The Rideau Trail Association (RTA) is governed by a Board of 12 Directors, eight of whom are elected and four of whom are ex-officio. The ex-officio Directors include one representative for each of the three Rideau Trail Association Clubs; and the fourth is the immediate Past President of the Association. Directors are elected for a term of one year.
Officers are responsible for conducting day-to-day business of the RTA within their assigned responsibilities. They are organized in committee structures that report and provide input back to the Board. Officers are selected by the Board.
To contact a Director or the Board:
- See the contact information in your quarterly RTA Newsletter, or
- Contact the Chair of your local RTA Club, or
- email info@rideautrail.org
Officers
President – Rusty Bassarab
Vice President – currently vacant
Secretary – Eileen McNally
Treasurer – Hua Lei CPA, MBA
Membership – Evert de Boer
Marketing and Communications – Karen Toon
Trail Coordinator – Alan Smith
Activities Coordinator – Jim Moss
Ottawa Club Chair – Alan Johnson
Central Club Chair – Dorothy Hudson
Kingston Club Chair – Jim Moss
Directors
Russell (Rusty) Bassarab
Rusty is a Hike Leader, golf enthusiast, photographer and graphic arts hobbyist. He is a retired Army officer and has previous experience serving on boards for a variety organizations. Rusty served on the RTA Board as Trail Coordinator from 2019-2023 and as President since May 2023.
Randal Goodfellow
Randal, a keen hiker, is semi-retired and living in Westport. He is currently a commercial syrup producer and a woodlot manager in addition to being the founding member of the Westport Tourism Group. He has extensive background in the agriculture and food industry, government relations; as well as in both for-profit and not-for-profit Boards and is now a Director with the RTA.
Dorothy Hudson
RTA Central Club Chair, Ex-officio RTA Director. Dorothy has been an active member of Central Club for over 35 years, having led hiking and ski trips as well as being part of the Central Executive and the RTA Board. Dorothy lives in Smiths Falls, where she chairs the Municipal Heritage Committee and leads historic walking tours. She has walked several routes of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, Portugal and France. She looks forward to being closely involved the the organization once again.
Alan Johnson
RTA Ottawa Club Chair, Ex-officio RTA Director. Alan Johnson is a recently retired secondary school educator and current Chair of the Ottawa Club. Alan first encountered the orange isosceles triangle blazes of the Rideau Trail in 1980 and is a strong proponent of self-propelled activities both on land and on the water. He has previous experience serving on executives and boards both professionally and for volunteer organizations.
Hua Lei, CPA, MBA
Hua Lei, serves the RTA both as a Director on the Board and as Association Treasurer. Hua lives in Ottawa and has Board experience as the Assistant
Treasurer of the Friends of the Ottawa Hospital and now an Accounting Officer with the Ottawa Hospital Auxiliary. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant, has an MBA from Laurentian University, and
has completed the Canadian Securities Course.
Susan Long-Poucher
Susan serves the RTA as a Director. Susan has been an avid hiker her whole like, and is happiest on a coastal trail. Semi-retired, she’s recently returned to school to study Environmental Education. She has been involved with several not-for-profit organizations and looks forward to working with the energizing group of RTA volunteers.
Margaret MacSween
RTA Kingston Club Representative, Ex-officio RTA Director Margaret retired in 2017 from ScotiaMcLeod in Calgary where she was a Portfolio Manager and Director of Wealth Management. A life-long learner, curious and adventurous, she and her husband moved to Kingston in 2018 to explore a beautiful part of the world and to be closer to her maritime roots. She joined the RTA in early 2000 and just completed the WE2E (Feb 2024). She is currently serving as Vice President of the Kingston Region Seniors Association Board of Directors and is eager to take a more active role in the RTA.
Mary Carlson
Mary Carlson serves the RTA as a Director. Having retired from a 32-year career in elementary teaching, Mary became active with the RTA in 2022 when she set a goal to complete the club’s End to End challenge. An avid hiking badge collector, she has since added the Frontenac Challenge and Perimeter Challenge badges to her backpack, along with others from hiking destinations near and far. She lives in Kemptville, where she enjoys working in her garden, kayaking on the local waterways, and playing her harp. She brings ten years of experience working on a NFP board, as a Director with the North Grenville Public Library.
Jim Moss
Jim Moss is a long time Professional Manufacturing Engineer who works for General Mills, making the food the world loves. He has been with the RTA for 2 years, is married with 2 boys and lives in Trenton ON. Jim has served on the RTA board since 2021, first as Vice-Chair and then Chair of the RTA Kingston Club. At present he continues to be the Chair of the Kingston Club, is an RTA Director and is the RTA Activities Coordinator. Jim is also a Certified Hike Leader and has been very active in organizing special hiking events for the RTA.
Alan Smith
Alan Smith is an outdoors enthusiast and hike leader, with a keen interest in trekking and running on long distance trails. He is living in the Kingston area with his family and delighted that the Rideau Trail is so close to home. He joined the board in 2023 as a Director and is also the RTA Trail Coordinator, providing leadership for volunteers doing trail mapping, maintenance and landowner liaison.