At the August 10-12, 2026 Great Trails NC Conference in Winston-Salem, Burke River Trail Association Executive Director Beth Heile was recognized as a founding member of the Great Trails State Coalition, highlighting a statewide trail partnership that began before BRTA itself was formed. Heile became involved with the Coalition in 2020 while representing Friends of the Valdese Rec and Friends of the Fonta Flora State Trail. She was recognized alongside fellow Friends of the Fonta Flora founder Bob Hunter for helping support the Coalition in its earliest days, when a small group of trail advocates began working toward a stronger, unified voice for trails across North Carolina.
That early statewide work helped open the door to one of Heile’s most significant trail advocacy successes. In 2021, she worked with NC Representative Hugh Blackwell to encourage him to sponsor legislation establishing 2023 as North Carolina Year of the Trail. The legislation ultimately helped launch a statewide celebration that brought unprecedented attention to trails, outdoor recreation and the communities connected by them. Heile went on to serve on the NC Year of the Trail Planning Committee, helping carry the effort from legislation into a statewide initiative.
Picture: 2024 GTS Conference Legislative Champion Award to Rep. Hugh Blackwell and NC Year of the Trail Spirit Award for Beth Heile.
Heile founded the Burke River Trail Association in May 2021, bringing many of those same ideas about collaboration and statewide advocacy home to Burke County. Today, she continues to serve the Great Trails State Coalition through its Executive and Legislative Committee, now representing BRTA. The Coalition has grown to more than 150 member organizations working together to strengthen trail funding, policy and advocacy across North Carolina. That relationship gives BRTA a voice in statewide conversations while also allowing lessons from Burke County’s nine trail towns to help inform the larger movement.
The conference also gave Heile an opportunity to share Burke County’s experience with trail leaders from across the state through her presentation, “More Than a Trail — Turning Trails into Catalysts for Community Transformation.” Rather than focusing only on building miles of trail, the presentation explored how communities can use trails to strengthen downtowns, create destinations, support local businesses, improve quality of life and connect people with the places around them. Her central message was simple: “The asset draws people in. The connections determine what happens next.”
From helping establish a statewide coalition and advancing North Carolina Year of the Trail to building the Burke River Trail across nine communities, Heile’s work reflects the increasingly important connection between local projects and statewide advocacy. BRTA benefits from having Burke County represented in those larger conversations — and from bringing statewide relationships, ideas and opportunities back home as the 40-mile Burke River Trail continues to take shape.