9299-R5_MSA_March2026_Newsletter

From The Executive Board

G reetings to all, this year has been a great year across the state. Especially in the coastal region, which has not received a lot of snow in the past several years. Volunteers and clubs stepped up and continued to provide great Trails, fantastic grooming, and lots of fun. Thank you to all who volunteer their time. Your dedication is not unnoticed. The snow is still falling and hopefully will continue to keep our season going. As always, we need more people involved and to join a club to support our sport. If you know people who ride but are not part of a club, please ask them to get involved. I have enjoyed this year so much it’s been great. I hope it was for you. Keep on dancing. Ride safe. Dave Wear your PPE this off-season and every season where needed safety glasses and ear protection are the two biggest things you can wear to protect yourself from long-term inju ries. Proper footwear, gloves, face shields and anything to protect you. Be safe out there! Al snow conditions will be changing be cautious of that. Heavily travelled trails will become thin with dirt showing. There may be wash outs towards the end of the month along with the wildlife moving. But we’ve had a Maine winter finally snow Statewide great conditions very cold weather. Yes, we missed a couple of big storms but in general it was a wonderful season. Thank you for being part of it. Thank you for supporting our MSA businesses. I always say be safe out there If you’re coming from the South on I95 at the end of your adventure head back the same way you came up, no broken bones or destroyed sleds. Rules to live by: Being safe on a snowmobile starts with the operator. From buying the right protective gear to maintain speeds that allow you to oper ate the sled in a reasonable manner. We need to stay on the right side of the trail, stay on marked trails watching for wildlife and other snowmobilers. Notify someone where you’re going and how long you think you’ll be gone. Don’t ride to close to other sleds maintain a safe distance. If you’re new to snowmobiling take a safety course and try your sled out a few times in a less traveled area before you head out on our trail system to embark on a long ride. Get some confidence built in you. Be careful while riding at night, crossing roads, railroad crossings, logging road crossings use caution always look both ways. Ride on the trail and stay on the marked trail, be careful of ice on lakes and rivers, many of our accidents are alcohol related riding a sled after a cocktail doesn’t fair too well and is the leading cause of fatalities.

Safety Committee

ported me whenever I asked for help, hosted MSA directors’ meetings, sent in member ships making this region the number two region for many years only behind the west ern region who has the Rangeley Club. You always found a way to make things happen, and I am forever grateful. To all the Regional Directors I have had over the years -without your eyes and ears and knowledge of the clubs you represent my role would have been more difficult. I always knew I could reach out to you and you would deliver. Thanks so much. Okay enough reminiscing- on to recent news. Thank you Dennysville SC for hosting a regional meeting at your club on Feb. 5 th and the great chicken dinner at no charge , Northern Timber Cruisers for hosting the MSA directors meeting on Feb. 7th and the deli cious meal, to East Branch Snow Rovers for allowing us to ride in to your groomer rodeo and the wonderful meal you were serving and to Jo- Mary Riders, Northern Timber Cruisers , and East Branch Snow Rovers for grooming the trails for our showcase ride. Everyone that rode and attended the meeting was pleased with all you offered. Great job all Eastern Region clubs for the effort you have put in this year submitting memberships and keeping your trails in great condition. There has been snow all across the region this year, so clubs have been working overtime to keep their trails up. There were many events and activities all across the state in February, too numerous to list, with many held in the eastern Region. Mother Nature and Ole Man Winter kept giv ing most of the state enough snow to keep the trails open. On the trip to Dennysville I was impressed with the grooming of the Sunrise Trail and the amount of snow it had. It seems like many if not all clubs in the state will have grooming hours for their grants this year. Great job to all of those men and women who spend long hours on the trails at slow speed making the ribbons of white everyone enjoys. Don’t forget everyone- The MSA Annual meeting will be held on Sat. April 25th at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer. This is a chance to recognize everyone that has worked so hard to keep Maine trails the premier destination. Membership awards as well as individual awards will be presented. I hope to see as many of you there as possible. Eileen School vacation week saw a huge increase in the number of sleds on the trail, an increase that has carried over into the following week which is nice to see. Keep an eye on the area clubs’ social media pages as many have events planned for March. I want to give a Shout Out to the Limestone Snow Hawks for being the club that never gives up. Your club has done an amazing job working hard and smart to keep your Club Trail 89 open. My hats off to you all!! The end of February marked the 26 th anni versary of the “Ride of the Millennium” that took place in 2000. Three members of the Caribou Snowmobile Club made the roughly 6,000 mile trek from Tok, Alaska back to Car ibou, Maine, in 30 days. Their ride raised just over $17,000 for Pine Tree Camp for Handi capped Children and the Pine Tree Burn Foun dation. Not long after their accomplishment a section of ITS 90E in Woodland also known as the Alaska to Maine trail was dedicated to them for the dream they achieved. To this day it is a great story that many locals still like to talk about and reminisce over. A reminder about the Northern Region Showcase Ride & Dinner meeting, hosted by the Gateway Snowmobile Club in Van Buren on March 14th. Check out the Maine Snow mobile Association Facebook page for details on the day and the link to RSVP for the dinner and meeting. I’ll end by saying I hope everyone gets a chance to get out and keep putting on those miles of smiles before the season ends. By the looks of the extended forecast that could be sooner than we would like. Remember to always RIDE RIGHT, RIDE SOBER & RIDE SMART!!!! Nick

