8528-R2_MSA_October2023

From The Executive Board

From the President

if not all Clubs are full steam ahead right now with pre-season Trail maintenance, Groomer maintenance, Landowner relations and various Club forms that are time sensitive and need to be submitted to the MSA and Dept. of A.C.F. and the preparation list goes on. All Clubs, please keep in mind that the deadline for Club and Municipal Grant applications is December 1st and it is fast approaching. Also the officer update forms for both the MSA and Dept. of A.C.F. need to be submitted as soon as possible as these are valuable tools for us to accurately communicate to our Clubs and are necessary for all Trail Grant considerations. The officer update form for the MSA can be found on our website or in your Clubs membership packet. The MSA has been extremely busy throughout the Summer and into the Fall implementing changes and improving on what is already in place. Many of these changes are not just in the MSA office but also on the MSA website as well as Facebook and other social media sites. Check us out if you haven’t, there are literally changes on almost every page! We have been all over the State attending Club events, monthly Director’s meetings and selling Super Raffle tickets. By the time this paper gets to the membership the MSA will have been to the N.H. Grass Drags and will have seen the 2023 Maine Snowmobile Show We have a few items going to the Legislature this year. James Cote our lobbyist is handling them. A law to have 16 year old and younger children take a safety course, People from out of State that have homes here pay a reduced snowmobile registration, there has been talk activities and support our phenomenal trail network. Funding proposals (for anything) are often met with resistance in Augusta, but MSA has such a compelling story to tell that I am anxious to begin this work in earnest, and move snowmobiling in Maine to a more pre dictable and prosperous future. Augusta is quiet this time of year, but soon the Legislature will be ramping up for its sec ond regular session, which will last from Jan uary to approximately June. There is no doubt that even in this shorter session that we will have plenty of issues to work on, and it will be critical to have your voices heard as we navi gate a number of policy issues. Looking forward, as the landscape contin ues to change, top of mind for me is thinking about the future of snowmobile and general recreational access for the future. Private land owners are an integral part of our successful network, and I think it is critical that we all start thinking more about how we work with the landowner community and policymakers to ensure a robust trail network, access, and positive landowner relations long into the future. I’ve begun to have some initial conver sations with stakeholders, and look forward to sinking more time into this subject. Thinking ahead will benefit us greatly. As always, I welcome your ideas and input as we head into the next session. Please feel free to write anytime at jcote@bernsteinshur.com. Enjoy the fall weather. Stay safe. And bring on the snow. Have a great fall! James Cote Ripley to Bridgton to Dexter. Had a great full house meeting put on by The Windham Snowmobile Club along with some hot discussion and hot Pat’s Pizza! Thanks to all who came. The Raffle is going very well; we ordered a few more tickets for the New Hampshire show along with ours at the end of the month. We have the three sleds and the Nitro trailer. The Alcom/Sno Pro is in production. The weatherman says a good winter for us. Let’s hope so. Looks like an El Nino year. The show is filling up looking like another successful event. A group will be heading to The New Hampshire Show bringing Maine clubs to the center of attention!

in Augusta come and go! We are now focusing our efforts toward the Super Raffle, which will be held on December 12 th . We have also been busy with a couple of snowmobile related bills at the State house, and are very fortunate to have hired Lobbyist James Cote to lead the charge on all of the legislative snowmobile related matters. A few more things to take note of are, on the membership cards please make sure that you as a Club or Individual check off the box that asks you if you would like your Maine Snowmobiler by Mail (paper copy) or E-mail ( Digitally). Also if you are a Club President or Trailmaster and have a Park & Ride in your town, we are compiling a list to publish on our website and social media at some point in the near future, please reach out to any one of the officers in this paper and we can help you with that. Lastly, it is that point in the season where I know we sound like a broken record but make it a point and reach out to each of your Landowners, shake their hand and thank them for allowing access on their property; a small thank you goes a long way and truly means everything to a Landowner. Well Folks, that is all for now and as always please reach out to me if you have questions, need help with an issue or just want to talk Snowmobiling. Thanks, Mark I hope to see lots of you at the show it’s a great time to get back in touch with one another after our off season. I appreciate every one of you! AL about raising our registration fee in 2025 which I do not recommend. Also, we’ve discussed registration lists from the State which they have and won’t give us unless we pay lots of money. This list would be used by the club’s to encourage them to join a club. Also, I’d like the MSA clubs to get grant money before non MSA clubs get any. With all the rain and wind this year we’ve had many wash outs and bridge disasters the volunteers have been working hard to get the areas repaired for riding, Unfortunately some won’t make it in time due to funding. I hope they do but it does not look good. Thanks for all you do! We will be having workshops Saturday morning during the show. We encourage club members to join us.

