Tuesday evening at 7pm the ESA executive held a Public meeting to provide an update on the latest information on changes and work projects affecting our snowmobiling area. It was a successfull forum, with approximately 40 members showing their support by attending, including some local business owners who have been execllent supporters of our goals.
Some of the Highlights:
Todd Blake Discussed:
Dave McKelvie Discussed:
Greg Hodder Discussed:
The ESA Executive is very pleased to announce that many Members at the meeting committed to helping out with the Safety Awareness Day/Fundraiser event currently being planned. We now have a Volunteer committee that will be working with the Executive to make this planned event a successfull one. We'll be realeasing more information on this early next week when all the details have been finalized.
Groomer Rides/Prizes/Food & Beverages and more coming to a parking lot near you very soon ... so stay tuned, this is going to be a great family event.
This meeting followed the Fall NLSF General Meeting held in Corner Brook where many issues and concerns were discussed regarding snowmobiling in Newfoundland. The General Meeting highlighted a number of problems snowmobile clubs throughout our Island have been experienceing in the last few years. Issues on Club Feasability and Volunteer participation were high on the agenda of many Clubs, while others discussed better ways to share Groomers and equipment.
Unlike the ESA, there are Clubs that do not have their own Groomer, such as the Terra Nova Trail Riders based out of GloverTown, who currently have to rent a Groomer from the Gander snowmobile Club. After listening to the discussions we quickly realize all Clubs have unique circumstances that a generic solution cannot solve, however they still march forward driven by their passion to maintain and develop these new areas of the Islands Primary snowmobile trail system.
Another hot topic at the General Meeting revolved around Groomer depreciation and the high costs many Clubs are facing each year just to keep the groomers running. NLSF Groomer Chairman, Dave Ackerman who overseas the monthly maintainence program all groomers are required to complete is worried that worn out groomers could lead to more problems for the NLSF, the Clubs and many of Newfoundland's groomed snowmobile trails.
As an Executive here in Central, we make it a priority to ensure our groomer is inspected and working throughout the season, and that costs money and time. Thanks to a very experienced Groomer Chairman, Jim Fancey, we manage to stay on top of things, but we've been really lucky in the last couple of years that we have not experienced any major mechanical failures, which could be devastating to our Club financially.
We hope this will keep many of you, who couldn't make it, in the loop on what's been happening this Fall. And to all of you who attended, your support is greatly appreciated.
Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below, by clicking the comments link directly below this article.
Have a wonderful day, and think SNOW!!!