Hi ECGA State Committee Chair,

On behalf of the Executive Committee of the East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA), I'd like to ask your help in the upcoming East Coast Greenway Inaugural/National Trails Day event coming up Saturday, June 7, 2003. We'd like you to let us know the plans for an event highlighting the East Coast Greenway in your state on National Trails Day.

As many of you know, June 7th is National Trails Day. The ECGA is working with National Trails Day organizer, the American Hiking Society, to highlight at least one East Coast Greenway event in each state on that day. These events will serve as the local "finale" to the Inaugural Event being held in Washington on Thursday, June 5th.

We can repeat this Inaugural Event on a local basis. An event that plays up federal transportation funding and offers your Congressman/Senators a chance to get some public applause would be ideal. This will allow us to demonstrate that the federal transportation bill now making its way through Congress has been crucial to completing our trail, and to thank our Congressmen for making it possible. So, besides all of the local officials, youÕll want to invite those Congressional folks.

This is also a wonderful opportunity to get the East Coast Greenway noticed and publicized to a lot of folks who may not have been aware of us in the past. The American Hiking Society really goes out of their way to publicize National Trails Day on a local as well as a national basis. They do most of the work in getting local and national businesses and shops to organize trail cleanups, sponsor ads on volunteer T-shirts and a whole lot more. You may be very aware of this based on your own past involvement in National Trails Day.

What you can do is identify at least one event on the East Coast Greenway in your state. If you've wanted to designate a section of trail, this is the time to do it for maximum exposure.

If you've wanted to install ECG signage, this would be the time to do it - again with a flourish! We'll have our new trail markers available for you to post.

If you want to unveil some new local trail signage or a new kiosk - even if it is not primarily for ECG use - if you can stick an ECG logo on it somewhere, it will do nicely.

If you've wanted to have an event that says the East Coast Greenway and a local trail WILL SOMEDAY go here, even without a greenway or local trail being present or under construction, and get some press for it, then this would be an excellent chance to do this.

Frankly, what can be done is unlimited. If you have suggestions, please offer them. If you want suggestions, write or call and we'll suggest more. All we ask is that you identify one ECG related event in your state for National Trails Day.

This will be a lot of fun! However, we ask that you let us know about a possible event(s) by March 1. Take it from a procrastinator; the time to do this is now! No need to offer any specific plans right now. We just want to know what the event will be with some form of brief description, who is the contact, where and when it will be. We think that the ECG Inauguration can offer a lot to enhance a local event in your state.

I'll be in touch with you by phone in a couple of weeks to make sure that you received this message and that something is in the works. Also, I'd like to be of help in any way I can. They've asked me to coordinate this with you so that our hard working staff can devote more of their time to planning the Inaugural in Washington and other duties. I'll be maintaining a list of everything that is going on, as well as coordinating with the American Hiking Society.

Please contact me at Bill Bussey, 344 Roberson Creek Rd., Pittsboro NC 27312, (919) 545-9104, or billbus@gte.net if you have any questions, suggestions or comments.

Here's to a great East Coast Greenway Inaugural and National Trails Day event!

Happy Trails,

Bill Bussey
ECGA National Trails Day Event Coordinator
ECGA North Carolina State Committee

Copy to: Jane Thompson, AHS National Trails Day Coordinator