7566_MSA_May2021_MaineSnowmobiler

From the President

Super Raffle, like fairs, lobster bakes and the like, making it harder to sell tickets. But clubs dug in and sold almost as many tickets as a normal year. Thank you to all the clubs who sold tickets. The holidays were fast approaching and the beginning of snowmobile season was being impatiently awaited. Luckily while we waited, Debbie Gould and Outdoor Women approached MSA with another fundraiser. Just like that, the MSA Virtual Snowcross Race was underway with clubs from all over the state getting involved. Yes, we had a few hiccups and glitches, but for our first virtual race, it ended up pretty good. February 1st, we got decent snow and riding over a good part of the state. Clubs sprang into action as always and made beautiful trails with minimal snow. Registrations were off almost 12,000 sleds at the end of January only to have them bounce back to the highest number of registrations in 6 years. A terrific February school vacation week and no snow in southern New England brought sledders flocking to Maine to enjoy our fantastic product, services and hospitality. day and night producing snowmobile trailers. Wow who would have thought in a pandemic this would happen. Hopefully we can pull off the show this fall. Things are lining up well but keep in touch with the webpage for updates. There has been lots of interest from the past vendors. The raffle is taking shape too, we’re planning on three snowmobiles this year along with a Alcom trailer! Hint.. working on another trailer too from Nitro! I want to thank Eileen and Larry Lafland for their hard work they go above and beyond at the meetings and other events we have. Eileen is the Eastern Region’s go to person as Vice President she goes to parts unknown to visit with clubs and hosts meetings for her territory. Thank You! The Northern VP is my buddy Matt Stedman. This young man gets it done, what a work ethic he has. With his son in tow, they light up a room with their positive outlook for life and snowmobiling. Thank you for everything! My old buddy Jack Lord is the Central Region’s main man. He travels anywhere and everywhere! Last year he delivered a whole lot of membership kits all over the central region from one end to the other. He attends many of the regions meetings and is always at the MSA Zoom or call in’s. Thanks Jack The Coastal VP is David Watson he’s a Cat man…that’s OK! Another traveler he has a great personality along with some southern charm and gets the job done! By southern I mean southern Executive VP Report

Market of Holden each receiving the award. Lori Hemmerdinger was named MSA Snowmobiler of the Year for her outstanding work in the MSA office and more. MSA Dealer of the Year went to Reggie’s Ski-Doo in Leeds. The MSA Hall of Fame gained two new members in Eugene Richie and Aleta Rioux. Many accolades for years of hard work from those two volunteers. Many MSA snowmobile clubs were awarded membership awards for their high number of members with the Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club taking home the Number 1 MSA club again this year with over 1100 members. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners! We enjoyed sharing the day with you all. The MSA Golf Scramble is coming right up June 26th. Super Raffle tickets should be available around the 4th of July and we are planning the MSA Snowmobile Show Oct. 22, 23 & 24. A lot going on at MSA and we hope to see you all soon at one or all our events. Thank you all for a successful 2020- 2021 season. MSA President, Mike Grass Jr. season 183 to be exact. Six of those were fatalities: In January, we had three a 32 y/o from New Hampshire lost his young life in Eus- tis. On January 25th another young man, from Caribou went off the trail in Stock- holm and stuck some trees he was just 25. The end of January we lost a 66 y/o from Wells (ME) in Dennistown near Jackman. The first month of the season is always the worst. In February, a 33y/o from CT hit a power line pole in Dallas Plantation between Stratton and Rangeley. On the 18th of February we lost a 66y/o near Pleasant Pond from a heart attack while waiting for his group near an inter- section. He was from Penn. vacationing with his family. February 20th came to a halt when a Mass man died in Madrid after going off the trail he was just 34. I’m sorry these folks passed doing what they love to do. My heartfelt sorrow goes out to their loved ones. The accidents were way up to, I contribute that to a lot of first time rider’s, they don’t have the expe- rience to ride and how to operate in bad situations. Hopefully this safety team can spread the message so next season will be a safer one. With that said, Maine registered lots of sleds this past season as of May 1st it was over 86,000. We all know what PPE is by now, wear it this year ear plugs, safety glasses, good boots, gloves, chaps, face shields, and just use common sense while you tackle your project at home driving or at your workplace. Stay safe! And God Bless, Al

