ABOUT
John Dockendorf is an adventure & outdoor recreational expert with over 30 years of experience developing and leading successful small businesses in various industries, including service, hospitality, outdoor recreation, and travel industries. Currently, Dockendorf serves as the Principal at Dockendorf Consulting. Dockendorf graduated first in his class from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration in 1992 and went on to receive a master's degree in management with a focus on marketing and entrepreneurship. He also won the coveted John E. H. Sheiry Scholarship. In 1993, John R. Dockendorf founded Adventure Treks, one of the nation's most reputable adventure travel programs for teenagers. As its leader for over 27 years, he successfully and consistently maintained the highest participant and staff repeat rate in the outdoor industry. He successfully sold Adventure Treks in 2019. In 2011, John and his wife Jane reopened Camp Pinnacle, a closed, bankrupt, and dilapidated legacy summer camp in western North Carolina. Over ten years, they accomplished a $5M renovation from cash flow and took enrollment from zero to a waiting list that forms in November. Jane and John sold Camp Pinnacle in 2021. As an expert in the ski, outdoor, summer camp, and travel industries, John published his master's thesis on options for differential pricing in the ski business, a topic coming to the forefront 30 years later. Dockendorf has been heavily involved in his community and served as an elected member of his Flat Rock, NC, Town Council. John has also served on the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Board in Asheville, NC, on the Henderson County, NC Transportation Advisory Committee, and as marketing and public relations chair for Apple Country Greenways. John has been an active board member of Conserving Carolina, was president of the Mountain Community School Board, and was the Founding Board Chairman of the French Broad River Academy. Dockendorf served on the Park Development Board for Flat Rock Park, which converted a 62-acre golf course into a community park with a state-of-the-art playground. As part of an early retirement in Hood River, Oregon filled with ski days and mountain bike rides, Dockendorf loves sharing his expertise with the next generation of entrepreneurs in the outdoor, adventure, travel, and hospitality industries.
