Well Not sure if this is the most appropriat place for this but I think it's worth sharing. This was just posted on the Southern ( www.sfwda.org ) Landuse mailing list. This appeared in a newspaper and was very favorable press after an event in Jellico TN. I'm trying to figure out where this author is. I like to write thank you's for good press like this. Let the author know it didn't go unoticed.
This is the sort of image our community needs to show to dispell the BS image we have aquired from the past as well as from ECO NAZI groups.
Enjoy!

>Rock Crawlers leave Jellico cleaner than they found it
>
>
>
>By JIM DOSSETT LaFollette Press Reporter The attack of the Rock Crawlers.
>Sounds like a 50s sci-fi flick. But believe it or not, they are really real.
>And a swarm of the critters, 1,600 strong, converged on Jellico a couple of
>weeks ago. They stayed two days. And when they departed, they left in their
>wake – a trail of cleanliness. "It was cleaner than it was when they
>arrived," said Robert Cox. Cox, owner of Clearfork Mining Company, was
>speaking of the property which he has donated to <A
HREF="http://www.trailkeepers.org/">The Trail Keepers Foundation</A>
>, a non-profit organization that creates and maintains multi-use trails on
>public and private lands. For the past two and half years, the Trail Keepers
>Foundation has worked with the <A HREF="http://www.jrocc.com/">JROCC</A>
(Jellico Rock Obstacle Challenge Course)
>to make the abandoned strip mining pit and surrounding areas one of the best
>rock crawling sites in the nation, and certainly, the toughest course east of
>the Mississippi. "Rock Crawling" is a motor sport in which competitors have
>to navigate a number of different obstacles in a set amount of time. In the
>recent <A HREF="http://www.erocc.com/">Eastern Rock Crawling
Championship</A> competition at the JROCC on June 22
>and June 23, competitors from 12 states, some as distant as Colorado,
>climbed, bumped, tumbled and careened over a set of 12 obstacles, provided by
>event organizers and Mother Nature. According to the Community Voice,
>"Jellico is home to this brand new series that determines the best teams east
>of the Mississippi, then sends those teams to New Mexico to compete in the
>National Super Crawl in the fall." The activity took place on the course,
>located on Route 90, just past White Oak. And, in addition to the exciting,
>rough and tumble action, the competitiors also strove to leave the place in
>better shape than they found it. "You wouldn't believe the amount of trash
>they picked up," said Environmental Officer Glennis Monday. Monday, who wages
>continual war on local litterbugs, continued in his praise of the "crawlers,"
>Trail Keepers Foundation members and others who have contributed to the
>betterment of the community during the events over the past two and a half
>years. "The area is definitely cleaner. I look forward to working with these
>folks in the future – they make my job a lot easier," said Monday. Cox is
>also thankful for the participants' efforts and recently donated 500 more
>acres to expand the event. "They went the extra mile and even helped
>Convenience Center Operator Thelma Webb clean up along the roadways," said
>Cox. He added that, in addition to the super cleanup efforts, the events also
>provide increased exposure for the Trail Keepers, raise funds for trail
>maintenance and increase tourism for Jellico. In addition to Rock Crawling,
>the JROCC is also available for any type of extreme sports event, including:
>4X4 rock crawling, 4X4 trail rides, mountain biking, extreme trail running,
>rock climbing, extreme triathalons, ATV trail rides, motocross and paint
>ball. The next "Rock Crawling" event in Jellico is scheduled for July 27 and
>28. From: <A
HREF="http://www.lafollettepress.com/frontpage/rock0711.html">http://www.laf
ollettepress.com/frontpage/rock0711.html</A> For more
>information, check out <A
HREF="http://www.erocc.com/">http://www.erocc.com</A>.
>Date: 07/12/2002
>Author: Jim Dosset
>
>

SWEET!

Originally posted by Grim Reaper
"You wouldn't believe the amount of trash
>they picked up," said Environmental Officer Glennis Monday. Monday, who wages
>continual war on local litterbugs, continued in his praise of the "crawlers,"


I talked with this guy for a bit, and he seemed really impressed by how well the event was organized, and how well everyone(spectators and competitors) were behaved. I have say great job to Tim, Chad, and Darryl for putting on a great event.

