Will You Be Our Next Nebraska?
Full stop.
When Michele Archie and I hosted the first Trail Towns 101 course in February, we were scratching our heads at the MANY Nebraska registrants. What started with one person (hello, Marie!) reaching out to learn more about Trail Towns ended with 11 Nebraskans going all in on the course.
Regional cohorts representing the MoPac and Cowboy trails as well as a few statewide advocacy organizations took the team approach to learning more about how the Trail Town model can help connect and strengthen their communities. They made up about half of our 24-person class, which had us calling the group “the Nebraska Class of 2025.” We also had groups from Alabama, Minnesota, and Ontario, so teams anywhere can do this (just saying!).
More about the course…and the group rate
I’ve specialized in Trail Towns for a long time, and hosting a course was a long-held goal of mine. I’m thrilled to have co-led the course with Michele and to have another run at it in August. Honestly, we’re thinking this will only be an occasional offering after this one (maybe once a year?). So if you’ve been thinking about the course, please, be our next Nebraska. Gather a group, take advantage of the group rate, and don’t wait for the next opportunity to come around (because it might to be a while). The group rate is $425/person (USD), whereas the individual rate is $525. For both, add the discount code CycleForward when registering for 10% off.
We’re offering Trail Towns 101 on Tuesdays (Aug. 5, 12, and 19) from 1- 3 p.m. ET. There’s an optional fourth session on Aug. 26 for those who want to accelerate their learnings with a deep dive into Trail Town assessments.
A few last things I want to make sure to share:
If you can’t make all the sessions, no problem. They’re recorded. You can always catch the recording. I mean, I think what we’re offering is great, but don’t let it disrupt your end of summer beach vacation!
We recognize that these are challenging times for many people and organizations. If you're trying to do a lot of good with very little budget and the course fees seem out of reach, please reach out. For everyone else here, remember to use the discount code CycleForward for 10% off.
In case it’s not abundantly clear, if you’re not with a group, that’s perfectly okay! We have individuals signed up already and hope you will join us as well. Whether your area’s on the track to create its own Trail Town initiative or you simply are looking for ways to be more trail-oriented, you’ll find this course to be encouraging and helpful.
I’ll close with my favorite testimonial from one of our February participants: “This was super valuable but also a bit like drinking out of a firehouse! (I would do it again though).” It’s the qualifier that gives me a chuckle every time I see this! We’re going to make it feel less firehosey this time while still providing a bunch of resources, connections, and space for dialogue.
