Weather has turned cooler and the weatherman has started mentioning that "S" word. Are you getting anxious?

Membership Meeting: On Thursday night, October the 25^th the membership meeting was held at the Greene Township Building. Attendance was up from the September meeting – 16 interested and supportive members were in attendance. The main business conducted was a motion to invest the money from the sale of the Yanmar in a special interest account to grow until needed for the matching funds against the pending DCNR grooming grant. While the Yanmar gave us valuable assistance in the summer in placing trail fill material it would not function as a groomer in winter. Therefore, bye bye Yanmar! A big THANK you goes to Rob and Kelly Tobin for handling the eBay listing and all the related calls. In addition, they have offered to donate the eBay listing fees. So, the club will not see a bill for the sale of the Yanmar - double thanks to Rob and Kelly.

Charity Drive: The first of three collections for the area food pantry was taken. While not many in attendance the collection was generous - $60 was donated. You too have time to add your gift to this worthy cause. Donations will also be taken at the November and December meetings. If you don’t think you will be able to attend either of these meetings but would like to donate, you can mail your donation to; Wales Sno-Drifter, Inc., PO Box 7223, Wesleyville Station, Erie, PA. 16510. Your donation will enable them to buy $34 of food with each $1 donated. Lend your support behind the Club’s charity drive.

Trails: Continued progress has been made at clearing and preparing the trails. Great job by Marc Matczak and all his fellow trail workers! Special thanks to Brad Bilski, Lance Dunn, Fred Morris, Tom Dipko, Joe Dipko, Scott Deese, Jim Henson, Clint Lindquist, Tony Desser, Mark Omniewski, Mark Omniewski Jr., Mark Sonney, Dave Smith, Wellie Yaple, Ed Herman, Darren Galkowsk and everyone else that has helped w/our trail work to far. The next major undertaking is to place all the signs and markers. The weekend of November 10^th and 11^th has been assigned for this task. The plan is to meet at the Greene Township Building at 9:00am each morning and get assignments. With enough help this one weekend should do it. Please consider giving us a hand.

Acknowledgements: Wales Sno-Drifters need to extend a series of appreciations. In preparation for this year’s grooming efforts, it was decided to take a close look at our second Yamaha grooming sled. This was due to the untimely breakdown of our other Yamaha sled mid season last year. Tom Dipko took the lead to dismantle and inspect the unit. He made up a list and ordered the necessary parts. As usual, Off Road Express was gracious and gave the club a generous discount. They continue to VERY supportive of our club’s needs and the sport of snowmobiling. When at Off Road remember to tell them thanks. Tom has reassembled and adjusted the Yamaha. Both Yamaha grooming sleds are now ready and able to do their job on this year’s snow. Thanks Tom for your time and skill. Now for the icing; the cost of the parts to repair the Yamaha grooming sled was submitted to PSSA on a trail grant and approved. This is the second time PSSA has come thru to help us with our grooming sled repairs. Their response should partially answer the question that is asked at times; what does PSSA do for me? They have made it possible for your trails to be smoother this year. PSSA also makes available most of the sign we use to mark our trails. If you are not a PSSA member, you should consider it.

Who’s looking out for us? Ken Zambrzycki in his usual resourcefulness got wind of some scrap steel "I" beams. He verified the source and made contact. Arrangements were made and with the assistance of George Engesser and his equipment trailer, the club now has on hand two sets of 8 x 16 "I" beams – one set approx. 24’ long and the other approx. 30’ long. The "I" beams were donated free of charge in support of better snowmobile trails. They are currently in storage at George’s awaiting next year’s trail projects. Candidates are the couple remaining wood bridges in the Little Hope area of out trail system. The club continues to benefit from quick thinking and generous members. Thanks Ken and George!

Memberships: Have you filled out and submitted your membership application? There are two big reasons to get it done. First, your current membership expires at the end of the month. Could this be your last Wales Tales? And secondly your membership fee helps the club’s bank account so we can pay the bills. Grooming is not free or cheap. Trail fact: Over $3000 was spent last year on trails and grooming which does not include all the volunteered time. Currently we have 3 new members and 41 renewals. That still leaves 84 of you in need of completing this simple and vital task. To assist you, an application is attached. Please take the time to fill it out and return it. We need every one of last year’s members to renew their membership and help keep Wales Sno-Drifter’s trail system open and groomed. If you have already sent in your renewal, thank you very much, but don’t throw that attached application away! Give it to a friend or riding buddy that’s not currently a snowmobile club member.

Poker Run: With good snow conditions and support from the membership, this should not be a problem. So you need to reserve Saturday, January 19^th for this big event (1/26/07 no snow date). More to come as plans are finalized.