Trailblazer White: ‘We’re never going to stop’

Matthew Day

Staff

September 14, 2026

WAUSAU – As a record label owner, children’s book author and Central Wisconsinite-turned-Chicagoland marketing director (and back), Tim White has blazed a unique trail through life. 

Now, in his fifth year as executive director of Visit Wausau, White’s pioneering ways have been professionally recognized – receiving Trailblazer of the Year at the 2026 Wisconsin Governor’s Outdoor Industry Awards. 

Per the Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation’s website (outdoorrecreation.wi.gov), the Trailblazer award is “presented to an individual who went the extra mile to raise the profile of Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation industry in the past year.” 

“By bringing together outdoor recreation, tourism and economic development around a shared vision, Tim White has helped transform the greater Wausau area into a connected outdoor recreation destination,” the award committee stated. “Through his collaborative leadership and commitment to helping communities recognize the value of their outdoor assets, Tim has elevated outdoor recreation as a driver of economic growth.” 

White said “it felt amazing” to have Visit Wausau’s efforts and progress recognized. 

“It really made me feel great for what we’ve been doing in our area for greater Wausau, Marathon County and my team,” he said.  

White said he credits Visit Wausau’s staff, partners, stakeholders and board members for the Trailblazer award. 

“Really, to get an award like this is just a super affirmation of all the things we’ve changed in the five years I’ve been here,” he said. 

‘Wisconsin’s Basecamp’ 

The Wisconsin Office of Outdoor Recreation specifically cited the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway as an example of White’s leadership efforts. 

According to greatpinery.com, the navigable water trail spans 108 miles of the Wisconsin River and its tributaries. 

White said he – along with Bill Bertram, who won last year’s Big Tent award at the Wisconsin Governor’s Outdoor Industry Awards – was able to rally adjacent communities and get the water trail approved as a state trail, before it was then “fast-tracked” for approval as a national waterway. 

The official status, White said, was accompanied by professional consultation as well as grant money, enabling the addition/enhancement of launches and the installation of historical and nature signage throughout. 

The Great Pinery Heritage Waterway, he said, is one of the many uniquely special outdoor recreation options for the area. 

Wausau’s proximity to a range of attractions, White said, inspired the city to be branded as “Wisconsin’s Basecamp.” 

For one, he said Marathon County is home to 41 miles of the Ice Age Trail. 

Another of Visit Wausau’s man-made initiatives, White said, is its efforts to support users of “the fastest-selling type” of bicycle, gravel bikes – “a hybrid of a road cycle and a mountain bike.” 

“There are 1,000-plus miles of red granite township roads in our area, and… it’s the preferred stone of gravel bikers,” he said. 

Red granite, White said, not only provides “an amazing experience on a gravel bike,” but it’s also Wisconsin’s state rock. 

The network of these roads was already largely in place, he said, having been implemented by townships to facilitate milk companies going from farm to farm to collect milk. 

White said Visit Wausau was able to formulate a trail network of the township roads, called The Granite Belt. 

Per visitwausau.com, bikers can choose between flatter trails or more advanced challenges. 

With Rib Mountain towering highest, White said the “hilly ups and downs” of the region’s terrain create an abundance of outdoor activities through all four seasons, from skiing, to hiking, biking, rafting, fishing, snowmobiling and/or simply enjoying cultivated gardens or natural sights. 

“The whole idea behind ‘Wisconsin’s Basecamp’ is we are the place where you can come and experience, of course, lots of outdoor rec., both organized and unorganized, but then we’re that basecamp,” he said. “Basecamp is where you find more creature comforts, and it’s central to your adventures…, whether it’s a couple blocks away or 10, 15, 20 miles away.” 

Endless ideation 

White said his marketing background and his master’s in philosophy inform his unique approach to Visit Wausau. 

“Of course, having managed ADHD is very helpful, too, because I’m always coming up with a million ideas,” he laughed. “Honestly, it’s crazy sometimes, but it’s kind of a superpower.” 

Between his and his staff’s creativity, White said Visit Wausau has the advantage of not having to hire an external agency to create content as most destination marketing organizations (DMOs) do. 

