MTC 37th Anniversary ANNUAL MEMBER MEETING & DINNER
Join fellow Montour Trail Council members on Sunday evening, November 8 for the 2026 Annual Meeting & Dinner. The event takes place from 5 to 8:30 pm at the Airport Marriott hotel; it includes a social hour/cash bar, buffet dinner and program.
The keynote speaker this year is Melissa Swedish, director of Allegheny County Parks Department, who will share her team’s work on a revised comprehensive plan, including their exploration of ways to connect parks to trails and develop signage that helps users easily find those connections.
Ms. Swedish grew up in Ohio Township, studied at West Virginia University, and earned a graduate degree from Carlow University. She joined the Allegheny County Parks Department in 2010 and was named director in May. An avid trail user, she can frequently be found walking her 150-pound mastiff Miles near the Hassam Rd. trailhead.
In addition, MTC President Julian Wolfe will overview the state of the trail and honor volunteers who have consistently gone the extra mile. New board member election results will be announced; candidate bios are listed below. All current MTC members are eligible to vote.
You can register for the event and vote online or via US mail; download the form here. Reservation requests and ballots must be received by Friday, October 30. Plan to join us!
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Social Hour (Cash Bar): 5:00 pm
Buffet Dinner: 6:00 pm
Program: 7:00 pm
Directions to Airport Marriott: Located at Exit 58 of the Parkway West, just 300 yards from the trail. Ample parking is available.
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Nominees for MTC Board of Directors
Each fall, the Montour Trail Council invites members to vote on nominees for its Board of Directors. The MTC Nominating Committee, chaired by board member Ned Williams, has identified five candidates for the 2027–2029 term. Voting will open at the end of September and will be conducted electronically through MyMTC, the council’s membership and donation system. Members can click here for online voting, or access the ballot to print out and mail here.
Jennie Lenz joined MTC’s Engineering & Construction Committee in 2025 and has since become actively involved in several trail initiatives, including preparing grant proposals for the National Tunnel rehabilitation project. She is a traffic engineer with Gateway Engineers and brings 20 years of experience working with PennDOT as well as municipalities and communities across Western Pennsylvania. Jennie, her husband, Bob, and their two children live in McDonald and are members of MTC’s Fort Cherry Friends group. She is a long-time user of the Montour and values family bike rides and regular walks with her Great Dane, Winnie. This is her first nomination to the MTC board.
At age 15, Paul McKeown cycled on multi-state rides from his home in Auburn, MA. Since then, he has cycled in a total of 38 states. He is a retired engineer who worked 43 years for the Naval Nuclear Laboratory at Bettis Laboratory. Paul has been an active volunteer with the trail council since 1992, and is currently a member and secretary of the Board of Directors, secretary of the Engineering & Construction committee, president of the South Hills Friends group, and project manager for the National Tunnel rehabilitation. He also mentors high school students building robots at the Sarah Heinz House Boys & Girls Club. Paul, his wife Bonnie, and their canine children live in Upper St. Clair.
David Mikula began volunteering with the trail’s Bethel Park Friends group in 2020 and soon joined the Montour Trail maintenance crew. He is an active member of the Engineering & Construction, Finance, and Real Estate committees. This is his first nomination to the board. David, a retired airborne infantryman, is an avid runner and hiker. He lives in Bethel Park and is a proud father of two amazing kiddos.
Ray Paschke first became aware of the Montour Trail at a booth set up at Pro Bike + Run in Robinson. He initially volunteered for trail maintenance in 2016 with the Airport Area Friends group. His background in database development led to him joining the council’s IT/GIS committee in 2022 and being appointed as co-chair in February 2023. Ray was a longtime runner, but now enjoys being an active cyclist in retirement. This is his first nomination for the board. Ray and his wife live in Sewickley Hills.
Don Thobaben is nominated for his sixth term on the board; he is active on MTC’s Membership & Community Outreach, Engineering & Construction, Operations, and Camping committees. He and his wife, Jackie, are long-time volunteers on the Tour the Montour leadership committee. Don is an adventurous biker and a great source for information about local and national bike trails. They live in Mt. Lebanon.
