2009 OTA Board Members

Here are short bios of your Ozark Trail Association board members.  All directors are members of the Advisory Board, which meets quarterly to establish OTA goals and direction.  Many of the directors are also members of the Executive Board, which meets monthly to coordinate the day-to-day activities of the Ozark Trail Association.

Roger B. Allison
When I retired from the National Guard in 2000, I decided to take up backpacking and hiking. I first learned about the Ozark Trail Association from a sermon delivered by Robert Smith during a backpacking seminar that he and Danny McMurphy put on in 2003. Since then I have been regularly volunteering in the construction and maintenance activities of the OTA. I am interested in seeing the organization continue fulfill all aspects of its mission statement.

When not on the trail, I work for the City of St. Louis as a civil engineer. For the past ten years I have been the City’s project manager for the public works projects in Forest Park that have been publicly funded or jointly funded by the City and Forest Park Forever. I thus have a great deal of experience in public/private partnerships. I believe I can offer some valuable in sights as the OTA moves forward with its mission.

Matt Atnip
I have always loved the outdoors ever since those days at Y camp, in Indian Guides, and camping on the Jack’s Fork with my folks. I came across the Ozark Trail through some friends at work. I hiked a section or two along with my son and we had a great time. For me, the best thing about the outdoors is bonding with your kids in a place with wide-open spaces and a few less rules than home. We enjoyed it so much, we figured if we can hike on it, maybe we could help take care of it. I hope our efforts will make it possible for other families to find out how spending time outdoors can bring them closer together. He currently serves as Treasurer.

Margo Carroll
I am an author, photographer, mountain biker and hiker. I enjoyed being a part of the Ozark Trail Associations first year, working on the Public Relations and marketing committee, serving as a board member, and volunteering building the trail. The Ozark Trail is an absolute treasure! It is a joy to work on its creation, preservation and promotion! Currently I am hiking the entire trail and writing a guide book that will be released in spring 2004.

Steve Coates
Steve has always enjoyed the outdoors having hiked and floated in the Missouri Ozarks as a kid with his dad. He hiked the Ozark Trail for the first time in 2001. Steve began volunteering for the OTA in early 2003 when he attended his first board meeting. Since then, he became President in 2005 and Board Chairman in 2007. He is a professional civil engineer with experience in Transportation Planning, Roadway Design and Water Resources Engineering. One of his visions of the trail (among others): to become one of the nations foremost hiking trails, that showcases some of the most unique and beautiful landscapes on earth. He lives in Kirkwood with his wife, two daughters, golden retriever and two cats. He is a currently President of the OTA.

Greg Echele
Greg remembers his first hike at age 5. On a sunny winter day his dad took him hiking on the property of a friendly farmer ... where they saw rabbit and field mouse tracks in the snow and ate lunch by a warming campfire on the bank of a clear stream that was full to the brim with "snow melt". During a busy life raising three kids and working in the field of child welfare, Greg floated the entire Meramec River is stages and enjoyed day hiking when time was available. After the kids were raised, he took up backpacking at the urging of a Minnesota friend. Since then he has solo hiked all sections of the OT, except two, and enjoyed backpacking with friends on various long trails including Lake Superior (Minnesota), Wind Rivers (Wyoming), and Mount Elbert-Massive (Colorado), and Grand Canyon (Arizona). He deeply enjoys the beauty of Missouri's woods and streams, in all seasons, and looks forward to helping the Ozark Trail Association finish the dream ... a continuous hiking trail to the Arkansas border. Greg has four young grandkids that he hopes will follow in his footsteps (literally) as they progress through childhood. Professionally, he is Executive Director of Family Resource Center in St. Louis.

Jeff Goetter
Jeff has done most of his hiking/backpacking with the Boy Scouts where he has accumulated over 475 miles over the last 9 years, which includes time on the Taum Sauk and Courtois sections. He first learned about the OT from a newspaper article some years ago and started collecting whatever he could find on the trail. "I stumbled on the OTA website one day and was hooked, it was just what I was looking for" Since joining the OTA Jeff has attended many of the outings and has taken over the duties of volunteer coordinator. He currently serves as Secretary.

Lisa Hollenbeck
Lisa is the co-owner of the Alpine Shop and 2003 board member.

Jeff Lamb
Jeff works for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service as an RC&D Coordinator at the Big Springs Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Project office in Van Buren. He works with the Big Springs RC&D Council which is made up of community leaders from the counties of Carter, Ripley, Wayne, Butler, and Reynolds and together work on a variety of natural resource and economic development projects. Together they are working on several community walking trails in the area as well as promoting more eco-tourism in the region. Their web address: www.morcd.org/bsrcd/index.htm

Jeff has been an Ozark trail user for many years and would like to assist in its completion and maintenance as well as promoting it as a regional attraction. 

Linda Meade
Linda became enlightened to the joys of hiking and camping somewhat late in life (after leaving career #1 - marketing - and finishing grad school in psychology). However, soon after discovering the Ozark Trail, she became a steady OTA volunteer in the spring of 2005. She enjoys working with other dedicated volunteers, helping build both trail and the long-lasting friendships the OTA often engenders. Linda is also the proud adopted “parent” of a 4-mile portion of the Blair Creek section of the OT. She is glad to find a way to “give back” to her community and the environment that gives her a welcome break from her day job.

Glenn Meyer
I currently assist in operating the Bicycle Fun Club for Trailnet and was one of the founding board members for The Bicycle Fun Club. I have been building multi-use trails for 3 years with GORC including numerous work days as crew leader. 

As a user, I had hiked around on trails in parks since my youth and, my trail riding experiences began in the early 1980’s. In 1989 I helped mark the Lost Valley Trail in Weldon Spring. Now 16 years later, while revisiting the trail, I have seen how trail design has greatly evolved for the better. I want to repay those trail builders that came before us and incorporate modern multi-use trail standards to create a more sustainable trail system for future trail users.

Melissa Schwab
I grew up in rural southeastern Missouri, spending almost all warm hours outdoors on our farm. In the summer evenings, I would fish with my father for bluegill in the nearby creek, and on weekends we would adventure somewhere, like Pink Rocks or Silvermines, just because. My parents were/are avid outdoor lovers, and once we camped our way to Canada and back, my sister and I riding in the back of a 64 Chevy the whole way (camper shell included.) Now, I am a high school English teacher and cheer coach. For the past several years, I've been hiking, biking, and camping with my boys. Being a part of the OTA has been another awesome addition to my outdoor life. There is true beauty in the Ozarks and in the volunteer spirit of the OTA. I've loved being a part of it.

Chris Schwab
I grew up hunting, fishing, camping and floating in southeast Missouri. My father and I often camped together south of Van Buren. After moving to Washington, MO in 2001 to take an IT position, I have been spending most of my free time outdoors exploring, experiencing, and learning about the Ozarks, especially mountain biking and hiking with my family and our two dogs throughout the area. We first got involved with the OTA in 2005 when my son and I attended the event that completed the Middle Fork section. It was so much fun that I got my wife involved, and now the OTA outings are a regular part of our family activities.