2022 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

​The twelfth class of Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame honorees has been announced by the Appalachian Trail Museum’s Hall of Fame selection committee.
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The 2022 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame class honorees are the late Jim & Molly Denton of Front Royal, Virginia; JoAnn & Paul Dolan of New York, New York; Laurie Potteiger of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; and Tom Speaks of Ashville, North Carolina.

Jim & Molly Dentons with Trail friends in 1958 (courtesy RATC)

Jim & Molly Denton were primarily responsible for the longest contiguous reroute in the history of the Trail. After the Blue Ridge Parkway was completed largely on the same path as the original A.T. route, an alternate route was needed for the Trail. Jim Denton scouted a new path within the newly expanded Jefferson National Forest and supervised the construction of the rerouted Trail by the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club.  While Jim would lead trail relocation efforts and coordination with the ATC, Molly participated in relocation crews and was a leader in the photography, entertainment, publishing and fundraising committees. She would also be the first woman to serve as RATC President.

After the reroute was completed, the Dentons moved north in Virginia, and spent many years in the leadership of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. The Jim & Molly Denton shelter on the A.T. east of Front Royal is named for them.
 

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JoAnn & Paul Dolan at Greenwood Lake near Sterling Forest

Decades after the A.T. was routed through the Hudson River Valley north of New York City, development threatened the Trail and its surrounding area. JoAnn & Paul Dolan spearheaded the effort to acquire the Sterling Forest property and save it from intensive proposed development by forming a public-private partnership to coordinate the efforts of what grew to be over thirty organizations, including the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Their long efforts culminated in the formation of the 22,000-acre Sterling Forest State Park in one of the nation’s most densely populated areas.
 
JoAnn is active with the New York New Jersey Trail Conference, including spending 15 years as its Executive Director.  Paul spent a long career as a senior executive of ABC News. The Dolans received the NYNJTC’s highest honor, the Raymond Torrey Award, in 2010.
 

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Laurie Potteiger on Katahdin in 2010

Laurie Potteiger thru-hiked the A.T. in 1987, using the trail name “Mountain Laurel”. After that, she began volunteering with ATC in Harpers Ferry and soon was hired there. Following in the footsteps of her mentor Jean Cashin, she became the ambassador of ATC to thousands of visitors, including countless thru-hikers, at ATC’s headquarters, as Information Services Manager. She helped to found the Flip-flop Festival, designed to encourage long distance hikers to begin their hikes at various places along the Trail rather than adding to the annual crush in Georgia.
 
Beyond her role in Harpers Ferry, Laurie has been a supporter of the Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association (ALDHA), was an early supporter of Larry Luxenberg’s dream to found an Appalachian Trail Museum and is a relentless advocate for Leave No Trace (LNT) principles.
 
Since retiring from ATC in 2021, Laurie and her husband Dick have continued to maintain a section of the Trail for the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

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(courtesy USFS)

Tom Speaks played an important leadership role for the U.S. Forest Service in achieving critical land acquisitions in the South. During his career as a Forest Service employee, Tom was Supervisor of both the Cherokee and the George Washington - Thomas Jefferson National Forests. He also led a Forest Service team that was responsible for A.T. acquisitions from Georgia to central Virginia., including Rocky Fork, Spy Rock, Max Patch and Roan Highlands.
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An example of Tom’s persuasive and relentless effort is the Brushy Mountain relocation in Virginia.  For several years the Forest Service contacted the nearly two dozen landowners necessary for this relocation, with no success.  Tom initiated conversation with one of the landowners who was considered a leader in that community.  His initial meeting was in the landowner’s hay field, where Tom helped him bale hay that day.  This eventually led to a meeting in his living room and the agreement to sell the mountain top of his property to the Forest Service.  After that, all but one of the adjoining landowners agreed to sell.

After a long career, Tom retired from the Forest Service in 2015.

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Eleven classes have previously been elected to the A.T. Hall of Fame.  The Charter Class, elected in 2011, comprised Myron Avery, Gene Espy, Ed Garvey, Benton MacKaye, Arthur Perkins and Earl Shaffer.  Members of the 2012 class were Emma Gatewood, David Richie, J. Frank Schairer, Jean Stephenson and William Adams Welch.  The 2013 Class was Ruth Blackburn, David Field, David Sherman, David Startzell and Eddie Stone.  The 2014 Class was A. Rufus Morgan, Chuck Rinaldi, Clarence Stein and Pamela Underhill.  The 2015 Class was Ned Anderson, Margaret Drummond, Stanley Murray and Raymond Torrey. In 2016, Maurice J. Forrester, Jr., Horace Kephart, Larry Luxenberg and Henry Arch Nichols were inducted.  The 2017 Class was Harlean James, Charles Parry, Mildred Norman Ryder and Tillie Wood.  In 2018, William Kemsley, Jr., Elizabeth Levers, George Masa and Bob Peoples were elected.  Members of the 2019 Class were Jean Cashin, Paul Fink, Don King and Bob Proudman. The 2020 Class was Chris Brunton, Thurston Griggs, Warren Doyle and Jim Stoltz. Harvey Broome, Stephen Clark, Thomas Johnson and Marianne Skeen comprised the 2021 class.

Complete information on the event to honor the 2022 Hall of Fame Class will be announced soon. Questions about the event may be sent to [email protected].