ELECTIONS

2026 ALDHA ELECTION INFORMATION

VOTING IS NOW OPEN  (Sep 1 through 30)

VOTE HERE

Meet the 2026 ALDHA Election Nominees:

Treasurer Nominee:

Dennis Newton “Trail Pilgrim”

Hiking Background
Dennis, a lifelong hiker, learned about the Appalachian Trail from his father at age ten. He has completed the Appalachian Trail and the Benton MacKaye Trail, along with numerous hikes in Europe and Korea. His experience also includes day hikes on the Pacific Crest Trail near Big Bear Lake, California, and in Somalia, Africa.

Leadership and Professional Preparation
Before retiring from the U.S. Army as a colonel, Dennis received training in organizational development, human relations, financial management, diversity, crisis management, and mediation. He would bring this experience to the Treasurer role with a commitment to fiscal responsibility and transparency.

ALDHA Service
Dennis knows ALDHA well and has served the organization as an At-Large Board Member, Recording Secretary, and Coordinator for four years.

Financial Management Experience
Dennis’s qualifications for Treasurer are grounded in decades of financial management. He studied accounting and bookkeeping in high school and completed a quantitative analysis course during his doctorate program.

• Managed four United Way nonprofit organizations.
  • Served as a clerk in a government non-appropriated fund from 1974 to 1976.
  • Managed a $400,000 fund for three years as Fund Manager at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
  • Managed $800,000 in non-appropriated funds and $34 million in appropriated funds as Comptroller
  for U.S. Army Europe.

Membership Secretary Nominee: 

Brian J. O’Malley, RN “Cheese Shredder” 

Brian O’Malley is running for re-election as ALDHA Membership Secretary after being appointed to fill a vacant position on the Executive Board. He is also the editor of The Blaze and has become actively involved in many areas of the organization.

His ALDHA involvement includes coordinating the 43rd Gathering Hiker Fair, contributing to programming of the 44th Gathering, serving on the Engagement Committee, and chairing the Nominating and Leadership Committee.

Brian is passionate about keeping ALDHA connected, engaged, and welcoming to hikers and trail supporters. As Membership Secretary, he hopes to continue building strong relationships with members, encouraging participation, and helping ALDHA remain a vibrant and active trail community.

Outside of ALDHA, Brian enjoys hiking and spending time on the Appalachian Trail. He is a registered nurse with a background in mental health and substance use disorder, and he is passionate about recovery and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and addiction. He looks forward to continuing to bring his experience, passion, and enthusiasm to ALDHA.

At Large Nominees

(Pick four nominees to vote for)

Christopher Flow “Kaleidoscope” 

Chris “Kaleidoscope” Flow (K-Scope) is an Appalachian Trail Class of 2025 flip-flop thru-hiker (Daleville → Katahdin; Daleville → Springer). Based in Durham, North Carolina, with roots in Louisiana and a decade in Washington, D.C., Flow stays active section hiking North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail while planning his next thru-hike on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).

For Flow, the defining highlight of the 2,198 miles wasn’t just the scenery, but the people who make up the trail’s heartbeat: fellow thru- and section-hikers, hostel hosts, shuttle drivers, trail angels, and the welcoming residents of gateway trail towns. Completing his thru-hike two weeks before the 2025 Gathering, Flow attended to help acclimate to post-trail life and found an immediate home among ALDHA’s community. He deeply appreciates ALDHA’s vital role as an advocate and gathering place for hikers, partnering alongside physical trail-maintaining organizations. In 2026, Flow served as a panelist at the ATC Flip-Flop Kickoff to guide and inspire future hikers.

Professionally, Flow brings over a decade of executive experience in non-profit membership associations, specializing in operations, digital systems/IT, marketing, graphic design, and managing conferences for upwards of 5,000 attendees. Having served as a board president and director for other national membership organizations, he understands how to balance honoring legacy and tradition with evolving to meet modern member needs.

What Flow Brings to ALDHA:

• Championing Hiker Fellowship & Culture: Passionately supporting the people-first spirit of ALDHA by celebrating the hikers, trail angels, hostel hosts, and town communities that sustain the long-distance experience.
• Association & Event Leadership: Applying hands-on conference planning, modern IT workflows, and graphic design experience to elevate The Gathering, regional events, and digital member communications.
• Governance & Strategic Growth: Leveraging past board presidency and director experience to help ALDHA navigate sustainable growth, member engagement, and cross-trail partnerships across the East Coast.
• Trail Stewardship & Perspective: Bringing fresh, recent on-trail experience—along with a personal dedication to trail stewardship, demonstrated by donating $1 per mile of his thru-hike to the 30 AT maintaining clubs.
• Connecting Off-Corridor Hikers: Fostering community and year-round engagement for members who live away from the immediate AT corridor but remain deeply committed to long-distance hiking culture.

