Saskatoon Snowmobile Club: NEWSLETTER

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club December 2015 Newsletter.

Hello all. I know it’s tough to get excited about snowmobiling when it’s this warm, but we live in Saskatchewan and we see it all here. We are still holding out hope that we can ride during the Christmas season!

I guess the biggest news we have to share is the completion of a new warm up shelter in the Duck Lake area. It is slightly off the current trail, but we will modify our route so that it will be groomed right to the shelter. It is located at 52 degrees, 43.8 minutes N ( 52.73011N); 106 degrees, 10.4 minutes W ( 106.17363W). Geoff Seale was able to secure a donation from Thermo Design Insulation Ltd (TDI). TDI has been installing Insulated Metal Panels for over 30 years and in that time they have evolved from their origins in the cold storage industry to some of the most eco-efficient, sustainable and high quality building envelope products available for industrial applications. TDI donated all of the materials that were required for the walls and roof of the new shelter. Thanks to this donation, the SSC only needed to spend approximately $2,000.00 on the materials to build the floor, install the windows and doors, and install the wood stove, which was donated by Jim Puckett. The bulk of the work on this shelter was completed over a two day period in mid-November. With another finishing day at the beginning of December the work is almost wrapped up. Thanks to those who were involved in this build. Your donation of time, effort and tool support is greatly appreciated!!

The SSC would also like to send our thanks out to Millars Sheet Metal for supplying and breaking all of our flashings free of charge. It was a very much appreciated cost savings in the build of our new shelter.

We would like to also thank Warman Truss. They donated two truckloads of wood for our warm up shelters this year, which is already in place and waiting for riders to use it up!!! Warman Truss graciously provided the SSC with wood for the last two years as well.

“Ethyl”, the SSC’s snowmobile is ready for the season, thanks to a visit to Dad’s Cycle and Sled Shop in Warman. If any SSC member has any synthetic or non-synthetic snowmobile oil sitting around, that they no longer use, we would be more than willing to accept it as a donation. “Ethyl” has a very large appetite for oil, so any donation would be appreciated. These donations can be left in the kitchen area of the Penner Clubhouse.

We have had some changes to our board of directors during the elections that took place immediately after the AGM. We would like to thank Chris Barnardo and Cley Sametts for their time and dedication to the club in past years. They were a great asset. Also, we would like to thank Colton Inglehart for allowing his name to stand for election as a Director of the Club. Since our Club may have between 8 and 12 directors, Colton was brought on by acclamation. We are currently sitting at 11 board members. The terms of these positions are staggered, to ensure that there will be at no point a complete turn over in our Board of Directors. The year that each member’s term is ending is stated below, by their name.

The SSC Board of Directors for the 2015-16 Season is as follows:

President: Geoff Seale (2017)

Vice-President: Wes Cole (2018)

Secretary-Treasurer: John Popoff (2017)

Past President: Cley Sametts (2018)

Directors: Gerri Sametts (2017), Marcel Voyer (2018), Bob Nicol (2017), Jim Puckett (2017), Colton Inglehart (2018), Steve Cole (2018), Bill Ziegler (2017)

This year there were 22 members present at the AGM. For those who were not able to attend, here are some items worthy of note.

- We have a current membership of (2015-16) is currently at 45 – with 3 new. Last year (2014-15) total was 93 at year end. If you have yet to renew your SSC membership, please do so by contacting John Popoff at jpops@sasktel.net or renewing online at www.sasksnow.com

- The groomers traveled 432 km on our 130 kms of trail. It was a fairly short season and we used both Brutus and the new 2002 NH Tractor/Gilbert unit that was purchased last year for $63,000.00. The groomers accumulated 43.5 hrs of use. New in 2015/16 – all registered grooming units in Saskatchewan are being fitted with GPS Tracking Units so that all “grooming activities” will be monitored and recorded by the SSA Trail Fund Manager.

- Only one Classroom Snowmobile safety course was planned at SSC - Dec 5, 2015.

- SSC is still actively exploring opportunities for trail expansion if and when the opportunity presents itself. The Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association is under some pressure from the Saskatchewan Government to connect the SSC’s trail system with the rest of the trail system, since the SSC’s trails are an “island” which does not connect to the rest of the provincial trail system.

