The New Year Ahead

I am sure that many of you, like me, take advantage of the slow and peaceful days between Christmas and the New Year, to quietly reflect on the preceding twelve months.  Doing so offers us an opportunity to consider what went well, and just as importantly — perhaps even more so — what didn’t, with the hope that we can make the most of our future.

So, as I sit here planning the year ahead for True North, I cannot help but appreciate how terrific the current year has been, and be thankful for it.  This most especially since we were able to build upon what we had started in years past to bring some of the finest in outdoors education and programming to an expanding list of clients, friends, and partners.  Now I’m even more excited about what we can do in 2015!

The Year in Review

2014 stands as a milestone for several reasons, but I think the following four points help to sum it up.

• 

  Wilderness First Aid – May 2014

  Expanded Programming:  Whether it is a wilderness survival, land navigation, or wilderness first aid course, the heart of True North’s programming has been teaching clients how to deal with emergencies.  But this year we started to expand our programming to also include an expanding mix of educational trainings, lectures, hikes, and partnerships, like with the American Heart Association.  Combined, then, they help our clients to know that they can explore with confidence.

• Expanded Client Base:  This year True North begin to increasingly work with a diverse mix of professional rescuers and providers, including Police, EMS, Search and Rescue, and physicians.
• 

  True North Country List – December 2014

  Expanded Geographic Base:  This year our clients came from as far west as North Dakota, as far north as Ontario, Canada, as far east and south as New Jersey and Virginia, and the various states in between.  In turn, True North’s blog is being regularly followed in 50 states and 67 countries.

• Expanded Media Coverage:  True North continues to receive increasing regional and national media coverage in such venues as CNN, the Associated Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and KDKA to name just a few.

The Year Ahead

Here are just a few of our plans for 2015 …

• 

  Private Course: Basic Wilderness Navigation – July 2014

  More Courses:  True North will be adding a number of courses to its lineup.  There will be more advanced courses, such as our Advanced Wilderness Navigation, and, despite some initial fits and bumps in recent months, we now have our initial Wilderness EMT Bridge (WEMT) course set for August.

• More Partnerships:  We recently submitted additional applications to the Pennsylvania Department of Health so that more of our wilderness medicine courses can benefit the continuing-education requirements of EMS providers.  We will also be soon submitting applications to the Wilderness Medical Society so that our survival and land navigation courses qualify for FAWM credits.
• More Public Programing:  True North will be expanding its public programming and outreach to include a wider mix of youth and adults who might not otherwise get a chance to experience the beauty of the natural world around them.

A Big Thanks!

Basic Wilderness Survival – April 2011

What I’ve written here reflects just a small slice of what True North has planned for the new year so, whether it’s our website,  Blog or Facebook page, be sure to check with us often through the year!

And more to the point, I want to thank all of True North’s clients, friends, and partners who really make all of this possible.

So, to all of you, a safe and prosperous New Year!