MINI NOHVCC ADVENTURE TRAIL DEBUTS AT TWO EVENTS

Honda's Dave Fender tries out smaller version of the popular new display which NOHVCC eventually plans to distribute to dozens of OHV organizations

      When the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council completely redesigned their interactive Adventure Trail earlier this year, the initial plan was to eventually devise scaled-down versions of the Trail, thereby making the display available to dozens of other OHV organizations throughout the country.

       "We are of course very proud of our new Adventure Trail which is currently set up in the NOHVCC semi," says NOHVCC Communications Director Steve Casper. "And we plan to keep hitting a wide variety of major OHV events throughout the country in the coming years. However, when we laid out the plans for the Trail we wanted to also develop a smaller, but just as effective version of it for distribution to other OHV organizations for them to use at their events. This would substantially increase the number of folks who are exposed to the important OHV safety and ethics messages depicted in the Adventure Trail."

      The logistics of the mini Adventure Trail are quite simple; 10 inexpensive poster-sized reproductions of the full-size panels which are found in the truck display. Each one of the ten posters will have a specific OHV safety or ethics message at the bottom. To really get the points across, two different quick and easy quizzes will be available for the kids who view the posters.

                    DEALER CONVENTION GETS FIRST LOOK

      American Honda's Dave Fender was so impressed with our new Adventure Trail that he volunteered to try out the smaller version at two of his upcoming events. NOHVCC reproduced 10 colorful  prototype posters and had them mounted on sturdy foam. Fender then hung them up in his 20' x 10' booth at the Annual Honda Dealer Convention which was held this year in Tennessee.

      "They fit beautifully in the booth," reports Dave. "And we had a steady stream of dealers coming through. Many of them inquired about getting a version for their showrooms. They envisioned young riders enjoying the messages and at the same time being exposed to the products on display at their shop. It also presents dealers with an opportunity to develop a stronger relationship with their community by advocating good behavior on the trails."

     "From the onset we planned on making the Adventure Trail available to dealers so we were pleased to hear the dealers liked their first look at it," commented NOHVCC Executive Director Russ Ehnes. "Our main focus initially is still going to be land agencies such as the BLM and Forest Service as well as state OHV associations and clubs, but we'll be going after the national dealer network strong at the Indy Show in March. After all, the whole point is to get these important messages out to as many folks as possible and there's certainly lots of OHV riders walking through dealerships every day."
       The Nashville event was followed by a big weekend event at Honda's Environmental Learning Center in Alpharetta, Georgia. The open house event hosted over 5000 kids and parents from the local schools. "The cartoon format was a big hit with the kids, and it appears that NOHVCC hit the nail on the head with the messages," according to Fender. "Everyone seemed to get a lot out of the Adventure Trail." Dave also added that Honda is planning to set-up an Adventure Trail in each one of it's Environmental Learning Centers.

      To offset the printing costs of the posters, the NOHVCC is currently working to sign on OHV aftermarket as sponsors. Plans are to have the first run available as early as this fall. We'll keep you posted.

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