Our Stories

2025 NCTA Volunteer Awards: Rising Star

This award is presented to an NCTA member between the ages of 8 and 25 (or a youth group) who has made significant contributions to the North Country Trail and seems likely to continue, and whose dedication to the trail and the NCTA sets an example to other youths and shows exceptional promise.

Alex Harris

For more than three years, 15-year-old Alex has been dedicated to trail upkeep in Northwest Ohio. His father is the official caretaker as Delphos Section Supervisor for the Buckeye Trail Association (BTA), but Alex has taken it upon himself to keep the grass mowed, area clean, and wood supplied. He rebuilt an antique push mower and uses it on a quarter-acre every three weeks in the mowing season. He supplies his own fuel for it, too. Alex assists his father with other maintenance tasks and is an enthusiastic advocate for the trail. Through Scouts, he has completed two service projects: rebuilding a canal crossing and rebuilding a switchback section. In August 2023, he spent a week with his father and a BTA work party, re-benching a large section of trail and removing invasive species.

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.