Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Hopewell Township Administrator Paul Pogorzelski and former Lawrence Township Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun hardly think of themselves as trail blazers.
Yet the two men were honored last week when the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corp. presented them with the annual Trailblazer Award for their work in supporting the Lawrence Hopewell Trail.
The award was created to honor organizations or individuals who provided extraordinary support to the effort for at least three years – whether it was leadership, professional expertise, financial contributions or advocacy for the bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly Lawrence Hopewell Trail.
“The Lawrence Hopewell Trail benefited from Rich Krawczun’s knowledge of the community, finance, government relations and construction, as well as his superb problem-solving skills,” said Eleanor V. Horne, co-president of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corp.
Horne pointed out that most of the trail segments in Lawrence were built while Krawczun served as the Lawrence Township municipal manager. He retired from the top administrative post earlier this year.
Pogorzelski, who holds a private pilot’s license, used his passion for flying to take aerial photographs of the terrain in Hopewell Township, said Becky Taylor, co-president of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corp. That was in the time before online maps were available.
“Because of Paul’s avocation, we were able to establish the Lawrence Hopewell Trail route, using a perspective that otherwise would not be available to us,” Taylor said.
Cartoonist Mike Scott, who created caricatures of each winner, drew a cartoon of Pogorzelski in his Cessna airplane, grinning as he flew the private aircraft. Krawczun’s caricature featured him relaxing in a chair along the trail as he thought about his new, post-retirement life in Florida.
Since its inception in 2001, 19 miles of the 22-mile-long Lawrence Hopewell Trail have been built throughout Lawrence and Hopewell townships. Neighboring towns are looking to get on board by extending the trail.
The off-road Lawrence Hopewell Trail connects Bristol-Myerrs Squibb Co. campuses in the two townships, as well as the Educational Testing Service and the Mercer County-owned Mercer Meadows Park.
