7487-R1_MSA_Mar2021_MaineSnowmobiler

From the President

legislation for the first time without an Executive Director in over 20 years. To say it has been a learning curve is an understatement. Our team did well with our Legislative Representative, John Monk and myself, testifying in front of the Maine IF&W committee made up of 13 Senators and Representatives from all over the state. The work session for our bill did not go well however. The IF&W committee decided to change our bill in a huge way. After an emergency E-board meeting, we voted to accept a small increase to our bill that would go to IF&W “enforcement”. We started calling, emailing and texting the committee members. After a few days, we finally made some headway and were invited back to a “special work session” on our bill. They rescinded their amendment and went back to our original bill and voted 11-1 “ought to pass”. First step complete. Now we not change it and I can stand here proud stating the MSA did its thing. I will immediately cast a giant thank you to Senator Troy Jackson for recognizing the importance of our funding increase and intelligently he handed the sponsor torch to Rep. Danny Martin to lead the charge as he is on the IFW Committee. The reading of the bill was on Feb 17 and President Grass and I both submit- ted our long researched bill with written and in-person testimony while many others also provided written words. An unexpected strong showing from many of the Snowmobile Advisory Council members solidified the importance of moving forward with this as well. The IFW Committee did not disappoint and did a remarkable job at asking questions and listening attentively. They swiftly set up a work session on Feb. 24th and demonstrated a strong approval of 13-0 out of committee of “Ought to Pass”, but amended it. Rep. Tim Theriault, of China, a long dedicated snowmobiler season. Another year of riding the trails is slowly winding down. And what a season it was! First off when you have the BEST regional Vice Presidents doing their duties they make everything else so easy. I’d like to give a big thank you to Eileen Lafland she carry’s the large Eastern Region, Matt Stedman looking out after The County, Jack Lord the Central Region that takes a big bite out of Central Maine to the Quebec border. Dave Watson who looks out for the coast-to-coast region and Jim Boyce who keeps up with the Western Area. These folks have a passion for snowmobiling and their work ethic is second to none. The Outdoor Women Sno X Race for Executive VP Report W ell Folks, We made it to March. Month of the Farewell tour-riding

changes big and small to streamline and make MSAmore transparent going forward. Most of all, Thank You to our Membership. We aren’t anything without you. You are MSA, all of you who join your local club and make sure to pay your MSA dues to make sure MSA, the most respected user group in Maine, is properly funded. We must keep MSA at the forefront of Maine’s recreation user groups as we have earned the respect and trust of our Maine legislators, citizens and snowmobilers. I am humbled and honored to have served as your President and hope to continue to work for MSA into the future, on the trails committee and golf tournament, which are a lot of fun for me. Thank You all for having me as your President. It’s been a great ride, hope to see you all on the trails. Think Snow, Mike

wait for it to go to the floors of the House and Senate for their votes, then hope Governor Mills signs it. Call your local senators and representatives and tell them we need this registration increase bill. February brought some great riding here in central Maine and beyond. I hope everyone took advantage of the great trails that clubs produce every year. I am still amazed at how it all comes together to connect all areas of our state with trails. Thank you to all who make it happen. Our annual MSA banquet is coming upMay 1st at Jeff’s Catering in Brewer. Attendance will be capped around 100 guests so make your reservations early. That said, this may be my last column as President, so I want to thank some folks. Al Swett has been right there to back me up and stand side by side. He has also stepped up in a big way at the MSA office. A role he was not and obviously very passionate about its continued growth motioned to signifi- cantly increase our Non-Resident fees to try and fill the shortfall that appears to be widening. I’ll be honest; this was a twist I personally did not see coming and one that needed an incredible quick briefing to members of what happens next. The bill was tabled until the IFW committee could hear from both the IFW and DACF programs on fiscal outcomes on the proposed changes. Through quick communication (truth- fully, on both sides of the fence) the bill at this point will be tagged on to another work session slated for March 8th. Members of the E-Board imme- diately reached out to IFW committee members sharing the proposed increase was much more than anticipated and could quite possibly disrupt many clubs that have now grown to work and be supported by our non-resident friends. Also, MSAmembers felt that on judge- ment day, this quite possibly could be the first year was a success and we cannot thank Debbie Gould and her crew enough for her support and guidance, what an awesome person she is! Also, Re Max Infinity Real Estate for a late in the season idea to help the club’s get some extra cash. They donated $1000.00. People voted online for their favorite club The first place winner got $500.00 Second got $300.00 and Third got $200.00 What a nice idea from a business supporting snowmobiling! Live Maine Real Estate Professionals. Just incredible! Yes, it was a tough year we lost some pretty important snowmobile family member’s and I offer you all my heartfelt condolences. Hopefully we’ll have a show in October and we can get back to a somewhat of normal life. I wish you all happiness! Al