- As of November 20, 2015 the SSC has $29,123 in their chequing account and no GICs.

- One of the SSC’s goals in 2015/16 is looking at a name change for the Club.

- Another of the SSC’s goals, for the upcoming season, is to finalize the SSC Bylaws, which will require an electric membership vote in the future.

The Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS) are not travelling through our area this year. The SSC does have a member, Hazel Crosson, who will be a Core Rider for the 2016 Mission. The SSC received a card from Hazel thanking the Club for donating $1,000 to her fund-raising efforts for the Canadian Cancer Society. We wish Hazel a successful trip in the New Year.

SSC Members, Colton & Erin Inglehart are once again organizing a Snowmobile Rally for January 16, 2016. This is a rally to raise awareness of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). This rally was an amazing success in 2015 and as a result the Inglehgarts have decided to move the event to the Brian King Center in Warman. The SSC is once again obtaining the liquor license for the bar and providing as many volunteers as possible for the day. If you are able to lend a hand at this event, please e-mail Gerri at clelan@sasktel.net This rally will take place on the SSC Trail System. If you have any questions about the event itself, please contact Colton at Colton.cjme@hotmail.ca

The SSC Board of Directors would like to take this opportunity to say “Merry Christmas to you and yours and all the best in 2016!” Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!

Gerri Sametts

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

December 2014 Newsletter

Hello all, I know it’s tough to get excited about snowmobiling when it’s this warm and the nice start on snow cover we had is all messed up, but we live in Saskatchewan and we see it all here. I’m still holding out hope that we can ride during the Christmas season!

I guess the biggest news we have to share is the arrival of our new groomer! It’s a 2002 New Holland Tractor with a Gilbert groomer conversion complete with 10 ft drag It has 2800 hrs of use. It was purchased last spring from the Club at Hudson Bay but arrived here in October. We still have Brutus & 12 ft drag and will maintain both units for the time being. The intention is to use the NH/Gilbert unit and keep Brutus to use locally and as back up. This purchase took a lot of research, calls and enquiries, and travelling to look at perspective units. Thanks to those who were involved for all their time and effort.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to Gerry Christie and everyone at Proline Motorsports here in Saskatoon. The club sent out an E-mail requesting donations of tools anyone may be able to provide to stock a kit to be carried in the new groomer. Gerry was gracious enough to respond with an offer to purchase the tools we needed and donate them to the club. Donations like these are so greatly appreciated! I can’t say it enough, “Thank you very much Proline Motorsports!”

We have affixed a 4’ x 8’ board on our groomer drag. We will be using this as an advertising board for signage provided to us through our sponsorship program. If you are not familiar with our sponsorship program, we will be including an attachment to the email you receive for this newsletter outlining the program. If after reviewing the attachment, you feel you know a company or organization that would benefit from this advertisement, feel free to share the information with them. Prior to contacting anyone, please let us know via email to this address in case they have already been contacted, as we would hate to be bothering the same groups over and over again. I’ll keep a list of those contacted.

We have had some changes to our board of directors during the elections that took place immediately after the AGM. We would like to thank both Ernie Quintal and Erik Foster for their time and dedication to the club in past years. You are both greatly appreciated. Also we would like to thank Geoff Seale for allowing his name to stand for election as a director of the club. Since our club may have between 8 and 12 directors, Geoff was brought on by acclamation. We are currently sitting at 11 executive members.

The SSC Board of Directors for the 2014-15 Season is as follows:

President: Cley Sametts

Vice-President: Wes Cole

Secretary-Treasurer: John Popoff

Past President: Bill Ziegler

Directors: Gerri Sametts

Marcel Voyer

Bob Nicol

Jim Puckett

Geoff Seale

Chris Barnardo

Steve Cole

This year there were 32 members present at the AGM. For those who were not able to attend, here are some items worthy of note.

- We have a current membership of (2014-15) is currently at 84 – with 18 new. Last year (2013-14) total was 110 at year end.

- The groomer traveled 700 km on our 130 kms of trail. It was a fairly short season and we had few issues with the Groomer. It accumulated 106 hrs of use.

- Two Classroom Snowmobile safety courses are being planned at SSC - Dec 6, 2014 and another in January 2015

- We have approval from the RM of Duck Lake to groom trails in their RM.

