“Friends of Sturbridge Trails” 4rd annual meeting set, “Pinnacle Award” to be presented to Sturbridge Couple
Sturbridge: in the winter of 2013, a group of Sturbridge residents came together expressing an interested in forming a local, nonprofit trail support group to be known as the “Friends of Sturbridge Trails” (FrOST) and how appropriate their first organizational meeting will be held in the winter of 2013. This group was started by Sturbridge resident and Conservation Commission member David Barnicle as the creation of a friends group is one of the objectives set out in the Town’s Recreation Trail Master Plan.
From that start in 2013 the friends group has slowly grown, however as always, The Friends of Sturbridge trails is looking for new members to be diverse in its desires for trails in Sturbridge, from casual hiking and dog walkers, to highly technical Mt Bikers and everyone in between. In its bylaws, the mission of the Friends of Sturbridge trails states “composed of individuals, businesses and families sharing an appreciation of the potential for trails and trail related activities, interests and pursuits”
The fourth annual meeting of FrOST will be held on Tuesday January 17th,2017, 7 pm graciously hosted by the Public House. On the agenda, will be a short presentation on where the Trail Committee is today and what their plans are for 2017, the status of Friends of Sturbridge Trails and our 2017 activities.
Highlighting the agenda will be a presentation of The Friends “Pinnacle Award” the highest trail award the Friends bestow will be presented to Sarah & David LaFrance for their dedication and leadership in building the Burgess Discovery Trail. The Burgess Discovery Trail was initiated by Sarah and David back in 2015 when they reached out to the Trail Committee for help and guidance. Over the past two years they have worked relentlessly in leading the planning, permitting and construction of this ½ mile fully ADA compliant trail behind the Burgess Elementary School. The Friends of Sturbridge Trails in recognition of their hard work and dedication leadership and volunteer effort to this unique trail project will bestow its highest award to the LaFrance’s as the highlight of our annual meeting. Please
come and join us in this special presentation.
Local trail brochures, and a copy of the town’s trail master plan, will be available. Of special interest this year will be the release of the new Sturbridge Open Space Trail Guide a newly published 28-page book on 9 different open space properties where one can hike, Mt Bike and explore.
In both the Town’s Master Plan and Recreation Trails Master Plan surveys, residents were strongly in favor of building several different types of trails to enjoy our open space lands. The friends group is open to anyone who would like to support trails in Sturbridge. If you cannot make the January 17th meeting, or have more questions or wanting to help in the organizational effort please email either David Barnicle at: dmbarnicle8141@gmail.com or email Sturbridgetrails@gmail.com
Membership forms to sign up and join FrOST will be available that night.
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