Trisha Brice Supervisor of Nutrition Services at ACMH Hospital, and John Lewis, ACMH Hospital CEO, team up to create homemade pizza for the event with special outdoor pizza ovens.
The Richard G. Snyder YMCA partnered with ACMH to support the renovation project for the Iron Bridge at Rosston along the Armstrong Trail last Saturday.
The “Ale on the Trail” bicycle ride began last year to not only support the Armstrong Trail improvements, but also encourage people to use it for healthy benefits it can provide.
This is an amazing resource in Armstrong County,” commented ACMH CEO John Lewis. “We are trying to get people from around the area to come out and experience it and have a good time. I don’t know if people realize how long it is and valuable to tourism while at the same time being a healthy alternative activity.”
The $35 registration fee included a commemorative performance long-sleeve tee-shirt and bike bag. Promoters saw ridership increase at this year’s event to approximately 96 riders.
“Some of the people started a East Brady and rode down to Kittanning, while others started at the southern end and rode up to Kittanning,” explained ACMH Vice-President Ann Remaley.
Executive Director of Operations for the ACMH physicians’ offices Callie Karaica, and Katie Zambotti, Nurse Practitioner at the Leechburg ACMH facility, completed a 26-mile ride Saturday morning as part of the fund-raising event hosted by the YMCA and ACMH Hospital.
“It was a beautiful ride this morning,” said Callie Karaica, the Executive Director of Operations for the ACMH physicians’ offices. She peddled a total of 26 miles. “We started out in Kittanning. As we headed into Templeton, there is a wonderful area where the beavers have come in and made dams in this area. We also interacted with other members from the hospital as they rode by. We had a great day!”
ACMH hosted the After Party, which was open to the community, in the parking lot at the corner of North Grant Avenue and Montieth Street. The party included music by DeeJay Kevin Kline, various booths, and specifically - homemade pizza!
“The great thing about this pizza oven is it operates on gas or wood,” said Lewis as he stood baking pizza. “It’s portable and great for tailgating, so you could say we are tailgating right here. We actually can turn a pizza in about three minutes.”
Trisha Brice Supervisor of Nutrition Services at ACMH Hospital also brought her portable pizza oven that operates on a camp propane cylinder.
“Because of our mutual love for food, we put it all together. Neither of us knew the other had a pizza oven until we came up with the idea of making pizzas for this event.”
Two different craft beer vendors were also present at the After Party.
Tim Bauer, along with John and Laura Lasher originally from Templeton, founded the Cellar Works located in Sarver in 2017.
“We got started by being avid fans of craft beer and home brewers. We were able to turn our hobby into a business, and hopefully a career. It’s not just about the money, but the level of joy and satisfaction it brings you. We are now expanding for the third time since we started.”
A Butler-based brewing company, Recon Brewing, also served their version of craft beer. Levi Leyland said that Saturday was actually their second anniversary of being in business.
“The Jeep was invented in Butler, so we unite the community around that. We are owned by three guys that grew up in Butler County. All of them are First Responders. They care about their community and like to give back to the community through their business.”
The next event to support the trail is being held on National Trail Day, Saturday, June 1, at the Nautical Mile Campground in Templeton. Listen today and Tuesday to “David & Friends”, the WTYM morning show, from 9:00-9:30 to win free admission and prizes for the event.
(Left) Darrin Schwarz from Freeport and Kirk Bowers from Kittanning are served craft beer by Tim Bauer from Cellar Works.
John Dimond, retired chiropractor from McGrann, is served by Levi Leyland from the Recon Brewing Company, based in Butler.