8944-R1_MSA_January2025_Newsletter

From The Executive Board Secretary’s Report - Betsy Watson Directors Meeting - Augusta Civic Center - Augusta, Maine - December 10, 2024

year. I would like to thank the folks the made it happens. Brain Dailly from Polaris, Chad Dow from Nitro, Dan Mills from Alcom, a Ski-doo from Mountainside and the Daigle family, the Polaris came from Cove-side in Newport, We have many prizes from gift cards from dealers and bed and breakfast from across the state. Liz does a fabulous job. Safety: Al Swett – Take some of the safety posters and put them up. There has been a lot of fires lately. Check your smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. Be careful of the icy conditions. Don’t silp and fall. We do have safety classes coming up. Give us a call. January 25, 2024 is the next Director’s meeting. It is going to be at the Leeds Stump Thumpers at the Asylum Lodge located at 27 Route 219 in Leeds. Jerry is hoping for snow so Brad can map out a ride in the AM. Social hour at 5 PM, Dinner at 6 PM and the Meeting starting at 7 PM. Funding Committee: Matt – Legislature is back in session, bills have to be in by Jan 10, 2025. Mark, James Cote, and I have been putting some thought into a bill. James is drafting legislation as we speak, to get some trail funding from a portion of the sales tax on snowmobile sales. We are also working to understand and educate ourselves on how the trails bond will be going through the grant process, what that will look like, and how the people can get their hands on that money. Calls and meetings have been scheduled within the next couple of weeks to go over that information. We are really trying to figure it all out. There will be newspaper articles as well as training sessions to help educate you all to get that trails grant money. Membership Committee: Read by Liz – Currently we have 5,573 members. There are approximately 400 left to enter in the office. Numbers are: Central Region = 769, Coastal Region =652, Eastern Region = 1,517, S nowmobile Safety begins with you! It’s a brand-new season, let’s make it a safe one. So, to start with, how’s your clothing? Does it fit like last year? Helmet, ok? Gloves, boots googles? 1. Is your snowmobile ready to go? Have you or someone like a dealer checked it over for you? Carbides, skis, track wheel bear ings, lights, windshield, and any cuts on the track? Did anything break from last season? How about the motor oil and some fresh gas? Any issues with the steering and suspension/ shocks? Check these items over it’s no fun breaking down on the trail. 2. First Aid and survival kit, do you have one? if not, you should have them along with some snacks, a flashlight, and a tow strap, duct tape, and a fire starter. These items will help you get out of a bad situation. 3. You should be inspecting your trailer. Look for cracks in and on the framework. reetings from Brewer, Hope you all had a great holiday season with your family and friends. As I write this the day after Christmas, there is a few inches of snow in my front yard. As you read this, I hope we have kept it and the season is underway. If conditions permit, clubs should start seeing inspection reports from the trail committee members. As many of you know, my primary club, Eastern Maine Snowmobiler’s, lost its trail master when Larry Lafland passed away. Besides his contribution to the MSA, Larry was the “wheel” of our club and we members were the spokes. Larry managed projects, trail work, grooming, grants, and landowner rela tions with very little help except from his wife, Eileen. He also participated in every aspect of the club including fundraisers, building main tenance, and rentals. His passing has, indeed, left a void that won’t be easy to fill. The club members have rallied, and we are doing our G

Northern Region = 1,233 and the Western Region = 1,395. Scholarship Committee: Barry – The Scholarship Checking account has $5,405. The Scholarship CD has $60,563.56. These funds come from the generous donations from clubs and individuals like you. Thank you. If you have any questions regarding the Scholarship Fund, please reach out to anyone on the committee. Trails Committee: Brent – We have concluded all the mapping dinners. I have been to four different venues across the state. Let’s talk about Bingham, which has been in play for over a year. The Southern portion of the trail has been temporary solved. A judge made a ruling to allow traffic to pass through that section. We are not completely out of the woods yet, there is a 140-foot bridge that has not been repaired, as of tonight. There is a military style bridge that has been staged and is onsite. They hope to have it in place before the riding season begins. This is a major artery to Jackman. The only way out of town is 88, logging has shut down other routes. A member asked about Roxbury. He said that Roxbury has to replace a 30 FT bridge to a 60 FT bridge. Brent replied that he did not know about the bridge and that we just brought on an inspector to that section. They are getting him up to date. Mark read about the services for Larry. Brent had a Save-The-Date from Eileen. Eileen has saved the weekend of May 24th at the Eastern Maine Snowmobile Club for a Celebration of Life for Larry. Hall of Fame Committee & Hospitality Committee: Gail Ryan – Still need members for the Hall of Fame. Gail told a funny joke. Old Business: Mark – Al hit on the Super Raffle a little earlier. Lori is doing some research on getting us a good interest rate for the Super Raffle CD. The January directors meeting has Wheel bearings need grease and check for any movement. Are there any cracks on your tires? If so it’s best to replace them. All your lights should work. Is the hitch that connects to the vehicle, ok? And make sure you lock it into place and secure it with the safety pin. Do you have extender mirrors on your vehicle? These help a lot. 4. Ride right, stay on the trail, don’t ride alone, and be careful at night, watch out for wildlife. Ride safe out there and remember to respect our landowners. Stay on the marked trail we lose lots of valuable trails when folks disrespect landowners, liter, and riding off trail is the biggest reason we lose mileage. Over 95% of our system is on private land owners’ property. Many pieces of the trail puzzle are major arteries that connect South to North and East to West we need to stay on the good side of the landowner and keep them happy all the time. Does your club have that one “Go To” mem ber that is always there and has the answer to most any question? The person with expe rience and wisdom that makes it look easy? First and foremost, be vocal about your appre ciation for their efforts. Secondly, think about what would happen if he or she wasn’t there. Are there tasks and procedures that should be shared with at least one other member for the sake of continuity? Is there any documenta tion on how things work? It’s easy to sit back and let that one person do it because they’ve always done it, but if you take that for granted, you may find yourself asking, “What do we do now?” Evaluate your club and make a contin gency plan—just a thought. All for now, Brent best to make Larry proud, but it got me think ing about other clubs.

