A decal of the new logo was handed out to guests at the annual Syracuse-Wawasee Trails fundraiser.

Text and Photos
By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — A new trail logo for the Syracuse-Wawasee Trails was introduced Thursday, Aug. 31, during the third annual Life Is Better On The Trails event. The event was held at The Owl’s Nest, North Webster.

Amanda Plank, executive director, stated the committee has been “working on who we are moving forward. What is our brand? What does it look like?” She unveiled the new logo for the first time that evening.

“We wanted to capture who we are across Syracuse and Wawasee from the sun to the lake to the beautiful surroundings that we have…”

What is neat about the new logo, according to Plank, is that there are several variations. She displayed a few, which included a walker, a runner and a biker. “No matter what, we make sure you can use our trails.”

Plank stated, “it takes a village to maintain and to expand upon trails like ours.” While it has only been six to seven weeks since she started as executive director, she stated, “our future is really bright. I’m proud to be a member of this organization.”

Amanda Plank, executive director for the Syracuse-Wawasee Trails addressed the guests regarding funding and expansion of the exiting trails.

Plank referred to the 110 page feasibility study done in 2021. “It’s a real challenge raising funds for an organization like this, but we’ve found some really cool opportunities out there.” She noted the extension around the lakes and to get to Wawasee South. “This is what we are really excited to do.” Wawasee South, as explained by Plank, is a trail to Wawasee Middle School, which she is “excited about. It really creates some cool pathways for our kiddos and parents.”

She pointed out the Conklin Bay trail ends at Grandview Drive and Wawasee South would extend from that point. The extension, according to Plank, will “takes us all the way to the middle school, which is really exciting.”

Plank expressed the importance of the trails by relating a personal matter. Her father, who had heart attack last year, was told after surgery to “get up on your feet and start moving ASAP.” He utilized the Conklin Bay trails. “My dad is healthy today, partly due to these trails…” When she visited the area a couple of months ago she saw the completed trail system. “My dad told me that those were the trails he was using. So thank you on behalf of people like my dad, as well as if you’re just walking your dog, looking for a great place to ride your bike, go on a run, these trails are really the things to do it on.”

Future funding was addressed. Plank stated there were several major seven figure grant opportunities available. “We’re talking millions out there,” Plank said, naming a few, such as the NextLevel Trails, Greenway Foundation, American Trails and the K21 Foundation. “These are incredible opportunities for us to get those really large, life-changing grants.”

Finished and proposed trails for the trail committee.

However, she noted there was a bit of a hoop the committee needs to jump through. The grants carry a 20% matching fund. “Which means for every $1 million grant we apply for, we need to raise $200,000. … So basically, tonight, if you make a donation we are going to put that into a reserve to be able to even by eligible to apply for a grant like this. Until now, we have not had those in reserves. So every single dollar will be quadrupled by one of these different grant opportunities if we get awarded, which is incredible. It’s not very often that you see a really large grant like this, like any one of these.”

She stated that funds from the live auction, silent auction and paddle raise will “definitely help us get to where we’re going, our ticket to expansion.”

There were 14 items up for bid in the silent auction, ranging from a family all-sports pass for Wawasee High School home games to baskets of goodies with gift certificates, wine, tumblers, gift items, a round of golf at Maxwelton, floral delivery for a year, and more.

The live auction included several framed photographs, flowers, an electric bicycle, water tube, and table and chairs. The live auction brought in approximately $5,000. During the paddle raise, donations totalled approximately $3,500. Information on funds raised through the silent auction was not available.

The evening was opened by Kay Young, president, welcoming guests, recognizing sponsors and introducing Plank.