Last night we had an impromptu meeting with the North Florida Trailblazers to meet the Florida Trail Association’s recently hired Executive Director, Dennis Miranda. We had a good turnout with close to 20 people. Some folks traveled from as far as Palatka and Gainesville to make the meeting.

For close to two hours Dennis shared his visions for the FTA and how he plans on accomplishing some of the goals. We spent a good portion of the time giving him a pulse of the chapter to see where we are and where we need to be. Overall we’re not doing bad as a chapter but can certainly do better at reaching new members/volunteers.

FTA Executive Director Dennis Miranda takes notes while addressing the North Florida Trailblazers chapter in Jacksonville, Florida.

I think we’ll see some great things happening throughout the state and hopefully sooner rather than later. It was nice to have representation from one of our local land trust managers and to hear about some projects they’re working on. It was refreshing to see some new faces at the meeting and some relatively new members also interested enough to be there.

I’m looking forward to some more training opportunities and hope to be able to help provide some myself. Things are looking up, Florida! If you haven’t done so already, join us and help promote and support our Florida National Scenic Trail!