Happy AmeriCorps Week! During AmeriCorps Week we recognize the commitment of the millions of Americans who have chosen to serve their country through AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors, and we encourage others to follow in their footsteps of service. The Alabama Trails Foundation has current and former AmeriCorps VISTA members on our team, and we will be highlighting their stories throughout the week. The mission of AmeriCorps VISTA is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.
Our AmeriCorps VISTA members are currently working in two of the six counties that the Pinhoti Trail passes through. Their goals are to increase local awareness of outdoor recreation, share information about the positive economic impact of outdoor recreation, and build community support of local trails.
This week (well every week really!), we’ve got our AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers on our minds. Without our wonderful VISTA volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to make the impact on Alabama’s trails in nearly the same way. We’ve been fortunate to have our team comprised of four people involved with VISTA through the years. Two active volunteers working with the program now, and two more who learned a lifelong passion for helping in years past. Watch for highlights of each of them over the coming days!
AmeriCorps engages 200,000 Americans each year in sustained, results-driven service through our AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs. Members and volunteers continue to help communities manage COVID-19 response, ensure students stay on track to graduate, combat hunger and homelessness, respond to natural disasters, fight the opioid epidemic, help seniors live independently, support veterans and military families, and much more. #AmeriCorpsWeek
Thanks for all you have done and continue to do to make Alabama a better place!
DeForest Tuggle has been serving as an AmeriCorps Vista with the Alabama Trails Foundation in partnership with the University of Alabama Center for Economic Development since June of 2022. She is working to build support for trails and an outdoor recreation economy in Piedmont, Alabama. She is also working to build a team of AmeriCorps VISTA members that will serve other communities along the Pinhoti Trail. She enjoys the opportunities she has gotten through serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA to connect with members of the community and work on economic development solutions in rural Alabama.
DeForest received a Bachelor of Science from Auburn University, and she is currently a graduate student at Auburn studying Natural Resource Management. She was born and raised in central Alabama and loves the natural beauty of Alabama. She has completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail and the Pinhoti Trail, and she also served as the volunteer caretaker on Flagg Mountain during the spring of 2021.
Allie Field is serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Alabama Trails Foundation to build support for outdoor recreation in small communities flanking the Pinhoti Trail. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville State University with a background in computer science, geography, and meteorology. She is currently a graduate student at Jacksonville State University studying geographic information systems and technology (GIST).
Her current research is on the impact of flooding on trails and how it affects campsites. She is also a licensed drone pilot and uses this technology to observe landscape changes that are caused by weather. Allie was born and raised in Anniston, Alabama, and she has loved mountains and trails since she was a kid. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family and pets.
Our AmeriCorps VISTA members are currently working in two of the six counties that the Pinhoti Trail passes through. Their goals are to increase local awareness of outdoor recreation, share information about the positive economic impact of outdoor recreation, and build community support of local trails.
Kate Mullen. One of Alabama Trails’ Foundation’s current team, Kate Mullen got her start as a VISTA in 2015! Kate Mullen graduated from the University of Alabama in 2015 and immediately began her AmeriCorps VISTA journey with the USDA Forest Service on the Talladega National Forest, Oakmulgee Ranger District. She was able to get her hands into everything from recreation development, GIS and other digital infrastructure coordination and , environmental education and youth programs for her county, and even assisted with prescribed burns and other forest management activities. Throughout the year, Kate was able to continue the long-term improvement and sustainability of the community she served while developing relationships and engaging with members of the public. After serving her term, Kate worked with the USDA Forest Service for several years on forests like the Carson National Forest in Taos, NM and Shoal Creek Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest. Through the AmeriCorps VISTA program, Kate was able to gain professional experience and leadership skills that set her up to be a successful professional in all industries.
Jacob Richards became an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2014 on the Oakmulgee Ranger District stationed in Brent, AL. He worked throughout the four counties that encompass the National Forest working to build nature based tourism, spur rural economic development, and provide unique outdoor educational opportunities for students in the local communities. During his tenure, we were able to develop partnerships for public health initiatives, outdoor classrooms, public access revitalization programs, and natural resource educational programs that ranged from 5th graders to students at the University of Alabama. Since his time as a VISTA, Jacob has worked across most of the United states in disaster recovery, environmental consulting, drone mapping, and GIS. As a result of his time as a VISTA, he has used the educational award to continue his education past a master’s degree, staying current in environmental fields.