Our Stories
2025 NCTA Volunteer Awards: Boots on the Trail
This award is presented to volunteers who regularly lead hikes that are well-advertised and promoted to the public as a way of building NCTA membership and support for the trail. Recipients typically lead more than one hike per year, and make them interesting by sharing their knowledge with groups or being helpful to new hikers, or organize and lead a whole series of hikes like cross-county or even cross-state events.
Autumn Dinnel
Autumn has been leading hikes with the NCTA Dakota Prairie Chapter for over five years. And if she isn’t leading a hike, she is attending one. As the Chapter Secretary, she takes fantastic notes at monthly meetings. She was a critical contributor to the Chapter’s annual Hike Every Mile event, and she can always be called upon to represent the trail and Chapter, ensuring all visitors receive thorough knowledge of the North Country Trail.
Amy Seymour
Amy has been on the NCTA Chief Noonday Chapter’s Hike Committee for three years, and has come up with so many unique themes for hikes, including a spring ephemeral hike and a storybook hike for families. She goes a step further and provides detailed, topical information for these hikes to create the best possible experiences. She once took the time to inquire about display cases at a highway rest area, which resulted in three months of advertising for the Chapter’s upcoming hikes. (It’s one of the largest rest areas in Michigan!) Amy also leads and sweeps hikes, always ensuring each participant feels welcome, comfortable, and appreciated.
Robert and Robin Sharkey
Bob and Robin are always happy to step up as hike sweeps during the Chief Noonday Chapter’s monthly social hikes across three counties in Southwest Michigan. They eagerly participate in several community events, including parades and roadside cleanups. They do an excellent job answering questions about the trail, Chapter, NCTA, and Hike 100 Challenge.
Learn more about how the you can honor NCTA volunteers for their service on and for the North Country National Scenic Trail, and consider a nomination at northcountrytrail.org/volunteer-awards.
