Tour Dallas Report On April 3rd, members of FoNHT held our first membership event as part of the finish line celebration at the annual “Tour Dallas” bike ride. “Tour Dallas” is an on-street, slow bike ride through downtown Dallas and out to White Rock Lake with over 3,000 riders. Through “Tour Dallas’” generous support, FoNHT set up an information table among the other exhibitors and vendors at City Hall Plaza and added over 35 new “friends” to the group; members of FoNHT also spread the word about the trail to dozens of other cyclists and DFW area citizens. Participating volunteers from the FoNHT included Rachel Hobbs, Ben Johnston, Warren Parham, Lee Kleinman, Waco Moore, Len Auman, Betty and Jay Lorch, Allen and Valerie Hastings, and Bert Fischel.
Many thanks to our new friends at Tour Dallas and thanks to all who came by to say hello and learn about the trail plans.
For more information on Tour Dallas, visit www.tourdallas.org.
FoNHT Board Meets to Finalize Organization
On April 6th, FoNHT’s Board of Directors met in the Community Room at the Preston/Forest Whole Foods to review and finalize FoNHT’s articles of organization and discuss next steps in becoming a 501(C)3 organization.
During the meeting, the members also formed and agreed upon several working committees including Fund Raising, Marketing/Events, and Landscaping and Design.
On April 13, the group filed its articles of organization with the Texas Secretary of State’s office and proceeded with the final steps in completing the 501c3 application.
Santa Fe Trail Walk
On April 10th, several members of FoNHT including Warren Parham and Larry Jones met with members of the Friends of the Santa Fe Trail group to tour the Santa Fe Trail and exchange ideas.
The group was unable to walk the trail, so they drove the trail route from end to end while discussing the city's progress toward completion of the trail. Members of FoNHT also learned the history of the FoSFT organization and heard about their ideas for further development of The Santa Fe Trail. Other members of FoNHT plan to walk the SFT on their own as well. Thanks to Santos Martinez from FoSFT for the tour.
Membership Report
The FoNHT Membership roster is now over 165 and growing weekly. Thanks to everyone who has joined the group and expressed interest in helping make the trail a reality. Please be sure to spread the word about the trail and the group to friends, neighbors and enthusiasts – the more the merrier!
First Donation!
The Friends of Northaven Trail recently received its first donation of $5,000 from Jim Hoyt, owner of Richardson Bike Mart. Many thanks to Jim for kicking off what we know will be a successful and fruitful endeavor!
City and County Partnership
On April 7, Larry Jones and Lee Kleinman attended a meeting between staff from Dallas Parks and Recreation Department and Dallas County. This meeting was to coordinate funding, design and construction partnership between the City of Dallas and Dallas County for the NHT. The County has committed to match City funds for the trail and will initiate the study of the connection between the NHT and the White Rock Creek Trail. Thanks to Council Member Linda Koop and County Commissioner Maurine Dickey for initiating this collaboration.