8944-R1_MSA_January2025_Newsletter

From The Executive Board

positions throughout the MSA and his club. Larry was an absolute trooper on our commit tee; he wanted nothing more than to make sure the scholarship program was the best it could be. He demanded that everything we did be above board, with integrity and always trying to raise more funds so that we could give out as much money as possible. On top of that, he wanted to make sure we reached out to as many families as we could. When scholarship applications numbers started to decrease Larry was the first to ask how we could find more ways to get our message out, forever challeng ing us committee members to think of more opportunities to get our message out to our MSA members. Larry was very passionate about his feelings that anyone who wanted to go on to higher education should be able to! Larry’s family made it very clear that Larry had a strong desire to support the scholarship cause and they in turned wished that any dona tions in Larry’s memory go to the MSA Schol arship or a snowmobile club of their choice. We have already seen some very generous donations come in and I am sure Larry would be very proud. Speaking of donations, the scholarship committee is discussing plans on how best to distribute funds in 2026. Our awards for 2025 have already been set and plans are in the works to name the awards in memory of T-Bone after outpouring of support we received from Matt Baron and the Limerick club fundraisers. As always, the committee is looking for sup port, ideas, questions and concerns. Thanks for all your past support and here’s to a safe and Happy New! about the ride and the time for the dinner and start of the meeting in my article next month. I’ll kick my list of fun and excitement off with clubs throughout the region serving breakfast from now through the month of March. * Washburn Trail Runners Clubhouse Grill is open now until March on the weekends and will be open daily February school vacation week. * Chapman Ridge Runners will be serving breakfast on Jan.18, Feb. 8 and March 8 from 7-1 at their clubhouse * Meduxnekeag Ramblers Sno sled Club will be serving breakfast every Saturday now until March 29 from 6-10 am at 235 Wiley Rd. in Littleton * Fort Fairfield Snowmobile Club will host a breakfast at their clubhouse on Sunday Feb.9 from 7-10 am. On the event side of things there is a lengthy list so I’ve done my best to cover them all. All these events listed be sure to check out their Facebook pages for more info as the events come closer. Kicking things off for events we have: * North Star Motorsports along with Presque Isle Snowmobile Club on Jan.18 will be hosting the Star City 100 at Arnold Brook Lake in Presque Isle. Check their Facebook page for more info. * Caribou Snowmobile Club 5th Annual Larry Doody Memorial Scholarship Radar Run on Jan.19 in Caribou at 228 Lombard Rd. Gates open at 7am and racing starts at 10am. Location may be subject to change due to snow conditions. Check their event page on Facebook for current details. * Tame Track Tour Snowmobile Races on Saturday Jan.25 in Island Falls. Check their Facebook page along with Big Valley Snoclub Facebook page for more details. *Moosestompers Weekend 2025 in Houlton the weekend of Jan.31- Feb.2. Check their social media for more info. *Spud Speedway in Caribou from now until March will have their new Northern Lights Attraction. It’s the first drive thru snowmobile light tunnel featuring “Snowman Alley” with 10 tire lit snowman and a 70’ vibrant light tunnel. Check out their social media pages for more details. *Oxbow - Masardis Snowmobile Club Winter Carnival on Saturday Feb. 15 from 10:30AM

and Agriculture Conservation and Forestry- the two committees that MSA deals most directly with. Members include: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Senator Joseph Baldacci, Penobscot (Chair) Senator Anne Carney, Cumberland Senator Stacey Guerin, Penobscot Representative Tiffany Roberts, South Berwick (Chair) Representative William Bridgeo, Augusta Representative Sally Cluchey, Bowdoinham Representative Jim Dill, Old Town Representative Mike Lance, Paris Representative Rick Mason, Lisbon Representative Parnell Terry, Gorman Representative Jim Thorne, Carmel Representative Stephen Wood, Greene Representative David Woodsome, Waterboro Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Senator Rachel Talbot Ross, Cumberland (Chair) Senator Russell Black, Franklin Senator Henry Ingweresen, York Representative Bill Pluecker, Warren (Chair) Representative Stephen Bunker, Farmington Representative Mark Cooper, Windham Representative Dean Cray, Palmyra Representative Jim Dill, Old Town Representative Sharon Frost, Belgrade Representative Timothy Guerrette, Caribou Representative Randy Hall, Wilton Representative Allison Hepler, Woolwich Representative Caldwell Jackson, Oxford If you know any of these legislators, or live in these communities, I encourage you to reach out to them to introduce yourself and your local club, and educate them about the impor tance of snowmobiling in Maine. Local con nections can often make a world of difference when it comes to winning over the support of legislators. Until next time- I’ll keep praying for snow! James Cote, MSA Lobbyist *Portage Lakers Snowmobile Club will be hosting a club ride and hot dog roast on Saturday March 8 th . They will be meeting at their groomer shed at 9am and heading out from there. Check their Facebook page for more details as the date gets closer. * Gateway Snowmobile Club Gala 2025 will take place on Saturday March 25th. The event will be held at the Van Buren American Legion Hall. The Gala will begin at 5pm with a social hour followed by a dinner and dance with music by DJ James Lapointe. Follow their Facebook page for more details. *Lastly the Town of Van Buren the weekend of March 14 - 16 will be hosting the Northern Maine Ice Busters in town as they work to break the world record for the largest international ice carousel. Be sure to mark your calendars for all these upcoming events. Lastly I’d like to end my article by saying that the snowmobiling community here in the State of Maine lost a great member and advocate for our sport with the passing of Larry Lafland. Larry held many positions within the MSA and with the Eastern Maine Snowmobile Club. His dedication to snowmobiling and his influence on not only myself but on many others will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to Larry’s wife Eileen along with their family and friends. Everyone keep doing your snow dances and hope that old man winter will bring us some much needed snow in the coming days and weeks so we can get the riding season underway. All ways remember to ride right, ride safe and ride sober. Until next time!! Nick Morrill, Northern Region V.P.

