The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship is fueled by passion and volunteerism and we simply would not exist without the good people who donate their time and resources to supporting our mission to make dirt magic in the Lost Sierra.
In 2022, we had 592 volunteers join us on the trails and at our events, logging 4,290 hours, which equated to $128,485.50 in grant matching dollars.
To that end, we wanted to take a moment to recognize a few standouts that truly helped move the organization forward last year with their contributions, each in their own way.
Volunteer of the Year: Diane Zingarelli
Diane Zingarelli is a long-time supporter of the Stewardship who took her support to the next level in 2022. Diane attended every trail work event, including all five Mountain Epics and each of our Trail Daze. She also volunteered her time last June at the return of our first event since the pandemic began, the Lost & Found Gravel Festival. And when she’s not digging dirt or supporting our events, Diane makes it a point to patronize the communities throughout the Lost Sierra that we support. Diane, thank you for bringing your energy, spirit and support to help keep Dirt Magic alive and prospering. Congratulations on a well-deserved acknowledgement and we look forward to seeing you on the trails in 2023.
Volunteer of the Year: Steve Minniear
Steve Minniear played an instrumental role in our first-ever 5 Bucks A Foot motorcycle fundraising campaign, “Twist the Throttle for Trails,” by giving his free time and expertise. As an avid moto rider and president of the Nevada County Woods Riders (NCWR) off-road and dual-sport motorcycle club, Steve helped us tremendously in reaching a new fundraising audience.
We contacted Steve as soon as we started campaign planning, and he graciously gave us recommendations on the moto giveaway package, then helped engage moto industry partners in supporting the fundraiser. Even after the campaign launch, he continued spreading the good word to regional motorcycle clubs, extolling the benefits of the Connected Communities Project and the importance of donating to the cause. In the end, the campaign raised more than $72,000 for trail work and our Connected Communities project—Steve’s generosity with his time made a huge difference in reaching that number.
For as long as we’ve known Steve, he’s been a devout trail advocate, including working with State Parks on the Culvert Trail in Auburn and the many days he’s spent volunteering and motivating others to volunteer to support trails in Northern California and Nevada. Thank you Steve for all you do!
Local Partner of The Year: Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds
If you have ever been to a Quincy Mountain Epic, then you have experienced first hand the generosity and hospitality of the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds. Over the years, Fair Manager John Steffanic and his crew have assisted SBTS in meeting our volunteer match on Mount Hough by providing a place for our volunteers to camp and unwind after a day of hard work on the trail. In 2022, SBTS hosted two very successful Epic weekends and brought many new faces to the area to experience the beauty of Plumas County. We are grateful for the support from John and everyone at the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds, and are proud to announce the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds as the recipient of the 2022 Local Partner of the Year!
You will surely find us and our hard working volunteers at the Fairgrounds again in 2023. We’ll mostly be enjoying the shade of one of the property’s grand ponderosa pines or racing pixie bikes in Serpilio Hall; Quincy Mountain Epics are set to be held at the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds on April 28-30 and September 22-24.
Regional Partner of the Year: Motorcycle Performance Center
Our 2022 Regional Partner of the Year is another that stepped up hugely to support our “Twist The Throttle for Trails” moto campaign in 2022, and quickly became a valuable partner to the Stewardship. Brad Teegarden and his Motorcycle Performance Center in Roseville, California, extended their time, expertise and network, allowing us to pull off our first-ever moto campaign. MPC and KTM North America provided the grand-prize KTM 350 EXC-F bike to the Stewardship at a heavily discounted price, as well as provided many upgraded parts and components and did all the work on the bike to get it ready for its new owner and also helped promote the fundraiser. MPC’s contribution was the main reason why we were able to raise more than $72,000 to help maintain moto-legal trail systems in Downieville and Quincy through this campaign. MPC also happens to be one of the oldest and largest KTM dealers in North America, and also carries KTM’s sister brands Husqvarna and GASGAS motorcycles, which are manufactured by KTM. The shop is family-run and has been around since 1975, so their knowledge is unmatched and they also specialize in hard-to-find parts. Thank you Brad and MPC for all of your support!
Industry Partner of the Year: Cervélo
It takes an incredible amount of support and resources for the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship to continue to produce Dirt Magic year after year. Our corporate/organization partners underwrite a substantial amount of the work we do, and in many cases also contribute generous amounts of product to our fundraising efforts. This enables us to fund our operations, hold our events, reward our family members, stoke out our volunteers, feed our work crews, and put together incredibly effective and appealing fundraisers. As such, we like to honor those organizations annually that go above and beyond. Last year was a challenging one as we emerged from the pandemic, ramping back up our trail programs, youth crews and of course, the return of our events. Due to restrictions still being in place early in 2022, we weren’t able to get the normal planning and preparation time for many of our event partners/sponsors. This created a challenge in budgeting and with onsite logistics. And although challenging, we prevailed, due in a very large part to our good friends and 2022 SBTS Partner of the Year, Cervélo. Cervélo took the lead as the title sponsor for the Lost & Found Gravel Festival in its return last June. Through their support of resources and onsite presence, the return of the Lost & Found was a big success. Thank you Cervélo for your continued support for the Lost & Found and the SBTS, and congratulations on a well deserved acknowledgement.
Want to get involved this year?
We’ve got a solid season of events lined up this year, and plenty of opportunities to have a shovel full of fun while helping to make dirt magic in the Lost Sierra. Mark your calendars for our three epics—weekend-long volunteer gatherings filled with trail work, BBQ and camping—or sign up to volunteer at the Lost & Found Gravel Festival or the Downieville Classic. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed on upcoming events.
- Quincy Epic #1 — April 28-30
- Lost & Found Gravel Festival — June 2-4 in Portola
- Downieville Classic — July 13-16 in Downieville
- Downieville Epic — August 18-20
- Quincy Epic #2 — September 22-24