
Bleech said there are about 40 writers out of around 240 coming
to Bradford. But the low number is not indicative of the coverage
the area will receive.
“More serious writers are the ones coming here,” he said. The
area “gets more bang for its buck out of this. The ones who aren’t
coming are not-as-heavy hitters.
“I’ve spoken with several of them. You are getting some of the
top outdoor writers.”
Bleech added that most of the membership is from the eastern and
southeastern part of the state.
POWA, which hosts spring and fall conferences, is the largest
outdoor writers organization in the country.
Bleech said the organization tries to have its conferences in
different parts of the state. Members vie for the privilege of
chairing an event in their area.
“I’ve worked with a lot of tourism agencies,” Bleech said,
pointing specifically to Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau
Executive Director Linda Devlin. “Yours is particularly good. Being
that we’re neighbors, I thought I’d try to bring one to
Bradford.”
For Bradford to be the venue for a conference took some
ingenuity on Devlin’s part, Bleech said.
The conference is supposed to be staged at one site to make it
easier for the out-of-town guests.
Bradford, however, did not have one location.
“Linda went overboard in creativity to be able to pull it
together,” Bleech said of his co-chair.
Among the activities are a tour of the Allegheny National
Forest/Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative with a discussion of habitat
management and the effects on wildlife, fishing on the Allegheny
Reservoir, fly fishing on local streams, a tour of W.R. Case &
Sons Cutlery and a barbecue at Crook Farm.
There will also be a variety of seminars Saturday on getting
news stories.
The director of Pennsylvania Fish & Boat is one of the
scheduled speakers.
They will then go to the Bradford Gun Club for a “breakout
session.”
“This is a mini-trade show for the attendees allowing us to
showcase other destinations within McKean County,” Devlin said.
“Vendors from other areas will also be attending displaying
products and services to the writers.”
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery will sponsor a banquet at the
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The association will raise
money for a scholarship it sponsors.
Bleech said he is really impressed with the facilities Bradford
has to offer and, even though they’d like to have it in one place,
smaller communities like Bradford are easier to get around.
The festivities, however, are not just for the members of POWA.
There are also “spousal tours” to various locations such as
Allegany State Park, Seneca Allegany Casino and the Seneca
Museum.
“They can take information back to their spouses and add to
stories that they will take home with them,” Bleech said.
“Bradford is centrally located to exciting things. Bradford is a
great place for a vacation for the outdoors-oriented person.
Bradford is a great untold story. Bradford is an undiscovered
thing.”
