Stay The Trail Leadership

Employees

Sam Logan
Program Coordinator

Sam is the Stay The Trail Program Coordinator with the main duty of encouraging the responsible use of Colorado's motorized trails. Like many of us, Sam shares a passion for the outdoors.

Born into a motorized household Sam has an almost natural passion for anything with wheels. With over 18 yrs of two wheel dirt experience, Sam has a fever for exploring the outdoors.Sam is currently enrolled in Metropolitan State Collage of Denver seeking a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a concentration in Natural Resource Management and Land Use.

Dave Novak

Stewardship and Outreach Specialist

My name is David and I love exploring Colorado’s backcountry. I have several different outdoor passions including hunting, fishing, dirt biking, and four wheeling. I have ridden off-road motorcycles for many years and have been blessed to be able to explore many of Colorado’s motorized singletracks. I also have a lifelong passion for four-wheel driving and enjoy taking my Toyota Tacoma and 4-Runner off -road. I also enjoy non-motorized activities such as skiing, mountain biking, and trail running.

I hold an Associate’s of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and Natural Resource Sciences and have several years experience in OHV management and Natural Resource Protection. I have a true passion for protecting our trails here in Colorado and I believe that education is a very important part of that effort. I look forward to meeting and working with other enthusiasts around the State!

Allison Needler
Administrator

Allison is the Administrator for Stay The Trail. She oversees and administers the grant programs, projects and day-to- day business of the Responsible Recreation Foundation. Allison enjoys being outdoors; camping, fishing and hiking. She grew up camping and it was always her favorite family vacations. It was a great opportunity to spend quality time with her family by a campfire and under the stars. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and two children while taking advantage of all the beauty Colorado has to offer.

Board of Directors

Matt Balazs
Chairman

Matt Balazs joined Stay The Trail after more than a decade as a professional off road guide in the Vail area. Spending his summers guiding Jeep, Hummer and ATV tours and winters working in the ski industry or grooming snow mobile trails. During his time on the trails he gained a deep understanding of the need for education to preserve our delicate trail systems. This lead to Matt's current undertaking as an Off Road Driving Instructor with his company On Trail Training, teaching principals of ethical trail use along with safe operation of off road vehicles and recovery equipment. Matt is also a Tread Trainer with TreadLightly! and a Certified Wilderness First Responder through NOLS.

George Vonesh

Director and Treasurer

George is retired from Xcel Energy. He has served in various capacities for the Responsible Recreation Foundation since 2006. George is an avid, life-long outdoorsman who enjoys fly fishing, hunting, family camping, and getting to remote areas on his dirt bike and with his 4X4 truck and camper. Four kids, ten grandkids, and, most recently, two great granddaughters, keep him pretty busy. Motorized recreation has become a family tradition.

Steve Knaus
Director and Secretary

I have 30 years of OHV experience and 18 of them right here in Colorado. With so many awesome places to ride in Colorado I wanted to be sure I had a hand in helping keep this form of recreation open for generations to come. STT is an incredible program with many great supporters and we hope to get bigger and get the message out to more people every year.

Bobby Johnson
Director

Mack Koepke
Director

Mack serves on the Board of Directors, having volunteered for the Responsible Recreation Foundation and Stay The Trail in various capacities over the past several years. Concerned with our public land access in Colorado and the increase in use, he has been involved in many educational programs to advocate and educate for responsible utilization of our public lands, both for motorized and non-motorized outdoor recreational pursuits.

Mack holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado, and is an avid outdoorsman enjoying all forms of outdoor recreation, including OHV use, Skiing, Whitewater Kayaking, Camping and Fly-Fishing.

Dan Krob
Director

Dan has served as a Stay The Trail board member since 2014. He is a Colorado native who enjoys a wide variety of outdoor recreation, both motorized and non-motorized. Between earning an undergraduate degree from CSU and completing law school Dan competed for and was employed by various off-highway companies.

When not practicing law, Dan can be found hiking, skiing, camping, mountain biking, or exploring Colorado in his Jeep.

Cory Moul
Director

Cory Moul served as the Commander of Mile-Hi Jeep Club in 2014-2015 and remains very active with the club, including his role as the Promotions CO-Chairman for Mile-Hi Jeep Club's All-4-Fun and Christmas Caravan for Kids events. He also spent several years on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Association of 4WD Clubs.

Cory has a 1980 Jeep CJ7 and a 2002 Dodge Durango that he will 4-wheel depending on how hard of a trail he is doing and how many kids he is bringing. Cory and his wife Mindy have two children, Caleb is 4 and Mya is 2. They all love to go 4wheeling and camping.

Cory joined Mile-Hi Jeep Club as a paying member in 1999, but has been a proud member of Mile-Hi Jeep Club from the day he was born. His parents Gary & Gail Moul are Lifetime Members of Mile-Hi Jeep Club and have been members since 1977! Cory has served on several committees for Mile-Hi Jeep Club, CoA4WDC, All-4-Fun and the Christmas Caravan for Kids. He is always willing step up and help do what is need to keep our great sport around for his children and many generations to come. He looks forward to using all of his experience with all of the other organizations and events he has been part of to help take Stay The Trail to the next level!!

Mark Shaver
Director

Mark is the former Stay The Trail Seasonal employee and is now on the Board of Directors. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and is currently attending The Colorado School of Mines for Mechanical Engineering. Mark is an avid dirt bike and ATV rider, outdoorsman, and fisherman. Prior to joining Stay The Trail Mark previously worked as a Natural Resource and GIS Technician for the City of Lakewood.

Ex-Officio Advisors

Justin Lilly
Advisor

Justin served the Stay The Trail program as Program Coordinator from July 2008 to January 2011. Hs has spent a good portion of the last several years educating recreational enthusiasts and youth about the rewards and benefits of responsible public lands use. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Land Use with emphasis in Resources and the Environment awarded from Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2007.

Justin is a Colorado native whose passion for adventure and the outdoors has led him as far away as Alaska to guide near Denali National Park. He enjoys all types of outdoor recreation and is an avid skier and part-time ski instructor.

Jack Placchi
State Trails and Travel Management Coordinator for BLM in Colorado

Mr. Placchi began his job with BLM in September 2002. He has worked for Colorado State Parks as the OHV Program Manager from 1997 to 2002. Prior to that he had worked for the US Forest Service for over 18 years. His career includes work in fire, trails, wilderness, recreation, OHV and travel management. Mr. Placchi holds an Associate in Science degree in Natural Resource Management from LA Peirce College, CA.