9147-R2_MSA_September2025_Newsletter

From The Executive Board

as groomer maintenance. Clubs statewide need new active members to keep this all going. You do not have to be able to cut trees & brush or operate a groomer to be able to help your local club. There are a lot of different skills needed within the snowmobile clubs… you may just be the person they have been looking for! With ever increasing snowmobile traffic and more folks travelling for consistent snow there is a lot of work which the same folks end up doing. Please reach out and join a club. It’s quite rewarding to help and then take a ride on the trail you have helped with. The need for new people to step up does not stop at the local club level, the Maine Snowmobile Association is always in need of folks to step out of the sidelines and take on a larger role to help keep our sport moving forward. If something piques your interest, please ask one of our members how you could help. Over the summer there has been a lot of work done within the MSA, you will see and hear about online sales of super raffle tickets, a new MapGears app for trails, changed show line-up and many more. These are all changes based on conversations had with clubs and riders to help improve the association and engage with people in a new way. Last spring the bill the MSA submitted for more trail funding did not pass but was carried over so we can continue discussions this fall within the agriculture, conservation and forestry committee within the legislature. We understand the great need for more maintenance funding for clubs and will continue to work until we get more funding available. We also helped promote and educate folks on the Maine Trails Program grant process, This year’s Super Raffle brings more prizes to the table than ever before. Combined with the new on-line ability means potentially more of those dollars coming back into the hands of the Clubs, which is the whole idea in the you as a Club who choose to participate in on line Membership MUST go to the association web page and fill out the “Officer Update Form” which will give the MSA individual club membership fees so that the correct membership dues can then be remitted back to the Club. The reason for this is because each Snowmobile Club may charge different amounts for membership dues and we want to make sure that your club gets the same amount from an on-line membership as they would on an in house sign up. So PLEASE take a minute and fill that form out for us, otherwise it will automatically default to a $30.00 membership, $15.00 to the MSA and $15.00 would go back to the chosen club. Super Raffle: This year’s Super Raffle has a couple of exciting changes as well, in that we now have an “on-line” way for anyone to purchase tickets if they may not have the opportunity to connect with a club or association member to buy them in person. In order to do this the purchaser must either go to the MSA web page and click on the “On line Super Raffle Portal” which will bring them to a simple purchase check out, and will give them options for payment and choosing a club of their choice for their portion of the proceeds to go directly to. Someone wishing to buy tickets on-line can also look for a Link on one of our Facebook posts. MOST IMPORTANT: We the MSA must have every Club’s consent that wishes to participate in the on-line Raffle. To do this, a club must simply enter the MSA web page and fill out the club agreement - the page is located at mainesnowmobileassociation.com/ msa-super-raffle-online-sales/ The second part of the Super Raffle that has changed is that we have added an ALL NEW $5,000 gift card. This gift card, by the request of the winner, will be banked with ANY MSA affiliated Snowmobile dealer in the State and can be used to purchase anything that the chosen dealer has to offer. Imagine picking the dealer of your choice and having a $5,000 credit there to buy anything that they sell!

