Missouri Bicycle News

Gary Baack & Nate King received the "Natural Resources Trails Service Award" for their volunteer work in the Jackson County Parks at the Volunteer Awards Banquet May 1. Their work was mainly on the Blue River Parkway trail.

From the awards presentation:

Over the past few years, remarkable improvements have been made to the trail system running through the Blue River Parkway. While many of the trails have been around for several years, the past few years have seen significantly increased maintenance activities-both major repairs in the winter and trimming in the spring and summer. Additionally, several new trails have been opened. As a result, these trails have seen a surge in popularity as a destination for mountain bikers, hikers, joggers, and other park users. The Blue River Parkway is truly one of the most scenic areas in the region and the trail improvements have allowed many more people to enjoy their awesome beauty.

Gary Baack and Nate King are responsible for much of this work, having put forth an extraordinary amount of effort. They worked hard throughout the year to make the trail system one of the best in the region. When the devastating ice storm struck, they gave up many hours of personal time--working tirelessly to get the trails reopened. After the trails were cleared from the storm, they continued working hard to complete the winter maintenance projects that had been delayed. Finally, they worked throughout the summer, trimming the weeds and otherwise keeping the trails in great shape. They are always willing to step in and work whenever and wherever needed, to ensure that the trails are well maintained.

Gary and Nate are invaluable assets to the Trail Watchers program, as well as to the residents of and visitors to Jackson County. Without their dedication and skill, many of these improvements would not have been possible.

The countless hours of volunteer work performed by Gary and Nate is outstanding and clearly deserves praise and recognition.

(Thanks to Ken Miner and Rob Stitt--two outstanding trail-building volunteers and EarthRiders members themselves--for bringing this award to our attention.)

Related:

News: Report on Blue River Greenway meeting

News: Missouri receives Mountain Biking "People's Choice" Award

permanent link to article: "KC-area mountain bikers receive "Trails Service Award""
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