Congrats to our 2021 FAFL Award Winners!
It was a challenging year with storms and surges, but our volunteers came through as always. Our trails are busier than ever, with more and more people growing to appreciate the trails and getting involved in their stewardship. This year saw 204 trail enthusiasts reporting 4340 hours of work – a record on both counts! The Independent Sector values this work at $123,863 – that’s a lot of value that we bring to our area parks and trails.
For over two decades, we have recognized the most significant volunteer efforts with the First Across the Finish Line (FAFL) award. Each of these volunteers has reported at least 10 hours of work on a chapter trail or at least 30 hours of other chapter advocacy work to further our goals. Our 2021 winners are:
In appreciation, we'd like to present each of these outstanding volunteers with a custom printed MCMBA long sleeved t-shirt! Please click here to share your sizing preferences by February 14th so we can get the order started.
Thanks!
As 2021 winds down and the winter sets in, I find myself reflecting with a lot of pride over what the MCMBA accomplished over the last year. You may (or may not) recall that the board had approached 2021 as “The Year of Trails”.
This year we pumped more than $25,000 into the trails. That, combined with over 3,200 hours in volunteer work, means that the trails have seen significant work this year:
Events were back BIG time this year - perhaps because of pandemic pent up demand, but our two marquee events (Milford Bike Festival and Tree Farm Relay) were both huge successes (and oh, the costumes this year!). In the fall, we added a Take A Kid Mountain Biking event which drew a lot of young people out onto the trails. Speaking of youth, MiSCA held a race at Milford this year, which had hundreds of kids, not only racing, but also helping prepare the trail with some basic maintenance. All these events drew a lot of great participation and smiles for miles.
Finally, this year has seen a significant upshift in new trail development conversations, which will set the stage for future good news. Most of these conversations are with land managers and are happening behind the scenes. But these conversations are core to the mission of MCMBA to advocate for mountain biking trails.
Looking ahead to 2022, the board met in December and set some pretty aggressive goals for the year. We’ll provide more info on the goals and work ahead, but they broadly fit into four primary categories: Strengthening the Organization; Trail Development; Strengthening our Fundraising; and new goals for our Events. More details will come shortly, and be on the lookout for opportunities to volunteer with some new (or rather re-instated) committees.
Thanks to all our volunteers for such a great 2021. Happy New Year and ride on!
- Dave Hurst, MCMBA Board President
Global Fat Bike Day on Sat, Dec 4, 10am at Island Lake Recreation Area!
Join the annual meeting of fat bikes across the globe!