Remembering Dr. Olson Huff

We are so saddened to learn about the passing of Dr. Olson Huff, a tremendous leader, friend, and founder of the Kids in Parks program. 

There are certain people who were born to improve the lives of others and make the world a better place. Our friend Dr. Olson Huff was undoubtedly one of those people.

He was an inspirational leader in children’s health. Throughout his career as a pediatrician, Olson developed programs, formed partnerships, raised capital, and influenced policies that improved the health of children, especially those from underserved populations.

As a member of the board of trustees for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, he founded the Kids in Parks program. In 2008, after learning only 10 percent of visitors to the Blue Ridge Parkway brought children to the park, Olson had a revolutionary idea—the creation of a hiking program designed to get kids and families active outdoors and reengaged with nature. Olson’s original concept was to design a program that encouraged kids and families to utilize the trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway as a resource for their health. 

However, because childhood obesity and nature deficit-disorder were not unique to the Parkway corridor, the program was rapidly embraced by park agencies throughout North Carolina, and across the country. Today, there are nearly 300 TRACK Trails in 18 states, Washington, D.C., and the Qualla Boundary. Over the past decade, approximately 1.5 million TRACK Trail adventures have been completed by kids and families. These outings represent participants spending at least 750,000 hours outdoors and walking 1.4 million miles.

Kids in Parks is just one gift that Olson gave children and families. He also:

• Created a childhood development program that would go on to become Smart Start;

• Developed the Toothbus, which provided mobile dental care to children in rural Western North Carolina;

• Lead the fundraising efforts to create the Children’s Center at Mission St. Joseph’s Hospital—now known as the Olson Huff Center at Mission Children’s Hospital in Asheville, N.C.

For these accomplishments, and more, Dr. Olson Huff was recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics; named to the Order of the Longleaf Pine by the governor of North Carolina; listed as one of the Top 100 most-influential people in Western North Carolina; and admired by his peers at local, regional, state, national, and even international levels for his influence in pediatric medicine and public health. 

Olson will be greatly missed as a visionary leader, a trusted doctor, and an inspirational friend whose legacy will last for generations to come.

- From all of us at the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and Kids in Parks