Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines:

Have a news tip? Email us at [email protected].

• Outdoor Retailer announced the accomplished list of Inspiration Awards Judges: Steve Barker, co-founder of Eagle Creek; Kareemah Batts, founder of Adaptive Climbing Group; Rachel Davidson, Outdoor Research copywriter; Kenji Haroutunian, independent consultant and board member with outdoor industry nonprofit organizations; Lisa Hennessy, co-founder of DreamJobbing.com; Diane Kay, marketing manager for adidas Outdoor; Terry Lee, founder of Gear Coop; Kai Lightner, pro rock climber; Jamie Logan, climbing legend and architect; Rue Mapp, founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro; Peter Metcalf, founder and former CEO of Black Diamond Equipment; Elyse Rylander, founder of OUT There Adventures; and Dieter Tremp, U.S. spokesperson and market contact for all ISPO tradeshows and projects. The deadline to apply for the award is Friday.

• New world record: On Monday, Mikah Meyer, 33, became the youngest person to visit all 419 U.S. national park sites and the only one to do it in a single, continuous push. SNEWS contributor Patrice La Vigne wrote about it for Gear Junkie.

• After nearly a year of building, Judy Gross held a grand opening for her new, custom Lightheart Gear factory on Tuesday in Fletcher, North Carolina. SNEWS featured Gross and her company's origin story last May.

• A Jackson Hole river guide just started an outdoor apparel company called Rinord and raked in more than $26,000, surpassing his $18,000 ask through Kickstarter. 

• Another REI: The cooperative is opening 22,0000-square-foot location in San Louis Obispo, California, come fall 2019. The company announced its intentions after keeping it a secret for months.

• For 40 years, Nikwax has been at the forefront of addressing environmental issues associated with product ingredients, manufacturing operations, and packaging by never using PFCs, ozone-damaging CFCs, or aerosols. Just this week, the company announced its product bottles will be made from 100 percent recycled plastic by 2020.

• California Outdoor Recreation Partnership (CORP) board of directors' has a new member: Danica Carey, director of marketing at Seirus Innovations. Read the latest on California's OREC movement here.

• Kai Jones, 12-year-old freeskier and son of Teton Gravity Research's Todd Jones, has signed a partnership with AEXOS, the design and technology company behind HALO: protective compression equipment designed to reduce whiplash and concussion-related injury.

• In other TGR news: Their film Mountain in the Hallway won Most Inspiring Film at the 5Point Adventure Film Festival. Watch the trailer here and watch the movie here.

• Svein-Erik Helle and Jan Steffen Helle, grandsons of Helle of Norway's founder, are renewing the 87-year-old heritage knife brand, making them the third generation of ownership.

• Cotopaxi named industry veteran Evie Moe as its new VP of design. Moe has with 17 years of experience in the apparel industry, having held multiple positions in categories ranging from swimwear to lifestyle.

• And lastly, former Climbing Magazine editor-in-chief Julie Ellison wrote a beautiful feature on Nikki Smith, the transgender climbing photographer formerly known as Nathan Smith.