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master of the Year” Traci Hartmann and I got to admit that I was a bit concerned that on Dec 3rd, she and their club pro- motional lady, Kathie Lee were tooling around with an incredible video from a Pontoon Boat! Ladies, it’s December! Generally, we do brush work this time of year… I guess it may be me that may have egg on my face as in the very same week, this little club (of the year, mind you) got a bridge that literally dis- appeared this very week is now back in place and ready for service. This is just another shining example of how relent- less Maine Snowmobile Clubs are and how serious we take our responsibili- ties. It’s also just another example of how 2020 has changed the footprint as doing trail inspections from a pontoon boat has got to be a new benchmark! Congrats to you! At the November meeting, MSA Directors voted just a tick short of unanimously of supporting a funding increase to help fund our sport. There is since early September answering your emails and phone calls. It’s great to meet you all from Judy in St. Francis the far North, to Steve in far West and all of you in between its been quite an experience. People don’t realize what it takes to operate like we do. I’m very proud of all you. Your passion is above and beyond anything I could have imagined. Yes, we have sometimes been off trail with disagreements but at the end of the day, small club or the largest we have this is common, ”if it’s broke, we can fix it!” and that’s why we’re successful! A friend of mine told me that a long time ago where we worked together. And it’s a good attitude to go by. This month some lucky people are going to have a great Christmas, maybe winning some awesome MSA Raffle prizes! The tickets have sold well despite the upside down year. ITS maps are in, they will be available by mail, only two dollars to cover postage. Or, we’ll be distributing them to the area regions. Calendars are still for sale as well. March 5, 6 and 7th is the free weekend for our bordering states to come check out the best trails in the Northeast by the best volunteers! I’d like to thank every landowner in the state for all they do! Without you folks large and small we would not have a trail system. Ride Right Ride Smart! Please be safe out there and call me if you need anything. Thanks, AL

A t 7:00 PM President Mike Grass Jr. called the meeting to order. Pledge of Allegiance Mike welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked everyone for attending. Pretty good turnout. Motion was made by Mark Chinook and seconded, to accept the secretary’s report as distributed, motion carried. Treasurer’s Report was read by Mike Grass Jr.. Copy to be filed at the office. Mike stated there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Office help is still all volunteer. Executive V.P. Al Swett- Raffle tickets are selling well. A lot of calls coming into the office from New York asking about accommodations, and restaurants. Anticipating a lot of snowmobiling this season. Lori and Bob are doing an outstanding job holding things together. Eastern Region V.P. Eileen Lafland -Expanded on many thanks to Lori and Bob spending 6-8,10-12 hours on Saturdays, taking care of everything that Al has piled up for them for the week. Hope everyone is enjoying the paper. They have made some great changes. Eastern region a lot of clubs are challenged by the Covid, doing what they can. Central Region V.P. Jack Lord- ITS trails in Central Region are all connected. Asked that the stop signs be marked with the name of the road and if no doubt, grooming, materials, dimin- ishing lack of volunteers, increased insurance rates and a general cost of living are pushing the limits of keeping pace. MSA asked for your clubs input and those that responded were almost all in agreement that, “It’s that time”. While we take no prisoners of agree- ment that the State of Maine is the one that walks away with the easy buck, it is us that truly enjoy playing the game. Many feel that, it’s time for Maine to contribute and while most agree, timing may not be the best to play that card. They obviously currently have a strug- gle of their own to negotiate. While the MSA is going forward at drafting a bill for the December 18th deadline, HERE IS WHAT WE NEED YOU CLUBS TO DO! Please send the MSA a note stating that your club would support an increase. While the deadline of support for MSA’s vote has come and gone, the bill will not be heard for probably a couple months.

