President's Message

The FTA’s Membership & Retail Coordinator, Diane Strong, posing with our trail mascot, Ziggy, in front of the new headquarters office.

I’m leading with the bad news first, but stay with me, because this letter has much more good news than bad! With the COVID-19 pandemic still holding the world in its grip, we are slowly getting back to our new normal. The Florida Trail Association (FTA) will not be hosting large group gatherings for the time being, so many events that have become a tradition within our community are not able to happen this coming hiking season. Our annual Trail Skills Training will not be held this year for the first time in 8 years, conferences have been canceled, and our multi-day volunteer work parties will be scaled back and following new operating procedures. Maintenance of the trail is going to take longer because of this, but the work will get done through the dedication of our amazing volunteers and staff. Now more than ever, people are relying on public recreation. By maintaining our network of hiking trails we enable Floridians to exercise, socialize and immerse themselves in nature in a way that is safe and accessible.

Despite these challenging times, I am pleased to announce two momentous achievements that were accomplished this fall.

Earlier this year, the organization was fortunate to receive a generous bequest from an individual who saw the great value of investing in the work that we do to enhance recreation and conservation across the state. The board decided that dedicating this funding toward leadership for the organization would help the FTA meet its full potential, and moved full steam ahead on an executive director search. I am thrilled to share with our community that Royce Gibson was recently selected as the FTA’s new executive director. Royce brings 25 years of experience in fundraising, advocacy and outreach, including 11 years as the senior director of membership and development for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy(ATC). While there, he built a team and a program which significantly improved and increased the organization’s fundraising program and revenue. Recently he has worked with the Friends of San Juan National Historic Site and at ATC in a consulting capacity. With Royce leading our organization, we are poised to expand our capacity to raise funds, collaborate with new partners, advocate for the trail, and so much more in support of our mission. Our second big announcement is that FTA headquarters has moved into a new and improved building. When the organization had to move out of the office on Hwy 441

in 2018, we were fortunate to find a newer building with great landlords right in the heart of Gainesville. While this location worked as a temporary solution, we quickly outgrew the space. The building lacked necessary amenities such as a conference room, extra work areas for remote staff and interns, a sufficient workshop space, storage for the FTA store and other important features that enable us to do our best work. Royce at the Last year, the board San Juan National voted to enter into a lease Historic Site with our existing landlords for a new building that was planned for construction across the parking lot from the current office space. This new building is now complete and has been custom designed for us. It includes 7 offices, a conference room, warehouse space and a small kitchen area. We look forward to opening the space to the public and showing it off to our community as soon as it is safe to do so. Moving forward, the beginning of the Footprint magazine will be featuring a letter from our executive director rather than a president’s letter. It has been a pleasure contributing to this column over the years and I am so excited to see what the next chapter holds. I am proud that our organization has stayed undeterred by the challenges that 2020 has brought. As always, we are thankful for the members, volunteers, donors, partners and everyone else who contributes to the FTA’s growth and success.

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