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Spring 2008 Update

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Sharon Nunnelee Named Executive Director
April 16, 2008

Dennis Kneibel, President of the West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition, announced this week the hiring of new Executive Director Sharon Nunnelee.

Sharon comes to us from Brevard, North Carolina, home to over 200 miles of the eastern United States best hiking and mountain bike trails and a strong cycling and outdoor community.

She brings with her 30 years of experience in non-profit, corporate, and international business settings.  She has an impressive record in organization & planning, fundraising, as a corporate liaison, public speaking, community partnering, events and meeting management.  Sharon even owned her own meeting and event planning business.

Most recently, Sharon served as executive director for the Transylvania County Arts Council, and as South-Central Area Director for the American Lung Association of NC (Charlotte, NC).

She is also no stranger to the area having grown up in rural southwestern Michigan, where she helped work the neighbors 175-acre dairy and grain farm.

Sharon and family will be relocating to West Michigan in the coming weeks and is taking over duties as the Executive Director immediately.

It’s a White Pine Celebration

Friends of the White Pine will celebrate the generous donation by Fred Meijer and the paving from Russell Road to Sand Lake on April 26th.  The ceremony will start at 10:30 am.

Preliminary plans for the event include:

Preliminary plans / timetable
10:30                                       Comments
11:00                                       Ribbon cutting on new section
11:05                                       Refreshments
11:45                                       Tour of the trail to Cedar Springs
12:15                                       Short ceremony in Cedar Springs – More refreshments
12:30                                       Tour of the trail to 5/3 Ball Park

Hopefully we can all celebrate the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail with great Spring weather.  Look forward to seeing you there.

For more information go to www.whitepinetrail.org or contact Dave Heyboer at sheeepdog@msn.com.
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National Trails Day Celebration
April 16, 2008

The West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition announced plans to celebrate National Trails Day at its new office at 4658 West River Drive in Comstock Park on Saturday, June 7.  And everyone is invited!

The celebration will take place from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm and features raffles for a mountain bike or a hot-air balloon ride, free hot dogs, pop, ice cream and a tour of the office and plans for trail development in 2008 and beyond.

There will be temporary signs placed on the White Pine Trail to help you find your way to the festivities.  If you love trails and the outdoors, be sure to drop by and help us celebrate.

Phil Van Noord, Treasurer for West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition, and wife Betty on the Paul Henry Thornapple Trail

Middleville embraces National Start! Walking Day

Grand Rapids Press
April 14, 2008

As an advocate for making Middleville more pedestrian friendly, Phil Van Noord walks the talk: about three miles a day as many as five times a week.  Often joined by his wife, Betty, he traverses the Paul Henry Thornapple Nature Trail through the village.

So you can bet he will tally a few miles on the American Heart Association's National Start! Walking Day on Wednesday -- a movement launched last year that encourages residents to engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes. "We're in a time when we need to emphasize walking," he said.

Cindy Bowma, communications and marketing director for Metro Health, agrees. Health benefits are many, from protecting the heart to building stronger bones and muscles. It's is one of the easiest ways to stay fit and has the lowest dropout rate of any exercise, she said.

"You just need a good pair of shoes," she said.
The hospital plans to help people get walking with a gathering from 6 to 8 a.m. Wednesday at Metro Health Village, 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW in Wyoming. Centerpointe Mall, 3665 28th St. SE, in Grand Rapids, is also encouraging mall walkers and passing out handouts during the day.

Bowma encourages participating by taking a 30-minute walk during the lunch hour, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or using any available chunk of time to walk.

"Walkable" has become a buzzword in community planning, and Middleville officials are among many municipal leaders who are onboard. Township Planner Geoff Moffat said the village master plan includes extending the three-and-a-half mile trail built in 2003 along the Thornapple River.  "We've been very aggressive in building our riverfront trail and building sidewalks throughout the village," Moffat said.

All new developments are required to have sidewalks, he said.  "We've built a lot of sidewalks in the last five years," he said.  For more information about National Start! Walking Day, visit americanheart.org.

WMTGC Announces Railbanking Agreement
March, 2008

Since May 2007, a Community Action Committee has been meeting monthly to reach the vision and goal to acquire the 37.5-mile railroad corridor from Greenville to Ionia.