you can put the GPS locations the signs. The Central Region showcase ride will be January 22 and 23 at Sky Lodge with a noon time cookout with the whole thing depending on Covid. Western Region V.P. James Boyce- Got to have a plan. Never seen so many people out working the trails on Saturdays in November. Keep doing what you are doing, but stay safe, please WEAR orange. See so much enthusiasm - things are getting good. Coastal Region V.P. Dave Watson- Every club in the Coastal Region is doing what they need to do- bridges, brushing, and new reroute. It’s incredible. Thank you to everybody across the state. Standing Committee Reports Trails Committee Chair Mark Chinnock- Eastern, Northern and Central Region have had Trail Signage Workshops, left are Coastal and Western Region. ITS maps have a fresh new look. More information on the cover as well as more information for the rider. Review your rescue-boggin plan with the first responders, know where and how it is going to work. Safety Committee Al Swett -Reviewed rescue- boggin and Life Flight coordination with 100’ x 100’ landing zones. Expanded on common sense safety precautions working on groomers good jacks and blocking. We are going to have more safety checks out Having your clubs name on the support list would really carry some weight. Here are a few facts. 1) The last fee increase was 5 years ago and both municipal and club grants have been increased with the funds. 2) MSA was asked by the legislature when we would be back for a review of our rates. (that would be now) 3) Maine’s rates are considered to be the lowest in the entire Northeast offer- ing arguably the most trail of the same area. 4) Maine’s lack of speed limits and lack of mandatory insurance appear to be a significant factor at bringing in other area riders. 5) The Capital Equipment Grant has not been increased since its inception in 1998. 6) As voted by the directors, as a resi- dent, five dollars will go directly to that fund to support the purchase of new equipment. Five dollars will go directly to the trail fund again to increase grant

funds for clubs. 7) Non-Residents rate would be iden- tical as above, but with a ten/ten split. Many clubs that responded added incredible suggestions that should be further vetted. Many also felt this pro- posal was still not enough and should have been rolled into some sort of man- datory membership/incentive/ require- ment. Given the current times and the lack of a full time lobbyist this was considered too much to tackle this sea- son. One thing did surface. MSA could not be more proud of their participating clubs for the feedback. Our leverage of being a strong organization with a “One Mission, One Goal, and One Team becomes very evident when clubs par- ticipate. Please encourage all clubs to support this movement and MSA! Thanks to all that supplied input and Bring on the Season! Happy Holidays! John Monk Steering Committee Chairman there, no question we are going to have more traffic out there. Stay Safe!! Steering Committee Chair John Monk Spoke of the increase in registration. A motion was made “to increase residents snowmobile registration by $10 with $5 going to snowmobile trail fund and $5 going to capital equipment grant and non-residents snowmobile registration $20. with $10 going to snowmobile trail fund and $10 going to capital equipment grant” by Gerry Major and seconded by Larry Lafland, motion carried. Mike -Stated the Super Raffle tickets are moving along pretty good. Eileen -Added the Central Region showcase ride is February 20th out of the Millinocket Area on the Jo-Mary Trail. Mark – Joe Higgins warned that Clubs should be very cautious with their spending. Debbie Gould from Outdoor Women enthusiastically spoke of the details of the Virtual SNOCROSS virtual online fundraising event. 75% going to the club and 25% to MSA. More details to follow through MSA. Mike- MSA masks are available for $8. each. Get your MSA maps! 50/50 Raffle winner is Larry Lafland. Which was donated back to the MSA. Pot of gold drawn – The Squash Hollow Sno-Goers. They were not present. Respectfully Submitted, Brad Barker

Steering Committee

John Monk Chairman of Steering Committee MSA TO APPROACH 130th LEGISLATURE WITH FUNDING PROPOSAL Hello all, Here’s a huge shout out to all the clubs that continue digging through some pretty strange weather conditions to prep for the season. I happened to check in with the current “MSA Trail-

Volunteer SNOWMOBILERS encouraging SNOWMOBILERS to financially support SNOWMOBILING!

From the Executive VP

Director’s Meeting 561 - Secretary’s Report November 17, 2020 - Brad Barker

C oming to the end of 2020! Wow what a year, hopefully things get back to normal or close to it soon. The regions have gone above and beyond this preseason getting things ready for a spectacular riding year of 2021. The people in the clubs are incredible! Working lately in some, wet conditions building bridges widening or having to make new reroutes because of landowners wanting to change the location of a trail. Every one of you have a passion for snowmobiling that goes above and beyond expectations. Thank You! The area VP’S are a great group, they have a plan and get it done. Without any direction, they have the answers and commitment to make sure our trial system is the best in the Northeast! I’ve been in the MSA office now Alan Swett, 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com

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