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Did you know that National Trails Day evolved from the report of President Ronald Reagan’s President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors. In 1987, it recommended that all Americans be able to go out their front doors and within fifteen minutes be on a trail. Coinciding with our current administrations attention to healthy lifestyles this year’s National Trails Day theme is “Healthy Trails, Healthy People.” Get outside on June 7th and celebrate our trails and their positive impact on our mental and physical health. To find or register for an event go to http://www.americanhiking.org/events/ntd/index.html

You and Your Organization are Invited to the Blue Ridge Parkway (Folk Art Center Facility, Asheville, Milepost 382) For a National Parks America Tour Event Saturday, May 3, 2003, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. VOLUNTEER and Earn Service Credits!! Participate in Building a Handicap Accessible Trail and Beautification Projects! 1st 300 Volunteers Receive T-Shirts, Breakfast & Lunch Have Fun and Make a Difference For Information and Registration Call: 828-271-4779 x212 Click On It - www.nationalparksamerica.com

The bylaws officially say "Officers and six additional Council members shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Club each year and shall hold office for one year beginning on January First following their election." Unofficially, the President has been a two year stint. Secretaries and Treasurers sometimes have been in for a lifetime. Councilors usually are for two years sometimes more. The bylaws also say the the President shall appoint a Nominating Committee whose responsibility it will be to recommend to the general membership a slate of officers and council members to stand for election. Pete

Beth Bockoven, mountains district coordinator with the North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, will speak on "The Role of Conservancies in Protecting Our Natural Heritage" at 4 p.m., May 7, Room 228 of Robinson Hall on the UNCA campus. The presentation is free and open to the public. Established in 1977, The North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy has worked to protect 560,000 acres of mountains, forests, marshes, swamps and islands in North Carolina. Their work in the Southern Appalachians includes working to protect the Needmore Tract along the Little Tennessee River; preserving land in Hickory Nut Gorge and the New River Headwaters area; and helping create Stone Mountain State Park and the Gorges State Park. The Nature Conservancy began in 1951, and has protected more than 14 million acres across the United States and more than 83 million acres around the world. It made a name for itself in the conservation world by following non-confrontational methods and using market-based techniques to work with willing land owners. The Nature Conservancy is one of a handful of land conservancies working in the Southern Appalachians. Conservancies often work to protect natural areas through acquiring conservation easements, purchasing lands, or working with state and federal agencies to acquire lands from willing sellers. Bockoven's presentation is the seventh and final in a year-long lecture series presented by the UNCA Environmental Studies Department and the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service. The lecture series examines a number of regional environmental issues, ranging from air quality to national forest management.

Well, Richard, Anita, and Elizabeth Feil have had a talk as we "passed the schedule book". It's Elizabeth's turn to do the next schedule, and we usually discuss any issues that come up. This time we have all reached the conclusion that it is time for someone else to do the half day hike schedules. We realize how hard it will be to get a replacement (maybe not), so we are giving the club enough time to figure something out. Elizabeth will do the next schedule, and Richard and Anita will do the next. We would like to be training someone so that we will be finished by Jan 1, 2004. We have no recommendations as the half day hike people are quite noncommittal to any long term project. It's tough enough to get hike leaders. We will look at the the sign up sheets and see if anyone stands out. Anyway, it's time to pass the torch. Sincerely yours Richard Walkey

As part of National Trails Day 2003, AHS will continue its tradition of honoring outstanding citizens who dedicate their time and energy to safeguarding America ’s trails with our ninth annual Volunteer of the Year Awards. The search covers all 50 states and a "Volunteer of the Year" will be chosen from each state.

The Volunteer of the Year Awards acknowledge the nation’s top volunteers based on their contributions to trail maintenance and improvements. Trail advocates throughout the country nominate their colleagues, and one Volunteer of the Year is chosen for each state.

Presented by Hi-Tec Outdoor Footwear, each winner will receive a special framed certificate, a Volunteer of the Year T-shirt, a copy of “Get Outside!” a directory of volunteer opportunities across America , and a pair of Hi-Tec boots. Each nominator will receive a pair of Thorlos socks. Don’t miss the May 1st deadline! Submit your nomination today. Print and fill out the attached nomination form or submit your nomination online at http://www.americanhiking.org/events/ntd/awards.html. Entries must be received by May 1, 2003 and winners will be awarded on National Trails Day, June 7, 2003 .

There is still room for a few more at the attend the showing, Please contact me today for your reservation!

Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa Wednesday, May 14, 2003, 6-9pm Documentary presentation by Paul Bonesteel from Bonesteel Films of "The Mystery of George Masa", Bonesteelfilms.com/masa.html George was a founding member of the Carolina Mountain Club, a Japanese immigrant, Photographer and many other interesting mysteries. Refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres available, small donations accepted. First 40 members and guest to RSVP will be accepted, please contact Don Walton at 298-5084 or walt7258@bellsouth. net by May 7.

There is a long standing debate whether the Mountains to Sea Trail is called the "MTS" or "M-T-S or the "MST". Early in the development of the trail most of the construction and existing trail was located, and still is, in Western NC. For reasons that began before my time we started calling it the MTS or M-T-S trail and it is today in our area most commonly referred to as the MTS trail. Even the sign on the Blue Ridge Parkway(BRP) leading to the BRP Administrative Building has MTS on its sign. The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail organization and the North Carolina State Park System both will assure you that the official abbreviated name of the trail is "MST". If you look at the grammatical choice for the name it should correctly be referred to as the "MST" because you would not capitalize the "T" in "to" and "MTS" doesn't have a capital "T" for "Trail" in the right place. So, in conclusion we should refer to the Mountains to the Sea Trail in all of our correspondence as the "MST" to be grammatically, politically and socially correct. I don't know what this says about the Blue Ridge Parkway!

I invite CMC members to e-mail me with items or news that they think would be nice to share with our members. this could be as important as someone's birthday, as simple as the number of people and the amount of work done today doing trail maintenance or something else. This communication has cost the club an additional $30 a month to handle the mass email addresses. It is an experiment authorized for a short time to see if such a service is desired. Please communicate your comments to our great council members about your interest in this tool.

Southern AT Clubs: The Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club is proud to host the annual Multi-Club Meet 2003. This Multi-Club Meet will be located in the mountains of virginia at Camp Alta Mons (www.altamons.com) in shawsville, VA. Attached are five MS Word files. 1. Opening letter to All the Southern Clubs 2. Regisration Form 3. All day hikes discriptions 4. Short hike discriptions 5. Activies discriptions Please publish this information in your newsletters and add link to our Web site (www.ratc.org) to download the attached files. If you need additional information about the Multi-Club Meet 2003, please contact: Lucien L. Metayer, Jr Email: metayer@infionline.net Hphone: (540) 344-1877 after 6 PM Bphone: (540) 890-7520 Multi-Club 2003