And then it was gone.Almost as fast, as it hit in February, trails were lost in most of Maine by the second or third week of March. While it was a short season, the trail quality during that time was the best I’ve seen in all my years riding. Hats off to all the clubs, their groomers and trail workers. Job well done. March saw a fantastic MSA Showcase ride with the Limestone Snow Hawks. Club President Chris King and MSA Northern Region Matt Stedman put on a great ride and the Nordic Lakers put on a wonderful trailside meal for the group. March also had MSA introduce a bill to the legislature for a registration increase. Our bill as introduced and out of committee states that all of the increase goes to the Snowmobile Trail Fund (trail grants) and Capital Equipment Fund (groomer grants) except for a small portion of the non-resident 3 and 10 day going to IF&W. Increase: Resident: $10 ($5 Trail Fund, $5 CEG) Non-Res 3-day: $25 ($10 TF, $10 CEG, $5 IF&W) Non-Res 10-day: $25 ($10 TF, $10 coastal Maine! He worked hard with Aleta this year on the silent auction in which had a record-breaking day. Hopefully this year I get to ride more with him. Thank you Dave Talk about a hard worker here’s Jim Boyce from the large Western region. He’s up at 4am collecting trash on the trail and removing nasty signs before the landowners get out of bed. He has a big area with lots of clubs and the largest membership club (RLSC 1144 members) That region is becoming a bigtime destination point, lots of good food joints easy gas stops and scenic wonderlands Thanks Jim The regional directors do a gear job the unknown heroes I’ll call them: The East: Paul Bolstridge - Lincoln, Larry Lafland - Dedham, Gary Dowling - East Machias John Monk - Newburg and Craig Lemieux The North: Gary Marquis - Caribou, Lendell Buckingham - Garfield, Jeff Brooks - Island Falls The Western: Gary Okenquist - Bethel, Roland Bowie - Mechanic Falls, Paul Gallant - Fryeburg, Jon Wakefield – Oquossoc The Coastal: Rodney Berry - Lincolnville, Eric Perreault – Hollis The Central: David Cogley - W. Gardiner, Alan Dugus – Yarmouth, Jack Lord – Bingha Thank you to Lori Hemmerdinger for all she does Thanks to Mark Chinnock for all his trail work Thanks to Gail Ryan for mailing out cards! Beth Bowie for a great job doing Hall

CEG, $5 IF&W) Non Res Season: $20 ($10 TF, $10 CEG) Note: This is the first increase in funding to the CEG since its inception in 1995. Please support this bill, LD-280, by contacting your State Senators and Representatives. This is how we increase our grooming grants and the ability to buy groomers, which have gotten tremendously more expensive. That brings us to April, actually, May 1st and the annual MSAAwards Banquet and awards. It was a great day with over 100 people attending at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer. It was their first event since Covid 19 shut them down over a year ago and they hit it out of the ballpark. The meal and staff were fantastic and a great prelude to our awards presentation. I had the honor of presenting my father with the MSA President’s Award for all he’s taught me over the years and his involvement with MSA. Got a little choked up but managed to get through it and continue on. MSA Club of the Year went to the Norway Trackers and Business of the Year was a tie, with R&M Market of Eagle Lake and G&M of Fame Thank you! Thanks to Harvey Chesley for chairing the scholarship committee. And Thanks to John Monk for the steering committee. Thanks to Brad Barker for taking notes! Thanks to Barry Ryan for also giving a helping hand. Bob Flagg thanks for always being there for me! Thank you Joe Higgins for always helping me out when I have a question. Mike Sawyer from IF&W for your support. Thanks to all the clubs large and small, you all make snowmobiling in Maine the best in the Northeast! Aleta and Jerry Major and everyone else who made another successful silent auction Thanks to Mike Grass for steering the sled done the trail! Have a great off-season, stay well. Al Chair Report H we’re turning the corner with snowmobile safety. Things are not the best but we’ve had in many years in the past that were much worst. Next year we’ll be making our way across the state with safety pro- grams working with the State’s IF &W Division to promote the safe operations of snowmobiles. Everything from getting geared up to riding on the trail. We had several reported accidents last i Folks. Last season is behind us. It was quite a challenge but I think Safety Committee

MSA 2020-2021 is officially in the books. Saturday May 1st, we rewarded some very deserving people and businesses for the outstanding contributions to snowmobiling in Maine. Congratulations to all our award recipients. Our season started last fall with the cancellation of our MSA Snowmobile Show. Luckily, we were able to have our Super Raffle. Most clubs were unable to have their normal fundraisers for the Mike Grass, Jr., 207-368-2316 249 Condon Rd, Plymouth ME 04969 mgrassjr@gmail.com From the Executive VP & Safety Committee Chair

Alan Swett, 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com H ello!What a year, we’ve done things people said could not be done! I’m proud of every one of you. The season started late and ended quickly. I got to ride a little but spent most of my time in the MSA office meeting most of you by phone and email. What an awesome learning experience and I’ve made new friends that will last a lifetime. Yeah, what a year Zoom meetings, group phone calls more emails than ever. Last year we had a successful Raffle even though two of the biggest clubs could not sell like they wanted too. Everybody loved the calendars we sold out of those along with the facemasks. The State registered over 86,000 sleds and that number is not complete and could go over 88,000! The dealers sold out of sleds, the two big trailer manufacturer’s located right here in Maine could not keep up working

2

2 0 2 1

y

M a

l M a i n e S n o w m o b

i l e

r