Program directors, staff, and students from Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State
University, Georgia State University, and The University of Georgia as well as
other outdoor professionals from additional Georgia universities joined
together to host one of the largest conferences in AORE’s history tipping the
scale at over 600 attendees.
#AORE2015 was held at the Sheraton Atlanta hotel in downtown Atlanta near
numerous restaurants and entertainment venues including the famous Aviva by
Kameel restaurant. Attendees also enjoyed sightseeing in downtown Atlanta
venturing to the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Centennial Olympic Park and
College Football Hall of Fame.
The conference ramped up with several pre-conference sessions and on Tuesday night
the Student Social with Adidas sponsored climber and Ninja Warrior, Ian Dory. The
Student Social was held at Georgia State University Recreation Center allowing for a great
space to have students compete against Dory in a Ninja Warrior style obstacle course
event.
The conference keynote speaker, former NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott, kicked off the
conference the next morning with fascinating and inspiring stories of her adventures in space.
Also during the opening of the conference, AORE founding member, Tim Moore, warmly
remembered fellow AORE founder, Patsy Kott, and made a big announcement to generously
match every dollar raised that day for the newly established fund for the Patsy Kott Service Award.
In total, the Patsy Kott fund raised more than $15,000 in 2015--$10,000 of that from Patsy herself
as a donation included in her will.
The next few days consisted of 55+ education sessions, employer presentations sponsored by the
National Park Service and facilitated by the Student Development Committee, as well as great socials
and time spent networking with vendors in the exhibitor hall. The well-received Summit Series again
upped the ante for serving mid-level professionals with advanced topics and insights.
This year also marked the 11th annual Research Symposium which included a special keynote address by
Dr. Ed Gomez, 12 presentations as well as a dozen poster presentations that were well attended in the pre-
function area of the conference.
The Silent and Live Auctions as well as the massive National Outdoor Book Awards auction helped raise funds
to advance AORE’s mission.
The closing banquet saw the presentation of dozens of awards, a slideshow of #AORE2015 photos, and an
invitation for all to attend the 2016 AORE Annual Conference in Minneapolis from November 9-11, 2016.
2015 AORE Annual Conference
Engineered for Adventure
#AORE2015