Issuu

Friends of the Katy Trail is the nonprofit organization responsible for maintaining and enhancing the Trail for the benefit of Dallas citizens and visitors. We partner with you through memberships, event sponsorships, and individual and corporate support to keep the Trail running in peak condition.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS

Friends of the Katy Trail kicks off its 25th Anniversary

A Floral Flash appears on the Katy Trail

Katy Trail Spring Art installed: Hadi Fallahpisheh’s Guest sculptures

Trail safety bollards cleaned and refreshed with new safety tape

Katy 5K Honorary Chairs, The Hallam Family, and Ben E. Keith Foundation donate two benches for the Trail

Katy Trail Ice House donates $90,000 to Friends of the

from its annual golf tournament

Spring Suport Campaign reaches $170,000 in gifts vs. the $100,000 goal

Major Donor Party held at Talley Dunn Gallery

New full Trail map sign installed at Snyder’s Union

Katy Trail

2022 HIGHLIGHTS

24th Katy 5K welcomes 4,000 race participants and 70 sponsors and picnic partners

Major planned improvements are announced for Harvard crossing

First Dallas Animal Services pet adoptions event held on the Trail

Generous Katy Trail supporters donate a record $266,000 in membership gifts by year’s end

North Texas

Katy Trail Community Partners grow from 12 partners in 2021 to 17 in 2022

Outgoing Board

President Eric Paulson receives the David Stocks Volunteer Service Award

Katy Trail Fall Art installed: Jeff Gibbons’ and Gregory Ruppe’s Borest Forest, Grunting Grasses

2022 NUMBERS

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Friends of the Katy Trail is to maintain, enhance, and advocate for the Katy Trail as the premier trail for recreation, wellness, and alternative transportation in the City of Dallas.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The Fitzhugh Staircase

A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

There are very few public spaces in our city that fulfill such a broad range of individual needs as the Katy Trail. The Trail is a treasured place where Trail users go to find both solitude and a sense of community. The Katy Trail has a way of offering not only peace and quiet but also metropolitan vibrancy. The Dallas area citizens and visitors who walk, run, cycle, commute, and gather on the Trail enjoy natural beauty and an urban landscape. And time on the Katy Trail is prized for both mental and physical health benefits.

We are so pleased that the Katy Trail continues to operate at the highest level and plays an integral role in the health and happiness of Dallas. We are grateful to the Friends of the Katy Trail Board of Directors, City of Dallas, financial supporters, partners, and volunteers for entrusting us to shepherd the Trail through these exciting times. In 2022, Friends of the Katy Trail undertook an ambitious array of projects to care for the Trail and further enhance the Trail experience. We also worked hard to ensure that what we all collectively seek in the Katy Trail is preserved.

Thank you for being a part of this important work that benefits so many in our community.

Sincerely,

The Katy Trail is meaningful in the lives of so many in the Dallas area, and they want to give to their beloved Trail. How can they support this tremendous City asset? Here are some ideas.

– Ann Whitley Wood, Senior Director, Major Gifts and Membership

• Purchase an annual Membership available at many levels, from $75 to $5,000.

• Give to the Spring Support Campaign to boost early-inthe-year operations funds.

• Participate in North Texas Giving Day with a donation to Friends of the Katy Trail.

• Walk, run, sponsor, or volunteer at the Katy 5K.

• Become a Community Partner and enjoy recognition, Katy 5K, membership, and community involvement benefits.

• Fund the maintenance of a stretch of the Trail and receive a Trail maintenance sign.

Amy Bean Executive Director, Friends of

the Katy Trail

• Name a natural feature or amenity, such as a bench, along the Trail to honor a person, family, or organization and add to the Greenscape Fund.

• Pay an event fee to “table” on the Trail to promote a business or service.

• Join the Katy Trail Art Society to bring world-class art installations to the Trail.

• Major Trail naming opportunities include the Cambrick Plaza (see page 7) and the Fitzhugh Staircase (see page 5).

2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT

The number of visits to the Katy Trail reached the record 2 million in 2022, according to the “people counters” installed on the Trail. That’s a lot of walks, runs and bike rides. And that’s a lot of people (and dogs) enjoying time outside. I’m confident that the Katy Trail is one of the most used public places in Dallas.

Friends of the Katy Trail — its incredible staff, board of directors and volunteers working in conjunction with Dallas Parks and Recreation — continues to do an impressive job of keeping the Trail clean, safe and beautiful. But the Friends’ mission goes beyond that. As the number of visitors to the Katy Trail continues to grow, so does the vision for what the Trail can be and the role it plays in our vibrant city. The Katy Trail is more than just a path, it is a linear park that provides green to an increasingly urbanized city and it is a connector, linking other trails, neighborhoods and creating a space for people to socialize and gather.

The Friends continued to think ahead in 2022 with the growth of Katy Trail Art and the announcement of the soon-to-be-built project at Harvard Avenue.

Although it is a new program, Katy Trail Art grew with two impressive public art installations on the Trail. Trail users quickly embraced the revolving art program and welcomed the added beauty on the Trail.

Also in 2022, we announced that an anonymous donor is making possible a new entry plaza at Harvard, one of the Trail’s only two street-level crossings. This is exciting news because it will greatly enhance the safety of pedestrians and bikers crossing there. And, it will create a beautiful landscaped plaza on both sides of the street. What is now an ordinary crossing will transform into a welcoming gathering place for Trail users and the community to enjoy for years to come.

In the 2021 annual report, I wrote that the organization had never been stronger and the Trail had never looked better. That remained true in 2022. Thank you to all of the Friends of Katy Trail donors and members who made that possible. Your dedication makes a difference.

Sincerely,

Eric Paulson President, Friends of the Katy Trail

PRESIDENT

Eric Paulson

MEMBERS

Bonner Allen

Usua Amanam

Robyn Bayne

Eric Bing

Brian Callahan*

Dan Chesnut

Buddy Cramer*

Sam Dalton

Bess Dickson

Ken Elmgren*

Lara Francis

Michael Frantz

Cricket Griffin*

William Hartwell

Amanda Lockhart

Adam Mengacci

Preston Paine

Bina Patel

Ben Ralston

Jill Rareshide

Blake Shipp*

Ruthie Shor*

Shannon Stamm

Newt Walker

Ray Washburne

Peggy Zilbermann

*Executive Committee

The Cambrick Plaza

2022 DONORS

$250,000 - $999,999

$50,000 - $249,999

Anonymous | Ben E. Keith Company | Katy Trail Ice House

Lindsay and Blake Shipp and Laurie Sands Harrison | UT Southwestern Medical Center

$25,000 - $49,999

$10,000 - $24,999 The Snyder Foundation

Katy Trail Weekly | Lennox International | Lyda Hill Philanthophies | Susan & Bill Montgomery | John W. Mullen III & Anne D’Olier Mullen

John S. Relton | Rowling Foundation | Sewell Automotive Companies | The One Group | Brittany & Baxter Underwood

$5,000 - $9,999

Paige Whiteside-Bales & Jeff Bales | Ann Whitley Wood | Peggy & Mark Zilbermann

2022 DONORS

$1,000 - $4,999

$500 - $999

Collin Wilson | Shawna Wilson | Kyle Wood | Julie Woods