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

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

W ell folks, September is history leaving us with great memories from the club’s getting out and having fundraisers throughout the State. From Ashland to Lexington to From the Executive VP

Monthly Income Monthly Expense

$ 42,940.58 $ 32,617.31 $ 10,323.27 $ 85,600.00 $153,172.63 $ 79,346.57

Net Revenue

Short Term CD

Checking (9/30/23)

Dedicated Account (9/30/23)

Pay Pal (9/30/23) - Special Events Account (9/30/23) $ 4,987.53 Credit Line (9/30/23) $ - Building Fund (9/30/23) $ 54,041.21 Brian Wass Safety Fund (9/30/23) $ 1,285.52 Scholarship Savings (9/30/23) $ 1,182.41 Scholarship CD (9/30/23) $ 60,944.42 $

From The Membership Corner

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

H ello Everyone! And just like that another month comes around. Yes, it is October already and anybody that has anything to do with Snowmobiling in Maine is out doing some sort of preparation work, whether it be Club related, MSA, municipal or just individual preparation, we all have work that needs to be done in anticipation of the White stuff falling. Starting at the club level, I don’t have to tell anyone reading this paper that most

Eileen Lafland, 207-843-7813 PO Box 733, Holden ME 04429 L.andE.lafland525476@gmail.com

I t is almost the end of September as this report is being written and many clubs have already begun to send in their memberships for this year keeping Liz in the office busy recording them. Liz and Eileen have answered a few questions already from clubs and people new to club membership procedures. If you have questions, you can email membership@mesnow.com or office@mesnow.com and we will do our best to get them answered in a timely manner. PLEASE REMEMBER- in order for your members to receive the ME Snowmobiler newspaper their membership card must be submitted to MSA. Also, in order for your business member to be listed in the upcoming paper it must be received in the office by the 20 th of the month before. Example -for Nov paper listing we need it by Oct 20 th . ***ALSO PLEASE NOTE ON RENEWAL CARD*** -On right side there is a check box regarding the paper. It is VERY important that you ask the member their preference and check the appropriate box. We have members tell us they do not want the paper or would like it digital and we are attempting to update our records to reflect their choice. Club membership people- PLEASE ASK THIS QUESTION. If a person is a member of multiple clubs just note that in the box as well and we will note it in our records as well. Membership totals as of 9/22/23 61 clubs have submitted memberships. Total memberships 853 with 715 family memberships and 138 business memberships Totals by region

Capitol Report

Hospitality Committee

James Cote MSA Lobbyist

Gail Ryan, MSA Hospitality 207-478-6821 207 Lancaster Brook Rd, Glenburn, ME skidoo6000@aol.com Hope you had a good September, and are getting ready for a cool October. I’ve sent a sympathy card to Don Murphy his mom passed, I sent sympathy card to Bob & Ardene Heistand, and a card to Lisa Gargan her husband passed. I sent a thinking of you card to Caleb McGary he has some health issues he’s deal ing with. And I sent a get well card to Ann Herrin she had hip surgery I hope you all are doing well and please know we are thinking of you. If anyone has a big birthday in sight, new baby coming, an anniversary, health issues, any event or reason to send a card please let me know so I can reach out with a card from the MSA. Gail Ryan H i everyone,

H ello MSA Members! As I sit at my desk this morning, I can’t help October is finally here and although I am writing this in 80 degree sunny weather, we all know that those days will quickly pass us by and hopefully the (big) snow will greet us shortly. October is a great month for MSA members to reach out to your local legislator. Legisla tors are back in their districts until January. If you meet them at your local coffee shop or see them in town, take the opportunity to educate them on issues of importance to the snowmo biling industry generally, and your local club specifically. Or even just introduce yourself, and let them know who you are and what club you belong to. As many of you may know, a group of MSA leaders is starting the process of putting together ideas to more adequately fund club

Central - 98 members Coastal -67 members Western- 59 members Eastern- 357 members Northern -263 members Keep sending those memberships in!

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