During her tenure as Communications Director of the Florida Trail Association, Sandra Friend was responsible for upkeep of the Florida Trail website. Between 2004 and 2008, she took the website through four distinct style and functionality changes, with the most recent upgrade a year-long effort between planning and completion.
When she completed the last iteration of the website in August 2008, it contained contains more than 500 content pages, two primary blogs, and 18 websites managed by local chapters (with design and implementation of some of the sites, based in Wordpress, taken care of by Sandra before handed off to volunteers to maintain). The website incorporates a YouTube channel and MySpace page for social networking, as well. There is an interactive calendar for upcoming activities and an integrated download section which tracks downloads of PDF versions of brochures, flyers, and magazines. A separate photo gallery website, distinct among all National Scenic Trails for offering downloadable images for promotional use, is hosted with a photo service provider.
The site has won several awards over the years and with the latest design incorporating Web 2.0 for members of this nonprofit organization, will no doubt continue to grow by leaps and bounds as members are able to submit content directly for publication online. In November 2008, Sandra received a special Regional Forester’s award from the USDA Forest Service, Southeast Region, for her implementation of blogs and new media to attract and engage volunteers.
