After a long dry spell, snow finally arrived. With the sporadic snow conditions it has been very difficult to schedule any club rides. I hope that has not prevented the members from getting out and using the white stuff when it has been available.

Membership Meeting: On Thursday night, February 28^th, the membership meeting was held at the Greene Township Building. 24 were in attendance which was nice to see the increased interest. Final Poker Run results were reviewed with a tidy sum added to the bank account. A motion was made to donate a $100 to Greene Township for use of their facilities for the Poker Run. A resolution was passed and signatures placed on our DCNR grant request for a new groomer (another step closer). Elections for new officers were conducted. New club Board members are; – Tim Bowers, Lance Dunn & Keith Zambrzycki. The new club auditor is Randy Slomski. From the newly formed Board, the membership in attendance nominated and elected Steve Hair as your president for the coming year.

At the Board Meeting conducted March 6^th, the remaining board positions were determined and are:

Vice President - Keith Zambrzycki (3 yr)

Chairman of the Board - Rob Tobin (2 yr)

Treasurer - Chris Curtis (2 yr)

Secretary - Lance Dunn (3 yr)

Corresponding Secretary - Tim Bowers (3 yr)

Trail Equipment - Tom Dipko (1 yr)

Trail Coordinator - Marc Matczak (1 yr)

Trail Assistant - Mark Omniewski (1 yr)

This small group has volunteered to serve you and the club for the coming year. They cannot be expected to do everything. They need the full support of the membership. So, when there is an activity or event, consider being part of what makes Wales Sno-Drifters a great organization. Participate! More input, more hands will make for light work and more fun.

Memberships: The 2008 membership is now 121 (124 last year)

Fund Raiser: I would like to thank all of those that pitched in and sold/brought the club’s lottery cards. 479 of the 500 printed cards were assigned out. Of those, 305 were returned and became part of the potential winning pool. It will be quite interesting to watch the numbers roll up throughout the month. We have not had a fund raiser like this and it was hard to predict how it was going to go. It has gone very well! It had minimal expenses and should produce a nice sum to add to our grant match.

Awards: Annually our club submits to ECSA a few key individuals for awards who have distinguished themselves in the support of our sport and club. This year Wales would like to acknowledge:

Snowmobilers’ Friend (Business) - Sabre Equipment (Frank Bellay, a new member from McKees Rocks)

Snowmobiler of the Year - Kent Kessler

 Family of the Year - Marc Matczak

Snowmobile Club of the Year - Presque Isle

 Dealer Appreciation - Off-Road Express

Hall of Fame - George Engesser

Trails: Trails have been pretty good once the snow arrived. There have been very few water holes (all that hard summer trail work is paying off). Grooming continues to be our weak area; between equipment issues and operator availability. A couple landowner issues arose and were quickly addressed.

Activity: Weather permitting, Off-Road Express is co-sponsoring a RMR Snow cross Racing at Peek’n Peek March 29^th & 30^th. The 2009 Yamaha sleds are scheduled to be on display. If interested, contact Off-Road for more details.

 

 

Coming Club Events:

ECSA Spring Banquet – Saturday March 29^th

5:30 gathering - 6:30 food – Cost $12

Reservations to Wendy Farrell at 824-9911 by March 20^th

Trail closing and sign removal – Saturday April 5^th and Sunday 6^th

April - Earth Day and road trash pickup

May - Greene Township Spring Cleanup

Summer picnic - TBD

Next meeting: The next membership meeting is Thursday, March 27^th at 8:00pm at the Greene Township Building. Meet your new club officers and recap the season. This will be the last meeting before the summer break.