- SSC is still actively exploring opportunities for trail expansion if and when the opportunity presents itself.

- SSC is exploring opportunities to add 2 more shelters on our trail.

- As of December 5, 2014 the SSC has $25,002 in their chequing account and no GICs. But the new groomer was purchased with cash and there is no loan outstanding against it.

We would also like to extend a big thanks to Marcel Voyer for cleaning up several rocks and other debris from some road construction areas in the ditch north of Warman. Marcel, your commitment to the safety of our trail is greatly appreciated.

The Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS) will be arriving in Warman on Wednesday, February 4, 2015 on their Mission 2015 route. The majority of arrangements are being made by Jeanette Ens (a PWOS rider from last year) so SSC’s involvement this year is minimal. SSC snowmobilers will be leading the riders into Warman on Wednesday afternoon and out to Asquith Thursday morning. Tickets for the dinner Wednesday night will be available, at a later date. This event will take place at the Legends Golf Course in Warman.

New SSC Members, Colton & Erin Inglehart are organizing a Snowmobile Rally for January 17, 2015. This is a rally to raise awareness of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The SSC has approved their use of the Penner Clubhouse as a starting point for this rally, free of charge. The SSC is also going to obtain the liquor license for the bar and provide as many volunteers as possible for the day. This rally will take place on the SSC Trail System.

The SSC Board of Directors would like to take this opportunity to say “Merry Christmas to you and yours and all the best in 2015!” Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!

November 2014 Newsletter

We haven't yet got any snow to stick around on the ground but it definitely feels like winter is on it's way!!!! The SSC is more prepared for this season then ever before with the purchase of a new-to-us groomer. The New Holland Gilbert Groomer was acquired from the Hudson Bay Trail Riders Club, in Hudson Bay, in the Spring. The unit was delivered to the Penner Clubhouse a few weeks ago and it is patiently waiting for snow!!!!!!!! At this time, the SSC has also retained our old groomer, Brutus. His future has yet to be decided. Feel free to drop by Penner at any time and take a peek at this beauty!!

The SSC is going to hold it's Annual General Meeting and Elections of Officers on Friday, December 5th. This event will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Penner Clubhouse. The meeting will be followed by the elections and the night will finish off with a cash bar and snacks. We are accepting nominations for the SSC Board but these nominations MUST be received prior to the meeting. NO nominations will be accepted off of the floor on December 5th. If you would like to run for the Board, or know someone else who would like to, please drop us a line as soon as you can.

We would like to take a moment to thank Ernie Quintel for all of his hard work as both a SSC Director and a fellow SSC member. We are sad to announce that Ernie has stepped down from our Board. We wish him luck in all of his future endeavours and we hope to still see him out and about on he trails throughout the season!!!

The SSC is very happy to announce that our memberships can now be renewed ONLINE!!!! This is an excellent option for our Club as it will save us postage, office supply costs, and many, many volunteer man-hours to complete this task. We ask that you visit www.sasksnow.com and follow these directions:

                   1) Choose the Maps & Conditions tab at the top of the page.
                   2) Choose Zone 1 - NW Sask
                   3) Scroll down and click on "#112 Saskatoon Snowmobile Club, Saskatoon".
                   4) Once a new screen opens up scroll down and click on "Click Here to Purchase a Club Membership`.
                   5) Enter your email address in space designated to begin Login process. A user name and password will be assigned to you. (You can change your password to whatever you want when you "edit" your profile). 6) You can then proceed by completing the requirement information and payment of Membership Fee can be made with your Credit Card. You can also purchase the SSA Membership as well this way!

This is a very cost effective option for the SSC to renew their memberships, so please try very hard to take advantage of this renewal option. If you are unable to use this option, then please feel free to send me a note and we will get your form out to you in the mail, as per previous years. Thanks so much for your co-operation!!!! If you have questions or concerns with the online membership renewal please call John Popoff at 306-221-6555306-221-6555 or e-mail him at jpops@sasktel.net .

It has been decided that this year we will not pre-plan Club rides and add them to the calendar for the year. Historically, we have had poor luck due to weather, schedules, etc. This year we are going to try a new approach. As members make plans to head out on a ride we ask that they post that information on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saskatoon-Snowmobile-Club/154900051187932 ) and e-mail it to me (clelan@sasktel.net ) . I will forward it on to all members via an e-mail as well. We are hoping that these shorter notice rides will be more successful due to knowing the current snow conditions and weather forecast at the time of planning, instead of months in advance. We have still compiled a calendar for our Club activities that take place off trail and I have attached that document to this e-mail.

