7777-R2_MSA_Oct2021_MaineSnowmobiler

corner. All you have to do is take a walk in the woods on any given Sunday morning, in any given town from now until snowfall and you are sure to hear the buzz of chainsaws and the growl of machinery. This folks would be the sounds of hard working volunteers getting the trails ready, building bridges, brushing trails, rerouting and signing. All of this and much more happens each Fall in preparation of the first snowfalls of the season. Followed shortly thereafter by grooming, oh and more signing, more reroutes and let’s not forget talking with landowners, getting permis- sions, meeting new landowners, and there is always equipment maintenance, followed by more signing, brushing and building bridges. Finally getting to that rewarding point where we can reap the fruits of our labor and, yes Folks we ride, that’s right we ride! It might be February but we will ride. These are just the passions of our snow- mobiling Brothers and Sisters and most of us wouldn’t have it any other way, and do it because we love the sport and want to see it thrive. As far as the Trails Committee goes, we have been meeting via Zoom since August. The first order of business has been contacting all of the clubs around the State to find out if there is going to be any major trail Safety AL. Swett: A phone call came in from a Mississippi Combine operator showing interest in snowmobiling.Al said “Come on up, Buddy.” Seriously, folks we had six fatalities last season out of 88,000 registrations. They are mostly in January, when riders are rusty and getting back into riding. Time to check the smoke alarms. First aid kits should be available when doing preseason trail work and have one in the groomers. Steering Committee Chairman-John Monk: LD 280 bill sponsored by MSA. Want to thank Bob and Mary Cortell for speaking for the bill. Their personalized testimony was well received and made a difference. This bill puts the money where it needs to be, on the trails. Club grants have increased from $180 to $210 per mile. Candice at the BPR snowmobile program is doing a great job compiling data, and I hope are sending in memberships. Please make sure you send them in as soon as you get them so everyone that deserves one gets their MSA paper. The office gets calls asking where is my paper and when we check we find the memberships have not been sent in yet. Super raffle tickets are flying out of the office. This is such an easy way for clubs to make some money and not have to invest money to get money. Ask a local business member or the corner store if you can set up a display and sell there. Many are willing to help and all it takes from you is a little time in most cases. You get to keep half the money and send the other half to MSA. Some clubs bring in $1,000 or more to their funds just by selling Super Raffle tickets. This year’s prizes are great and many people want a new sled but can’t find one. Here’s their chance to win one and help out a snowmobile club as well. There’s a lot happening in October and as I write this the MSA Snowmobile Show in Augusta is still a go!! We couldn’t have one last year so the excitement is high this year. There are some new vendors as well as repeat ones that will be there. Come check it out and see what this season could bring. Come say “Hi” to me at the MSAbooth, as I will be there Friday and Saturday. At this point Larry and I also plan to be at the NH Grass drags and Water cross event in Epping, so come see what MSA has to offer. Get out membership renewed, join a club, and get ready for the season! Until November, Stay safe working on those trails! Eileen

changes that could affect the new ITS Trail map, so that we can produce the most accurate map possible. By the time you read this paper the new ITS Map will be printed and ready for distribution. You can get these maps by contacting the MSA office or getting in touch with your local club who should be able to help you. Better yet the best way to pick up a map is to come to the 2021 MSASnowmobile Show at the Civic Center in Augusta, October 22 nd ,2 3rd and 24 th , Like us on Facebook for more info, there will be plenty of maps there along with a host of other cool stuff. Speaking of the Snowmobile Show, we will be holding our annual October Trails Workshop right there at the Civic Cen- ter Saturday the 23 rd at 9:00 AM. The work- shop usually runs until noon.

Trails Committee Chair Report

MSA CLUBS:

To Order Needed ITS & JCT SIGNS Contact Mike Grass Sr. MSA Trails Committee 252 Condon Rd, Plymouth, ME 04969 207-368-4914 home 207-745-2745 cell Grasslands252@gmail.com

Mark Chinnock,Trails Committee Chair 207-754-9874 435 Poland Corner Rd, Poland ME 04274 napadude66@hotmail.com Some of the other things we will be doing this fall is Regional Trail Coordinator Map- ping Meetings and Regional Trails Work- shops and of course waiting for rideable snow so that we can do the other part of our job. Well that’s about all I have for now folks, and remember if you have any questions, issues, or comments or just want to talk about snowmobiling, please give me a call, message or email. I would love to hear from you. Till next time, thank you. Mark Director’s Meeting 567- Saco Pathfinders - Saco, Maine - Secretary’s Report - September 21,2021 A t 7:04 PM President Mike Grass Jr. called the meeting to order. Pledge of allegiance. Secretary’s Report posted on web page, no action taken. Treasurer’s report. Read and placed on file at the office. President’s Comments- Mike Grass Jr.: Around the room introductions. V.P. Eastern Region- Eileen Lafland: Things are winding up. At the Eastern Regional meeting in Holden, were fortunate enough to have a dealer bring four sleds, one from each manufacturer. This stirred a lot of interest, people were driving by and stopping. Clubs are doing reroutes. Working really hard on the 395 extension reroute. knows what clubs are doing for grooming, like how many days, hours, how the money is being used. Looking forward to talking to people at the MSAbooth at the New Hampshire grass drags in Fremont N.H. October 8-10. See you there. Old Business: Super Raffle tickets are selling awesome. Snowmobile show struggling with enough vendor space, but making it work. To Order Club Trail Signage Candice Pinkham, DACF/Snowmobile Program 207-287-4957 Office 207-878-8111 Fax Candice.M.Pinkham@maine.gov H ello Everyone, Well the fairs are in full swing, the leaves are changing and nightly frost warnings all across the state. That can only mean one thing, that’s right snowmobiling is right around the