first place! The 2025 MSA Snowmobile Show: The MSA Snowmobile Show is taking on a whole new look for 2025 and will reemerge as the “MSA Snowmobile and Powersports Show”. For the first time since its inception we feel the time is right to change things up a bit and open the Show up to all Recreational and non-recreational Powersports such as ATV’s, SXS’s, Motorcycles, etc as well as Tractors, Mini’s and trailers of all kinds. I am super excited to see this all play out and have been met with great enthusiasm by most all dealers and vendors new and old to the Show. We will have the main show inside as always, along with the 90,000 sf North parking lot outside filled with everything mentioned above, and let’s not forget about the Vintage Show, which will be going on all weekend and is always good for a fun trip down memory lane! So make sure to block off some time to attend the Show on October 17th, 18th and 19th, check out our Facebook page, website or this paper for specific Show hours. Legislative Update: To say that the last 12 months have been a busy time for Legislative Funding Issues would be an understatement. The MSA and its Lobbyist James Cote along with the Dept of ACF the Snowmobile division and Maine Dept of IF&W have been chasing and testifying on Snowmobile related Bills. Whether it be the new 30 million dollar Trails bond, sales tax bill or any one of the other related bills that need our attention in one direction or another. Thank you to all the parties mentioned above for their dedication and awareness. If something surfaced at the State house and had any manner of Snowmobiling Verbiage in the bill these folks were all over it. It is nice to know that there are eyes and ears at the State house ready to take care of the MSA and its 285 affiliated clubs. Well Folks that is about it for now. Until next month stay safe out on the trails when working and don’t forget to send in all of the time sensitive materials that you should be receiving from the MSA in the Membership Package as well in the Grant package from Joe Higgin’s office at the Dept. of ACF Snowmobile division. Mark hoping that clubs would apply for and receive additional resources to refurbish or re-route poor sections of trail, replace a bridge or create a trail-head with this new funding source over the next 4 years. If you didn’t apply for it in round 1, stay tuned or reach out for more information on upcoming workshops and round 2 application timelines. We need you all to continue to focus this winter on trail safety. Last winter was a lower snow winter, but we don’t want that to take the focus away from snowmobiler safety. MSA and clubs should continue to work with the Maine Warden Service to make sure folks are safe on the trails. Reach out to your MSA regional director or district warden to set up a trail safety check, report areas of abuse or misuse and to get a dialogue going as the season ramps up. Nothing will resolve trail safety if we all do not work diligently at it individually and as a group. 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 director. We are here as a resource for the clubs to help in any way we can. We may not know all the answers but will work to get you the answers or put you in touch with someone to help. If you have a question, problem, concern, or idea on snowmobiling in Maine, get in touch with me. You can call or text me at the phone # or email below. I am honored to be in this role within the Association and hope to meet more of you as the season gets going. Get out and attend a fall fundraiser, landowner dinner, go to the MSA snowmobile show and get pumped up for this coming winter season!! Matt

From the President

Treasurer’s Report

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

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

H ello Everyone, Well just like that, summer 2025 is all but a memory and another Snowmobiling season is bearing down on us. Some Clubs will start picking back up where they left off last spring, and for others it never really ended and is merely a continuation of last season. I hope that everyone had a chance to enjoy the summer with family and friends and take a break from time to time from their work, be it Club work or from the one that actually pays their bills. There is lots to talk about as we enter the upcoming season in regards to Membership, Super Raffle, the MSA Snowmobile Show as well as Legislative funding issues. Membership: In addition to the conventional way in which Clubs can recruit and submit their membership transmittals, the MSA is diligently working on setting up an On-line portal. It will allow a snowmobiler to, from his or her own phone, tablet or laptop, go to the MSA Website or grab a link from the MSA Facebook page and join the Association and choose a Club that they wish to support. Now

Monthly Income Monthly Expense

$ 12,170.94 $ 19,660.25 $ (7,489.31) $ 93,956.22 $133,425.75 $136,347.78

Net Revenue

Short Term CD (8/31/25)

Checking (8/31/25)

Dedicated Account (8/31/25)

Pay Pal (8/31/25) 143.30 Special Events Account (8/31/25) $ 4,987.53 Credit Line (8/31/25) $ - Building Fund (8/31/25) $ 56,684.12 Brian Wass Safety Fund (8/31/25) $ 3,997.54 Scholarship 12 Month CD (8/31/25) $ 5,099.94 Scholarship CD (8/31/25) $ 62,147.82 CLUB MEMBERS Once grooming begins submit your trail reports to: EDITOR@MESNOW.COM Please include your name and club affiliation MSA CLUBS: TO ORDER NEEDED $ ITS & JCT SIGNS Contact Mike Grass Sr. MSA Trails Committee 252 Condon Road, 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

From the Executive VP

Matt Stedman 207-557-1921 (call or text) PO Box 621, Ashland ME 04732 Stedman.matt@jdirving.com

H ello fellow snowmobilers of Maine, If you are reading this for the 1st time, welcome! We hope you join an MSA club this season so you can continue to enjoy the paper monthly as well as a multitude of other benefits that come from joining a club & the MSA. Clubs and their volunteers statewide are the backbone of the winter sport we all enjoy, without them (an the support of landowners, rider and businesses) we would not be able to get out and explore Maine on our snowmobiles. All summer folks at all levels in local clubs and The Maine Snowmobile Association 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 come. Landowner changes & issues, trail re-routes, capital equipment grants/purchases/upgrades as well

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