JK Dealer Summit from an Exploration Team Point of View

A few behind-the-scenes shots from the 2017 JK Dealer Summit (JKDS)… 

Dealers, Customer Service reps, factory staff, Marketing staff, members from all JK Teams, you name it: every facet of the JK family was represented at the annual event this past weekend. JKDS is not simply a marketing-focused event; it is an opportunity for our JK family to connect with each other in person at both the JK factory in JK’s hometown of Sparta, TN, and at Rock Island State Park in Rock Island, TN.

My personal point of view as an Exploration Team member is that JKDS is not simply an annual marketing event. For me, JKDS embodies the spirit of the Exploration Team. Say whaaaat?!  Think about it: we all come to the water for different reasons, and we each have a unique set of skills. Literally translated (per the Oxford Dictionary), “exploration” can be defined as, “… the action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn more about it.”  JKDS offers opportunity for dealers and team members alike to venture into potentially unknown territory of kayaking while at the event.  “Unknown territory” can be interpreted both traditionally AND non-traditionally: whitewater; fishing; touring; recreation; fabrication; engineering; marketing… You get the idea!  

Ultimately, however, JKDS is about connection; connection with and to not only the people we encounter on a daily basis, but also with our immediate environment(s), and the larger world around us. 

JKDS offers each one of us in attendance the unique opportunity to share and join our individual gifts, talents, and interests in order to reach more people through community. Learning with and from each other inspires us, and helps us more effectively guide folks as they discover and fall in love with their own niche on the water. In this process, we also strengthen and deepen our own bonds. 

Here’s hoping you enjoy your own exploration as much as we do ours. Stay safe, warm, and dry out there, and see you on the river!

Samantha Christen