The Saskatchewan Snowmobile Show will be this week-end at Prairieland Park. The SSC with have a booth at this show - THANKS to our volunteers!!!!!!!!!!! The shows hours are Friday (4-10 p.m.), Saturday (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m. - 5 p.m.). We hope to see you there!!!


Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

March 2014 Newsletter

Well.......I know that this newsletter will be met by a lot of long faces since the turn of the weather. It sure seems like we didn’t have a great season this year between the record low temperatures and the lack of snow for part of the season. That sure is the joy of this sport - - you can never predict!!!!

Thank-you to our members who attended, donated to and volunteered at the SSC’s Prairie Women on Snowmobiles Steak Night at the end of January. The PWOS Mission 2014 Riders had a tough go of it this year, spending a large portion of their trip riding in a van, sleds on a flat bed, due to the poor snow conditions. But, that didn’t stop their spirit - - this group raised an astounding $150,199.69 again this year. Hats off to the group, and especially to our very own Heather Foster – it was fantastic to see her enjoying her experience with PWOS! We must, once again, thank Scotia Bank for their commitment to this cause. They attended our event again, to work the 50/50 table, and match the proceeds of the 50/50 draw. When the dust all settled not only did this amazing organization match the 50/50 proceeds ($245.00), they increased their donation to an even $3,000.00!!! Amazing!!!!!!!! In addition to Scotia Bank’s donation the net proceeds of our Steak Night were also donated – to the tune of $2,200.00!!! There was also a live auction of a quilt, at the Steak Night, which brought in another (approximately) $600.00 which was collected by PWOS staff that evening. What a great night!!! John Popoff attended the PWOS Final Banquet in Nipawin and presented the SSC’s donation at that time. I would be remiss not to also thank John and Marcel Voyer for being the SSC representatives to lead the ladies from Waldheim to Martensville, during Day One of their Mission, and to Erik Foster for entertaining us throughout the night as the event’s Master of Ceremonies!

If any of our female members wish to join this amazing organization for their next annual Mission please visit www.prairiewomen.ca to find out how you can apply to become a part of this exciting adventure! Application forms can be downloaded from the website, and are due by April 30^th for Team selection. he drive to help make a difference! Let's help to put an end to cancer!

A very generous THANK-YOU from all of our members must be directed to all of those who graciously donated their time to sign our trail system and maintain it throughout this season by operating Brutus. Without the time of these very dedicated volunteers our trail would be non-existent. We are very lucky that this small group of individuals are able, and willing, to spend their free time for the enjoyment of all of us.

Mentioning Brutus...........the old guy surprised us again. He has run flawlessly all season - maybe he is scared for his life!!!! John even used him to form and maintain the race track for the SSRA
Western Championship Snowmobile Drag Races at Prairieland Park this past week-end. The SSC is still in the market for a new groomer (don’t worry – we haven’t changed our minds) so the search continues for a unit that will serve our purposes but is also within our budget.

It was another huge year for the SSC – 111 memberships!!!

Thank-you to all members who took the time to sell some SSA 4 Sled Raffle Tickets on behalf of our Club. Our Club sold just over 66 books of tickets, which resulted in a rebate, back to us, of $2,110.61. Laura Spence of Maymont was the Grand Prize winner of this draw, which was made at the SSA Provincial Festival in Melfort. Laura chose to take the cash prize of $9,000.00 instead of one of the available snowmobiles. I wonder what she will do with that money.

Be the first to see the 2015 snowmobiles from Polaris, Ski-Doo and Yamaha at the 2015 Manufactures‘ Sneak Peek on April 8^th and 9^th at Prairieland Park. The show runs from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. daily. Admission is free.

