Bike raffle is a win-win for cyclist and Pentwater-Hart Trail. 

Jeri Dicks prepares to bike to her cottage on the Trek bicycle she won through the raffle drawing that supports the Pentwater-Hart Trail. At right is Pentwater Hart Trail Chairperson Claudia Ressel-Hodan.

Bike raffle is a win-win for cyclist and Pentwater-Hart Trail. 

PENTWATER — Friends of the Pentwater-Hart Trail concluded a bicycle raffle fundraiser when the winner of a Trek bicycle was drawn, Sept. 25, and Michigan resident Jeri Dicks won the bicycle. Dicks was present while attending the last day of Pentwater’s Fall Fest, so she could take the bike home.

The Trek bicycle was donated by Trail Head Bike Shop in Ludington, with support from a private donor. Raffle proceeds totaled $1,200 and will be used for trail maintenance after the trail that will connect Pentwater to the William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail is constructed.

“We are currently working on a variety of grants for trail construction,” said Claudia Ressel-Hodan, chairperson of the nonprofit Friends of the Pentwater-Hart Trail. “While grant funds will be used for construction, proceeds from fundraising activities like the raffle will be used for trail maintenance, so the trail will be safely maintained years after it is completed. Demonstrating the ability to pay for maintenance into perpetuity is a crucial step when applying for grants.”

At this time, the Friends of the Pentwater-Hart Trail organization has raised approximately $72,000 for trail maintenance, with a goal of creating a $200,000 endowment for annual maintenance costs, which are estimated at $3,000 per year.

The Pentwater-Hart Trail will be a 10-foot wide trail constructed in right-of-way along Wayne Road to Harrison Road; Harrison Road east to 72nd Avenue; and 72nd Avenue to Tyler Road, where the Safe Route to School Section begins and then connects with the rail trail on Water Street in Hart. 

The effort to create a trail from Pentwater to Hart, to connect with the rail trail, began in 2015. In 2020, the committee formally became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, called the Friends of the Pentwater-Hart Trail. Volunteer board members and other volunteers are currently working on the creation of the trail and in the future, will work to maintain the trail to the safety standards of the appropriate government agencies. The goal of the organization is to raise $5.1 million for trail construction, mainly through state and federal grants. Private donations are also needed. Funds raised in excess of the goal will be placed in a reserve fund to be used solely for trail maintenance.

Anyone interested in supporting the Pentwater-Hart Trail may send donations to: Friends of the Pentwater Hart Trail, PO Box 228, Pentwater, MI 49449 or visit Pentwaterharttrail.com.

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