8212_MSA_December2022-R1

From The Executive Board

Secretary’s Report - Brad Barker 578 th Directors Meeting - Lexington Highlanders Club House - Lexington - November 15, 2022

C alled the meeting to order at 7:15 Pledge of Allegiance Secretary’s Report M/S/C Treasures Report Read and placed on file in the office. Thank you for the job on the show because it is reflected in the treasurer’s report. Credit line is at Zero!!! Great job! President’s opening comments: The show was a big success, attendance was a bit low because of the good weather. The layout of the show worked out well. Great volunteer work. A couple issues arose but were ironed out quickly. Augusta Civic Center to do the Super Raffle on Dec. 13th. There will be food, we’ll let you know. Lost David Stevens: Past MSA President. Also, Harvey Williams, who contributed a lot to the sport. Last season, we dedicated one of the trestles to him. His wife saved some ashes to go across the bridge. Getting ready for the raffle. There are approximately 18,000 tickets remain. Haven’t printed more and some clubs have brought tickets back, so we will probably have enough. Polaris still has a recall on it. Power Sport in Caribou -Have to do a recall according to the VIN. Skidoo is still not here. Zr 200 - Not in at Kramers. Both trailers are in. Executive Vice President: Mark Chinnook- Thank you Lexington Club! Love the new clubhouse! Great food. Thanks to everyone that came a distance. In two days, Thursday night, there will be a trails workshop in Minot. Should be between 15-20 clubs. Deadlines - December 1st municipal grant and club grants applications NEED TO BE IN. Super Raffle tickets need to be in by December 6th to get into the lucky club drawings. If you sell tickets after that, you can still send them in. Officer update forms for MSA and for Joe’s office need to be in ASAP! Eastern Region: Eileen Lafland- Lexington Highlanders, thank you for hosting. Eastern Regional meeting at EasternMaine Snowmobilers Club, Wednesday Nov 30 th at 6:30. Directors meeting in Lincoln at the Lincoln Snowhounds Club house, Feb 25 - trying to get a showcase ride together.

Jan 28 th East Branch Sno Rovers in Medway will have a groomer rodeo, trail signage workshop, and a trail safety presentation. Western Region: Jim Boyce-Very wet out there! Some trails have two feet of water. A lot of things to take care of. A lot of new landowners, so we have to explain over and over. Please, go see the new people. Don’t just say the past landowners let us. Go talk and explain it. Lexington is the club that CAN. Great trail going into Kingfield. Rumblings in Carrabassett - doesn’t sound good if they open it there is 2 years worth of Alders. Lexington is plan B!! Railroad beds and bridges are 3/4 done. Trying to get some of the traffic over here to Lexington. Everyone is out getting ready. Talking about fuel prices - I can’t stress enough, don’t hold back on your grooming. Get the fuel. You don’t want social media to go bad. Think of how to get some more fundraisers. We can’t rely on the state all the time. DON’T PULL BACK ON YOUR GROOMING! We rely on the trails to get people up here. Still up in the air for January’s meeting and let you know. Mark - Jim’s right - major ITS trail to get points north shut down. Lexington President Clifford Norton - This little club figured it out. We sent skidders through to cut the trails, moved boulders, moved stumps and created trails that are about 20 ft. wide in most places. We have to keep our heads down and keep pushing through. Many areas in the state don’t have the same challenges we do here, small landowners, so more of them to work with. It’s difficult and a lot of work. Coastal Region: DaveWatson - Getting trails ready, looking for membership. Hopefully the storm won’t set them back, still doing a lot of trail work and bridges. Everything is very soft, so it is difficult to work on. We really need the cold weather first. Central Region: Jack Lord - He is at a meeting in Bingham - landowners issue - snowmobile trail in CMP floodway is a big obstacle. Safety Committee: Al Swett -Hunting season - keep your orange blaze on so that There are 201 clubs at this time of the 283 clubs in the state that have turned in memberships. The top five clubs in memberships as of Nov 18 th are: Moosehead Riders – 185