Grim,

Thanks for posting that!

Like the post said, that was from the Lafollette Press in Lafollette, TN. I called the reporter and thanked him for the article. For our next event next weekend, they have assigned a reporter to cover the event from start to finish. He will be attending the tech inspection, drivers meeting, and both days of competition. I am hoping for a major story to be in their paper.

Again, thanks!

Tim

Originally posted by TrailKeeper
Grim,

Thanks for posting that!

Like the post said, that was from the Lafollette Press in Lafollette, TN. I called the reporter and thanked him for the article. For our next event next weekend, they have assigned a reporter to cover the event from start to finish. He will be attending the tech inspection, drivers meeting, and both days of competition. I am hoping for a major story to be in their paper.

Again, thanks!

Tim
No, Thank you for doing a great job organizing the event and getting that sort of press!
I have been involved with organizing the Southern summer convention in 99,00 and 01 and I know what a pain in the butt it is to get something with lots of people organized. The fact that you had clean up crews and the man power to pull that off and get that sort of public praise is no small thing. 9 out of 10 times when an event anything to do with wheeling happens the press is out there looking for the bad because it makes better headlines. Good job on turning it around. Like I said it's this sort of thing that will change the publics veiw of our community.
I'm finding it more and more that the small communities around major attraction trails are very gratefull to the wheelers who come though their towns. Murphy NC is one such town. WHeelers pump so much cash into that town that if Tellico wasn't there Murphy's economy would pretty well not exist. 95% of their non local money is from wheelers.
Been in the papers website and there is not a stitch of contact info of ANY sort on there LOL. I was hoping to come up with a e-mail address on the guy.

I think we must have crashed their server... I can't get onto http://www.lafollettepress.com right now.

The guy that stopped out on Saturday seemed to be very enthusiastic about everything. In fact, I believe that he even told TrailKeeper that he was going to put the article in the SPORTS section, since it is a motor sport.

That's some VERY good press :)

I'd like to stay and help clean up after an event (when I have the vacation time). When does all the clean-up normally take place? Monday?

Originally posted by bigdude
That's some VERY good press :)

I'd like to stay and help clean up after an event (when I have the vacation time). When does all the clean-up normally take place? Monday?

We clean up immediately after our event. What they are mostly referring to is the work we have down over the past year at that facility removing trash in preparation for the events. During the organized trail rides we have we also do some cleanup by offering raffle tickets for bags full of trash. It has been a long time coming for us to start getting good press. It has not been an overnight success, but now the accolades are rolling in and it is a great feeling!

In the article Glennis Monday was actually referring to a trail cleanup we organize every year in Livingston, KY. Last year we filled three semi-tractor trailer sized dumpsters with trash, plus had over two hundred tires collected. You can read about it on the Trail Keepers website: http://www.trailkeepers.org. That cleanup is up in the air right now because we haven't found a land owner willing to work with us on the event. The area is in danger of being closed and some of the riders in the area have taken it upon themselves to be vigilantes and try to force the land owners to keep the area open. So we might move the cleanup to Jellico this fall. We will let you know.

FYI, our trail cleanups are little different. We set it up like a competition - you get raffle tickets for every bag of trash you pick up, and a certain number of tickets for items like tires, appliances, cars, etc. Then, the team who collects the most trash wins a cash prize - last year it was $500. The individual also wins a cash prize - last year that was $50. And to top it off we have a raffle of prizes. So it is a good time for a good cause. Last year we made the paper and the news.

Originally posted by TrailKeeper


FYI, our trail cleanups are little different. We set it up like a competition - you get raffle tickets for every bag of trash you pick up, and a certain number of tickets for items like tires, appliances, cars, etc. Then, the team who collects the most trash wins a cash prize - last year it was $500. The individual also wins a cash prize - last year that was $50. And to top it off we have a raffle of prizes. So it is a good time for a good cause. Last year we made the paper and the news.

You guys have your shit together, good ideas :D