{"id":15677,"date":"2026-04-20T18:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T22:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/?p=15677"},"modified":"2026-04-20T21:54:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T01:54:47","slug":"2026-volunteer-of-the-year-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/?p=15677","title":{"rendered":"2026 Volunteer of the Year Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>2025 was a unique year for volunteer activity due to the ice storm. The Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. executive, therefore decided to recognize three people for their contribution to the re-opening of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-large-plaque.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"770\" height=\"955\" src=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-large-plaque.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15682\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.8062919568777783;width:353px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-large-plaque.jpg 770w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-large-plaque-242x300.jpg 242w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-large-plaque-768x953.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-large-plaque-640x794.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 770px) 100vw, 770px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>While there are many people to thank for our remarkable recovery from the devastation of the storm in March of 2025, we want to extend a special thank you and present our Volunteer of the Year Award to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>George Boyd from the Kawartha Club<\/strong> &#8211; George spent considerable time providing information to make our maps of the Kawartha section more accurate while also taking a leadership role with the club\u2019s hiking calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"941\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026-941x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15685\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.9189555086049517;width:365px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026-941x1024.jpg 941w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026-276x300.jpg 276w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026-768x836.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026-1040x1132.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026-640x697.jpg 640w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/George-Boyd-2026.jpg 1074w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 941px) 100vw, 941px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Dale Hannah of the Barrie Club<\/strong> &#8211; Dale also led the activity to build three new water crossings on the Barrie section between Old Second South and Gill Road.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"715\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-715x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15684\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6982434812424994;width:431px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-715x1024.jpg 715w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-768x1099.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-1073x1536.jpg 1073w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-1431x2048.jpg 1431w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-1040x1488.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award-640x916.jpg 640w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dale-Hannah-2026-Award.jpg 1577w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Bob Wilson of the Orillia Club<\/strong> &#8211; Bob made each trail maintenance outing enjoyable, safe and productive and there were many! He even brought snacks and refreshments along each time.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bob-Wilson-2026-Award.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"481\" height=\"760\" src=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bob-Wilson-2026-Award.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bob-Wilson-2026-Award.jpg 481w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bob-Wilson-2026-Award-190x300.jpg 190w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The above three sections of the Ganaraska Hiking Trail were especially hit hard by the ice storm. Dale, George and Bob\u2019s leadership, their energy and the many long hours they spent on the trail were critical in getting our trails back in great shape.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"418\" src=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque-1024x418.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15681\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2.449827746486575;width:552px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque-1024x418.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque-300x123.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque-768x314.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque-1536x627.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque-1040x425.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque-640x261.jpg 640w, https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-individual-plaque.jpg 1846w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The contribution of these three individuals shows how a volunteer-based organization such as the Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. can remain sustainable and keep on thriving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank You!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc.<br>April 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2025 was a unique year for volunteer activity due to the ice storm. The Ganaraska Hiking Trail Association Inc. executive,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,3,55,9,15,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-association-news","category-barrie-club","category-club-news","category-kawartha-club","category-ghta","category-orillia-club","post-archive"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15677"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15701,"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15677\/revisions\/15701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ganaraska-hiking-trail.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}