Our Thanks to Jeff and Ann Currie | | |
Last summer, Jeff Currie announced to the Board of Directors of the Great Headwaters Trails (GHT) Foundation that he and his wife Ann will be stepping back from their leadership roles.
Jeff and Ann were among the founders of GHT in 2010. Jeff served as President, and then Executive Director from 2010 to January 2024. Ann served on the GHT Board, including multiple terms as Secretary.
Both were instrumental in all aspects of developing, funding and constructing the Conover-Phelps Trail, which was completed in 2021. Their tireless efforts to spread the word about GHT’s mission were invaluable and impactful, and there is no doubt that GHT would not be where we are today without their hard work.
Jeff and Ann will continue to be involved in our activities, but not in leadership capacities. This will allow them to spend more time with their family and to enjoy traveling.
The Board thanks Jeff and Ann for their years of dedication to our organization.
| | Fall Strategic Planning Session for Board | | |
With Jeff Currie’s decision to step back from leadership roles, and the obstacles GHT faced with the River Trail, last fall Dick Leinenkugel led the Board through a strategic planning session that led to an organizational restructuring.
As a result, the Board decided to dissolve the Executive Director position, and the key areas of GHT were categorized into eight Action Teams:
- Government and Public Relations
- Financial Sustainability
- Marketing
- Volunteer Engagement
- River Trail
- Conover-Phelps Trail
- Ride With Leinie
- SepTimber Ride
The Board is confident the new structure will allow GHT to continue to build a stronger volunteer organization. New volunteers are most welcome, and may learn more about opportunities at GHtrails.org.
We also hope this will help welcome new volunteers to the organization, allowing them to focus on their areas of interest and expertise. If you are interested in volunteering, click here for details.
The image below shows the new structure. Click on the image to view a PDF version.
| | At the March Board Meeting, the following people were elected to the GHT Board of Directors: | |
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Tim Wright – President: Tim will continue in his role as President through 2024.
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Laura Van Valkenberg – Vice President: Laura was born and raised in Cambridge, WI. Laura and her husband, Gary, moved to the Eagle River area in 2008. Laura has worked in the travel industry for more than 20 years and switched careers to Health Information Management when she relocated to the Northwoods. She enjoys biking, traveling, hiking, gardening, entertaining visitors and quilting.
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Mark Olson – Treasurer: Mark will continue in his role as Treasurer through 2024.
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Gary Meister – Secretary: Gary was one of the Co-Presidents when GHT was founded in 2010, and served as the Vice President until 2018, when he continued as a Director-at-Large until assuming the Secretary role.
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Joe Panci – Director-at-Large: Joe is passionate in his love of the outdoors and connecting people with the land so that we all become better stewards of it. He has worked in natural resources and outdoor education at Trees For Tomorrow in Eagle River, the Conserve School in Land O’Lakes, and the U.S. Forest Service in the Ottawa National Forest in Watersmeet as their Conservation Education Coordinator. Joe lives in Lincoln Township but can be found out biking, paddling, XC skiing and hiking the Northwoods.
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Neal Adams – Continued Role of Director-at-Large: Neal and his wife, Cheryl, are residents of the Town of Conover and key members of the new Friends of the Trail group for the Conover-Phelps Trail. Neal has many childhood memories of his outdoors adventures in Conover.
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Mike Robillard – Continued Role of Director-at-Large: Mike was one of GHT's founding board members and is the River Trail Project manager. Mike is the property manager for Tara Lila, LLC., and president of the Three Eagle Trail Foundation.
GHT’s Board and many dedicated volunteers remain focused on the mission to develop and support a system of family-friendly, community bicycling and walking trails connecting the towns and serving the residents and visitors of eastern Vilas County.
Click here to view more information about the GHT Board.
| | Volunteer and New Board Member Orientation on June 5th | | |
GHT is hosting a Volunteer and New Board Member Orientation on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at Trees For Tomorrow (519 East Sheridan Street, Eagle River, WI 54521) from 5:00 to 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be provided.
Everyone is welcome! Please register by June 4, 2024, by emailing ghtrails@gmail.com.
| | Our Fall Appeal Was a Success! | | |
Thanks to your generosity and support, we exceeded our $50,000 goal in our Fall Appeal, with a total of $56,590 contributed.
The campaign showed great support for the River Trail project, with $34,668 of donations earmarked for this project. Donations of $7,551 were directed to expand and enhance the Conover-Phelps Trail. The balance of $14,371 has been directed to GHT general funds.
If you wish to make a donation, please click here.
| | We have updated our website to provide you with more information on our current projects, upcoming events, and all things relating to our mission to develop and support a system of family-friendly community bicycling and walking trails connecting the towns and serving the residents of and visitors to eastern Vilas County. | | GHT and Wisconsin Bike Fed | | |
Wisconsin Bike Fed showcases the Ride with Leinie!
“The Ride with Leinie showcases the beautiful Northwoods and helps raise awareness and funds for GHT. Funding is important, but so is raising support for our initiatives to build more trails for safe biking and walking. Connecting Eagle River and other communities to the nationally recognized Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail System is important for Northwoods visitors and our residents.”
Laura Van Valkenberg, Ride Director.
Read the full story - and see the special Bike Fed Member registration opportunity - here.
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Trail Extension Update:
GHT entered into an agreement with the UW-Platteville Engineering Department to have several students develop a conceptual design for a potential trail to Torch Lake as their senior project.
The old rail grade running from the C-P Trail at County F is now occupied by an ATV trail. The rail corridor is wide enough to accommodate a separate paved bicycle and pedestrian trail. The exploration team has walked the sides of the corridor to gather and record pertinent information needed for trail planning.
Neal Adams has been exploring avenues with both the Town of Conover and landowners for possible trail routing at the congested north end of the proposed trail. For more information, click here.
If you are interested in helping with C-P Trail Spring and Summer clean-up and other on-trail tasks, join our fledgling Friends of C-P Trail (FOT) group.
Contact Neal or Cheryl Adams at 715-303-4483 for details.
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Given the importance of the proposed River Trail to non-motorized recreation and transportation infrastructure in the Northwoods, GHT continues to dedicate a significant portion of its resources to this ambitious trail development project. To help manage the coordination of those resources, GHT created an Action Team specifically focused on this project.
Since the trail will benefit and travel through four municipalities (the Towns of St Germain, Cloverland, Lincoln, and the City of Eagle River), an intergovernmental cooperation agreement was signed in 2018 to form the River Trail Commission. To date, three of the four municipalities have designated a person to the Commission, with Lincoln abstaining. Pursuant to the agreement, GHT is a non-voting partner with the Commission; assigned the responsibility to facilitate the designing, fundraising and construction of the trail.
In the first quarter of 2024, GHT has continued to fulfill its role in the partnership through the efforts of its Action Team. Such activities included ongoing advising of the Commission on all trail related matters, creating a segment-by-segment planning process and developing a trail maintenance plan.
Also, earlier this year, the River Trail Commision voted to reaffirm that the original route proposed, as indicated in the 2020 Feasibility Plan, remains the best and safest route.
GHT has also continued to work with MSA, one of the most respected engineering firms in the state, to keep the plan established in the feasibility study, conducted in 2020, up to date. Importantly, through its work with the River Trail Commission, GHT has been reinforcing the reality that a project as complex as the River Trail cannot be successfully accomplished without commitment by each party in the project.
View more about the project here.
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