STATEWIDE GROUP HONORS WORK OF TRAIL BLAZERS.

Byline: Douglas Clark Daily News Staff Writer

The Rancho Simi Trail Blazers, a volunteer group that has built a reputation as durable as the hiking trails it cuts, has been named the outstanding volunteer group in the state by the California Association of Recreation and Park Districts.

The Outstanding Organization Award recognizes private and public groups that have made significant contributions to their communities.

Mike Kuhn, Trail Blazers founder and executive chairman, said the award was a welcome surprise.

``It gives us a sense of pride and purpose. It's very helpful when people who are out doing a lot of work get some positive feedback,'' he said Friday morning.

The California association also honored Jerry Gladden, general manager of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District, with its 1997 Outstanding Professional Award for exemplary leadership.

``It was a total surprise to me. Usually these things are leaked. But not this time,'' he said Friday.

It was Gladden, on behalf of the local park district, who nominated the Trail Blazers for the organization award.

``They're a good, hard-working group of people who care about their community,'' he said. ``They've built trails that probably wouldn't be here otherwise. ''

Although each of the 80 districts that belong to CARPD are entitled to nominate a local group, only five groups were named this year. That makes the Trail Blazers nomination all the more impressive, said Bonnie Carpenter, a member of the CARPD board.

``It's an honor just to be nominated. It's a recognition that the park district must have thought very well of them,'' she said. ``We know how lost we would be without them.''

Founded in 1992, the 80-member group has blazed a 25-mile trail system for the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District while also educating the public about environmental issues.

In 1993, the Trail Blazers opened the 5-mile Chumash Trail near Flanagan Drive, and began to cut the 1-1/2-mile Hummingbird Creek Trail north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway off Kuehner Drive.

On Nov. 22, the group will gather on Mount McCoy, where the park district maintains 160 acres, to finish a three-quarter-mile trail begun last summer. And the Trail Blazers will help prepare Corriganville Park for its reopening next month.

The group also has worked with the Concerned Off-Road Bicycling Association to develop trail etiquette among various hiking enthusiasts. And it has furthered its cause by going beyond Simi Valley to take part in volunteer efforts such as California Trail Days and National Trail Days.

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Photo: (color) Mike Kuhn's organization, the Rancho Simi Trail Blazers, has been singled out for a park award as outstanding volunteer group.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News