After many months of work and planning, Friends of Ecusta Trail (FOET) revealed a new brand and website for the Ecusta Trail. On Saturday, November 16, a group of dedicated volunteers and supporters gathered at The Grove at Trailside Brewing to celebrate FOET’s history and see the new brand and website for the first time.

As the group gathered, Jeff Michels and Steve Kirkland (of Michels’ folkadelic jam) provided music. To kick off the presentation, they performed Jeff’s “Waiting for the Wheels,” an original song he wrote about the Ecusta Trail, to an enthusiastic crowd.

The presentation began with a founding board member, Ken Shelton, recounting the history of the rail line and FOET’s 15-year effort to have the rail corridor from Hendersonville to Brevard converted into a multi-use rail-trail. FOET President Mark Tooley thanked the current board members and all of the public and private partners who have supported the effort to make the Ecusta Trail a reality.

Henderson County engineer Marcus Jones spoke about the trail’s condition after Hurricane Helene, and had good news that the extent of the damage is not that bad given the severity of the storm. He expects that the opening of the first 6 miles will be delayed to late spring or June 2025.

Kieran Roe, executive director of Conserving Carolina, explained how and why Conserving Carolina partnered with FOET to help purchase the rail-banked corridor and raise over $3 million from private donors for the construction of the trail.

Destination by Design’s Matt Wagoner discussed the brand and logo design process and Robert Prioleau, co-founder of Blue Ion, introduced the incorporation of the new branding and a screening of the video produced by Real Digital Productions. Afterwards, Robert described and showed the features of the new website.

The presentation closed with Vice President Lynn Huffman revealing a new partnership with Mast General Store for Ecusta Trail merchandise. New t-shirts, hats and stickers were available for purchase and will eventually be available in Mast General Store Hendersonville. FOET will also be selecting a few additional retailers along the trail to sell its merchandise. Some items will soon be available through FOET’s website.

Links for more information:

• “Waiting for the Wheels” by Jeff Michels
• Hendersonville Lightning article about the event 
• Hendersonville Lightning article about storm damage to trail 
• Destination by Design
• Blue Ion
• New Brand Reveal Video
• New Ecusta Trail Website