you stay safe. When you’re working, wear protective equipment. Check your trailers over before the season starts. If you need new 10” tires go see Everett in Norridgewock. Four deaths last year and that’s too many. A lot of that was alcohol and inexperience related, but we don’t want that to happen again. John and Al - going to North Anson Middle School for a safety presentation. Reach out to Al for safety presentations, call the office or through our website. MSA Trails Committee: Mike Grass Jr. - The trailer is actually at the shop getting the wheel bearings packed. Saturday night is supposed to be cold. Hot areas - Lexington/Carabassett. Kokadjo doesn’t have the manpower to do what they need to do there, Joe needs connections. Mapping meeting for the Eastern Region - 13 people there got maps done. Northern region is done. Will connect with the other Regions soon. Signs - Joe still doesn’t know when the sign order is coming. At least 12 sign orders waiting to be filled for ITS signs. On Zoom meeting with Collins and King - This is HUGE, but they are nowhere to be seen - if we don’t get the wording right we could have a really big problem, if we lose that this would be worse than any other re-routing issue. Scholarship Committee: Barry Ryan - First time in this area, only had one turn around to get here. Gave a financial report of the checking and savings account. Holidays coming up - remind kids about the scholarships and also a good time to give to the scholarship fund. Had a lot of support at the show. We were at a really good location. Have a safe trip on the way home and have a nice Thanksgiving. Steering Committee: John Monk- Lexington was Club of the year. Very nice clubhouse. Trying to get the bill in for off trail enforcement. Russell Black still supporting, now that he is reelected. LD280 - nonresidents that have bought land and are members of the club - they can register their pickup and leave it in the state as a resident. But they have to register their sled as a non-resident. Trying to get this more evened out. What should we do since last March or April. Take it easy. Start slow check over the sled, brakes, lights front and rear, track any rips? Studs, skis carbides any broken parts? Your battery? How about loose nuts and bolts? Does everything work, as it’s supposed to? Check it over now when it’s a lot warmer and easier than getting out on the trail and breaking down. Make a survival kit and have a first aid kit with you. Both could save your life or some one else’s. A survival kit should have a whis tle, a lighter waterproof matches, a flash light, space blanket, a candle, an axe and handsaw, foldable shovel, extra gloves and socks, first aid kit flares and a map. If you have one, a sat ellite phone will be a great thing to have too. Spare key, and bring some snacks. Most new riders are prone to accidents. Young children should not be riding alone. We hope to have a new law taking affect soon that young children will have to take a safety course 16 and under. be aware of obstacles in the trail and under the snow, in early Decem ber it has not snowed deep enough to cover many rocks and tree stumps. Many brooks, lakes and ponds have not yet froze. Snowmo bile accidents happen as a result of reckless driving. Speeding swerving and doing stunts will surely leave you hurt. Watch out at road way crossing always look both ways, Rail road crossings are another area to be aware of. Don’t get caught day dreaming, next thing you know you’re off the trail stuck or plowed into a tree. These new sleds have lots of new gadgets on them. I had a friend last year break his back running into a pressure ridge while working his GPS. We had over 88,000 sleds registered last season. Four people died, some say that’s good compared to previous years. I think it’s

with this? As discussionwas had regarding nonresident registrations for those who own property in Maine. Steering Committee – worked hard getting the show together -Al’s broke the mold for us as President. We are looking for someone that can be more of a lobbyist to get our agenda through Augusta, maybe a per-diem kind of thing, not really sure. Abandoned and Discontinued Roads committee - 3 meetings so far, a lot of people buying land and then finding out that there is no right of way to it! 2 nd - couldn’t get a chair to step up, towns abandon them. 3 rd - chair is a lawyer from Portland in real estate law that will help train people in the committee. If you have any examples please reach out so they can look at them. Hospitality: Gail Ryan - has sent out 3 cards Membership Committee: Eileen Lafland- membership report as of the 15th. Coastal Region 57 clubs 548 members Central Region 56 clubs 600 members Northern Region 34 clubs 711 members Western Region 62 clubs 900 members Eastern Region 74 clubs 1350 members 4,067 There are 6,869 members when all family members are included. With 182 clubs reporting the top five are Moosehead Riders-115, Washburn Trail Runners -148, Blue Ridge Riders - 115, Northern Timber Cruisers - 110, Bridgton Easy Riders – 109 If you are the membership person - if they want to be a new member PLEASE ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE EVER BEEN A MEMBER OF MSA!! They would already have a member number! Just block off the number and make a note of it when you send it in. For questions email Liz or membership in mesnow.com still to many. We don’t want anyone to die on the trails. I feel the signage workshops have been a great help. Many clubs have attended these classes throughout the state. We will be holding more in the near future. Check over your trailers too. Our bumpy roads are hard on them check for cracks in the framework. How are your tires, wiring, lights, door hinges, wheel bearings and hitch? Please take it easy as the new season begins. There are many trail reroutes, be respectful, take it easy. We will be having at Safety Trail Signage Workshop at the Medway SC January 28, 2023. Please try to attend. The East Branch Riders will have food available also. Hope to see you there its lots of fun. Be safe out there, AL 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 TO ORDER CLUB TRAIL SIGNAGE Candice Pinkham, DACF/Snowmobile Program 207-287-4957 Office • 207-878-8111 Fax Candice.M.Pinkham@maine.gov Total Family Memberships 3,261 Total Business Memberships 806 Total All memberships

From The Membership Corner

Washburn Trail Runners-167 Bridgeton East Riders- 125 Blue Ridge Riders- 119 Northern Timber Cruisers – 110

Safety Committee

T hanks everyone for sending in the memberships at such a furious pace. Thanks also to Liz in the office for entering all the business memberships and some of the family memberships as well. In three days between Liz and I we entered over 800 family and business memberships!! Keep them coming. Total as of Nov 18th Central region – 680 memberships Coastal region – 780 memberships Western Region – 1,121 memberships Eastern Region – 1,561 memberships Northern region – 862 memberships Total memberships – 4,055, total business memberships 960, for a combined total of 5,015. When we add in the family members listed on the membership cards are overall membership is 8,444 Eileen Lafland, 207-843-7813 PO Box 733, Holden ME 04429 L.andE.lafland525476@gmail.com

Alan Swett, 207-872-7282 234 County Rd, Waterville ME 04901 snowtraveler@roadrunner.com H i Folks Safety First we’ve all heard that before and we should continue to use that practice. December brings first snow and anxious riders. Usually that beginning of the sea son results in the most accidents. So please remember you/we have not been on a sled

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