Emerging Trail Leader Scholarship Recipient

Mata Townsend

Kansas City, Kansas, United States

As the Heritage Trail Community Outreach Coordinator at Groundwork Northeast Revitalization Group (GNRG), I am eager to strengthen my expertise about the creation of trails by attending the American Trails Summit with the help of a scholarship. Approximately 10 years ago, Groundwork Northeast Revitalization Group (GNRG) embarked on an ambitious plan to improve the livability of the northeast corridor of Kansas City, Kansas. GNRG, with help of local residents and its supporters, developed the Northeast Area Master Plan (NEAMP). The plan includes, among many other improvement initiatives, not only an inviting urban trail, but an opportunity to walk (or bike or run) through stories about the former underground railroad site, the birthplace of blues great Charlie Parker, and other people, places, and events in our community's rich history. Through years of challenges and setbacks, we completed the Heritage Trail Plan this summer. That phase now deserves to become a reality, and this conference is the right time and place to help make the completion of the implementation phase a success.