Volunteer Awards Night at The Rocket

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Outstanding volunteerism was celebrated upstairs at The Rocket, where several exceptional and long-standing volunteers were presented with ECTA awards by Randy Murphy, President of the ECTA.

The Flamber Head award is given for volunteer service of three or more years, in any capacity with the organization. There were four successful nominees:

Harold Klassen received the Flamber Head award for many years of service as Chair of the Trail Standards Committee, guiding trail standards development and
hands-on inspection of crew work on the trail.

For years, a volunteer maintenance hike leader as well as a guided hike leader, Greg Bennett has welcomed newcomers to the ECTA with “feet on the ground”.
In addition, Greg has supported the back end of the website, helping to build functionality, upgraded the path detail pages, and created the lost and found page. Greg is currently also an active member of the hike leader committee.

Cathy Carroll has been an active guided hike leader for several years and a successful fund raiser and team lead in several of our Tely-Hike annual events.

Ed Hayden has been a dedicated volunteer for the last fifteen years, serving in many roles. Ed is a superb hike leader and custodian. Currently, Ed is Chair of the Hiking Committee as well as the hiking program for the upcoming Tely-Hike. Ed was project manager for the publication of ECTA Guidebook #2, and more recently, Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. Ed serves on the ECTA board of directors.

The Tuckamore award goes to the successful nominee, individual or group, who has made a significant contribution to the long term preservation and protection of the trail and its environment.

Randy Murphy presented this important award to the Torbay Environment and Trails Committee (TETC). Madeleine Florent, Gerri Labrie, Robbie Hicks and Elizabeth Mouland were present this evening from the TETC. TETC is a volunteer community-based organization dedicated to the protection of natural areas and the preservation and promotion of walking trails in Torbay. TETC has been active for over
twenty years and restored the well-known Father Troy’s Trail. TETC members have also participated in volunteer maintenance of the trail, setting a wonderful example of community involvement in the sustainability of the East Coast Trail. The TETC team, the TETC Coyotes, also won first prize in team fund-raising at two recent Tely-Hike events.

Neil Hardy, former VP of Trails, gave an informative and entertaining overview with a slideshow of trails he has hiked in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
While New Zealand certainly has beautiful sandy beaches, and SE Australia some seriously craggy mountains, it was agreed that the East Coast Trail
is equal in beauty to any trails known, and unsurpassed for coastal wilderness hiking adventure.

Thanks Neil for the show!

Thank you all volunteers for helping to keep the East Coast Trail a viable sustainable desirable destination!

Story by J. Van Houwelingen

Top Row – harpist Kira Sheppard; Rocket pastry chef Courtney; Ed Hayden, Flamber Head Award winner

Bottom Row – Cathy Carroll; Greg Bennett, both Flamber Head Award recipients; Madeleine Florent, Geri Labrie, and Robbie Hicks representing Torbay Environment & Trails Committee, the Tuckamore Award winner for 2014

Photos by Darlene Scott