The East Coast Trail Association receives the City’s Top Tourism Award

Friday, June 24, 2011

East Coast Trail Association / June 24, 2011 City of St. John’s 2011 Legend Award

(St. John’s) At the City’s annual tourism awards ceremony, on Thursday, June 16th, Mayor Dennis O’Keefe presented Randy Murphy, President of the East Coast Trail Association, the Legend Award, given to the East Coast Trail Association in recognition of the organization’s significant contribution to the enhancement of tourism.

In 1994, the Association embarked on what seemed to be an impossible dream, and today we
were recognized for our accomplishments and received the City’s most prestigious tourism
award, said Murphy. I’d like to thank the City of St. John’s on behalf of our Board of Directors,
our members, our partners and the many volunteers who poured their heart and soul into the East
Coast Trail to make the dream possible.

The Association started its journey knowing it had a fantastic product that could compete on the
world market, with incomparable elements such as our coastline, our rich colorful culture, our
history, 32 genuine communities and our people. What a fantastic foundation on which to build a
Trail, and what a competitive advantage for a hopeful world-class, hiking trail! In 2010, National
Geographic confirmed the Association’s understanding of the value of our coastline by
designating the Avalon Peninsula as the No. 1 coastal destination in the world – a major gift,
indeed, priceless.

In seventeen years, together with our partners, we have moved the East Coast Trail from a
promising concept to a valuable piece of tourism and recreation infrastructure, said Murphy.
The East Coast Trail has become a tourism Icon, a destination trail, and is a world-class
attraction. We are very pleased, and fully recognize that this accomplishment is truly a
community effort and we thank everyone for helping us make it happen.

The Association realizes that success and achievement bring new challenges. It fully understands
that a tourism and recreational asset such as the East Coast Trail will continue to keep on giving,
as long as we, as a province, continue to provide the loving care, the management, and the
protection it requires. We hope that seventeen years from today we can all look back and say,
with great pride and satisfaction, that we managed it well; we made a difference, we delivered
and preserved a provincial treasure that will be enjoyed by many generations to come.

We’d like to thank the City of St. John’s for their commitment and unwavering support of the
East Coast Trail and the Association over the past seventeen years, said Murphy. The City has
been a great friend and partner and we look forward to continuing and growing this relationship
for many years to come. We are very pleased and honored to receive the Legend Award; it is
greatly valued and very much appreciated.