Jennifer Woofter, CEO of Strategic Sustainability Consulting, joins 13 other women industry experts in joiningforces to create an educational resource for innkeepers, farmers, restaurateurs, winemakers, craft beverage producers and other ag-related destinations to grow their businesses sustainably, profitably.
EscapeMaker.com, a guide to local farm, food and beverage getaways within a day’s drive or train ride from New York City since 2000, is offering the first-of-its-kind “Virtual Agritourism Conference” this spring on its B2B site: http://www.EscapeMaker.biz.
The conference, presented by EscapeMaker and Fulton Stall Market, is not only the first digital conference focusing on the tourism and agriculture industries (agritourism), but also will be produced solely by women, 30% of whom are certified as an M/WBE (Minority Women-Owned Business Enterprise).
Jennifer Woofter will be presenting on how these micro-businesses and small businesses can identify and resolve some of their energy, waste, and water uses to be more environmentally friendly - and then how to use those on-site improvements to communicate to customers.
Jennifer joins 13 other female industry experts on one online platform to share insider tips, trends and best practices for preparing a business to capitalize on the rapidly changing travel landscape and to meet the demands of leisure, group, event and corporate travel markets.
Each of the 12 digital presentations is 25-45 minutes long and includes access to information on financing from Kiva.org, plus additional workshop downloads and links to more resources. All combined, the conference is 6+ hours of education - for users to listen to at their leisure.
The interest in agritourism travel, i.e. visits to farms, wineries, craft beverage trails, bed and breakfasts,
harvest festivals, farm-to-table events, etc., has greatly increased in recent years.
“Whether you’re a farmer, a winemaker, a brewer, a bed and breakfast owner or a tourism promotion agency, there is more opportunity than ever to capture these evolving competitive travel markets,” says Caylin Sanders, Founder & CEO of EscapeMaker.com. “Our goal is to ensure these small agricultural businesses, producers and destination marketing organizations are armed with the education, know-how and savvy to survive and thrive in the changing landscape.”
All of the women speakers are either farmers, producers, entrepreneurs or consultant experts in their respective fields. Each of them will share in the conference profits and/or promotion for their organizations. Sanders says, “as we were reaching out to various topic experts, an all women lineup became apparent. We decided the best way to support women in this industry is by sharing in the profits and promotion -- considering the gender pay gap in an industry whose workforce is now over 50% percent women.”
Topics and speakers are as follows:
Welcome & Introduction: Caylin Sanders, Founder & CEO, EscapeMaker.com, Inc.
Social Media for Food/Beverages/Farm on Instagram 101: Amelia Tarpey & Kathleen Ernsting, Social Media Managers, GrowNYC-Greenmarket
Basics of Agritourism Liability & Your Risks: Cari Rincker, Esq., Rincker Law, PLLC
Rallying Yourself for Group, Corporate & Motorcoach Business: Jennifer Ackerson, CEO, ALON Marketing
Farm, Winery & Craft Beverage Trail Overnight Packaging: Debbie Meritsky, Innkeeper, The Black Sheep Inn
Social Media & Storytelling for Destinations: Danielle Gaebel, Owner, True Food Collective
Using Public Transit to Fuel Your Marketing Strategy: Donna Haynes, Asst. Director Promotional Partnerships, Metro-North Railroad
Capturing the Eco-Traveler & Making Green On-Site Improvements: Jennifer Woofter, CEO, Strategic Sustainability Consulting
Craft Beverage Trail & Event Marketing: Linda Pierro, Publisher, Flint Media & Hudson Valley Wine Magazine
Adding Lodging to Enhance the Agritourism Experience: Erica Frenay, Farmer, Shelterbelt Farm
Successful Tastings, Tours & Winery Events: Chelsea Snider, Food Programming & Events Consultant, Tousey Winery
Offering On-Site Classes & Public Workshops: Cheryl Rogowski, Farmer, Rogowski Farm
Hosting Farm-to-Table & Cider Events: Elizabeth Ryan, Farmer, Breezy Hill & Stone Ridge Orchards & Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider
Presented by EscapeMaker.com and Fulton Stall Market, the conference sponsors and partners include: Kiva.org, Edible Manhattan, The New York Apple Association, Heritage Radio Network, Metro-North Railroad and Women in Hospitality Untited, all of which are organizations with a commitment to the advancement of the food, farm, beverage and agritourism industries and their stakeholders.
The full virtual agritourism conference access-pass is available for purchase at $249 or 4 topics for $99.