7881-R1_MSA_Feb2022_MaineSnowmobiler

From The Executive Board

Director’s Meeting 571 - Rock-O-Dundee Clubhouse, Oxford, ME - Secretary’s Report - January 15, 2022 A t 6:37 President Mike Grass Jr. called the meeting to order. Pledge of allegiance. Secretary’s Report for November, M/S/C and placed on file at the office. Hall of Fame: Beth Bowie- Get your applications in by February 25 th . Mail, fax, scan or email. Bring people forward.

Recently rode 112 miles in Baxter Park, when we stopped for lunch at the Mattagamon store, we just beat the crowd of forty sleds that came through the Park. We need snow. There is riding in Millinocket. Next month’s showcase ride will assemble at 8:30 AM split up into groups as needed. Then return for a meal and directors meeting at the clubhouse that night. Email or call with any questions. Western Region V.P.: Jim Boyce- Thank you for the hospitality extended this evening. Send our love to Jerry. Bad news Carrabassett trail is closed, but you will be able to get from point A to B. Central Region V.P.: Jack Lord-ITS 87 is still intact and usable. Lots of changes. Stop and read the signs. Skowhegan, down by the river minimal snow. Higher elevations more snow. There is a lot of ice out there. Safety: Al Swett- A couple of guys from Massachusetts with a dual axle trailer coming up 95, hit the icy bridge and went over the side of the bridge, with a 25’ drop onto the ground, had they exited seconds earlier they would have gone into the river. Remarkably no one was hurt. The Strong trail workshop was an informative time. Signage with a power point presentation. Planning on one in Medway on the 29 th . Bridgton is planning a Please slow down and be careful on the trail. We’ve had many very serious accidents and one gentleman has died from his injuries. Be alert on trails for cross-country skiers, mountain bikers, sled dogs, moose, deer and other obstacles. We have a new selection of safety poster’s for you just drop an email or call the office, we had a generous vendor pay for the laminating and for the print job itself. A big thank you to Brookfield Power for the donation. Be safe this season ride within your means, no matter how good you are, you can still get hurt. Getting hurt affects everyone in your cir- cle. Your family, your employer, your friends. Be safe out there! Al H ello,

safety check with Game Wardens. Reminded everyone to check carbides and sliders and so on. Posters- just did a bunch from IF&W. Brookfield donated laminating; just requested that their logo was added to the posters. We have MSA trailer stickers for sale for $15. Steering committee: John Monk- The steering committee is working on filling the executive director’s position. Long- term trailer registrations are available for snowmobile trailers 2000 lbs. and up $5 per year with a minimum of 5 years, up to 30 years, transferable in the same name. Last two digits are the year that it expires. Any questions call 207-624-9000 ext. 52149 or stop in at 101 Hospital Street, Augusta. Sunday hunting still compiling data. Should have a feel for it by mid-February. MSA Trails: Mark Chinook-Terry great meal. I’ve been busy with the Trails Committed. Conducted a Trails Workshop in Strong with the next in Medway on the 29 th - signage 101. Chris Gamache from Polaris working with a GPS mapping of our ITS trails. Still in the development stage. Mike Grass Jr. concurred- MSA has a proposal, and want to do it right, respect the landowners, make updates instantly.

Membership: Eileen Lafland- Calendar year is October 1 st to September 30 th . The numbers continue to increase. Fryeburg and Rangeley is in a class all by themselves. Keep those memberships coming in. Old business: Director’s meeting and showcase rides- February 12 th at the Northern Timber Cruisers in Millinocket and March 12th at the Big Valley S.C. FMI contact Matt Stedman. Office update: Liz loves her job! New business: New club in the Sebec Lake- Eastern Region. Other business: There was discussion of getting legislation passed to discount snowmobile registration fee to non-residents that own land in Maine. Pot of Gold- Canton High Riders S.C. , No director present, $400. forfeited. 50/50 $170 went to Ed Burnell from China Maine. season. Congratulations to these recipients as they join a prestigious group of MSA Hall of Fame members. The Hall of Fame Commit- tee is ready to hear from you the snowmobile community for nominees for this years’ selec- tion. Nomination forms are available from any committee member or on the MSA website. Committee members include Eric Spear, John Holmes, Ken Oberg, Roland Bowie, Mike DeRusha, Barry Ryan, Jerry Major and John and Melanie Monk. We are always looking for more committee members to join our group, please reach out to myself or any com- mittee member for more information. Important date to remember is February 25 th 2022 which is the deadline for submit- ting nomination forms. Forms can be emailed to Office@mesnow.com or can be mailed to address found on the nomination form. We look forward to reviewing many nominations from the snowmobiling community, this is your opportunity as a club or individual to share your story. We want to hear from you! Now to the meat and potatoes of this article. With the season just beginning and looking at all these negative posts of riders being where they should not be. I have a suggestion STOP POSTING THE NEGATIVE THINGS. I’m guilty of this myself it does no good as the amateurs who do this are not members of your club or read your posts. It makes the sport look foolish. Like other organizations in the summer stop posting. So you ask Jim what are we supposed to do. Well I have an answer for you and it works here in Kingfield. Education if you see somebody doing wrong say something educate them before we lose our trails no matter where you ride. In Kingfield we know the problem areas and take turns looking after them we all have phones with cameras a quick pic of the offender’s tags and no arguments tell them the next person they talk to will have a badge. In my hometown, you never know who is watching maybe the mom with her kids on the sledding hill, the coyote hunters or sometimes even the pack you are riding with might turn you in. Let’s face it the Wardens are spread very thin but us honest sledders can be their eyes and educate these amateurs before we lose everything we volunteer for. So please stop posting the negative stuff and think positive. Until next month ENJOY THE RIDE AND STAY SAFE. Jim Meeting Adjourned 7:57 Respectfully submitted, Brad Barker, Secretary. blessing of the sleds check their page for more information.