When not hiking with his husband or dog, Flow enjoys woodworking, photography, cooking, improv, and board and video games.

John Knight

Retired. My background was in IT and I was an EDI Coordinator with over 20 + years in the automotive industry. I have always liked the AT and I try to go to the GSMNP at least twice a year. I hiked the AT around the Cades Cove Area for over 13 years, trail name was Capt. Chaos, when I had the chance. Starting to become active in Mammouth Cave Association and would like to become active in ALDHA in order to help in getting our message out to the public. I serve on the local RailPark Board of Directors in Bowling Green, KY and I am a member of the sHOw club, in Bowling Green, KY, that promotes model railroading in the community. Directors are important and they bring ideas and experience that many times are “outside the box” but can be useful to a board. I have the ability to put my time into ALDHA.  If you want a person who has the interest of the AT, and the area of TN/NC plus KY then I would love the chance to join your board.

 

Andy Boyes “hikerboy” 

I first stepped on the AT in 1976, and have been section hiking ever since. In addition to some 5000 miles of AT hiking over 50 years, I’ve done 3 complete BMT thru hikes, as well as hiking many other trails, including the Long Trail, Finger Lakes Trail, Northville-Placid Trail, as well as numerous other trails in the East.

I joined ALDHA in 2010 and when I attended my first Gathering, I remember it felt like coming home. I had met many of the members previously during my many hikes, and many I knew online. These were my peeps. I was elected to the board 4 years ago as a director at large and have served on the board ever since. I am one of the administrators of our Facebook group and page. I helped spearhead the effort to raise money for Helene relief. I’ve done more than a few ALDHA Outreach events, and haven’t missed a Gathering since I first became a member.

I’ve been blessed with kindness over the years from strangers who helped me on my journeys, and serving on the ALDHA board has been a satisfying way for me to pay those kindnesses forward.

Gary Windham “Rock Steady”

Gary Windham is an active ALDHA member, frequent volunteer, and valued contributor to the ALDHA community. Over the years, he has supported many ALDHA events and has become well known for his Gathering workshops on electronics and technology for long-distance hiking.

His engaging presentations help hikers make smart decisions about the gear they carry, balancing convenience, reliability, and trail simplicity.

 

 

John Jordan “Morning Glory” 

I have been an ALDHA member since 2021 and a board member since 2022. As an at-large board member, I have been very involved in leading and helping with several ALDHA programs. I have been in charge of the ALDHA Care program since 2022. I also became in charge of the ALDHA store in 2023 and continue to operate it today. I’ve also organized and planned the Southern Ruck since it was handed over to ALDHA in 2023. This past year I also began to lead the Outreach program. At the last couple of Gatherings, I’m the crazy guy that has developed and led the Gathering games.

Outside ALDHA, I have been around the Appalachian trail for more than 25 years as a section hiker, shuttle driver and general friend to hikers. This summer I’m proud to add hostel manager to that list as the manager for the brand new Water’s Edge Hostel near Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

VOTE HERE

Calendar Overview:

August 1st – nominations open 
August 21st – nominations close

September 1st – both electronic and snail mail ballots (for members without email) will be made available.
September 30th – elections close.

Duties and Responsibilities for All Board Members:

1. All board members must agree to and sign a conflict of interest statement.

2. Board members are expected to help carry the load of managing the day-to-day business of ALDHA. We are a working board and it is not uncommon for board members to wear multiple “hats.”

3. Board members are expected to attend the Gathering, in-person board meetings, and monthly electronic meetings. Board members are encouraged, when possible and feasible, to attend trail functions such as the ATKO, Trail Days and local trail festivals.

4. Board members are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the ALDHA bylaws and motions passed by both past and present boards.

5. Board members are required to adhere to all ALDHA Policies.

Links to more information: 
Code of Conduct 
Duties & Responsibilities 
Whistleblower
Conflict of Interest

Accepting a nomination and subsequent election to the board gives you the ability to affect the future of ALDHA. The pay is lousy (none), there is always plenty of work but you can’t beat the camaraderie. If you love ALDHA and the hiking community, please give serious consideration to joining the board.

ALDHA Elections:

Ballots will be formatted by the Election Committee and posted on the website.
Snail mail ballots and nominee bios will be sent to non email members.
One ballot will be sent per membership.
Electronic voting will be via the website.
Elections close September 30th. Ballots received after this date will not be counted.
Posting of Results:

The website will tally electronic ballots and paper ballots will be tallied and verified by the Election Coordinator and/or the Recording Secretary.
Results will be announced at the Gathering.
Results will be posted on the website and in the Blaze.