The SSC hosted our first annual FFun Motor Sports (FMS) Poker Rally and Cabaret on January 18^th. A HUGE thank-you to Rod Hollman and his staff at FMS, without their sponsorship and vision this event would never have come to fruition. We were very thankful to have approximately 140 sleds take part in this fantastic day of riding. The trails were in great shape and a great ride was had by all. The rally was followed up with a delicious supper and a live band. There were smiles all round as everyone in attendance had a fantastic time!!! This was the first year for this event, so it was definitely a building year, but we realized a net profit of just under $4,000.00, which will be put towards the purchase of our new to us groomer. I recently e-mailed out a link to a survey, we would appreciate your feedback (even if you did not attend) so that we can review those responses and make next year’s event even bigger and better!!! THANK-YOU once again to all the members who volunteered for this rally and cabaret. It was a loooooong day made possible by your dedication!!!

The SSC will be hosting their annual Wind Up on Saturday, April 5^th starting at 6:00 p.m. This event will take place at the Penner Clubhouse. We would love to see you there and share war stories from the season!!!

Once we settle on some dates for both a trail de-signing day and a sign workshop day at Penner we will send out an e-mail to the membership. It would be fantastic to have some extra hands to tidy up the tasks of end of season for the SSC.

We wish you a great Spring........

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

December 2013

Seasons greetings!!! We hope that this letter finds you preparing for the upcoming holiday season while still taking time to get out and ride!!! We finally have some amount of snow here so we are certain that it won’t be long and the groomer will be making its’ rounds.

November 29^th ended off with the Saskatoon Snowmobile Club’s Annual General Meeting. This was held at the Penner Clubhouse. A disappointing 24 people turned out for the event. The minutes from this meeting will be posted to the Club’s website as soon as possible. Following the Elections of Officers the members enjoyed some snacks and some nice cold beverages!! A great visit was had by all.

The SSC wants to take a moment to thank Daniel Trembley for his time served on our Board of Directors. It was a pleasure working with Daniel and we wish him well in the future.

The 2013-2014’s Board of Director’s are as follows:

President: Cley Sametts 249-4996 or 221-2083

Vice President: Wes Cole 227-1212

Secretary/Treasurer: John Popoff 373-2991 or 221-6555

Past President: Bill Ziegler 933-1119 or 221-2740

Directors:

Gerri Sametts 249-4996 or 280-4941

Steve Cole 370-0416

Bob Nicol 955-0316

Marcel Voyer 384-2420 or 380-2430

Jim Puckett 931-1156

Ernie Quintal 382-4460 or 280-3916

Chris Barnardo 270-4733

Erik Foster 262-6667

                We are happy to report that, to date, we have 94 paid memberships including 8 brand new ones. In 2012/2013 there were a total of 110. Thank-you to John Popoff, SSC’s Secretary/Treasurer, who has been a busy guy processing all of these memberships!

                The SSC is honored, once again, to be hosting the PWOS riders on their way through our great area. Prairie Women On Snowmobiles is a non-profit organization whose annual missions are provincial awareness events that are designed to focus attention on breast cancer and the recreation of snowmobiling as well as raise the much-needed funds for breast cancer research. This group will be arriving in Martensville on Friday, January 31^st from Prince Albert. The SSC will once again hold a Steak Night, at the Adobe Inn in Martensville, not only as a fundraising event for this great cause but also as a recognition event for the great work this organization does each and every year.

                One of our very own has been chosen as a Core Rider for PWOS this year – Heather Foster!!! You can visit the following link to learn more about Heather’s journey and to support her fundraising efforts:

                http://ccssk.convio.net/site/TR/ThirdParty/PWOS_14?px=1683187&pg=personal&fr_id=1490

                To purchase your Steak Night ticket, please call Gerri at 249-4996 or email clelan@sasktel.net

                It is hard to believe that the holiday season is almost here and very soon after it will be time for the SSC 2014 Poker Rally and Cabaret!!!! This is a new event that the SSC will be hosting in conjunction with FFun Motor Sports. Mark your calendars – this event will take place on Saturday, January 18^th at the Brian King Centre in Warman.   A traditional poker rally will take place between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. This will be followed by a delicious dinner, beer garden, prizes and live entertainment by the Harreson James Band. Rally hands will be available on event day for $10.00 each or three for $20.00. The Dinner/Cabaret tickets must be purchased in advance of the event due to caterer requirements. These tickets will be $20.00 each and all ages are welcome!! To purchase your advance ticket please visit https://sscpokerrally.eventbrite.ca . The net proceeds from this event will be used for the SSC’s planned groomer purchase. This is certain to be an excellent day of riding and socializing. We hope you will join us!!!

