Linda Rockwood, Utica, New York - Inventor & Designer
An innovator, a savvy business person and most importantly someone who cared deeply about snowmobiling, Linda was a pioneer in the Snowmobile Trail Webmap and Smart Phone App design business. She founded Mohawk Valley GIS (MVGIS) back in 2003, which first helped the local snowmobile clubs in New York State and then started working with other states as well. Linda knew that there was a need for the snowmobilers and snowmobile clubs to have a webmap, to be able to locate parking, trails, gas, food and lodging. Her visions for maps being contained within one’s own cell phone while out riding the trails and not being tied to a paper map brought us to where we are today with the technology to safely allow snowmobile riders to utilize their smart phones to navigate snowmobile trail systems.
Linda began soliciting the input of several snowmobile clubs to help improve her app and refine it so it could be used to assist with volunteer snowmobile club operations and also aid in raising funds. Later versions included functions such as automatic trail conditions which allowed for refined groomer scheduling and groomer tracking, which kept riders informed of grooming activities. She was also able to incorporate on the app a profit sharing system which gave participating clubs a simple fundraising platform. Linda understood the importance of and genuinely wanted the clubs and the sport to progress and succeed like never before. Dozens of riders wrote and shared how helpful the app was in hazardous situations, especially white-out conditions. The GIS technology helped riders confidently explore new trails.
Linda Rockwood’s NYS Snowmobile App was way ahead of its time. Soon her app was adopted in other states such as Massachusetts, Vermont and Wyoming. She set the bar high. It paved the way for other snowmobile apps and remains unchallenged to this day. Linda had to shut down her MVGIS business due to serious illness, to which she succumbed in January, 2020. We lost a true entrepreneur and pioneer who worked and succeeded in making snowmobiling better for many snowmobilers and clubs that were fortunate to employ her technology. Her loss leaves an enormous hole in snowmobile navigation development.
It is with heavy heart and great honor that we present this award to her family and acknowledge Linda (posthumously) as an inductee to the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame, Class of 2020.