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Focus Term: Champions


Blog
Remembering Hal
August 10, 2023
Hal Hiemstra was a pivotal figure in the active transportation movement and served as Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s vice president of national policy in the 1990s.
Hal Hiemstra | Photo courtesy Summit Strategies, graphic by RTC
Blog
Indiana Rep. Carey Hamilton Is Keeping the Hoosier State Laser Focused on Trails
October 04, 2022
Brandi Horton sat down with Indiana State Rep. Carey Hamilton, the 2022 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion, to chat about her passion for trails and efforts to help lead the build-out of Indiana’s statewide trail network.
Photo courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Blog
Indiana State Rep. Carey Hamilton Named 2022 Rail-Trail Champion
September 12, 2022
RTC is pleased to announce Indiana State Rep. Carey Hamilton as the 2022 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion for her leadership in founding the Indiana Legislative Trails Caucus, a bipartisan group of state legislators committed to building out the state’s trail network.
Rep. Carey Hamilton on the Nickel Plate Trail in Indiana in 2022 | Photo courtesy Rep. Carey Hamilton
Blog
A Conversation With the 2021 Rail-Trail Champion: Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb
January 25, 2022
RTC is honoring Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb as the 2021 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion for the state’s Next Level Trails program.
Gov. Eric Holcomb at the Next Level Trails program announcement in 2019 | Courtesy Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Blog
Tom Petri Awards Honor 13 Outstanding Trail Projects and Programs in 2021
November 11, 2021
The Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT) honored this year’s recipients of the Tom Petri Recreational Trails Program Annual Achievement Awards.
Vermilion River Regional Greenway in Minnesota | Photo by TrailLink user travistschepen
Blog
Rail-Trail Champion Eleanor Holmes Norton on Linking the Nation by Trail
January 28, 2021
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has named Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) America’s 2020 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton delivering her keynote remarks at the May 8, 2019, launch of the Great American Rail-Trail in Washington, D.C. | Courtesy RTC
Blog
Former Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin Named 2019 Rail-Trail Champion
December 02, 2019
Former Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin Named 2019 Rail-Trail Champion. When Keith Laughlin became the second president of RTC in 2001, he did not envision he’d help usher in a golden age for trails.
Keith Laughlin riding Caracara Trails | Photo courtesy RTC
Blog
A Serious Injury Changed Cyclist Ian Mackay’s Life. Trails Helped Him Rebuild It.
August 27, 2019
A motorized wheelchair powered by sip-and-puff inputs coupled with the ever-improving voice recognition capabilities of a smartphone offered Mackay a degree of independence, and allowed him to get outside without a caregiver at his side at all times.
Ian Mackay, founder of Ian's Ride (second from left), at the foot of Mount Rainier with friends Jesse Collens, Kenny Salvini and Todd Stabelfeldt | Photo by Teena Woodward
Blog
Seeds Planted for California’s 300-Mile Great Redwood Trail
May 17, 2019
The Great Redwood Trail is a 300-mile proposed trail from the shores of San Francisco Bay to the redwoods of Eureka on Humboldt Bay.
Along the route of the Great Redwood Trail in California | Photo by Charles Gandy
Blog
Pete Raynor, Railbanking Author, Named 2018 Rail-Trail Champion
September 27, 2018
Pete Raynor, central author of Railbanking legislation, was named 2018 Rail-Trail Champion. The 1983 Railbanking Act helped make many trails.
2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions Award ceremony | Photo by Hung Tran