We have learned a few interesting facts that we wanted to share with you........ Snowmobile sales were up by 29% in 2012/2013. There were 23,307 registered snowmobiles in Saskatchewan – the most ever. 25,000 new snowmobiles have been sold in our province over the past 5 years. These are astounding numbers!!!

Plans are underway to groom the SSC trail system shortly. We have been waiting for more snow and for a few small repairs to Brutus. I have a few more interesting facts to share about Brutus – he traveled 1,340 kms last season over the course of 154 hours. An additional 44 hours were placed on the demo Tucker that the SSC used last season. The average fuel cost per hour is $18.00 while the average cost of grooming per km is $9.15 (including fuel, travel, meals and repairs). The SSC incurred a cost of $151.00 per kilometer for the season grooming. Again – amazing numbers. Lots of people do not realize the time, energy and funds that go into maintaining our trail system.

The SSC is still pursuing a newer groomer purchase. A Groomer Committee has been formed and tha committee is constantly researching available units and have even travelled to demo a few of them. We were the unsuccessful bidder during an online auction for one unit but we will persevere. In the meantime, Brutus is tuned up and ready to roll.......

Since the SSC is hosting two VERY large scale events in January we ask that you mark your calendars and lend a hand. There will be various volunteer positions available for both the Poker Rally (January 18^th) and with PWOS (January 31^st). Please feel free to drop me a quick line to indicate your availability. Any assistance will be SOO appreciated – events of this scale can not be a success without a great volunteer base!

We are also looking for silent auction, door prize, and raffle items for both of these events. I have included a letter, for each event, with this newsletter. Please feel free to approach your employer, donate from your own business, or approach neighborhood businesses that you deal with. Any item helps!!!

Happy Holidays to you and yours!!!!!!

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

October 2013

Hello!! We hope that this newsletter finds you healthy and happy while you try and stay warm. I think that it is just a matter of a short time before these snow flakes decide to stick around. That will sure make many in our Club happy!!

The Fall of 2013 started off with the Saskatoon Snowmobile Club’s Annual SSC Corn Roast on Wednesday. August 28^th. Approximately 45 people turned out for the event. Mother Nature co-operated fully and gave us a beautiful evening to enjoy the fresh, super sweet corn, baked potatoes, smokies and hotdogs. Of course, there were also some nice cold beverages!! A special thanks to all the volunteers who helped with the preparation, cooking, bar, and especially the clean up afterwards, it was greatly appreciated!

The SSC’s payout share of the Saskatchewan Trail Fund, for this past season, came to $19,426.51. There was a "record" number of snowmobiles registered in Saskatchewan this past year, resulting in an all time high of $1,347,158.00 in the Trail Fund to be distributed amongst the Grooming Clubs!

Thank-you to the SSC Directors who volunteered their time this past week-end, at FFun Motor Sports’ Open House. Our volunteers collected Membership Renewal Forms, sold SSA Raffle Tickets and promoted the Club to those in attendance. Thank-you to Rod Hollman, and staff, for the invitation and for mentioning us during their on-air promotion, from the store, during the event!

John Popoff, SSC’s Secretary/Treasurer, has been a busy beaver mailing out 110 Membership Renewal Forms to all 2012/2013 SSC Members. Please feel free to return these to John, via Canada Post mail, drop them off at our booth during the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association (SSA) show or, as a last resort, bring them with you to the upcoming SSC Annual General Meeting (AGM). As you will see, John used pink paper and a pink ribbon for these forms. This was our way of honoring October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a cause that is near and dear to the SSC, and one that we will support again in the New Year with another Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS) event.

The SSA will be holding their Annual Snow Show again in Saskatoon on the week-end of November 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd. You can see the event poster at: http://www.sasksnow.com/events/snow-show The SSC will once again have a booth at this event. The SSA has decided to sell their SSA Raffle Tickets at their own booth so the SSC booth will be solely for the purpose of promoting our Club to those in attendance. As always, we are asking our members to lend a hand by working a shift or two at the Snow Show. We must have one person at the booth at all times, but ideally I would like to see two people there for each shift both to have company and in case someone needs to step away for a moment. The shifts would be as follows:

Friday, November 1^st: 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (including set up)

6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 2^nd: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 3^rd: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (including take down)

If you are able to lend a hand, please e-mail me at clelan@sasktel.net with your shift preference. Shifts will be filled on a first response, first served basis. Thank-you, in advance, for your time!

