Meet KTA's 2024 Representative at Large Nominees

KTA's nominations committee has nominated David "Cyril" Quatrone and Steve and Rita Black to become KTA Representatives at Large. Voting will take place at the fall board meeting during Keystone Hike Fest in Johnstown, PA. Get to know these awesome hikers below!

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Meet David “Cyril” Quatrone
Since David “Cyril” Quatrone hikes with forearm canes, his trail name is Fourfeet.  He’s hiked over 750 miles each year for the past 3 years, including completing 40% of the AT (all the AT in PA), and all of Thunder Swamp, Black Forest, and Darlington Trails.  He is almost finished with the Horse-Shoe Trail, and is working on the Ticonderoga.  This past year he hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up.  The 6.5-mile trip down the South Kaibab Trail was done in 3 hours, but the same distance back up took over 8!  He has helped trail work crews several times, coming within 10 feet of a bear once, and has provided trail magic along the AT.  Cyril has written an unpublished book, “Cripple on the Trail.”  Most of his hikes are day hikes, but he is seeking a solution to a problem presented by his disability and hopes to one day be able to do more and longer multi-day hikes.

Cyril has a B.A. (Northeastern Bible College), a M.Div. from St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Seminary, and a M.Ed. from Kutztown University.  He teaches mathematics (and sometimes history) in Allentown.  With several former students, he started and ran a non-Profit corporation, “Ensuring Tomorrow” (ET) for 7 years.  In addition to providing scholarships and calculators to students, the organization took them to museums, plays, restaurants, lectures, and introduced many of these inner-city students to hiking!

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Meet Steve & Rita Black
Steve & Rita Black live in Ford City, PA (Armstrong County).  Steve is a machinist at a local tool and die shop and Rita has had careers in real estate and Career & Tech Ed.  They are members of the Butler Outdoor Club and enjoy hiking with the Clarion & Butler Chapters of the North Country Trail.  Steve can be found walking dogs at the Orphans of the Storm or metal detecting in search of old coins and “treasures”.  Rita volunteers at the Salvation Army Thrift Store, Ford City food bank & the local libraries.   Together they enjoy workdays at the Outdoor Discovery Center, Geocaching, and collecting stamps for the PA State Parks/Forests Passport.  Favorite hiking areas are Clear Creek/Cooks Forest and Crooked Creek Lake Park.

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