Craig Dunn Receives ATC's Highest Award
Most CVATC members know Craig Dunn. Craig has been our Trailmaster for many years and is a fixture leading most of our workdays. But, not everyone is aware of Craig's long and illustrious history with the A.T. Craig has been a faithful friend, advocate and builder of the Appalachian Trail for approximately 35 years. He began his A.T. work with the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club, serving in many leadership roles, including President in the late 1980s. After that, he distinguished himself as a leader in the movement to relocate the 17 miles of the A.T. in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania from a road walk to a true trail. Craig and others held public meetings, negotiated with landowners, and relentlessly but diplomatically pushed forward against opposition groups. A small but vocal minority of the opponents resorted to unsavory tactics, including causing damage to the property of Craig's parents. Through it all, Craig stood out as a voice of calm reason who refused to stoop to the tactics of the opposition.
Eventually, a route through woodlots and farm fields was laid out, and the necessary corridor for the Trail was obtained without needing to resort to eminent domain. As the reroute was completed, a new trail organization was formed to maintain this section, first named the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Management Association, later renamed the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club. Craig was a founding member of CVATC, and remains a leader to this day. In addition to his work with SATC and CVATC, Craig has served on the board of directors of Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) and in several capacities with Keystone Trails Association.
For all of these accomplishments, ATC awarded Craig its highest honor, Honorary Life Membership, in 2003. This is a very prestigious award, given out at ATC's Biennial Conference to a very select group of trail leaders. In all of his work for the Trail, Craig has combined the virtues of calm determination and extreme modesty. We are extremely lucky to have had Craig's leadership since CVATC was founded. But, that makes it seem like his time has passed. We are even luckier that Craig continues to be one of CVATC's most important leaders!!