Hi-Tec Helps The Salvation Army Send Local Kids to Camp

Here at Hi-Tec, we take our passion for the outdoors seriously. So when our local chapter of The Salvation Army approached us about an opportunity to help send some very deserving kids and teens to camp, we were all in.

With the help of The Salvation Army each summer, Project Camp Redwood Glen sends hundreds of children to enjoy fresh air, get some exercise, and develop an appreciation for the beautiful outdoors. Unfortunately, many of these kids didn’t have the proper footwear for outdoor adventures (and for many, every day life), which is where Hi-Tec gladly stepped in. After chatting with the good people at The Salvation Army, we decided to donate a pair of shoes to every child and teen going to camp in our local area.

Today, our Marketing Director, Brett, gave an eager group of 25 kids an inside look at our headquarters where each also received their new pair of kicks on the spot. All in all, nearly 50 kids from Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Merced Counties got new footwear for the camping trip next week, and approximately 20 additional pairs were provided to the camp directors to distribute to needy children on-site.

We're so excited for the kids heading to Camp Redwood Glen next week, and are proud to provide shoes to such an amazing (and deserving) group of youngsters. We hope that by having appropriate footwear for camp, these deserving kids will surely enjoy their camp experience and thrive from their outdoor adventure!

Take a look at more photos from the HQ visit here. For more information about how you can donate to The Salvation Army, visit http://www.salvationarmymodesto.org.

Congrats to Our Artist Winners & Finalists!

As you may have read earlier, we've searched high and low to find some of the most talents artists across the United States for our live sketch project at the Hi-Tec booth this Summer's Outdoor Retailer.

Over the past two weeks, we received nearly 85 submissions for this contest. There was an incredible amount of talent that came through our site, but we were able to narrow it down to 10 incredibly inspiring artists.

On Thursday, a few of us on the marketing team sat down to interview our Top 10 artists. Because of the nature of the project, we asked each artist to take 10-15 minutes to sketch out a topic that we threw out at random. And random it was—the topics ranged from puppies, clocks and chili peppers, to waterfalls, bonfires and theme parks. We were blown away at what these talented individuals could sketch in 15 short minutes (some even less than that!). Drum roll please...

Heather Ravenscroft

Road Signs

Dave Bloomfield

Bicycles

Davis Vu

Waterfalls

Jim Christiansen

Chili

Jessica Dalva

Theme Parks

J.R. Register

Earthquakes

James Walsh

Beach Bonfire

Norm Quiros

Puppies

Riki Takaoka

Clock

Robyn Cook *Unfortunately, there was a scheduling conflict and Robyn Cook was unable to compete for the final selection. We wish her all the best!

After consulting with our whole marketing team Friday morning, we had narrowed it down even further to three personable, versatile and ridiculously creative artists: Davis Vu, Norm Quiros, and Riki Takaoka.

The original plan was to only take two artists. After yet another round of interviews, and another 15-minute sketch challenge, we knew what we had to do—take all three artists!

So this August, Riki, Davis, and Norm will be joining the Hi-Tec team at OR, where you can see them bust out sketches like no one's business. In addition to hanging with our crew, we're hooking them up with the latest and greatest Hi-Tec gear, as well as $600 each for their time and talent. Congrats, guys!