Call for Nominations: The Emma "Grandma" Gatewood Award for Volunteers

Our Volunteers deserve to be honored for their hard work, and we need your help!

Volunteers and partners are the lifeblood of the Buckeye Trail Association. Volunteers and partners give thousands of hours of their time and energy to help build, maintain, protect and promote the enjoyment of Ohio’s 1,454 mile BT. Our volunteers deserve to be honored for their hard work on-trail and off-trail and we need your help to highlight all types of volunteers and partners around the state to thank them and encourage others to follow their leadership.

The deadline to nominate a volunteer or partner is July 1, 2026. The awards will be presented at a Virtual Awards Ceremony the week of August 24.

Questions? Contact the Awards Committee Chair at Awards@buckeyetrail.org

Nomination Form Awards Categories

This week’s spotlight award category is The Emma “Grandma” Gatewood Award for Distinguished Service!

The Emma “Grandma” Gatewood Award for Distinguished Service

Grandma Gatewood overcame adversity and challenges to achieve something great for herself and eventually for the Buckeye Trail as well. This award honors those that have achieved something for the Buckeye Trail in the prior year in the same spirit as the woman who persisted even after she was told she couldn’t.

Many know the story of the Appalachian Trail’s most famous Grandma. Grandma Gatewood was the first female solo thru-hiker of the AT and the first person to complete the AT 3 times. She did all this and more after the age of 67, raising 11 children, and leaving an abusive marriage. Grandma Gatewood was one of the founding members of the Buckeye Trail Association and was instrumental in routing the BT through Hocking County and beyond, she even donated the first can of blue blaze paint to the BTA.