January 2023 Volunteer of the Month - Randy Bleggi

Randy is an avid mountain biker and trail maker, and because of his passion for good biking trails in our area, he got involved with the Santaquin Prospector View & Park Trailhead project in Santaquin Canyon. Mayor Olson has gotten to know Randy through this project, and in his words he stated, “Over the summer of 2022, I have had the opportunity to get to know many people who have volunteered hours and machines to the Prospector View & Park Trailhead in Santaquin Canyon, Santaquin City’s newest park consisting of 120 acres, built on the slopes of the canyon just below the Nebo Wilderness area.

Many of these folks stand out as real volunteers with equipment, time, and commodities they have through the businesses they operate. Randy stands out in that group because he not only contributed labor and equipment but saw the vision of the park and wanted to become a part of it. He loves the out-of-doors, is interested in these trails, and sees the potential in our new park.

By early November 2022, Randy had logged a few hundred hours designing paths for trails and marking them to meet as good of a grade as the mountain would yield. With the envisioning and marking required, those hundreds of hours were spent trading off with two others yet doing the lion’s share of the actual digging. The trails became his babies, and the other operators tried to maintain a standard acceptable to Randy and the mountain bike community that would use the trails.

I want to thank Randy for his efforts, forethought, and hoeing to the end of the row. He spent hours in a cold seat with snow and rain falling and then followed up the next day only to continue up this envisioned trail.

Randy is a contractor and has freely given up time he could have been working to support his family to each of us as Santaquin residents. We will all greatly benefit from his outlook and volunteer work. He is much deserving of this recognition.”

Randy and his wife, Melissa, have lived in Santaquin since 2010. They have three sons, one of which is married, and two grandchildren. His youngest son used to race mountain bikes in high school and needed practice trails close to home. This is how Randy got involved in making bike trails in our area. In his free time, he enjoys camping, motorcycle riding, and anything outdoors.

Thank you, Randy, for all your work on our newest trail. Your volunteerism and example will benefit many for years to come.