​We hope you are enjoying the start of spring and, with it, warmer weather. It is a perfect time of the year to enjoy the trail and all that our community has to offer. The HFTTA has had a busy start to 2019 and we have high hopes that much will be achieved in the coming year.

The highlight of the last quarter was the presentation that the HFTTA gave to the Commissioners of Thurmont and the public outlining the plans for the extensions of the existing trail. The HFTTA presented its plans for a desired trail alignment at the March 5, 2019 Thurmont town meeting.  The Commissioners were overwhelmingly positive in their support for the extensions to the trail. The HFTTA is optimistic for the completion of the trail given the support from the town of Thurmont and the community. Kudos to the team from the HFTTA who undertook the task of bringing this together and presenting it to the town. There was much effort involved with this presentation and we at the HFTTA couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. You can watch the video of the meeting here: https://www.hftrolley.org/news-and-projects.html

​There were some action items from the meeting with the town which have to do with confirming the trail alignment and addressing property issues arising from the trail’s desired placement. Managing the many moving parts of the plan as we proceed will be a challenge, but the dream of a trail connecting our community is a worthwhile challenge which cannot be realized without the support of our neighbors. Your continued support is appreciated! 

​As the HFTTA looks ahead to the rest of 2019, we will concentrate our efforts at raising awareness of the plans for the trail. Also, as the plans for the trail become clearer and tangible goals are established we will begin fundraising to help to meet those goals. 

​Please remember to visit us on the web at https://www.hftrolley.org/ . Your financial support is needed and welcome as we evaluate our needs and formulate our plans. It is easy to be a supporter of the HFTTA. Help us build the trail here: https://www.hftrolley.org/store.html.  

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have any suggestions as to the content of this newsletter, please let us know. If there is anything we can do to better inform you with regards to the progress of the HFTTA, please provide your feedback to [email protected]. You can also use the Contact Us link at the website.  The team at the H&F Trolley Trail Association look forward to hearing from you. 

​Happy New Year from the H&F Trolley Trail Association (HFTTA)! We hope that you enjoyed the holidays and that you are anticipating a rewarding new year for 2019. The HFTTA hopes to achieve several goals this year and we look forward to working with the community to bring our plans to fruition.  

First, to close out 2018 news, the HFTTA attended the Thurmont Colorfest. It was a rewarding time for the HFTTA to greet members of the local community and meet all of the Colorfest attendees. Our presence enabled us to get the word out regarding the plan to extend the trolley trail through Thurmont. We received much positive feedback and thoroughly enjoyed speaking with everyone who stopped by to see us. We consider it a rousing success! 

​The Board of Directors will be discussing several plans to kick off extensions to the trail in 2019. These initial steps will be discussed in a future Signal Bell so please stay tuned for the latest news. Also, please remember that the dream of a trail connecting our community cannot be realized without the support of our neighbors. Your continued support is appreciated! 

Connecting with HFTTA is easy as we can be found on the world wide web at https://www.hftrolley.org/ and remember that it is easy to donate to the HFTTA at https://www.hftrolley.org/ways-to-give.html. Financial support is welcome as we evaluate our needs and formulate our plans. 

​As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have any suggestions as to the content of this newsletter, please let us know. If there is anything we can do to better inform you with regards to the progress of the HFTTA, please provide your feedback to [email protected]. You can also use the Contact Us link at the website.  The team at the H&F Trolley Trail Association look forward to hearing from you. 

​As the HFTTA looks to the future and plans larger and more complex projects there will be an even more urgent need for member volunteers. We encourage any who are interested to get involved. Please see our website in the Contact Us link to express your interest. Working together, we can accomplish our mission of building this trail.  Please let us know how you would like to help! More to come. 

Greetings from the H&F Trolley Trail Association! 

The H&F Trolley Trail Association (HFTTA) hopes that you are enjoying your summer. As we head into the fall season the HFTTA continues to meet and plan the way forward for the development of the trail and has reached some important milestones this past quarter.

The HFTTA has received certification of its 501(c)(3) status and is now able to request donations. This is an important accomplishment and enables the HFTTA to reach out to the community for financial support. Financial support is needed and appreciated as we continue to build the organization and plan the trail. Donations are generally tax-deductible but please consult with your tax accountant for further information. 

The HFTTA is pleased to be able to share the URL for its new website. You can still connect with us on Facebook here, but you can also find the HFTTA at https://www.hftrolley.org/. We are excited to have a place on the web for the community to gather and find out more about the organization. 

One of the benefits of this website is our ability to easily accept donations. Your financial contributions are appreciated and you can donate by credit card here: https://www.hftrolley.org/ways-to-give.html. We will keep you updated as we refine and improve the website, and add functionality to enhance your visit. 