Treasurer’s report. Read and placed on file at the office. Dedicated account is the Super Raffle account. President’s Comments- Mike Grass Jr.: The Polaris snowmobile kicked the Super Raffle up a notch, selling more than 84,000 tickets. The new MSA website is nearly ready to replace the old one. A much-needed upgrade. Executive Vice President: Al Swett -Thank everyone for coming and for the great hospitality from the Rock-O-Dundee S.C. Great meal was enjoyed by all. Jack Lord and I went to Lexington went to the ribbon cutting ceremony had a great time enjoyed homemade cookies. Thank you to Matt Stedman for getting such a great deal on the Polaris snowmobile for the Super Raffle, because of this ticket sales were over the top. (There are a lot of riders that don’t ride Ski doo, right Matt?). Working in the office has been an incredible experience, so glad that I was encouraged to jump in. Liz has passed all expectations, she is incredible. Eastern Region V.P.- Eileen Lafland

Safety Committee

Hall of Fame Committee

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

Beth Bowie, Chair, Hall of Fame 207-240-5571 bthbowie@yahoo.com

T

he Hall of Fame Committee was privi- leged to induct Eugene Ritchie from the Winterport Riverside Riders and Aleta Rioux from the Minot Moonshiners, last 2020/2021

Central Region VP

Coastal Region VP

Western Region VP

Jack Lord Home: (207) 672-3915 • Cell: 207-717-7131 Email: jacklord5256@gmail.com Here it is January 20th and the snow is finally getting built up and it is staying thanks to the cold weather. I have been trying to get around to some of the club meetings here in the Central Region. We have snow up in the hills, a little sparse in the lowlands, but we can ride. ITS 87 is now intact and usable, just read the signs and in the Bingham area check the Kiosks they are loaded with good information about the whole Central area. There is logging going on so be sure to follow the signs as there is no shared use on the logging roads. To be safe stay off these roads as they may be logging 7 days a week we are told. I have many club meetings already scheduled, but not all. If I have not scheduled with you yet, I would like to come to one of your meetings so if you could e-mail or call me with a time and place, I would like to meet with you. I am here to help if I can, if I don’t have the answers I know where to get them. Keep Smiling, Stay Safe, Jack Lord H i Everyone,

David Watson, 207-205-1558 412 Roberts Ridge Rd East Waterboro ME 04030 dwatson6841@gmail.com

G reetings snow lovers, It is great to see trails open across the state. Riding has been great thank you to all our volunteers who maintain and groom our trail system. As most of you have probably seen, there has been multiple trail closures from people trespassing, not paying attention to speed limits. How do we educate the public to stop? Granted it is not the majority of riders causing the issues but if they continue, we will see more closures, more no trespassing. All of this is certainly blown out of proportion due to social media and the comments that follow the thread. I urge everyone to try to shed a positive light on our sport. Negativity is not at any time helpful. Please continue to love our sport and spread all the good times that can be had. Time for me to go for a ride, as always ride right. Be safe. Dave

James Boyce, 207-265-6512 1168 Fosterhill Road Freeman ME 04983 Jboyce1168@gmail.com

H ello Everyone,

While writing this most clubs have been out grooming with early season conditions but we’re riding. Quick reminder Carrabassett is still closed check JV Wings page for updates. A couple of things going on in the western region February 19 th the Norway trackers will have an open house and a light parade check their Facebook page for updates. Also February 19th the Bridgton Easy riders poker rally check their page for more details. Also on February 12 th the Mexico Trailblazers will hold their 25 th annual

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