PHTA: Board Members

POTOMAC HERITAGE TRAIL ASSOCIATION Building a trail to connect people to our Potomac Heritage


	Board Members
			Bill Niedringhaus President Bill originated the idea of the Fairfax Cross County Trail, a 36-mile north-south wooded route across the county. He outlined the basic route and led the first four Cross County Hikes. His trail volunteer work dates from 1991 with the Pimmit Run Trail in McLean. To help complete these trails, Bill founded Fairfax Trails and Streams which has met monthly in McLean for the last six years. Bill publishes the group’s twice-monthly e-newsletter. The group received an Elly Doyle award in 2001. Bill serves on the (Fairfax) Cross-County Trail Board and is president of the Potomac River Greenways Coalition.
			Ric Francke Executive Director Ric came to PHTA following a thirty-year career in international banking and finance, most recently as Chief Investment Officer of an international development fund. Having hiked and trekked around the world, he has more recently devoted much of his spare time to trail maintenance and trail-related event management. Ric’s first involvement in trail work was as a PATC overseer for a section of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park; after six years he switched his assignment to a 2.8 mile segment of the Potomac Heritage Trail; and has recently been appointed PATC’s District Manager for Northern Virginia. Ric has also been involved through Fairfax Trails & Streams in the development and construction of the Fairfax Cross County Trail and the Pimmit Run Trail. Beginning in 1999 Ric took on a four-year role as Director of the Dogwood Half Hundred, PATC’s annual 50 kilometer one-day endurance hike. Following a stint as Treasurer of the Potomac Trail Council, Ric became its Director of Programs; with the founding of the Potomac Heritage Trail Association, he was appointed its first Executive Director.
			Jim Hudnall Vice-President Jim is past president of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club, which promotes bicycling in Southern Maryland for recreation, transportation, health, and physical fitness. An avid touring cyclist, Jim worked with Adventure Cycling Association to produce a bicycling touring map of the Tidewater Potomac Heritage Bicycle Route. Jim is active in the Southern Prince George's County Trails Coalition and the county's Bicycle and Trail Advisory Group (BTAG). Both of these groups are working to develop a network of trails with trail segments that can be designated part of the PHNST. He is also secretary of the board of One Less Car - Maryland Campaign for Bicycling and Walking. A retired radar engineer, Jim maintains Web sites for several organizations.
			Bruce Glendening Treasurer Bruce has just been elected as Vice President of Operations of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, a senior position in the foremost trail club in the mid-Atlantic region. Previously he served for several years as District Manager for Northern Virginia, where he oversaw the volunteer maintenance of the 10 mile Potomac Heritage Trail running along the Potomac River shoreline from Theodore Roosevelt Island to the American Legion Bridge. Bruce has promoted the PHT as the “best urban hiking trail in the metropolitan DC area.” An attorney with the Airworthiness Law Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration, Bruce resides in McLean, VA.
			Glenn Gillis A native Virginian who grew up along the banks of the Potomac River, Glenn has been a wilderness outings guide for the past twenty years. He guides for the Sierra Club National and Metropolitan Washington Regional Outings Programs, Appalachian Mountain Club, and leads bicycle tours for the Potomac Pedalers Touring Club. A land preservation activist, Glenn works in support of the Piedmont Environmental Council and now the Potomac Heritage Trail Association.
			Mark Holt Mark was inspired to establish the Southern Prince George's Trails Coalition in 1998 after being informed by County planners that there was insufficient public pressure for trails in his area — which has the lowest dedicated trail mileage in the region. With crucial help from Jim Hudnall and the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club, the Trails Coalition has ever since been lobbying local government officials for trails funding, including the Prince George's segment of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. A long-time hiker, backpacker, and short-distance cyclist, Mark is Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 1551 in Fort Washington and leads an annual Cub Scout ride on the scenic Henson Creek Trail. He is an energy policy analyst with the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress.
			Tom Johnson Tom, a former president of the Potomac Trail Council, has been active in trails and hiking in the Washington area for more than a decade. He joined the movement to promote the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in 1997, and has been a Board member ever since. Tom is now president of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, which was the first trail club to promote and sponsor the Potomac Heritage Trail. He is also recording secretary of the American Hiking Society, a national hiking advocacy organization that was instrumental in the creation of this trail.
			Karen Jones Karen has been a trail enthusiast for over 20 years. She is an avid hiker, equestrian, kayaker and runner. When not pursuing her many interests, she is also actively building and maintaining trails throughout the Washington DC area. In addition to being a board member on the PHTA, Karen is also a member of The Sierra Club, Potomac Conservancy, Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy and many other organizations dedicated to protecting the environment and animals. Karen lives in Loudoun County and works for the National Rehabilitation Hospital as Senior Hospital Physician Relations Liaison. Her work involves a good deal of time traveling throughout the Metropolitan DC and Maryland areas.
			Robin Rentsch Robin has an MA in Middle East Studies from the American University of Beirut and lived nine years in the area. She has completed a three year program for Master Naturalist from Fairfax Audubon and is active in conservation and native plants. For twenty-five years Robin has worked for trails in Northern Virginia: Fairfax County Non-motorized trails Committee, W&OD Board, Cross County Trail Board, Potomac Heritage Trail Board, Potomac River Greenways Coalition Board, Great Falls Trail Blazers Board and Equestrian Trails Alliance Board.