Last year in February, TFNU lost one of our own. Former Trail Champion and TFNU Board Member, Richard S. White truly was a friend to the trails. His passion for the outdoors was obvious in his early years, as he would work on the building and maintenance of local trails, and later became instrumental in fundraising, as he was one of the few people we knew who, with one call, could find money needed for a particular project or improvement.Richard was also credited as being one of the first to volunteer for almost anything. Richard’s decades of unselfish service helped create Weber County’s outstanding public network of paved pathways and natural surface trails.

Richard’s life made such an impact on the people he knew and had contact with in regard to the trails, but also the patients to whom he served as cardiologist to. It was always about the heart.

Dr. Richard S. White, Cardiologist and Friend of the Trails

To further the life and inspiration of Richard S. White, Trails Foundation of Northern Utah along with his family have curated and put into place an annual Richard S. White Friend of the Trails Award. This award will be given to the person/or persons who have continued Richard’s legacy with significant and lasting service that has created a culture where all have places to walk, run and ride as they enjoy nature and connect with their neighbors in Northern Utah.

The winner of the Richard S. White Award will receive $500 to be donated to the nonprofit organization of their choice that supports the mission of TFNU. Winners will be announced yearly on National Trails Day (June 3rd this year) as well as during the TFNU Annual Author Dinner Event (On May 5th this year).

Successful nominees for the Richard S. White Award will have done significant work in any one of the following area’s:

Planning, constructing and maintaining public pathways, trails and related open spaces

Encouraging outdoor recreation and active transportation for personal well being

Protecting and preserving public access to trailheads, mountains, rivers, open spaces and public lands

Educating, advocating and raising awareness for proper trail etiquette for all trail users

Creating community pride as neighbors interact and come to appreciate their natural environment

Nominations are now closed. Join us Saturday, June 3rd at our National Trails Day Celebration for the presentation of the award.

The 2022 recipient of this award was David Stuart. David has been building and maintaining the trails in Northern Utah for decades. After spending many years looking for ways to preserve access to the mountains for the community to use, he was eventually contacted by Ogden City to work with a group of people, that included Gib Wallace, to begin looking for ways to build trails and to place trailheads strategically throughout the city. That partnership resulted in many of the trails we know and love coming together. These include Jump Off Canyon, Bonneville Shoreline, Birdsong and many others.

David has served in many capacities within the Ogden Trails Network, Trails Foundation Northern Utah and the Ogden Pliking Club. David is one of the founding members of the Ogden Pliking Club, which was formed in 2018. Pliking - or Picking up Litter while hIKING - is just one of the ways that David shows his passion for the outdoors and his community. This is also the organization that David wished to share his $500 award with.

David devotes many hours each week to the building and preservation of local trails, often while leading volunteer groups. If you haven’t volunteered or worked with David, you might still recognize him as the man who hands out his famous Dime-and-Rings, Paper Flowers and his free hand colored steno-notebooks. He’s as much a treasure to Northern Utah as the trails he’s so selflessly helped build and maintain over the years.

When presented with the award, David said:

“I am humbled and blessed to receive the first annual Richard S. White Friend of the Trails Award. Richard was a good friend and I pray that I can continue doing my small part to carry on his legacy of making the trails enjoyable to everyone who used them. Thank you for this great honor.”