MSA Lobbyist Capitol Report

Scholarship Committee

James Cote MSA Lobbyist

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Harvey Chesley, 207-314-0637 25 Hillcrest Dr, Clinton ME 04927 harv.chesley@gmail.com W elcome friends to 2025, let’s hope the New Year finds us all happy and healthy. Since we have turned the calendar page to January it is a great time for families with children currently in either post high school programs or going to be in the coming year to consider applying for the MSA scholarship. The MSA awards two scholarships annually and the awards have recently been increased to $1,500 each. With the ever-increasing cost of education, our program is sure to help. All the information needed can be found on the MSA website and either the office or any of us committee members would be glad to help with any questions. It’s with heavy hearts that we mention the passing of Larry Lafland, longtime member of the scholarship committee and countless other

appy New Year, MSA! A quick report from the Capitol, this month. The Legislature returns to normal official business on Wednesday, January 8 and expects to adjourn in June. MSA leaders have been at work on crafting a piece of legislation that will be sponsored by Senator Russell Black of Wilton, that seeks to dedicate a portion of the sales tax on snow mobiles to the State’s snowmobile program. Details are still being ironed out, but we are anxious to have this policy discussion with the Legislature. More details will be shared with the membership in coming weeks and we hope to have many members and clubs present at the public hearing to show support for enhanced funding for our clubs and trail network. Since my last article the Legislature has named the new members of the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - 8PM at Homestead Lodge in Oxbow. Checkout their event page on Facebook for more details. *Molunkus Valley Sno - Drifter’s Annual Poker Run on Saturday Feb. 15. Poker run begins at 9 am starting at 58 North St, in Sherman *Portage Lakers Pie Auction on Saturday Feb.15 from 7pm- 12am at 20 School St. in Portage. There will be live music following the auction by the band Guilty Pleasure to cap Snowmobile Championship Racing oval ice racing will be taking place the weekend of Feb.14 - Feb.16 at Connell Park Raceway in Woodstock, New Brunswick Canada, Follow their Facebook page for details and info. * Frenchville Snowmobile Club 2nd Annual Antique Winter Bash on Sunday Feb.16 in Frenchville. Check their Facebook page for more details. *Benedicta SnowGang Plunkett Pond Fishing Derby on Sunday Feb.16 Derby goes from 7am - 3pm and will be located at 6 Robinson Rd. in Benedicta *Limestone Snow Hawks 4th Annual Poker Run will be held on Sunday Feb.16. Poker Run begins at 10am and starts at their clubhouse. Check their Facebook page for more info as the date gets closer. *Caribou Snowmobile Club Annual Trailside Hot Dog Roast will be held on Saturday Feb.22 at Axle Siding in Stockholm. They will be grilling dogs starting around 10:30 and going until sometime midafternoon. Check their social media for more details as the date approaches *2nd Annual “Ryde” with Mike will be taking place on Saturday Feb.22 The event will begin in Fort Kent at the Fort Kent SnoRiders Snowmobile Club groomer garage and end in Wallagrass at the former school. Event is being hosted by Michael’s Active Recovery and benefits 1st Mile Recovery Center. Check out their event page for more details. *Spud Speedway will be hosting their 3 rd Annual Snowbowl from Feb.23 rd - March 2nd. This year’s event will have different events taking place throughout Central Aroostook County. Be sure to check out their Facebook page or go to Spudspeedway.com to get all the latest details on the events and for ticket information. off the night. *MSCR2025: Maritime

Northern Region VP

Nick Morrill 207-554-0074 406 Main Street, Stockholm ME 04783 landscaper9791@gmail.com G reetings from the northern portion of the state!!! I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year as well. While mother nature doesn’t know what season she wants to be from day to day or week to week, she was kind enough to bless the north with a white Christmas but still not enough to get out and start playing on. Clubs throughout the region have been taking advantage of the warmer weather by getting out and brushing trails, working on or improving signage and completing some bridge repairs. Even though things may be a little slow on the trails and riding side of things throughout the region, clubs along with area groups and organizations have been planning breakfasts and events for the upcoming season. With not much going on in the riding world I thought I would take advantage of this month’s article and came up with a list of events and breakfasts that will be going on the remainder of this month as well as in February and March. The first event I’d like to talk about is the Northern Region MSA showcase ride and director’s meeting which will be taking place on March 15 th and being hosted this year by our good friends of The Benedicta Snow Gang. They will have a ride planned around the area with a lunch stop and later that evening they will host a dinner and director’s meeting at the Benedicta Parish Hall. The address to the hall is 1063 Benedicta Road in Benedicta. Lodging in the area is limited; a couple of recommended places for lodging would be Vacationland Estates in Island Falls or Gateway Inn in Medway. I’ll have more details

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