The West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition completed the 37-mile railbanking agreement of an abandoned rail line that runs through Ionia, Lowell, and Greenville and features several beautiful river crossings, pastoral and wooded settings.

The agreement and a small filing fee basically reserves the rail line for future trail development.  Work has already begun with city and county representatives to develop plans to purchase, develop and maintain the line.  Letters of support have been received from:

In a recent update, ‘This project has progressed through the Appraisal to a Memorandum of understanding to acquire and purchase the property thru the railbanking process with the Surface Transportation Board in Washington, DC.   This preserves the corridor for perpetuity.  The Meijer Foundation has agreed to assist with the down payment on the property.’

Carolyn Kane, executive board member with the West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition, said, “It really matched nicely with The Coalition’s charter to facilitate the acquisition and development of trails with donors, government agencies, and local trail organizations.”

Visit us regularly at www.wmtrails.org for updates on this exciting initiative.  Or, sign up to receive future updates automatically at www.wmtrails.org/friends.

    
Featured Trail:  Hart – Montague
April, 2008

Silver Lake Sand Dunes Area is a Michigan beach town located along Lake Michigan’s sweeping shoreline just a few miles west of US-31 between Muskegon and Pentwater and just a few hours from Chicago, Detroit, Traverse City and the Mackinac Bridge.

Plan a day and enjoy one of the true gems of West Michigan…the Hart Montague Trail.  Hart-Montague Trail State Park is a paved, 22-mile trail formerly used by trains that passes through rural, forested lands. Scenic overlooks and picnic areas are located along the trail. Beginning in Hart and ending in Montague with access points in Mears, Shelby, New Era you can bike or hike this scenic trail through woods, orchards and stop along the way for an ice cream cone. Enjoy wildlife, birds, fresh air and great exercise.  Nourishment stops along the way include:  Country Dairy, 1.5 miles north of New Era (right on the trail) for a true country experience, great food, bottomless glass of cold fresh chocolate milk, and ice cream (closed Sundays); the brand new Mears Center, 0.5 mile north of trail in Mears, restaurant, general store, and ice cream; and downtown Hart, 1 mile north of Polk Road, choice of 5 restaurants including the famous LaFiesta (Tex-Mex), Sunshine Café on Hart Lake, and ice cream shop.

Bike rentals are available in Mears, and be sure to stop in the Open Hearth Grille & Bar to sample a burger you’ll not soon forget.  The 6 miles south of Mears is very scenic!

During your visit stop by the Silver Lake Sand Dunes, and you will find an endless amount of sand piled into lofty mountains, miles of pristine shoreline beaches, unique attractions and events, great food, excellent accommodations and memory-making family fun…all to explore.

Soar High, Bike, Hike, Get Sandy Toes, Splash-up Waves, Race a GoKart, Take in a Sunset… whatever your idea of a family vacation might be Silver Lake Sand Dunes has it.  For more information go to www.thinkdunes.com or contact Stan Rickard at srickard@ci.hart.mi.us.
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Private Investment in Millennium Park Spurs Development of Trails

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

On January 9, Ambassador Peter Secchia unveiled the new Fred Meijer Millennium Park Trail Network, a 20-mile system of non-motorized and nature trails that will run throughout Millennium Park's 1,500 acres.

Private donations fund most of the $9 million project, including a lead gift of an undisclosed amount from the Meijer Foundation. Kent County gave $1.1 million toward the project.

Millennium Park stretches southwest three miles from Butterworth Street and I-196 to the recreation core on Maynard Street, then extends to Johnson Park in Walker. The trails will create multiple loops of various distances within the park for rollerblading, biking, running, walking, and cross-country skiing. The trail network will connect with the City of Walker trails, City of Grand Rapids trails, and Kent Trails.

"The trail network will be developed over three years," says Roger Sabine, Kent County Parks Director. "Since 1999 we've acquired property, and we've purchased the property from the John Ball Park area along Butterworth all the way to Maynard."

Twelve-foot-wide paved trails and a six-foot-wide trail with natural surfacing feature street bridges and boardwalks over creeks, lakes, and wetlands. A tunnel under Maynard Street connects to the recreation core's playgrounds, swimming areas, and picnic grounds.

Millennium Park runs along sand and gravel mining property, wetlands, and floodplain through parts of Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Walker, and Grandville. Phase 1 of the park's development is complete. The trails will be finished in 2010 followed by the final phase of the park project in 2014.