expecting but knew had to be filled and he did it in the famous Al Swett style, making sure everyone and everything got taken care of. Thank you Al, I/ we, couldn’t have done it without you. The Steering Committee, Al, John, Lori, Bob, Eileen, Larry, Mark and myself put in many long nights, days and weeks making sure the office was running as smoothly as possible. Thank you all. Our MSA E-board, who gave the Steering Committee the authority to run the office and day to day operations until we have an Executive Director in place. Thank you all for trusting our judgement and passion to make the day to day calls that we hope have pushed MSA into a bright future going forward with many cost saving changes, subtle changes to the newspaper, form stack (used on many applications now), new calling/ zoom meeting platforms which will save the MSA money and many other the breaking point of the bill when hit at full roll call. At the work session on March 8, Rep. Theriault pulled his amendment and diverted the bill back to its “as proposed” form. After a multitude of discussion, a modified option to fur- ther bring non-resident registrations closer to what they would be in their own area, the committee moved on a suggestion proposed by MSA that included an additional 5 dollars on both the 3 day and 10 day registrations. Club reps were extremely vocal of the non-resident season registration stating many are now carrying their part at club involvement. After multiple discus- sions, the committee moved and passed it 11-1 with one absent of “Ought to Pass”. Rep. Nadeau felt this did not “mirror other states” and was the lone hold-out. On to the big audience. I would be remised if I did not again give a shout out to all the peo- ple involved in this process. While Safety Committee Chair Report A s we wind down this quick season, I’d like to say thanks to the clubs for doing some outstanding trail work. With the limited snow cover, the trails were pretty darn good all over the state. Lots of new rider’s came to try out our trails from all over the Northeast. Comments came into the MSA office praising the club’s for some great rid- ing. Signage is still an issue but has got- ten 100% better in the last few seasons. We had some horrible accidents and lost a few fellow rider’s, some health related issues and some just bad accidents turning into fatalities. We worked with Brookfield Energy, Life- Flight and IF&W to promote snowmo-

M arch is here and the season that started slow really took off in the month of February and continues into March. Temps are supposed to rise sharply next week but I hope we can push the season to the first of April. February saw the MSA propose Mike Grass, Jr., 207-368-2316 249 Condon Rd, Plymouth ME 04969 mgrassjr@gmail.com Steering Committee - Legislative Update You’re voices are being heard; But we are not there yet! H ello All, Is it just me or does it seem like the season has just got rolling? While I guess I can’t com- plain too much as I am now over 1000 miles, updated sleds, rode two trail inspections and it has taken a month and a half to paint a bathroom door. I guess we did have a season. Well let me share that behind the scenes hasn’t been idle either. The Maine Legislature has been going strong and was extremely attentive and listened and got our bill LD-280 pretty near the front of the pile. (If you ever want to learn how to do promote a bill, commit to doing it, and then learn as you go is not the recommended method I would suggest. Sharing this for a friend). In all honesty, while it has been an interesting process, I would From the Executive VP & Safety Committee Chair

John Monk Chairman of Steering Committee there have been some heated discus- sions, it was due to the fact we care, we are passionate, and we love our sport. The IFW Committee displayed the same. Here we go folks and fol- low this closely to let your represen- tative or senator know this is import- ant. As I end this, I’ll leave you with my words of wisdom for the month. Teach someone about snowmobiling! You’ll be glad you did. John Monk, bile safety with much success. Hope- fully next season will be a better one. Store your sleds, gear and trailers properly so next season will give you an easy start up. Remember to use your PPE this off-season to protect yourselves. Stay safe! And God Bless, Al

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

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