FBC Writing Assignment

You have been hired as a consultant by Kimpel Walker (KW), a small outdoor recreation firm that hopes to bring its services to more students and young professionals. KW was founded by two University of Arkansas alumni, Taylor Kimpel, and JP Walker, and has facilities near Jasper, Arkansas, and its business office in Fayetteville.

Over its 15-year history, KW has convinced many firms in Northwest Arkansas to replace their predictable, typical team-building activities and corporate retreats with the outdoor adventures, tours, and facilities KW offers. Their services range from corporate retreats and ropes courses at their events center and campus near Jasper to services for the general public, including guided hikes in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, climbing and camping trips in the Ozarks, kayaking and canoeing the Buffalo National River, and more. They are now searching for new clients and partners who can help them expand their business and grow their customer base.

As the University of Arkansas has grown exponentially over the past few years, KW has been searching for a way to increase their involvement on campus and promote their services to students. Previously, they’vementored outdoor rec startups and spoken on panels for the Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program and have been guest speakers in various undergraduate and graduate classes. But for years, KW has wanted a more formal, intentional partnership with the university.

Luckily for KW, the University of Arkansas has a request for proposal (RFP) that will be released in a few weeks about getting students involved in the community and expanding their access to the area. Kimpel and Walker want you to begin doing some preliminary research for them. They would like you to provide two recommendations in writing (the format has been provided to you via the functional model). When conducting your research, consider the following:

• Why are outdoor activities and adventures an ideal way to promote student growth and development compared to other types of programs?
• What financial concerns, safety concerns, or technological worries (lack of cellular service) may prevent students from wanting to spend more time outdoors?
• What are the social/emotional and psychological benefits of spending time in nature, away from typical student stressors like class, social media, and technology?
• What leadership skills and other positive traits can time outdoors cultivate amongst Arkansas students? What sort of safety and etiquette training would be required?
• What cost, length of programs (e.g. overnight, daylong, multi-day), program activities/options would appeal to students? What partnerships with campus organizations or student populations would help promote more students getting outdoors?
• What has worked on other campuses? Would a similar program work at Arkansas?

Your brief must be articulate and professionally formatted, adhering to the following specifications:

• Margins: 1"
• Font: 12-point Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, or Aptos font
• Spacing: Single-spaced
• Length: two pages maximum, with an additional third "References" page for sources
• Additional Requirements: Please use at least four sources. Sources should be cited in-text  using APA format. Also, please include a references page at the end of your brief in APA format. Your brief will not be APA formatted (running head, title page); just the citations.
• Submission Deadline: Submit by the specified date on Blackboard as .doc, .docx, or .pdf format only. No Pages or Google Docs will be accepted, nor may you simply drop a OneDrive, SharePoint, or similar link. Submit the actual file; failure to do so will result in an automatic zero.

Please refrain from using Generative AI tools for this assignment, aside from basic outlining/planning functions and copyediting/grammar and punctuation checks. Generative AI tools, while valuable in many ways and worth exploration, can provide users with incorrect information or analysis. We encourage you instead to meet with a CRLA certified tutor at the Business Communication Lab. Unauthorized use of these tools will be considered academic dishonesty.

You may incorporate quality sources you find on your own, but please follow APA guidelines for parenthetical in-text citations and reference list citations.