We also hope to be present at Colorfest this year. We plan to set up a booth near the trolley on Main Street in Thurmont. Please stop by and show your support!

As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have any suggestions as to the content of this newsletter, please let us know. If there is anything we can do to better inform you with regards to the progress of the HFTTA, please provide your feedback to [email protected]. You can also use the Contact Us link at the website.  The team at the H&F Trolley Trail Association look forward to hearing from you. 

​While the economics of building this trail are important, there are many ways to give and some of the most important are your time and talents. We encourage any who are interested to get involved. Working together, we can accomplish our mission of building this trail.  Please let us know how you would like to help! More to come. 

While the economics of building this trail are important, there are many ways to give and some of the most important are your time and talents. We encourage any who are interested to get involved. Working together, we can accomplish our mission of building this trail.  Please let us know how you would like to help! More to come. 

​Happy Trails!
Brian Boyer, 
Vice President

The Signal Bell Issue #2 - Spring 2018

The Newsletter of the H&F Trolley Trail Association
 
Greetings from the H&F Trolley Trail Association!
The H&F Trolley Trail Association (HFTTA) hopes that you are enjoying your summer. We have had a busy spring and have passed the 2nd quarter of 2018 with some significant milestones reached.

With regards to the business side, The HFTTA will be filing the required documents to be recognized as a non-profit in the State of Maryland.  This step is a necessary one to ensure that the HFTTA is recognized as a tax-exempt entity at the State level as well as the Federal level, for which 501(c)(3) status is already approved. This is another important step in laying a good foundation for a sound charitable organization. Details on how to donate will be forthcoming as these Maryland filings are approved.

The HFTTA is growing! The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Jared Grimm has accepted the position of Social Media Coordinator for the HFTTA. We will rely on Jared to provide the HFTTA with a prominent media presence so that events and other activities in the organization will not be missed by the public. Jared is off to a running start and has already been busy researching various avenues for establishing a website so that the HFTTA will have a centralized location on the internet. More details to come and hopefully we will soon be able to provide you with our own URL for you to access and enjoy. Thank you Jared!

The HFTTA is now also recognized by the Rails to Trails Conservancy. The HFTTA is excited to be recognized as part of a nationwide network of former rail lines.  See us on their website at this link: https://www.traillink.com/trail/h--f-trolley-trail/.

As always we welcome your feedback. If you have any suggestions as to the content of this newsletter, or if there is anything we can do to better connect you to our goals and dreams, please provide those to [email protected].  We at the H&F Trolley Trail Association look forward to hearing from you.
The Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/hftrolleytrail/posts/?ref=page_internal will be the best place to find updates for our events. As always we encourage any who are interested to get involved. With community support, we will accomplish great things with the trail. Please let us know how you would like to help! More to come.

Happy Trails!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the H&F Trolley Trail Association's newsletter, The Signal Bell! It will be one of the ways we keep you informed on our progress and outlook on the trial ahead (no pun intended!).

Of course, we welcome your feedback along the way. If you have any suggestions on content or how to better connect you to our mission, please provide those to [email protected].  We hope to hear from you!

We also encourage you to visit our Facebook page for information regarding the association and a brief history of the H&F Trolley. We will post meeting times and locations, dedicated events, and other relevant information on Facebook to keep you in the know. 

By way of a little background, the H&F Trolley Trail Association was formed in 2017 with the primary goal of extending the existing Thurmont Trolley Trail to the former Hagerstown & Frederick Trolley Trail through Thurmont and, eventually, into Frederick County. We believe the benefits of the trail cannot be overstated. Such a trail will provide muh needed connectivity withing the town of Thurmont, its town parks, and its businesses and will afford residents and visitors a great way to get outside and enjoy the town. 

We're very excited as we begin to formulate plans for 2018 and beyond We are a new organization, so at this primary stage in our development, we are putting into place all of the corporate structures necessary to provide a good foundation from which to operate and grow. TO that end, we haave established a bank account with PNC and have filed for 501(c)(3) non-profit status to facilitate the business side of making the trail a reality. These are necessary first steps to bringing to fruition the dream of the H&F Trolley Trail.

In January 2018, we held our first public meeting. With those in attendance, we discussed the immediate goal of implementing the trail north of town from Memorial Park to ultimately connect to Eyler Road and Eyler Park. There was much good discussion on ways to spread the word about the trail, networking with other trail groups, and challenges we may face in the future.

 In fact, this meeting resulted in the aforementioned application for non-profit status. We sent this action as a first-quarter 2018 goal and are on our way to achieving it!

As we continue down range planning, we hope to schedule more meetings open to members as well as the public. The Facebook page will be the best place to find updates for our events. Most of all, we need your help! We encourage any who are interested to get involved. 

Please let us know how you would like to help! More details to come. 

Happy Trails!

-Bryant Despeaux