8116-R4_MSA_Sep2022_MaineSnowmobiler

From The Executive Board

From the President

your continued support for a quiet industry that chugs along year round at the sum of over $600 million per year! The Volunteers are the most valuable they work around the clock day and night to make the trails smooth and safe for us. The supporting businesses are a generous group. The contributions statewide make the sport glide along each year. With over 280 MSA clubs in Maine their dedication and passion is unequal to any other activity, raising money from auctions to cook outs and raffles they are the backbone of the MSA. We are all in this together and we have to stand united to face the challenging days ahead. I would like to thank my friend Mike Grass for his leadership in the last few years. He fought through some tough times and we are all much better for his wisdom, professionalism, sincerity and positive energy. I have some big shoes to fill for sure! Mark Chinnock is the new MSA Vice President; he is an awesome gentleman with a successful business and a dedicated mind with ideas to only help us get better. The steering committee are a great group they have guided the MSA in and out of hardships that brought us closer as a team along with lifelong been a part of over the last couple of years in the MSA, and for all the new ideas, changes, and thought processes moving forward. We have an unbelievable core group of members that have proven time and time again that, YES, we can succeed and make things happen. They are go-getters and know how to take care of business. Have we made mistakes? Absolutely! Have we made some poor decisions along the way? Yes, we have. But you know what? We’ve learned and grown from them, and at the end of the day every decision that was made had the best interest of the association at the forefront. All you need to do is look at the numbers to see that we have grown and are stronger than we have been for a very long time! I am so very proud of these people. ANXIOUS , yes Anxious! Anxious because you can’t help but feel a certain responsibility to keep things going in the same direction with the same positive decisions and continue to see progress. But I guess that brings me back to my first point, speak and make decisions from the heart and everything else will follow suit. To the Membership, I guess I would say, just keep on doing what you’ve been doing because it seems to be working! I think we can all agree that a season doesn’t go by without at least some, maybe a few, OK maybe a lot of stumbling blocks along the way, but somehow, someway the Clubs seem to take care of business and get things done. Before moving on, I spent 4 years as Trails Committee Chair which taught me a ton about the “boots on the ground” side of the association, and the amount of time and effort that it takes long before the snow ever hits the ground (to get to that point where we can all enjoy the fruits of you as the Trails Committee Chair, a position I held for many years before moving to Vice Pres and President. I tapped Western Vice Chair Mark Chinnock to take the Chair posi tion when I moved up and he did a fantastic job with it. He took the “Trails Committee Signage Workshop” “On the Road”, traveling all over, the state educating new and old vol unteers on the do’s and don’ts of signage and it showed out on the trails. Thank You Mark and I hope you enjoy your time as MSA Vice President. The Trails Committee is still going strong with its group of volunteers all over the state, who work with clubs to make sure the ITS trail system is in place, brushed, signed and groomed to the highest standard possible. A standard, which you clubs seem to raise the bar on higher and higher each year. Trails Committee members are currently in communication with their respective clubs to find out if they have any trail changes for the upcoming season that will affect the MSA ITS map. If your club has any known changes,

