Access for people with disabilities
by Dan Kleen, President, National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC), Karen Umphress, Owner, UP! Outside
Access for people with disabilities has been a topic of increased interest over the past decade. With the new guidelines regarding other power driven mobility devices, the topic has come to the forefront in many areas. However, there are groups who have been working with the disabled for years, and there are programs that have been designed to introduce the disabled or re-introduce our wounded veterans to trail systems that they can utilize without any special requirements. This presentation will showcase some of these programs.
Dan Kleen is the President of the Board of Directors National for Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC). He has been on the NOHVCC Board for 24 years serving as President for the past 21 years. He helped establish the Iowa Off-Highway Vehicle Association (IOHVA) in 1987 and has represented the IOHVA as their Vice-President, President, Lobbyist, Executive Director and is currently the Public Relations Director. In 2005, Dan formed the Iowa Motorsports Coalition. He has served on Iowa’s Federal RTP advisory committee for over 25 years.
Dan is also a founding member of the Friends of Iowa’s Trails group who sponsor the annual Iowa Trails Summit. After a diving accident in the mid-80’s, Dan was left wheelchair bound. The accident didn’t stop Dan from enjoying outdoor recreation. He is still an avid hunter and has turned to OHVs and other forms of motorized mobility to get into the great outdoors. Dan has been instrumental in setting up disabled hunts and rides for our disabled veterans in his home state of Iowa as well as in other states.
Karen Umphress has been active on trails her entire life, starting with hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, and canoeing with her family. She then added Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) recreation. For close to a decade, she was the IT and Project Manager for the NOHVCC. She and her husband have been the Government Relations Officers for the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) District 23 (also known as the Amateur Riders Motorcycle Association) since 1999. Karen is a founding member of a local dirt bike club, the Twin Cities Trail Riders, and serves on 2 MN state motorized recreation coalitions, the Minnesota Motorized Trail Coalition and the Coalition for Recreational Trail Users. Karen is an Advisor for American Trails board after having been a member of the Board of Directors for over 10 years. She is also the Minnesota State Chapter Coordinator and a Congresswoman for the American Motorcyclist Association. Karen Umphress is a Certified Professional Project Manager (CPPM). She created UP! Outside (UP) in October of 2017.
Contact: [email protected]
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