Friends Of Anne Arundel County Trails Celebrates 30 Years

For three decades, a group of dedicated volunteers has worked tirelessly to improve and enhance our county trails.

The Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails will mark their 30th anniversary Sunday, September 29, at 4:00pm, at the last installment of the fall concert series they host each year at Hatton Regester Green in Severna Park. In addition to the musical act, Chesapeake High School’s steel drum band, patrons can enjoy raffle opportunities and an easy meal from Kens Dogs.

“We are thrilled to be celebrating 30 years and look forward to another great 30 years,” said Darilyn Marinelli, president of the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails.

The fall and spring concert series are but two of the many projects undertaken by the Friends in their history of volunteer service.

“It goes back to one active individual, as these things often do,” said Jack Keene, current board member and former president of the group.

In 1994, retired electrical engineer and Severna Park resident Stan LeBar led the charge to create an organization that would support and supplement the work of the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks on the newly installed B&A Trail.

Initially called the Friends of B&A Trail, as the county trail system grew, the group morphed into the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails.

“What we try to do is promote events and enhancements of the trail and programs on the trail to make it a more valuable public resource,” Keene said.

This work ranges from beautification projects, such as maintaining flower beds along the trails and selling and installing memorial benches, to testifying at county council meetings in an effort to secure more funding for the trail system.

Among the many community events bolstered by volunteers from the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails is the Lifeline 100, an annual cycling event that attracts hundreds of participants and benefits multiple nonprofits. This year’s Lifeline 100 is scheduled for Sunday, October 6, and begins at Kinder Farm Park.

Also next month, on Saturday, October 26, the Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails will host Make a Difference Day at the B&A Trail ranger station. This free event will cater to visitors of all ages, teaching gardening tips that can be implemented at home with chalk art and music for the younger trail-goers.

Each spring, the group puts on its Planet Walk, where walkers and bikers explore the solar system via scaled sculptures along the B&A Trail, starting in Glen Burnie at the Sun Station and ending at Pluto in Severna Park. This event culminates in a presentation and stargazing at Anne Arundel Community College, and was begun by Stan LeBar, whose work in engineering included the construction of the lunar camera used to capture Neil Armstrong’s historic moon landing.

“We serve the entire age spectrum of the county,” Keene said, pointing out that trail patrons range from infants in strollers to seniors enjoying a ride aboard a trishaw through the Cycling Without Age program. “We feel collectively the trail system by far is the most used facility in Anne Arundel County.”

Keene served as president from 2015-2021. Prior to that, he worked for the Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks as its chief of planning and construction. It was through that role that he encountered Elizabeth Wyble, a tireless community volunteer who was in the midst of her 16 years as Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails president.

Shortly after his retirement, Keene was approached by Wyble to join the Friends’ board.

“I think it was about two weeks before she called me,” Keene said. “She knew I was available!”

Keene has witnessed firsthand, both as a county employee and now as a volunteer, the growth of the county trails. What was once a 13-mile B&A Trail is now a 42-mile system, with more coming soon.

“It’s very gratifying, these projects coming to completion,” Keene said.

The Friends of Anne Arundel County Trails hope that Sunday’s event will help drive membership, which costs $30 and supports the group’s initiatives.