Operation Backpack!

For those of us who have been out of school for awhile, we tend to forget how important the basic school essentials are for kids these days. So when we were approached recently by Volunteers of America for Operation Backpack, we had some learning to do of our own. Operation Backpack is an annual back-to-school community drive that provides much-needed new backpacks and school supplies to help homeless boys and girls reach their full academic potential.

Today we headed down to Operation Backpack's local drop-off location, where our Hi-Tec crew generously donated 40 backpacks to the cause. Prior to the delivery, our employees heard the news of this opportunity to help. We're proud to note that our own employees purchased an additional 23 backpacks from the retail store, bringing our Hi-Tec donation for Operation Backpack to 63 backpacks!

This great charity helps out our youth all across the nation. To learn how you can contribute, visit Volunteers of America today.

Racing to Checkpoint Tracker's Adventure Racing National Championship

We’re stoked to announce our foray back into something that has been near and dear to our hearts for a long time, Adventure Racing. How, you ask? We’ve recently partnered with Checkpoint Zero in support of the inaugural Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing National Championship. The highly anticipated race is set for the October 29th weekend at the Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab, Utah, better known as the host venue for the 2006 Primal Quest Expedition Race.

After providing prizes at select Checkpoint Tracker events all season, Hi-Tec will now also play a pivotal role in helping make Checkpoint Tracker’s first ever National Championship the marquee adventure racing event of the year.

In case you've been living under a rock, Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing is the largest national competitive adventure racing series in the United States. It is comprised of 45 promoters offering 91 events ranging from sprint length races lasting just a few hours, to expeditions that run non-stop for several days.

Hi-Tec will be doing more than hanging banners and handing out brochures at the race. We’ve arranged a pre-production run of an entirely new, 2011 adventure-racing shoe for all staff and volunteers and to be awarded to as prizes to top finishers. The new shoe, the V-Lite Infinity HPi, has all the key ingredients to make it an instant hit among adventure racers. Some featuring include our custom Infinity running platform with exclusive Vibram outsole, one piece engineered upper and ion-mask hydrophobic technology. The V-Lite Infinity is specifically developed with a disciplined focus on off-road performance. And we’ll also be sending some of our own staff to the race to chat with competitors, answer questions about our shoes, and of course, celebrate our re-entry into the world of adventure racing.

We’ve been gradually expanding our support of adventure racing over the past year, and thrilled to check out what Checkpoint Tracker has planned for their first ever adventure racing national championship in Moab. There are a lot of very talented people working very hard to take this sport to the next level, and Hi-Tec couldn’t be launching this exciting new 2011 product at a better time, or at a better event!