I’ve had the privilege of being with the Eastern Trail for over twelve years now. I ‘ve seen the trail grow from two off-road sections to four,  8 miles to 22, trail users  from 90,000 to over 250,000 but I have never witnessed such an upsurge in trail use that we are now seeing in the midst of this pandemic – at least triple its normal use. 

Why, you may ask? The obvious answer....         Go here to read the rest of Carole's article. 

ETA Bids “Later” to Veteran Board Members …….by Bob Hamblen

Life is all about coming and going. New faces enter and enrich our lives, hopefully for many years, but sometimes only a few memorable moments. At some point we look back and realize how much he or she adorned our days, via a quirky personality, sharing the best coffeecake recipe ever, or a simple matter of being a steady presence when so much around us.....  Go here to read the rest of Bob's article.

Virtual ETA Board Meeting

Current members of the Eastern Trail received an “Online Annual Meeting” email to share with our members the current status of our trail campaigns, our financials as well as an opportunity to vote for new board member and those who are up for renewal. If you would like to view our 2020 annual meeting program (pdf format), please visit this link.

KIOSK PROJECT

Almost a year later, we are close to finishing our Kiosk Project. We would like to thank the following for their donations, support and labor: Maine Community Foundation, Onion Foundation, Bangor Cork, Portland Glass (Biddeford), MECA Graphic Design Class of 2021, Charles Borg, Jim Bucar, Carole Brush and Nancy Borg.

The kiosks are now up to date, accessible and presenting a positive representation of the Eastern Trail. We hope you will all take time to appreciate the hard work and time spent to complete this important project.

Eastern Trail Volunteer of the Year Award goes to… Charles Borg of Biddeford

Charles spent numerous weekends and week nights rebuilding the frames for the kiosks, adding cork onto the existing plywood within the kiosks, and changing the design for ease of accessibility. Each of the current 8 kiosks was built during separate phases of the trail’s development; therefore, no two of the kiosks were the same size, requiring patience and design challenges.

We are proud of the final product and cannot begin to thank Charles for all that he did for the Eastern Trail Alliance. Perhaps the $100 Banded Brewery Gift Certificate will be a good start!

Thank you Charles from the Eastern Trail Alliance and the Management District

In Memoriam – Jim Munroe

We lost a dear friend of the Eastern Trail this past month. Jim Munroe has been a board member from the moment he was asked to join by John Andrews. John saw Jim’s enthusiasm and dedication to the trail. Jim was always thinking of what new events we could introduce to help more people gain awareness of the trail. Thank you, Jim Munroe for the many years of service as an active board member of the Eastern Trail Alliance.