The SSC’s AGM and Elections will be held on Friday, November 29^th at Penner Clubhouse. The meeting will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. There will be a cash bar and munchies to follow the Elections. If anyone has any questions about the time commitment required to be a Director, please feel free to contact any of the current Directors (a list can be found at: http://www.saskatoonsnowmobileclub.com/ssc_club-officers.php ). There will be at least one spot to fill on the Board of Directors, so please give it some thought.

FFun Motor Sports is hosting an Avalanche Training Course on Thursday, October 31^st. This course will be held at the store. More details can be found at: http://www.ffunmotorsports.com/event_list.asp

The SSC must extend a HUGE thank you to Darryl & Ben Fiala and Bernadette & Jim Taman. This great group went out to the North 40 on Monday, October 14^th and spent approximately seven hours cleaning up and cutting dead fall. This wood was piled into the newly constructed wood box (see below) along with the existing wood box. They also hauled out a bunch of other fire wood, so much so that they had to rig up a make shift wood cover out of the cover-all tarp that they picked up from the Penner Clubhouse, so that this huge pile of wood would not be sitting on the ground and would be covered from the elements. There is now a lot of wood at the North 40 to begin the sledding season. They also cleaned up the North and West sides of the shack, while piling up the dead fall at rear of shack so all is neat and tidy! They washed the cupboards and dishes inside so they are ready for use this season! New eaves trough was also hung on the front of the shack. Amazing! Hats off to you four from ALL of us!

The SSC is honored, once again, to be hosting the PWOS riders on their way through our great area. Prairie Women On Snowmobiles is a non-profit organization whose annual missions are provincial awareness events that are designed to focus attention on breast cancer and the recreation of snowmobiling as well as raise the much-needed funds for breast cancer research. This group will be arriving in Martensville on Friday, January 31^st from Prince Albert. The SSC will once again hold a Steak Night, at the Adobe Inn in Martensville, not only as a fundraising event for this great cause but also as a recognition event for the great work this organization does each and every year. You can learn more about PWOS at:

http://ccssk.convio.net/site/TR/ThirdParty/PWOS_14?fr_id=1490&pg=entry&autologin=true

The morning after our event the riders will continue on their cross province ride by heading off to Kindersley. Watch for more information on this great event in future editions of the SSC Newsletter.

Wow, this sure seems to be a lot of news for one newsletter!!!!! We have one more exciting thing to share with our members.........................The SSC is very excited to announce the SSC 2014 Poker Rally and Cabaret!!!! This is a new event that the SSC will be hosting in conjunction with FFun Motor Sports. Mark your calendars – this event will take place on Saturday, January 18^th at the Brian King Centre in Warman. A traditional poker rally will take place between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. This will be followed by a delicious dinner, beer garden, prizes and live entertainment by the Harreson James Band. Rally hands will be available on event day for $10.00 each or three for $20.00. The Dinner/Cabaret tickets must be purchased in advance of the event due to caterer requirements. These tickets will be $20.00 each and all ages are welcome!! To purchase your advance ticket please visit https://sscpokerrally.eventbrite.ca . The net proceeds from this event will be used for the SSC’s planned groomer purchase. This is certain to be an excellent day of riding and socializing. We hope you will join us!!!

Have a great few weeks and we will see you all soon!

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

April 2013 Newsletter

Wow, what a season!!!!! This year the snow was amazing over most of the province and those that had the time to ride sure had one heck of a year for it!!! I have heard some stories of the crazy amount of miles some riders put on. Let’s hope next season is just as good!!!

The SSC Groomer Operators were hard at work all season. Hats off to you guys!!! Between Brutus and the Tucker (which we had here on loan) a total of 193 hours were spent grooming our trails. The first trip was made on December 6^th and the last one on March 26^th. This is the longest grooming season in some time!! In addition to this time spent, John Popoff spent another 5 hours grooming a drag strip at Prairieland Park for the Snowmobile Drag Races that took place there this year. The SSC was reimbursed for their time preparing the track.