The Snowmobile Advisory Council steers the Capital Equipment funding to the applicants that rank highest in score, getting the grooming equipment where it is needed most. The projected budget will double from $500K to a million, all because of the LD280. This will put newer equipment on the trails. The small clubs work really hard for their funding. The Coastal Region really shows their enthusiasm for this sport. Preparing the trails by signing and brushing, whether they get any snow or a short three-week season, these clubs really show their love for the sport. MSA is staying neutral with the Sunday hunting bill. During hunting season a lot of clubs do their trail work on Sundays, but we feel we shouldn’t tell the landowner what they can and can’t do, which could compromise our privilege to use a trail on their land. MSA is looking for representation at the committee meetings. If interested contact John. Hall of Fame-Beth Bowie: Reaching out for volunteers for this committee. Can’t wait to see your nominations, they do carry over.

Most clubs’ have had the first meetings of the season and schedules of events are being set. If you have not been contacted yet, do not wait, reach out and see what you can do to lend a hand. Clubs and their dedicated membership are what make it all happen, without them we cannot continue to ride. Clubs all around the County are gearing up for this winter and hoping for a bit longer winter than last season provided, but they cannot do it alone. Every year those who have helped are getting older and there is always more work to be done. Don’t be afraid to step up. If you are not quite sure how you may fit it in to the club, just be up front & ask. Every club need all sorts of help, and you may just have the skills they need. As a club, share your success and challenges with the surrounding clubs, feed off each other and what we can learn from or leverage from others will make the whole even better. If you have a question, problem, concern, or idea on snowmobiling in “The County”, get in touch with me. You can contact me at the phone # or email below. I look forward to meeting as many folks who help drive snowmobiling in the Northern Region as possible, you are a hard- working crew and should be proud of the jobs you do. Matt Stedman New Business: updating our website. The new and improved site will be spectacular. Will be ready in 4-5 weeks. Will have space for more pictures and events. So send them in. Next meeting October 19 at SAM in Augusta 6:30 no meal. November - Glenburn Annual President’s night. December - Waterville Elks Club Raffle drawing January - Western region TBD February - Eastern region Jo Mary March - Northern region Shin Pond Annual meeting Jeff’s catering in Brewer 50/50 drawing Bill Brazier won Pot of Gold -Shirley Bog Hooters unclaimed Adjourned 8:03 Respectfully submitted, Brad Barker, Secretary.

Attended recent events with great camaraderie. Lexington chicken BBQ and Big Woods Grass Drags. Executive Vice President-Al Swett: Appreciate the good attendance tonight. Attended the Blue Ridge Riders Annual Pig Roast, it was awesome. Their 50/50 was almost $2,100. New Portland World’s Fair sold $1,100.00 worth of tickets. Raffle tickets are going like wildfire; it’s because of those sleds. Will be interviewing an office applicant tomorrow night. V.P. Coastal Region-Dave Watson: Thank you extended to the kitchen help, nice job! This clubhouse, Saco Pathfinders was built 49 years ago! Brad B. has a Coastal ride from ITS 89 North to the Canadian Boarder penciled in this season.

Eastern Region VP

Northern Region VP

Matt Stedman 207-557-1921 (call or text)

Eileen Lafland, 207-843-7813 PO Box 733, Holden ME 04429 llafland@midmaine.com H ere it is October and in just a few months, hopefully we will be enjoying what we all look forward to: frozen ground and lots and lots of snow covering it. The entire state is due for snow cover everywhere so let’s hope it happens this year. The excitement for it sure is high and people are looking to ride and get out of the house. Larry and I spent four days riding around the Eastern region delivering as many club pack- ets as we could. Thanks so much to Eastern regional directors Craig L., Gary D., John M. and Larry L. for assisting with this. Many, many thanks also to Ed R., Barry R., and Mike G. for also taking and delivering these. With 70 plus clubs in my region, I couldn’t have done it with- out all the help. It was great to talk snowmobil- ing with so many club people as it reinforced that people are eagerly waiting for the season to begin. By now all clubs should have all that info

PO Box 621, Ashland ME 04732 Stedman.matt@jdirving.com

H ello fellow snowmobilers, Are you all ready to go snowmobiling? The leaves are changing, and we’ve had at least one morning in the 30-degree range here in the County. A sure sign that snowmobile season is coming at us at a rapid pace. Also, the MSA snowmobile show is right around the corner, so we all get a chance to check out sleds, groomers, trailers, gear & accessories. I hope to see you there. Clubs have been hard at work all summer behind the scenes raising funds, talking with landowners, doing machine maintenance, filling out grant forms and the list goes on.

6

r 2 0 2 1

b e

c t o

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

O

l e r