Source: www.RapidGrowthMedia.com, Roger Sabine, Kent County Parks; Kate Washburn, Wondergem Consulting, Inc.
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Rapid Wheelmen Donation to West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition

Joshua Duggan, co-chairperson for the 2007 Colorburst Bicycle Tour sponsored by the Rapid Wheelmen Bicycle Club, presented the West Michigan Trails & Greenways Coalition with a check for $4,097 following a successful charity fundraising ride in 2007.
 
According to Josh, "Besides meeting and seeing all kinds of happy bicyclists on the day of the tour, presenting the profits to our charity recipients is the best part of being co-chairperson."
 
The 25th anniversary ride took place on Sunday, October 7th and was originally started in memory of Donna Ryskamp, a Rapid Wheelmen member killed by a drunk driver while riding her bicycle.  Josh continued, "We had a record 700 participants, record high temperatures topping out around 85 degrees, and a record profit of $13,290 for our charities, and last year the club had also voted to give your group a share of the money."

 
The presentation was made at the regular monthly meeting of Rapid Wheelmen meeting on Thursday, February 7th at 7:30pm at the Kentwood District Library.
 
"I'm also happy to say that in December the club membership voted to include WMT&G in the distribution of the Colorburst funds from the 2008 ride," according to Josh.  "My wife Amy and I are serving as co-chairs again for 2008 and are looking forward to another successful ride.  The ride will be Saturday, October 11th, 2008 and we will stay in touch with the Coalition about spreading word of the ride to your network of supporters, many of whom are bicyclists."
 
For more information about the Colorburst 2008 Tour or the Rapid Wheelmen, go to http://www.lmb.org/rapidwheels/ or contact Josh Duggan at fotoman311@yahoo.com.
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WMMBA and Rapid Wheelmen Host Film Festival

March, 2008

On March 2nd 2008 the wMMBA and the Rapid Wheelmen joined forces and held the first ever Grand Rapids Bicycle Film Festival, a fundraiser for the West Michigan Trails and Greenways Coalition.

I am happy to report that the festival was a great success, attracting 65 film buffs and raised $1,020 for our friends at WMTGC.

The events leading up to the festival were pretty hectic. In order to serve beer we needed to file a non-profit liquor license with the State of Michigan. The hoops that one must go through are so extensive, I truly believe the state simply hopes that most people give up, but I persevered and we had our license with 2 hours to spare on Friday afternoon. All in all I bet the process took a month of phone calls, document signatures, cashiers checks and other tedious tasks. I needed that beer after this one!

The festival featured a quick presentation from WMTGC and then many mountain biking films, a hiking/bicycling documentary, cyclocross, BMX and a bike messenger film. I don’t think there was a dud in the line up and everyone seemed to enjoy them. What surprised me was that most folks came and stayed for all the films even though we had a schedule posted.

Thank you to all the film producers for granting us permission to show these great films and all the volunteers that offered their time or expertise in pulling this event off!

For more information about the wMMBA, go to http://mmba.org/western/wordpress/ and for the Rapid Wheelmen, go to http://www.lmb.org/rapidwheels/. _________________________________________________________________________

2008 Michigander

ABOUT MICHIGANDER 2008 . . . . .
Michigander is a tour ideal for hybrid, mountain bikes and a “new” road bike option. We have three options: 2-Day Weekend Tour; 6-Day Tour and the 7-Day Tour, July 12-18. It is a ride for everybody.

Michigander dates:

Both experienced and beginner cyclists as well as kids from 8 to 86 years old have thoroughly enjoyed the Michigander adventure. It’s a family-friendly ride that includes camping, two meals provided every day, shuttle service for your baggage, support service, and rest stops. We’ll even shuttle you to the start point or shuttle you back to your vehicle at the ride’s end. The route will be on trails and low-traffic back roads in between the trails. The 35-60 mile days allow for lots of time.

For more information, go to http://www.michigantrails.org/michigander/_________________________________________________________________________

  Smart Commute Week is May 12-16

The League of Michigan Bicyclists has designated May 12-16 as Smart Commute Week and Bike-to-Work Day as May 16.  For information go to http://www.lmb.org/pages/Events/SmartCommute.htm.

Please forward this update to friends who have an interest in trails and greenways in West Michigan.

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