“We can do things quickly, we can constantly change, we can provide authentic experiences,” he said. “We use people who are residents as our ‘actors.’ That gives us an edge.” 

White said he was unexpectedly recruited for the executive director position while he was working as a consultant, and continues to marvel at his fortune – as his research in considering moving to Wausau inspired the work he continues to do.  

“The very things that it took me to check out Wausau online, visit, [see] how easy it is or is not to find resources [as] a visitor and also what’s it like to live there, too – that’s the same kind of motivation that really [led] me to take the job,” he said. “I wanted to make people’s processes a lot easier.”  

Through his research, White said he discovered the region is “a great place” – one he’d sincerely enjoy promoting. 

“I get to tell people about this awesome place?” he said, describing his thought process at the time. “That’s amazing.” 

No matter how much he and the Visit Wausau team accomplish, White said his inspiration is indefatigable. 

“We’re never going to stop,” he said. 

Data validation 

A significant carryover from his marketing days, White said, is his proclivity for tracking data and using it to make decisions. 

A self-described “big data freak,” White said he has brought his love of statistics to his role at Visit Wausau to help confirm the region’s outdoor recreation strengths and to help make it stand out from other regions. 

He said the following are just some of his findings: 

• 58% of all Wausau-area visitors partake in at least two forms of outdoor recreation while in the area – “which is big, because it helps us cross-promote [activities].” 
• 65% of all local residents participate in outdoor recreation. 
• Last fall, 6,500 bicyclists from out of the area specifically biked the challenging Bull Billy Jack trail. Despite no effort to specifically market that trail, 14% of those bicyclists were from another state. 
• 65% of all bicycle sales last year were e-bikes, “so you have to look at that data and ask, ‘Okay, how’s that being used in Marathon County?’” 

White said he credits his provision of geo-targeted data for the quick approval of the Great Pinery Heritage Waterway as a national waterway, as well as the subsequent grant money. 

He said he has also provided targeted data to the Ice Age Trail Alliance, which the nonprofit cited en route to its National Park inclusion. 

“I think that’s the biggest reason I probably got the Trailblazer award – because I’ve been going around kind of preaching data in outdoor rec.,” he said. 

Impact of the award 

White said he believes his Trailblazer of the Year award has already helped to shine a brighter spotlight on greater Wausau. 

Not surprisingly, he said this hunch is backed by data – specifically, Travel Wisconsin’s annual economic impact of tourism. 

“This last year, 2025, we jumped back up,” he said. “I think when I started five years ago, we were 19th of all counties, and we’re in [the top] No. 10 now, so we jumped last year.” 

While his organization has “Visit” in its name, White said he hopes his efforts will help recruit more people to stay beyond a temporary vacation. 

To do so, he said he has collaborated with the Greater Wausau Prosperity Partnership (GWPP), helping them apply for and ultimately receive “a live-work-recruitment kind of a grant” from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. 

“[GWPP] got half a million dollars, and [Visit Wausau] is the marketing agency – we’re building a microsite for that, so people out of state will be able to apply, and those who qualify will get $10,000 to relocate,” he said. 

White said the data indicates a range of visitors coming to the region.  

Some, he said, are coming to Wausau from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to shop or receive medical care; others come from Chicago to ski at Granite Peak – “the No. 1 ski resort in the Midwest” – while others travel from the Twin Cities to compete in the Wausau 24 – “the second largest 24-hour mountain bike race in the country” – and others, still, journey from across the globe to stand in the center of the North Western Hemisphere. 

No matter the primary reason for the visit, White said his organization aims to surprise travelers with what Wausau has to offer, whether it be food, culture, affordability or its natural wonders, including the Dells of the Eau Claire Park in Aniwa and the 1.7-billion-year-old volcanic rock – “some of the oldest rock in the world” – of Rib Mountain. 

He said these amenities and attractions are meant to be shared – and he holds a similar philosophy regarding innovation in his work. 

Though he’s only recently been officially recognized as a Trailblazer, White said he’s always encouraged others to apply his successful methods, particularly in areas without tremendous DMO resources. 

“I really want to help those smaller communities be able to enhance and transform their areas in ways that don’t cost a lot of money but get the community fired up,” he said.