Meeting also served as first Wilds Cooperative Governance Plan Session

KELLETTVILLE, PA – The first Wilds Cooperative Governance Plan Session was held in conjunction with the Fall Membership Meeting on Tuesday, September 23 at the Kellettville Recreation Area Campground in Forest County.

WCO membership meetings are held twice a year, typically with the spring meeting on the eastern side of the Pennsylvania Wilds region and the fall meeting on the western side, giving as many Wilds Cooperative (WCO) members as possible the chance to attend. The Lycoming Arts Center in Williamsport hosted the spring WCO Membership Meeting in April 2025.

During the program at Kellettville Campground, staff at PA Wilds Center gave a high-level overview of the membership program before detailing new opportunities on the horizon. 

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Director LaKeshia Knarr kicked the program off by welcoming members to the space and sharing details about the data collected during the Wilds Cooperative Governance study, which was conducted by consulting firm Alchemy Accompanied.

The goal of this research and planning process, called “Wildly Cooperative,” was to develop a formal PA Wilds Governance Plan with recommendations for what an evolved governance structure for the WCO could look like, allowing members to help guide the network as a true cooperative. The Governance Plan is intended to help PA Wilds Center better serve this growing network, better leverage partner strengths to serve this growing network, and help rural businesses in the WCO program thrive.

Peggy Butler, co-founder of Kellettville Firefly Farm which is located near the Kellettville Campground, was a member of the Wildly Cooperative Outreach Team, a group of WCO members who stepped up to help support outreach and promotion activities related to this project. This outreach team also provided early insights and feedback on the Governance Plan.

In addition to the brief Governance Plan overview, members were also encouraged to complete an interactive activity that would help them understand which WCO membership category they belong in and why. Value Chain Manager Ashley Fosbrink-Horrell organized the self-guided activity and talked with members about the categories after the activity.

Economic Recovery Corps fellow Marc Wilken, who has been placed with the PA Wilds Center for a total of 30 months, shared an update on one of the projects he has been working on. Marc is working to update the PA Wilds Resource Guides in a way that makes the directory of resources more comprehensive and searchable for members.

The governance update in Kellettville marked the first of seven planned outreach sessions in the region. The next WCO Governance Plan session will be held on Tuesday, September 30, from 5-7 p.m. in Wellsboro (Tioga County). 

WCO members are invited to learn how the feedback that was provided last fall has influenced the Wilds Cooperative Governance Plan, the next steps for developing a WCO Leadership Team, and how the PA Wilds Center will be strengthening membership feedback loops moving forward.  Additional information can be found at Members.PAWildsCenter.org/governance. 

In addition to the September 30 event, other sessions are planned. Details and registration can be found in the events calendar at Members.PAWildsCenter.org/events. 

• September 30 – PCV – Wellsboro – Deane Center Room 219- Small Community Room
• October 20 – Dark Skies – DentonGo (Potter County
• October 27 – Cook Forest – Lost in the Wilds (Clarion County)
• November 11 – Elk Country –  Cameron County Chamber (Cameron County)
• November 18 – I-80 Frontier – SpringBoard (Centre County)
• December 2 – zoom

ABOUT THE PA WILDS

The Pennsylvania Wilds is a 13-county region that includes the counties of Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Warren, and northern Centre. The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to integrate conservation and economic development in a way that inspires the communities of the Pennsylvania Wilds. The PA Wilds Center promotes the region and its 2+ million acres of public lands as a premier outdoor recreation destination as a way to diversify local economies, inspire stewardship, attract investment, retain population and improve quality of life. The PA Wilds Center’s core programs seek to help businesses leverage the PA Wilds brand and connect with new market opportunities, including: the Wilds Cooperative of PA, a network of more than 700 place-based businesses and organizations, and the PA Wilds Conservation Shop, a retail outlet primarily featuring products sourced from the WCO. For more information on the PA Wilds Center, visit www.PAWildsCenter.org. To learn more about the WCO, visit www.WildsCoPA.org. Explore the PA Wilds at www.PAWilds.com. Find regionally made products at www.Shop.PAWilds.com.

Media Contact

Britt Madera | Communications Manager

PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc.

bm*****@***********er.org  |  570-948-1051