Canal Corporation Announces Camillus Volunteer as Trail Tender Award Winner

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Photo: Fenton Hanchett & Carmella Mantello

The New York State Canal Corporation has selected Fenton Hanchett of the town of Camillus, Onondaga County, as the 2010 Canalway Trail Tender Award winner.

The award was presented to Mr. Hanchett by Canal Corporation Director Carmella R. Mantello during a reception at the 2010 World Canals Conference in Rochester in September 2010.

Fenton Hanchett was recognized for his outstanding efforts and commitment to promoting, developing and enhancing the Canalway Trail.

The Canalway Trail Tender Award was established in 1998 to honor the efforts of volunteers who have demonstrated exemplary and significant contributions to the development, promotion, and enhancement of New York's historic Canalway Trail.

Director Mantello said, "Volunteers are extremely important to the success of the Canalway Trail program. Fenton Hanchett's dedication and participation, in particular, have been an inspiration for us all. The Corporation is pleased to recognize Mr. Hanchett's diligent efforts with the Canalway Trail Tender Award."

Parks & Trails New York Executive Director Robin Dropkin said, "The Canalway Trail we enjoy today is a result of visionaries like Fenton who long-ago recognized the trail's potential and dedicated their time and considerable talents to bring those dreams to reality. We congratulate Fenton on this well-deserved award."

Mr. Hanchett has made a number of significant contributions to the Canalway Trail. In 1997, Fenton was one of eight people who participated in the first 400-mile Canalway Trail Trek bicycle tour from Buffalo to Albany. This pioneering event generated extensive media coverage and local support.

As a result of that first Canalway Trail Trek, the "Cycle the Erie Canal" tour was started by Parks & Trails New York. More than 500 people from all over the world cycle across New York state each July in that event. Mr. Hanchett has supported the "Cycle the Erie Canal" tour each year by helping to organize a rest stop for the cyclists at the Camillus Erie Canal Park.

Mr. Hanchett also helped to found the Camillus Canal Society and served as a vice-president and assistant director of the Camillus Erie Canal Park. In the mid-2000s Fenton provided valuable information to Canal Corporation planners and engineers in the design of the Canalway Trail reconstruction in the Camillus area.

While he has worked tirelessly on the local level in Camillus, Mr. Hanchett also has maintained an eye on the larger, statewide goal of completing the Canalway Trail. He has been a member of the statewide volunteer Canalway Trails Association New York board since the group began in 1999. Mr. Hanchett has always helped provide logistics for the Canalway Trails Association meetings, which take place at the Camillus Erie Canal Park and he cycles along the Erie Canal towpath to the meetings whenever possible.

Mr. Hanchett also serves on the Board of Directors of the Canal Society of New York State and was actively involved with the Nine-Mile Creek Aqueduct Restoration Committee in Camillus.

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Please see the attached photograph

PHOTO CAPTION:

Fenton Hanchett, left, of Camillus, Onandaga County, receives the 2010 Canalway Tender Award from New York State Canal Corporation Director Carmella R. Mantello at the recent World Canals Conference in Rochester.

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The New York State Canal System is comprised of four historic waterways, the Erie, the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Spanning 524 miles across New York State, the waterway links the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes and the Niagara River with communities rich in history and culture.

The New York State Canal Corporation is a subsidiary of the New York State Thruway Authority. In 1992, state legislation transferred the Canal System from the New York State Department of Transportation to the Thruway Authority. Canal operating and maintenance activities are supported by Thruway toll revenues.

For more information about vacation opportunities and events along the New York State Canal System, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit www.canals.ny.gov. For information about boating safety and marine recreation in New York State, visit www.nysparks.com or call 518-474-0445.

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