8116-R4_MSA_Sep2022_MaineSnowmobiler

From The Executive Board

Steering Committee

Jack Lord Home: (207) 672-3915 Cell: 207-717-7131 17 Dinsmore St. Bingham, ME. 04920 Email: jacklord5256@gmail.com This paper goes out to all folks who registered sleds in Maine last season, if you are not currently a member of one of Maine’s great snowmobile clubs I hope something you see in this paper encourages you to reach out & join. It is a great way to meet new folks, lend a helping hand & spend time with others most of the time. Now if all of us cold, snow lovers get what we want at the end of the year we should all be happy. If the old farmer’s tale about hornet nests is any indication, we should be good to go as we have had two very large nests at our house and both were a good 20 feet in the air! Let’s hope that’s the way it goes. Even though it has been off season for some, there are a few of us who have been “snowmo biling” right along. The office has worked on membership cards and packets, super raffle prizes and getting ready for the snowmobile show in October. Some Eastern region clubs and I assume other clubs around the state have also done trail work in the dry weather to avoid the fall wet holes that sometimes appear. I have also seen fund-raising events happening to help the clubs get ready for the new season. Who says snowmobiling only happens when there is snow on the ground! In late fall, early spring was asked to become a member of the snowmobile advi sory council and I gladly accepted. In June H It is sometimes hard to think snowmobiling when its’ in mid-80’s and humid, but that’s what dedicated volunteers all across the State are doing to ensure this winters’ trails are ready. Thank you to those folks, without you and gracious landowners we would be pretty bored riding around our own properties all winter. Get out and attend a fall fundraiser, landowner dinner, go to the MSA snowmobile show and get pumped up for this coming winter season!! I am currently just landing in my chair from the Big Woods Grass Drags. It was a true show. While the entire event was impec cable, it truly displayed a giant collaboration of the entire area. There was one take-a-way that could not be ignored; If there were not 15, there were twenty, 120 and 200 class kids’ sleds entered in the classes. This, with every one of their families in tow was an incredible site to see. Incredibly done and thanks for the nod for MSA to participate! While the weather overall this summer was very good, the office and steering committee stayed on par watching out for our great sport. There never seems to be a shortage of issues It’s 78 degrees and I’m thinking real hard about the white stuff. I hope everyone is having a good summer.. Now I have a favor to ask from every club, we need you to call the office immediately and let us know who to call and where to deliver the pandemic and a registration increase and up they go! Now THREE years running! This is clearly a testament to the club’s resiliency to improve things. Additionally, the Capital Equipment Grant fed every qualified applicant to an even higher rate at purchasing new grooming equipment than the previously pre-approved 40%. (cur rently higher than 48%). These are exactly the figures we hoped we would see with the MSA and club led support of LD-280. Addi tionally, this summer, rails have been lifted and trail will exist THIS WINTER in areas of the state that has never been open. Congrats to all the clubs in the mid-state area that are stepping up another rung and continuing to enhance the big picture for everyone. If all those accomplishments are not positive prog ress, I’ll take up ice fishing… H i Everyone,

that enjoy the sport as much as you do. Clubs statewide need new active members to keep this all going. With ever increasing registration numbers and more folks coming here from away for our consistent and long winters the more work the same crews end up doing. The Maine Snowmobile Association & its clubs are the reason we have all the great trails across the State, connecting the riders from point A to point Z and all the businesses in between. Volunteers meet with private landowners to get permission to access property, place signage, repair bridges, groom trails, etc. At a larger level the clubs and associations work to ensure that issues that affect snowmobilers & snowmobiling are being discussed and worked on so we can continue to enjoy our great sport for years’ to I was involved in my first scoring/ award ing of capital equipment grant money. I can honestly say, scoring those applications was a very difficult task. While you want to award everyone that applies money it isn’t always possible. The council met for the morning and all present talked about why they scored as they did and then decided on who and how much money clubs would receive. Thank you to Eastern Maine Snowmobile Club for host ing this meeting and providing snacks. It was quite a process and in the end most all clubs that applied received some money. All areas of the state will have some new equipment on the ground this season which should make the trails in Maine that much better! I can’t wait to ride those trails and look for the new equipment. Eastern region clubs- membership packets should be in the hands of someone in your club by the time you read this. All packets that were not taken by the club at the August directors meeting came home with me or were put in the mail. The eastern regional directors First up, we need a new director to lead our ship. While we as members clearly have held our own, we are quietly bouncing across the Volunteer/Employee Line. Our president is rocking it and needs a pillar to bounce day to day transactions so he can excel in what he does best. (as he is currently returning from Madawaska). This engaged position will answer to the E-Board and if all goes as planned, the steering committee will quietly morph into more of an oversight committee to bring in outside feedback keeping the mission on track. Don’t misquote me here, as we have one of the best groups in place right now that we ever had but need a giant cheerleader to rally the gang with new thoughts. Communi cation, Marketing, Technology Development, Program Implementation and a “No Limit Attitude” is exactly what we are looking for. Our budget is in place for this career minded position and a great package is available for this Excitement Building Individual. Send your resume to Editor@mesnow.com. Second on the hot list is a small piece of legislation that will help clubs and landowners combat the issue of “off-corridor” trail related issues. This is a giant explanation that is any thing but new but needs some heat especially in our more congested areas of the trail sys tems. Bear in mind this is not an attack on “off-trail riding” that clubs, trailmasters and membership packages. The postage has gone up so much and some of the area people are delivering the packages to the clubs to help cut the cost. Without the information, we cannot deliver your club paperwork. Up until Sept.30th, I will have the packages for the Central Region so you can call me and I will get them to you. After that, the only other way is for you to go to the MSA Office in Augusta and pick up your package. Thank you for helping us serve you. On the lighter side and so much more fun. I am going to try to be at the Snowmobile Show as much as I can be and I’m looking forward to seeing every that we need to tend with. Here are our current three.

