In 2001, I embarked on a volunteer project with about a dozen other citizens in our community of southwest Allen County, Fort Wayne Indiana that would not only greatly improve the fabric of our community forever, but even my entire life. Many that have seen these beautiful and significant trail links just being completed this fall along Liberty Mills and Covington, may not even know how it all began. Here is a summary of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of Aboite New Trails, formed in May of 2003.
- I had trails envy of the Monon Trail in Indy, pre-2001.
- I wished my kids could safely ride their bikes to friends’ homes.
- I made some inquiries to our local government but, building infrastructure seemed too daunting a project to take on with my marketing/sales business degree and background.
- The Three Rivers Junction Playground was just being completed and I told one of the co-founders, Gail Herendeen, that it was a shame that families could not walk or bike to the wonderful new park.
- She introduced me to Stephanie Schultz who also felt this way, so we met up at a Bob Evans.
- Then a longtime friend Ron Repka, was stuck by an impaired driver while riding his bike one week after 9/11/2001 and died.
- I decided to move into action as my “want” of trails turned into a “need” for trails.
- Stephanie and I met with our husbands in 2001 and drew out our vision of the trails we wanted in Aboite Township, pretty much what you see today.
- I recruited a board of “functional experts” and we struck out to fulfill this vision in May of 2003. I served as president of the board until we folded into Fort Wayne Trails in 2010.
- From 2003-2010 we raised $12mm with Bill Zielke as our VP/fundraising chair and Jane Schmitt as our treasurer, and built 20 miles of trails even connecting to the old River Greenway in downtown Fort Wayne. It was quite the endeavor first trying to convince people that we needed them for so many reasons to the point of obtaining monetary and land donations, then quite another to move utilities and build them. I have never encountered a greater challenge. But that was a huge part of the fun of it for me. And I learned so much along the way.
- By 2010 it was time to merge our 3 local trails non-profits in town. I had the honor of leading that merger to form Fort Wayne Trails.
To see these beautiful new trail links being completed 23 years later is hard for me to describe. This was our final vision; to connect most of our residents and even their dogs to the local schools, parks, businesses, restaurants, and more, on foot or bike, creating an urban-suburban lifestyle, merging the best of both worlds. Thank you to all of you who believed we could do it and gave your time, talent, and treasure to Aboite New Trails. And especially our city and county governments who both hugely got on board. We also had great support from the state and federal sectors as well. Talk about a team effort! And what an example of success when both parties work together. This is what can happen.
I want to invite you to the groundbreaking event for the new Covington Trail Hub on Oct. 22. I am looking forward to joining the FW Trails board in 2025! Hope to see you there. Please RSVP.
