Wales Tales - November 2009

There has not been much teasing snow so far this Fall, but the weather has been very nice lately. Are you getting the snowmobiling “itch” yet? Please note that we are planning to place trail signs on 11/21 and 11/22 this year. Details are below…please help if you can.


Membership Meeting: On Thursday night, October the 22nd the membership meeting was held at the Greene Township Building. Attendance was good, with 7 Board members and 15 interested and supportive club members in attendance. Among other things, we discussed replenishing our stock of bridge planks and sacrificial boards. Member Kent Kessler reported that he was requested to provide our EIN number in conjunction with his efforts to obtain the big groomer grant. We took this as a sign that the process is still progressing.


Club Support Program: Thanks to everyone who participated in the “The Million Dollar Club Support Program”. We know of at least 154 forms that were submitted on behalf of the Wales Sno-Drifters. This should equate to $1,540.00 to help with our expenses this year. This was a real easy way for us to raise some needed cash – Thanks again!
The program ends on 11/15/2009, so as you read this newsletter it is probably too late to send any more forms in to our PO Box, but if you fill out your forms and drop them off to your local Ski-Doo dealer by 11/15, they should still be counted.


Fundraiser: We would like to have a fundraiser this season, but have not completed the plans. We will provide the details when they are complete. Please support the fundraiser when it starts.


Trails: Continued progress has been made at clearing and preparing the trails. Great job by Marc Matczak and all his fellow trail workers! A special thanks to everyone that has helped with our trail work so far. The next major undertaking is to place all the trail signs and markers.

The weekend of November 21st and 22nd has been planned for this task. If you can help, please plan to meet at our storage barn on Backus Road at 9:00 A.M. each morning to get assignments. The barn is located on the left side of Backus Road about a mile or so from Route 8. Look for all of the activity when you get close! With enough help, this one weekend should be enough. Please consider lending a hand.

Please remember to stay on the trails when you are riding this season. Do not stray from the trails onto other’s private property – especially when marked with signs to stay off.

Notice: We will continue to caution everyone to only ride on the trail which the Game Commission approves for us to follow through the Game Lands. Snowmobile trails are open in the Game Lands from the 3rd Sunday in January until April 1st, only on marked trails for registered and insured snowmobiles.
Riding is not permitted in the Game Lands this season until January 17, 2010.


Memberships: Have you filled out and submitted your membership application for this season yet? There are two big reasons to get it done. First, your current membership expires at the end of this month. Could this be your last Wales Tales? Secondly, your membership fee helps the club’s bank account so we can pay the bills. Grooming is not free or cheap. Although it’s only been a few weeks since this year’s applications were first mailed, we currently have 2 new members and more than 49 renewals.

To assist those that have not yet renewed their membership, an application has been included in your mailing. If you haven’t yet joined, 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 the attached application away! Give it to a friend or riding buddy that’s not currently a snowmobile club member.

Poker Run: We have not decided on the date of this season’s Wales Poker Run yet. With good snow conditions and great support from the membership, this event should be fantastic. More info to come as plans are finalized.

Next meeting: The next general membership meeting will be held Thursday, November 19th at 8:00 P.M. at the Greene Township Building. Please take note of the week earlier date. This happens in November and December due to the Holidays. Mark your calendar, plan to come out and hear what the club is planning or just come to deliver your completed membership renewal. Whatever the reason, see you there.

T. Bowers