come. The MSA has sent out a club survey form link to try to determine how we can best help clubs of all sizes across our State, ask at your next meeting if your club has submitted a response. We will leverage this to help us move forward, the answers will enable the MSA to help the clubs and understand your challenges. If you are a club that needs help or a group of new officers/directors please reach out to your local MSA VP or regional directors. We are here as a resource for the clubs to help in any way we can. 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. Matt Stedman Until October, have a great start to the new season and get those memberships and raffle tickets in. Eileen one of you. I would like to shake your hand and Thank You for all the work you do for the sport. Without you, we would not have the great trails and the awesome organization we enjoy. Remember, be safe when working on the trails. Have Fun and call if you need me and don’t forget to Think Snow KEEP SMILING.......BE SAFE. Jack Lord and other members were given packets for their area and were asked to deliver them to club contacts. What they didn’t do Larry and I delivered. If you do not have yours, please contact me first as I should know who it went to. Remember, membership runs out the end of September so GET YOUR MEMBER SHIPS SENT IN ASAP. Super Raffle Tickets- I do have a small sup ply in my possession. Call or email me before you try getting them from the office and I will see if we can connect to try and save postage. I believe there is a supply in your club pack ets you can start with, but if you need more, please contact us. NOTE MY EMAIL CHANGE- Over the summer Larry and I changed email address. The new one is- L.andE.lafland525476@ gmail.com Please use this one as the old one is no longer available. Lastly, The MSA would like to encourage every rider to dig deep and provide some vol unteer time to help a club. There is no secret that there is a struggle to get labor these days. The MSA, Snowmobile clubs and ANY civic group providing well-being to people are all in the same boat. Many monetary wise are rolling along, but the hands-on, in kind labor continues to fall backwards. Plan NOW to attend a trail related activity, ticket sales or a landowner BBQ. No one comes home unhappy for volunteering their time. Put it toward something you like and appreciate: LIKE SNOWMOBILING! Here we go Folks, John Monk registered Maine Guides have secured. The ONLY intent is to keep riders on pre-approved trail. This is a commonsense rule of prevent ing the conversation of a landowner asking, “Why am I seeing 38 spots of trail dug up 90 degrees to the groomer wall”? This initiative is to give wardens, clubs, and landowners an additional tool to enforce using the “trail” as opposed to their fields, septic systems, berms, and restricted areas not asked for by the clubs. The preliminary wording has been developed and appears to carry weight to get the job done and feedback from clubs has supported it. If you or your club have suggestions, NOW is the time for you to weigh in with positive vibes of solving the issue. Shoot ideas directly to me at monksdoomopars@hermon.net.

John Monk Chairman of Steering Committee monksdoomopars@hermon.net W owza! August is over, the stars seem brighter, the mornings and evenings are shorter and there are a bunch of membership boxes in my front seat…. We all know what that means, right? If this past month is any indication of the upcoming season, Maine is clearly breaking the mold! First up, every time in history a “Registra tion Increase” was implemented, the following season resulted in lost registrations. Nobody has been able to really figure it out other than possible poor conditions, just resistance to chip in at current rates or an outright baulk at the system. Not this time, Baby! Couple in a

Eastern Region VP

Eileen Lafland, 207-843-7813 PO Box 733, Holden ME 04429 L.andE.lafland525476@gmail.com H ello Everyone, All the summer people who requested hot, humid, dry summer days must have been excited this year! It sure has been like that

Northern Region VP

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

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

Central Region VP

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