HikeArizona.COM

I received this from the Arizona Trail Association- it's a fantastic opportunity for the trail:

Once again we ask our loyal Arizona Trail supporters for help. Will you please vote so the trail will win a $50,000 grant?
The ATA has been selected as a finalist to compete for a grant to help build some of the last miles of the trail. The grant winner will be decided by public voting from April 1 to May 31. Will you please take a few minutes everyday and vote for the trail? You can vote daily online and by text message (yep twice a day). Please be patient with the first time online voting. After clicking Arizona Trail “Vote for this”, you will then have to fill out the registration form (don’t forget your password) and then, at the bottom of the page, click “Vote for the Arizona Trail”. After the first time you will thankfully not have to fill out the form. Like we said please be patient.
Also, if you don’t know how to text message, the Arizona Trail Association has instructions on their website
So please vote Chicago style - twice a day, once online and once by text message. Here’s what to do:

PLEASE VOTE EVERYDAY TO HELP THE ARIZONA TRAIL RECEIVE A WINNER TAKE ALL $50,000 GRANT TO BUILD THE SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK CONNECTOR TRAIL More details about this "winner take all" grant are on the Arizona Trail website.
HOW TO VOTE EVERYDAY - From April 1, 2009 through midnight on May 31, 2009, you, (and please ask your friends to vote too) can vote everyday for the Arizona Trail project - once ONLINE DAILY and also once via TEXT MESSAGE DAILY during this period (yes twice a day, just like in Chicago). Using your cellphone, text to the number 39668 (Yes, a five digit number) and text the word trail (if you don’t know how to text message take a look at the instructions on the above ATA web page. It’s pretty easy).
THE PROJECT: This winner take-all grant would build five difficult miles of the Arizona Trail into Saguaro National Park east of Tucson. Due to the remote location in a rugged wilderness area, these miles must be constructed by hand. Not only will this project help complete the trail, it allows access into backcountry and protects a sensitive riparian area as well.
All votes for the trail are appreciated.

Thanks for sharing this one Sirena. I received it too, and went and voted. If you're at all into wepage design, they've got some interesting stuff going there. I encourage everyone to help!

yeah, thanks for posting that. i didn't realize there was still an incomplete portion of the trail.
(oops, did i say that out loud? now i'm embarrassed. where's that edit button?)
i need to get out more ;)

Bump

Let's remember to vote, daily!

BUMP

Vote please!

And if you are really into it, there is an easy work event this weekend down east of Florence. Check their website.

I've been texting every day, you'd think they'd stop asking me if I'm 21 at some point?! ;)

Ah, Jeff - you're just getting younger every day!

Wouldn't that be nice!!

Bump!
Keep Voting, they posted a count and AZT is in the lead but it's not a sure thing so Vote Vote Vote and get your friends, family and co workers and and and . . . to vote as well!

bump
VOTE!

You can vote more than once??? Obviously, I'm totally for the Arizona Trail, but that's not the democracy I learned in school.

Last I heard the AZ trail is up by like 20,000 votes

You can vote once per day. It's a great advertising ploy to get you to return to their site day after day.

So, give in to their scheme and vote! Resistance is futile. I even felt half tempted to buy a bottle of wine... But only half...

It's getting exciting!

Good news, bad news!

You can help build AZ Trail with your votes! Voting takes only seconds per day. The good news is that the AZ Trail is still in first place; the bad news is that the second place competition gained some momentum this last week. YOUR votes are very important to this team effort. Counting today, you can cast 19 online votes to help us stay in first place. We need to gain momentum this week. Please keep voting every day through May 31.


The $50,000 grant will help build The Connector Trail in Saguaro National Park. It will protect fragile riparian and desert habitat plus provide access for recreation. This grant will stretch scarce trail-building funds and will move the AZ Trail closer to completion. Please keep voting every day.


Vote online everyday. It will turn green.
(If this is your first vote "scroll down" to register - also "scroll down" to log in the second day and thereafter.)
You can text message a second vote each day: 39668 "Trail"


Please let us know if you have any voting questions. Bookmark the site for fast voting every day. Keep the Arizona Trail in first place for the $50,000 grant. Thanks very much.

My understanding is that AZ trail is in the lead right now but the New Orleans Park is gaining rapidly. We need lots of votes over the next two weeks it keep the lead !!! Please vote every day, twice if you can text via a cell phone.

http://www.blazethetrail.com/greatoutdoors/vote/

The second place contender is rapidly signing up new voters. Any ideas on how to grow our voter base?

Remember to vote twice every day!

Hello! I'm so glad this forum is so heavily voting for this grant. I've promoted it on Twitter, to my email list and made flyers I give out at Squaw Peak. They even posted it on the board there. I left a couple in the bathrooms. I ask people I meet at events to pull out their phones and text "trail" to 39668 and some always do.
Graeme @AZCycle on Twitter said his whole mountain biking group is voting every day...120 members...some text, some vote online.

As of last Monday, the Redwood Creek Wine website showed this voting tally:
Dear Friends of Redwood Creek & the Greater Outdoors Project,

We wanted to provide you with a current update of where we are (as of the end of the day 5/18/2009, midnight PST) with voting for the Greater Outdoors Project. We have less than 15 days left to vote, so keep them coming!!

Without further ado...

* Arizona Trail Association 10,096 votes
* Friends of New Orleans City Park 8,877 votes
* WildEarth Guardians 4,207 votes
* Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey 3,680 votes
* National Forest Foundation 2,258 votes

They update it every Monday, though with this one being a holiday and the end of voting 8 days away...May 31st, who knows? It wouldn't take much for the New Orleans City Park to catch the Arizona Trail.

All of us are needed. It is so nice to see a group here so supportive. I don't know if you know, but the Arizona Trail just got designated late March 09 as a National Scenic Trail by President Obama, after being proposed in both Houses by Arizona legislators.

I'm just a volunteer and a friend of Arizona Trail's board member Scott Summers. I met him hiking Squaw Peak years ago. My friend Dennis, a Ranger at Squaw Peak, got Larry Wayt of Live2hike.org to get in touch with me. He sent out the flyer to his whole hiking mailing list and posted it on two hiking websites.

How you can help is emailing all your friends to vote and to remind them and to tell friends in the media. Maybe they'll write about it. I can also email you the flyers to print or forward via email. You have been working hard on this. I don't mean to act like I'm doing anything special. I'm just willing to help. $50,000 is a lot to win. Way to go Sirena!! Thanks for being a great marketer! The Arizona Trail and Arizona are lucky you care, along with everyone else you're inspiring.

Roseann

I ask people I meet at events to pull out their phones and text "trail" to 39668 and some always do.

Roseann- that's a great idea! For one-time voters texting is a lot easier and avoids the registration process on the internet.

I think it is fantastic that so many in the hiking, biking, and horseback riding communities have mobilized to get the word out about the vote.

Only one week left- vote every day and keep spreading the word!

Current rank (as of 5/26 at midnight PST):

* Friends of New Orleans City Park 14,112 votes
* Arizona Trail Association 13,515 votes

Oh no!

Vote twice every day!

http://www.blazethetrail.com/greatoutdoors/vote

and

Text "trail" to 39668