Update: Suzanne passed away on July 26th at the age of 77 in Columbia Illinois after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. We have continued to add to our post, sharing additional memories of Suzanne. She will be greatly missed.
If you're looking for an example of a dedicated Sierra Club leader, look no further than the remarkable Suzanne Smith and her 30+ years of service to the Eastern Missouri Group (EMG) of Missouri Sierra Club. Recently, the EMG honored Suzanne's incredible committment by awarding her a Lifetime Achievement Award. During her time with the club, she has been active on the Outings Committee and Trail Maintenance Committee and Glade Restoration. She also started a Friday Hiking group. Suzanne’s leadership, enthusiasm, and passion has positively impacted many, many Sierra Club members over the years. Please join us as we reflect on the fond memories her fellow club members share as they recount her many contributions over the years.
A Sierra Club Lifetime Award for Suzanne is well deserved. I have hiked with Suzanne for almost 15 years. I was always amazed at her knowledge of Missouri state parks. She knew every trail and the best time to see the wildflower blooms. I feel blessed that she shared her love of nature with me and all the many hikers she led. Submitted by Rod Randoll
Plans include going on a hike, or maybe a bike ride, then a winery with music, or maybe a concert, then contra dancing, or a waltz. A day without steep hills or pain. This is Jane House's memory of a day of activity for Suzanne. I will never forget Suzanne love of hiking. After finishing a hike she would always be trying to talk some one into doing another hike. If there was someone who loved hiking it was Suzanne. Submitted by Paul Stupperich
I have known Suzanne for many years through the Sierra Club trails committee. She has maintained a very strong presence helping with our trail work always willing to show up at our events including our work on the Ozark Trail. Suzanne was not into the trail building effort but loved getting out there doing maintenance on our trails. She loves getting out in the woods. She is our mushroom expert so we always ask her to identify mushrooms to determine if they are edible. Suzanne is also heavily involved in the Ozark Trail Association who are responsible for the whole Ozark Trail and helps them as well with the trail maintenance effort. Submitted by John Feldmann
I started hiking with the Sierra Club in 2011 when I retired. I rapidly became friends with Suzanne, who showed me what Missouri and hiking was all about. Wildflowers, etc. All the various places to hike, I learned from her. And eventually decided to become an outings hike leader myself. I learned so much from her about wildflowers, and all of the state’s wonderful hiking locations. She would always ask me about my grandchildren, and I about hers. I looked forward every Wednesday to her post about the Friday hike and where it would be. I would always drive the group, carpooling, so that I would have memory of how to get there. And then I’d go there myself in the next several days, to enjoy all of it myself alone. I had lived in St. Louis for 43 years and knew nothing about the state of Missouri and its beauty until I met and hiked with Suzanne. She encouraged me to become a leader. And I did! Submitted by Jim Leach-Ross.
Suzanne's friendliness and her leadership in coordinating weekly Friday Sierra Club hikes "forever" inspired me to resume them after the 2 year hiatus due to Covid. Submitted by Rick Armstrong.
Suzanne took me on my first ever hike in Missouri upon my arrival to the U.S. from France. It was a 7 mile hike on the Mina Sauk loop on the Taum Sauk section, and I loved it! She was the first friendly outings leader I met during my time as an intern with the Sierra Club and always made me feel welcome throughout the years. On that hike I remember she told me about her job as the person keeping plants alive - I thought that was the coolest thing as I had never heard of that before. I am now an outings leader and have yet to lead my first hike. I hope I will do Suzanne justice while remembering that first hike I went on. Submitted by Ségolène Renaze
My short memory - I remember attending my first trail maintenance program at Current River State Park. I had hiked previously on the Brushy Creek Trail in the Roger Pryor Backcountry, and knew that the trail desperately needed maintenance. Suzanne Smith stood out as someone who knew what she was doing. My family and I learned what tools we needed, how to find our section of the trail, and when we needed to return to the lodge. Suzanne was able to transform my family of inexperienced trail workers into an effective team. The Brushy Creek Trail was transformed, and many hikers have benefited from Suzanne's leadership and training skills! Submitted by John Hickey.
I do have a few memories but maybe not significant ones. Once, I did dance with her at the Focal Point to (I think) some Cajun band. She was a very energetic dancer and I had a hard time keeping up with her! And once, when we were all down at Camp Ondesssonk, she told those of us sitting at a table at this restaurant that she had been bitten by this dog and the dog took a big chuck out of her leg. As usual, she seemed to be in a good mood and she was telling us all about what had happened almost as if it was something funny. These memories go back a long, long time. I remember when she was first getting involved with the Sierra Club and she was helping out with the glade restorations that Penny Holtzmann was leading. Submitted by Jim Rhodes.
I remember Suzanne with a smile, outdoors! She was organized - always eager and ready to identify a plant or flower. Suzanne liked to respect others by being prompt, and she sometimes hiked at quite a clip until someone would beg her to slow down! She picked interesting hiking spots and really knew the lay of the land! Suzanne was one with Nature, and wanted to share her joys with other people! She is an amazing woman, dedicated to Sierra Club principles of promoting responsible use of Mother Nature's resources, and making it fun! Submitted by Diana Oleskevich.
We hiked and vacationed together a few times and she taught me so much about camping, and backpacking. She was knowledgeable and experienced and gracious about sharing information for safe, enjoyable and compact packing for hiking and camping experiences. She was a pleasant companion and interesting to be with. Submitted by Marge O’Gorman.
She does not stop there. She attends numerous organizational meetings, new outdoor leadership training sessions, and is deeply concerned about preservation issues.
I remember she offered me a root beer on the back steps of the bunk house at Current River State Park. We had just gotten back from a hard day of trail maintenance. We were all showered up and just waiting for the evening meal. The root beer was so refreshing and we sat and talked about our exploits of the day until dinner was called.
We both started with the OTA about the same time and she used to help me out with the cooking at our Mega Events. Over all that time she attended 93 of our events ranging from hiking, maintenance, construction, and sawyer work, and some meetings to round things out. Submitted by Jeff Goetter, Secretary, Ozark Trail Association.