friendships! Bob Flagg the computer wizard, Lori well she can do anything and goes above and beyond every day, Larry and Eileen LaFland are the dynamic duo ask anything and those two get it done. And another past President John Monk’s dedication to the MSA is an incredible asset. This team has made decisions that benefit all of us. The area VP’s are a great resource. David Watson heads up the Coastal Region, Jim Boyce does the Western, Matt Stedman Northern, Jack Lord Central and Eileen Lafland takes care of the Eastern. These folks are the wheels that keeps us turning. And, Liz our new Office Manager is kind and very professional, a great addition to the MSA team! Raffle tickets are available now and the October show is taking shape. We may have an issue with the Arctic Cat prize, it seems the factory cannot keep up with production and have cancelled lots of orders for that model. We’ll work on it and keep you posted. To all of the hundreds of volunteers, business’s landowner’s I thank you very much for all you do! Hope to see you at the show, AL our labor), it’s absolutely amazing the amount of VOLUNTEER hours that are spent to give the snowmobiler in Maine the best experience that we can possibly put out there. One thing I would like to remind the Membership/Clubs is that the MSA works for you! Yes, we all work as one, but at the end of the day it’s the MSA who stands behind their membership and fights for your rights. That’s not to say that over the last 25 years or so that we haven’t come up short a time or two, but we have tried hard in the last 3 or 4 years to try and tether the spokes back and connect the hub to the wheel. Reconnecting and showing an MSA face to the clubs has been one of our main goals during the last few years and will continue going forward. I know that some of you that are reading this right now feel that possibly we have fallen short in this department with your club and that may very well be true. Believe me when I say that we are making every effort to target these areas and bring back more unity to the association. When you see one, two, or ten of our faces in your club or at your event, you are looking in the mirror and seeing a volunteer just like you. All of us have families, full time jobs, and just like you, have a HUGE passion for the sport. We love being part of the clubs and participating at your events and wouldn’t have it any other way! Once again, I would like to say thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve as MSA Vice President. As always, if anyone has anything snowmobile related that they would like to talk about, whether it’s an issue or problem, help with direction or a project, or just want to talk snowmobiling, please reach please get them to your Trails Coordinator or me so we can get them changed for the upcoming season. I am currently working on the Trails Work shop for the Snowmobile Show in Augusta and also trying to find time to start a signage program for intersections statewide. More info on that to come at a later date Looking forward to seeing all of the Trails Committee members at our upcoming map ping meetings and excited for the upcoming season. I’m hoping the Farmers Almanac is correct in it’s cold and snowy forecast. As always, Think Snow, Mike P.S. Reminder ITS and ITS Connector Trail Signs ONLY, are available from Mike Grass Sr. at grasslands252@gmail.com. ALL OTHER SIGNS (stop, arrow, etc.) can be requested from Dept. of Agriculture, Con servation and Forestry, Snowmobile Division (Joe Higgins office). out to me, I want to hear it all! See you soon, Mark Chinnock

Lori Hemmerdinger (207) 890-5455 544 Plains Road Poland, ME 04274 Treasurer@mesnow.com Treasurer’s Report

Alan Swett, 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com

H ello Folks! Welcome Snowmobiler’s, Welcome to Maine a premier destination spot to ride a snowmobile. Why you ask? First the Landowners we have the best. We ride on over 90% private land. Thank you for that and

Respectfully Submitted, Lori Hemmerdinger, Treasurer

Monthly Income Monthly Expense

$ 12,984.83 $ 13,857.27 $ (872.44) $ 200,241.01 $ 72,739.80

Net Revenue

From the Executive VP

Checking (8/31/22)

DedicatedAccount (8/31/22)

Pay Pal (8/31/22) - Special EventsAccount (8/28/22) $ 4,987.53 Credit Line (8/31/22) $ - Building Fund (8/31/22) $ 53,894.83 BrianWass Safety Fund (8/31/22) $ 1,285.24 $

Safety Committee

Mark Chinnock, Vice President 207-754-9874 544 Plains Road, Poland, ME 04274 napadude66@hotmail.com

G reetings Everyone, As I begin to write this letter to the membership, I can’t help but feel a true roller coaster of emotions for many reasons. Humbled, excited, and anxious are the feelings that stand out the loudest. HUMBLED because I have been given the chance to serve the MSA Membership for (God Willing) the next several years, and because I am blessed to serve next to a great friend and colleague Al Swett. If there is one thing that I have learned from Al already is that if you are passionate about what you’re doing, and speak from the heart, things have a way of working themselves out. EXCITED for all the changes that I have

Alan Swett, 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com W ell Folks, We had over 88,000 sleds registered last season, many accidents, many rider’s getting lost, a few OUI’S and four fatalities. Every year we hope fatalities will diminish. Education will be on the forefront this year. I’d like to see a new law that requires children take a safety course before riding on our trials. I hope that we can get the bill written before the next session at the Statehouse. It’s a great time talking to the school students so I want to make more visits this season. We still have safety posters available at the office or catch me at a regional meeting. The Bath Iron Works Shipyard’s generosity was above and beyond last year. They made over 300 safety signs that we got out to clubs. Good News - I met with the same folks and they volunteered to do more this year! Thanks so much BIW! Another large factory made a huge donation this year Sappi’s Somerset Mill in Skowhegan donated a 500-foot roll of conveyor for the Madison and North Anson train trestles. A big thank you goes out to them as well. This belt will go on the trestle for smooth travel ing. If you did not know the Madison Railroad branch was purchased by the State this past year and starts in Oakland through to Embden. It will be a multipurpose trail with awesome scenery and places to eat. We should be riding this new trail this year. The long and tall Nor ridgewock Trestle will not be ready this year. Hope you all have a great safe year! Be Safe Out There, AL

Trails Committee Chair Report

Mike Grass, Jr., 207-368-2316 249 Condon Rd, Plymouth ME 04969 mgrassjr@gmail.com H ello again to all the Snowmobilers out there. Here I am, once again coming to

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