The Guy U. Hardy Award was created for those dedicated to service to outdoor recreation.
It was presented to its first-ever recipient, Brian LeDoux, during the 131st annual Cañon City Chamber of Commerce Banquet on Friday at the Abbey Events Center.
Chamber member and award creator Ashlee Sack said Hardy received little to no credit for the things he did.
“He was a man of exceptional vision, he was a man of civic duty, and a man dedicated to the betterment of our community,” she said.
Guy Urban Hardy moved to Cañon City in the mid-1890s for health reasons. He became a reporter for the Weekly Record, and in 1895, he bought the paper and expanded it to daily circulation in 1906.
He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1919-1932. During his tenure, he successfully petitioned to have 2,000 acres of federal land deeded to the city, which became known as the Royal Gorge Park.
He also was successful in acquiring Temple Canyon Park and Red Canyon Park.
Hardy’s great-grandson, Duncan Hardy, traveled from Denver to present the award.
LeDoux, an outdoor enthusiast, enjoys hiking and mountain biking, but he discovered a number of years ago that there weren’t many places and trails to do those activities here. He had to travel to Salida and other nearby communities.
He and his wife, Kristyn Econome, and other community members formed the Lower Arkansas Mountain Bicycling Association, which was instrumental in not only saving the hogbacks but implementing trails there.
“But he didn’t stop there,” Hardy said. “He moved onto Oil Well Flats and the South Cañon Trail Section 13.”
LeDoux, LAMBA, Fremont Adventure Recreation and community volunteers have worked hard to put together a large series of trails in parks here in Cañon City.
“Brian, my great-grandfather would be very proud,” Hardy said. “Thank you for literally building on his legacy.”
LeDoux said if someone would have told him when he started this effort more than 10 years ago, where the community would be in regard to trails and open space in 2019, he said he would have been in disbelief.
“We currently have two trail builders working on trails as we speak, which never in my wildest dreams would I have thought,” he said. “Everything we have been able to do with FAR and LAMBA is directly related to community support and business support that we have received from our sponsors, and the One Percent for Trails participants.”
Other unsung heroes, he said, include the Hardy family.
“Building on that legacy has been very fun and entertaining and provides for great mountain biking,” he said. “There also has been the Biggerstaff family, and the Schepps — the South Cañon Trail System wouldn’t be what it is without the donation from Walter and Gloria Schepp. I ride across that land on a weekly basis, and it’s the highlight of my week.”
Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com