Trails Forever, the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Friends of the Smokies’ 18-year history, is creating a legacy not only for the Friends organization, but also for three very special people who loved the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Click here to see our Honor Roll of Trails Forever Supporters (PDF)
Payable to Friends of the Smokies PO Box 1660 Kodak, TN 37764. In the memo field, please indicate it’s for the Lindsay Young Fund for Trails Forever.
For more information, please contact Sarah Weeks, Development Director for Friends of the Smokies at sarah@friendsofthesmokies.org.
A husband, a brother, a father, a grandfather, a co-worker, and a friend; a man who forged many paths in this world, as an outstanding teacher, as a national pentathlon champion, as a courageous survivor of a rare form of cancer, and as a tireless advocate for health and wellness; and as a hiker who literally sought out the entire path of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, as well as the many beautiful trails of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Wellness advocate Tom Cronan’s favorite stress reliever was hiking Alum Cave Trail to Mt. LeConte. He thrilled at the opportunity to introduce people to his favorite destination. For all of these reasons, Tom’s family and friends are working closely with Friends of the Smokies to establish the Tom Cronan Pathfinder Fund to support improvements to the Smokies’ 800+ miles of hiking trails. The fund will form a key piece of the ongoing Trails Forever initiative of Friends of the Smokies, which seeks to take care of all trails in the Smokies for all time. In 2010 Natalie Haslam, one of Friends of the Smokies’ original board members, recruited Knoxvillians Ann Furrow and Sherri Lee to serve as co-chairs for the Tom Cronan Pathfinder fund. Their combined hard work and dedication has resulted in over $459,000 in gifts and pledges- so far. If you would like to remember Tom Cronan with a gift to Trails Forever, you can help us reach our goal of $500,000 for the Tom Cronan Pathfinder Fund. Every dollar you give to the Tom Cronan Pathfinder Fund will attract matching funds from the Aslan Foundation of Knoxville, which is providing up to $2.3 million in dollar-for-dollar matching funds to the Trails Forever campaign in memory of their founder, Lindsay Young.
Payable to Friends of the Smokies PO Box 1660 Kodak, TN 37764. In the memo field, please indicate it’s for the Tom Cronan Pathfinder Fund for Trails Forever.
Margaret Stevenson was a source of inspiration for famous authors like Carson Brewer who wrote about her in “A Wonderment of Mountains: The Great Smokies” as well as numerous journalists who interviewed her during her lifetime. She was a source of motivation for a group of local Smokies enthusiasts who call themselves the “Wednesday Hikers” and who enjoyed her experience and wisdom for many years on the trail. She was a wife and the mother of three children. Margaret chronicled her trips to LeConte, and her journal can be found online at (http://www.mtleconte.com/msleconte.htm). In fact, Margaret’s last hike to Mt. LeConte was with Tom Cronan! For many years Margaret Stevenson’s Wednesday Hikers made holiday gifts in her honor to Friends of the Smokies, establishing a fund totaling $42,000. When the Wednesday Hikers heard of the matching component of the Trails Forever endowment, they voted unanimously to make the Margaret Stevenson Fund part of Trails Forever, thereby doubling the balance. You can remember Margaret Stevenson with a gift to Trails Forever, and your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Aslan Foundation of Knoxville. Click here to donate online via our secure website, or you may mail a check as follows:
Payable to Friends of the Smokies PO Box 1660 Kodak, TN 37764. In the memo field, please indicate it’s for the Margaret Stevenson Fund for Trails Forever.