Thoughts from Club Officers

December is a big month for Club membership renewals. Our new membership system reminds me almost daily that somebody has been sent a member renewal reminder. I see your names and try to recall hiking with you at some point. I see your names and think how this annual renewal ritual keeps us a healthy organization. I see your names and know there is an hiking human associated with it. Someone I should know. Our organization is a collection of people who hold hiking and the enjoyment of the forest in high regard. We unite around our common Club mission to hike, maintain, and promote the Lone Star Trail and hiking in Texas. As a Board member, it’s easy to get diverted into administrative things and the demands of the trail, but it is people who make the Club what it is.

Sometimes new and prospective members ask about the benefits of Club Membership. They are seeking something like a value proposition to somehow offset membership fees. I never really thought of membership as anything but a simple transaction, but I understand why someone might ask—"What does this $20 do?"

Your membership and engagement helps the Club achieve its mission

• We procure trail maintenance equipment to support our work crews. We don’t get many years on a trail mower!
• We make available the public website for dissemination of trail, hike, and forest information for a wide range of trail users. We have some of the very best trail maps and hiking resources for a trail our size. We listened and expanded the website content to include more useful information to trail users. Nearly all content on the Club Website is created by Club volunteers.
• We promote hiking by leading group hikes open to the public. Many Saturday hikers have never set foot in the National Forest. We introduce them to hiking and inform them about the forest. You may not know it, but when you interact with non-members on our hikes, you are advocating for trails in Texas. The website merely informs; personal interaction inspires.
• We interface and collaborate with other trail organizations to advance hiking in the Sam and support sustainment projects, not only for the LSHT, but for other Texas trails as well.

There are benefits for members; most are intangible yet meaningful

• Discounts on patches and other trail bling on our website storefront.
• Member-Only events for overnight backpacking hikes (3x a year) and Texas Master Naturalist Hikes (2x a year). For 2025, we are organizing a thru hike for Members.
• Social interaction with new friendships, trail buddies, and family events.
• Exchange of trail knowledge informally on hikes and formally through the member forums.
• Share experiences and memories from hikes, maintenance days, and special events.
• Members improve wellness and good health as well contribute to something important and remain physically active.
• A walk in the woods provides a time for reflection, nature study, and contemplation.

In all, I think our individual memberships and involvement collectively have far-reaching impact—far more than any one of us could do individually. Sure, we enjoy a hike. But we also enjoy sustaining the forest and the trail through which it passes. We enjoy introducing the forest to people who do not yet know it. We enjoy being a thriving organization with a civic purpose. That’s a pretty good value proposition. Welcome to the Club!