been covered. It will be on 1/25/25 in Leeds. The E-Board talked about possible date changes on some of the Directory’s meeting. Switching from a Tuesday to a Saturday to try and get more participation. Matt – The E-Board would like to get some feedback from the clubs on the possible date change. It would not be for all the meetings, because some of them are already on a Saturday. The last thing we have is the contract for James Cote the lobbyist. James is worth every penny that we pay him. Approval was sought for the execution of a one year contract extension. The contract has not changed from last year. Ron made a motion and a second came from Jerry. Motion carried. Lucky Dog – the top three selling clubs from the raffle. Central Region 1) Lexington Highlanders SC @ $1,817 2) Sno-Devils SC @ $825 3) Town and Country Trailriders Inc. @ $826 Coastal Region 1) Ossipee Mountaineers @ $667 2) Saco Pathfinders @ $577 3) Southern Maine Sno-Goers @ $680 Eastern Region 1) Moosehead Riders, Inc. @ $888 2) Quad County SC Inc. @ $438 3) Wassookeag SC @ $1,774 Northern Region 1) Big Valley Sno-Club @ $1,174 2) Easton Trailbreakers @ $623 3) Washburn Trail Runners @ $1,589 Western Region 1) Bouncing Bogies @ $835 2) Fryeburg Are Snowmobile Asso. @ $6,519 3) Pleasant Mountain SC Inc. @ $2,405 Pot of Gold - $400 Good Time Riders, Benton, ME 50/50 – $113 – Winner gave back the money to the Scholarship Fund. Meeting Adjourn 5. Safety courses are available from IF&W. Look for the dates and times in the MSA paper. 6. If anyone would like me to speak with your clubs or area school, please let me know. I’m filling up for January. I go over every day snowmobiling topics from clothing to riding. We have a great time and most importantly hear some good stories from the kids. 7. We have ITS maps at the office; let us know if you’d like some. In addition, we have 2025 calendars left for sale. 8. For home use please check your smoke and CO2 alarms have a fire route out of your home, and learn how to use a fire extinguisher. 9. Be careful underfoot and watch out for slippery conditions and obstacles under the snow. Don’t overdo it shoveling. Take a break! Let’s make it 2025 a fatality-free year. Be safe out there! AL CLUB MEMBERS Once grooming begins submit your trail reports to: EDITOR@MESNOW.COM Please include your name and club affiliation

Secretary’s Report Betsy Watson – No errors or omissions. Motion carried. A copy was placed on file. Treasurer’s Report was read by Barry Ryan. No errors or omissions. A copy was placed on file. President’s Opening Comments: Mark Chinnock – I’ll keep it short because of the supper raffle. Executive Vice-President: Matt Stedman – It’s been a sad week for us at the MSA. Northern Region Vice-President: Nick Morrill – Panning of the trails but because of the sun we are going back to square one. Central Region Vice-President: Ron Nunes – Not much to report because of the weather. Western Region Vice-President: Jerry Major – Not much to report because of the weather. Director of Operations: Al Swett – Even though we will be ending the Super Raffle tonight, we will be having discussions for next Betsy Watson, Secretary 207-205-1559 412 Roberts Ridge Rd, East Waterboro, ME 04030 watson.betsy29@gmail.com

Safety Committee

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

Trails Committee Chair Report

Brent Spaulding, MSA Trails Chairman 207-944-7762 41 Madison Ave Brewer ME 04412 msatrailchair@gmail.com

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