Eastern Region VP

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 ello everyone, This news article will be one of reminisc ing so please bear with me. Back at the annual MSA meeting in 2003 I was asked if I would accept the nomination for Eastern Region VP. I gladly accepted that position and have held it ever since. Through these years I have met some incredible Eastern Region club members, been to some awesome club meetings, held numerous regional meetings and many other accomplishments too many to list. I have trav elled to MSA director’s meetings across this state and in some remote areas, all the while doing what we all love, talking snowmobiling. All through this journey I have had the support of my MSA family and “my clubs” as I have fondly called them. Also, during this journey until a little over a year ago I had Larry by my side, and we did this journey together. What an incredible experience it has been and one I would not change for any reason. With all that being said, this will most likely be my last Eastern Region VP news article. I have been asked to have my name placed on to the nominations to become the Executive VP for MSA. For me, it is a giant honor to be asked to move up. I was asked before but I declined as I wanted to have my time with Larry, and I am so glad I did. Now however, I feel I can devote the time needed to this new position and so I said yes. There is always the chance another name will be placed on the nominations, so who knows, if this will hap pen but I believe it will. To “my” Eastern Region clubs- You have stood beside me through these years and sup

I had a great day last month spreading snow mobile safety at The Medway School in East Millinocket. These students really pay attention to the information me and The East Branch Snowmobile/ATV club members had to tell. From trailering to clothing, emergency situations, gas stops, riding on private land owner’s land and just a wonderful day of tell ing stories about trail riding. We had a snow mobile in the gym and that was “really cool” according to the students! They got to see a sled upfront and personal. Although most of them have sleds it was a joy listening to their tales of my snowmobile is better than yours! Thank you to the members of the East Branch Sno Rovers for helping out I really appreciate it. You’re a special group indeed. We’ve had several accidents this year. Preventable accidents, inexperienced riders, going too fast and losing control misjudging a trail because of their abilities. Two deaths this year are too many. As we head into March the

Coastal Region VP

Northern Region VP

David Watson • 207-205-1558 412 Roberts Ridge Rd, E Waterboro, ME 04030 Dwatson6841@gmail.com

MSA MEMBERS CHANGE OF ADDRESS Let us know when your USPS mailing address has changed - so you won’t miss an issue of the Maine Snowmobiler Members Name: _____________________________________ Old Mailing Address: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ NEW MAILING ADDRESS: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Mail to: Maine Snowmobile Association, PO Box 80, Augusta, ME 04332 fax: 207-622-7669 or e-mail info to: editor@mesnow.com

Nick Morrill, 207-554-0074 406 Main Street, Stockholm ME 04783 landscaper9791@gmail.com O K!!!!! GUYS!!!!! Let’s get at it!!!! Clubs throughout the region are firing on all cyl inders; daily and nightly grooming operations keep the trails smooth and flat, especially con sidering the amount of snow on the ground in the eastern portion of Central Aroostook County. Overall, the trails have been very busy from top to bottom in the region which is nice to see for all our area wide businesses who depend upon our sport in the winter months.

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