From the Chair: Let me introduce myself!

Below is a message from GMPT Chair Joe Tart. You can reach him at joseph.tart@chisagocounty.us.

Happy New Year, GMPT members!

As your new chair, I am excited to work collectively with the wonderful Greater Minnesota Parks and Trail Board members and all our existing and new members! I am very honored to take on this new role and for the opportunity to get to know all of you better! For those of you whom I haven’t met formally, please don’t hesitate to reach out—I would love to hear more about you and your organization! 

Outside my current role as chair of the GMPT, I also serve as the Parks Director for Chisago County. Like many of you, Chisago County prides ourselves on getting people outdoors to enjoy nature and support recreational opportunities for our residents and visitors.  

Well, I have been told that we are officially in the coldest month of the year, and for many of us, it is quickly turning out to be our busiest. This time of year, we are all spinning our wheels trying to plan for future success within each of our respective organizations, businesses, and government entities. If you’re finding challenges on a new project or trying to find a better way to strengthen your organization, just remember someone in this organization has previously experienced these same types of challenges. Please reach out to your local district board members—they are great folks and will be happy to assist.

Another item of note: we are currently transitioning to a new organizational management software and working on developing our communications through the new system, so you may receive two versions of the next few newsletters. This is because we will be creating one version using the new platform distribution system while still sending another version using our old MailChimp account. This approach is to ensure that members still receive the newsletter, in one form or fashion, that we know you all eagerly anticipate each month. If you do not receive a version of the newsletter from “noreply@members.greatermnparksandtrails.org“, please check your spam or reach out to Emma Nelson at ennelson@flaherty-hood.com and let her know. Doing so will help ensure that contact information and mailing list subscriptions are accurate in our new system.

We appreciate your patience during this transition, and we are excited for this new, more efficient adventure! For any questions about membership accounts or other management issues, please contact Emma at the email provided above.

As our organization continues to gain momentum moving forward, I would like to personally thank all current and past members who have made this possible, and welcome our new members who have joined the cause! As always, we appreciate your continued devotion to making Greater Minnesota Parks and Trails so exceptional.