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NEWS & OPINION
ACSA CHOSEN AS "TAKE PRIDE IN AMERICA" PARTNER
Posted: 4/7/2003
SNOWMOBILE ENTHUSIASTS PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN FEDERAL INITIATIVE DESIGNED TO RAISE AWARENESS AND PROMOTE STEWARDSHIP AND VOLUNTEERISM ON OUR PUBLIC LANDS
Acting under the direction of the White House, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton re-launched the Take Pride in America initiative on Wednesday, April 16 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. ACSA was one of 100 Charter Partners that were invited to become a vital part of the new program.
Originally created in 1985, the Take Pride in America (TPIA) program has been dormant since 1993. It was conceived to help Americans appreciate their public lands birthright and spark heightened interest in volunteerism on public lands. And it succeeded. Vandalism declined and volunteerism soared
while the program was in place.
ACSA joins the other new Partners, which includes motorized and non-motorized recreational groups, civic organizations, and wildlife and conservation organizations.
"Take Pride In America will empower volunteers from every corner of America to restore and improve our parks, refuges, recreation areas and cultural and historical sites. The program inspires citizen stewardship through a bold and innovative public communication campaign. Outstanding volunteer efforts are rewarded with presidential recognition," Norton said at the National Press Club address.
After the luncheon, some of the group hopped on a bus and went to a nearby park to plant trees and clean up trash.
Christine Jourdain, Executive Director of ACSA, said , ACSA has always been promoting volunteer action, and that has been taken to a new level as Secretary Norton called the nation to action to improve our public lands. Grassroots, state-by-state, acre-by-acre progress is the only way we will accomplish the task of improving our public lands. Just as club by club is the only way our snowmobile network will continue to grow and prosper.
Jourdain continued, Our involvement in the TPIA as a great public relations opportunity for OHV users. One of the best potential outcomes of this is for state snowmobile associations and clubs to receive national recognition for all the volunteer work they do on public lands across the nation. Most of the general public will probably be quite surprised to find that snowmobile enthusiasts are actually among the hardest working group of trail users in the country when it comes to volunteer trail maintenance.
A new website for TPIA (www.takepride.gov) has been formed. Local snowmobile clubs should use the website to demonstrate what great volunteers the snowmobile enthusiasts are and gain the recognition we deserve as good citizens and caring users of public lands.
Take Pride in America will have four core programs:
1) Deterrence of vandalism and theft of natural and cultural resources and promotion of an appropriate outdoor ethic.
2) Solicitation and recognition of volunteerism on public lands, including state level and national awards.
3) Increased awareness of the shared legacy all Americans share in our Great Outdoors.
4) Ensure that American children, either through family or organizations ranging from scouts to schools, are afforded an introduction to the shared legacy of the Great Outdoors.
Derrick Crandall, President of the American Recreation Coalition and Chairman of the previous TPIA Advisory Board feels the new program will have dramatic and beneficial consequences for millions of Americans who turn to the great outdoors for mental, physical, and spiritual health and celebrate the special legacy we enjoy in our parks, forests, refuges, and other public lands.
Some of the other motorized groups who have signed on as Charter Partners for Take Pride in America include the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), American Motorcycle Association (AMA), Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), Specialty Vehicle Industry Association (SVIA), American Recreation Coalition
(ARC), Americans for Responsible Recreation Access (ARRA) and the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC).
For more information, contact Christine Jourdain at ACSA at 888-594-7669.
You can visit their web site at www.TakePrideinAmerica.info.
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