The SSC sold SSA raffle tickets as a fundraiser this past season. The total of the tickets sold, by the SSC, equated to $2,460.00. As a result, the SSC received a rebate of $1,939.46. The total amount of tickets sold in the entire province was $77,588.00. The winning ticket was drawn at the SSA Festival in Nipawin on February 23^rd. Gary Anaka, of Preeceville, chose to take the $9,000.00 cash as he had just recently purchased a new sled for himself. Thanks to all our members who sold and/or purchased the raffle tickets this past season.

The SSC held their Season Wind Up on April 6^th. There were approximately 40 people in attendance and they all enjoyed a great meal of burgers and salads. It was wonderful to see new and old faces alike!!!!

The SSC had a very successful work bee on April 6^th as well. There were several members out to take down the trail signs throughout the entire trail system. There were too many great individuals out to name them all but a HUGE thank-you to all of you who were able to help out that day. It was a daunting job that was done away with in very little time due to these hard working individuals. Also, a big thank-you to the following businesses who donated items to be used during this work bee:

FFUN Motorsports - a Kawasaki side by side quad

Proline Motorsports - a Yamaha Grizzly quad with tracks and a trailer

SSR Rentals - two cargo sleds

Flamans Trailer Sales - a flat deck trailer to transport the side by side

The following Tuesday Bob Nicol, Marcel Voyer and Gerri Sametts sent the day sorting, fixing and putting away the signs for another year.

The next SSC Event is the camp out and social in the Nisbet Forest. This has been planned for the week-end of June 15^th and 16^th. Who knows, at this rate, there may still be snow on the ground then!!!!!

The SSC had an amazing year with 110 memberships this season. Welcome to all the new members!

The SSC held a General Meeting on March 27, 2013. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the purchase of a new groomer for the Club. It turned out, however, that the SSC’s Bylaws are very old and not very reasonable in a lot of cases. The current SSC Bylaws require a quorum (the number of officers or members of a body that when duly assembled is legally competent to transact business) to be 60% of the membership to be present at a General Meeting to vote on major decisions or major purchases. Since we have 110 memberships in 2013 a quorum would have required 60% of this, or 66 people to be present at the meeting. There was a head count of only 20 people, approximately 18% of the total membership. The SSC meetings never have a large quantity of people present and therefore it has become impossible for the Club to conduct a lot of its business due to these antiquated Bylaws. In addition to this instance there are a lot of other SSC Bylaws that need to be updated since the Club has moved from the “social club” of the 1970 and 1980’s to the “grooming club” that it now is. Many of the Bylaws do not deal with major assets, income and expenses as we experience now. Since there was no quorum reached at this March 27^th meeting the discussion turned to the need to revamp the Bylaws, the various groomers available to purchase and the needs of the Club when purchasing a groomer. Because it is almost impossible to reach quorum at this stage of the game we have advised the current owner of the demo Tucker Groomer that we can not commit to a purchase at this time and that they may come and pick up the unit, if they would like. Currently, the SSC Board of Directors is trying to determine the correct process to amend the SSC Bylaws. In the event that we are unable to obtain the correct information to proceed the SSC will engage the help of a lawyer to push ahead with the changes that are needed. (During the March 28^th meeting Chris Barnardo made a motion, to the Board Members present, that the Saskatoon Snowmobile Club engages legal council to direct us on changing our Bylaws to suit our current status. This was seconded by Jim Puckett and the motion was carried by unanimous vote of the 10 Board members present.) The SSC Board of Directors will be certain to update the membership as this situation is sorted out.

Again, hats off to the SSC Board of Directors and all of the many volunteers on a job well done and a very successful season. We hope to see you all very soon!

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

February 2013 Newsletter

Wow, where has this year gone?? It seems like it was Christmas only a few weeks ago and here we are in the middle of February. We have been very lucky to have an abundance of snow this season and from what we hear everyone is making good use of it!!!

The SSC hosted Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS) on day six of their 2013 Mission. The Steak Night was held at the Adobe Inn, who provided their banquet room free of charge for the event. This event was attended by 140 people, with a 150 maximum capacity within the room. The majority of the attendees were either PWOS members, family of the Core Riders, or SSC Executive. There were a handful from the general public and a very small crowd of SSC Members. After the meal the 10 Core Riders shared their stories, there were raffles, a 50/50, a silent auction and a live auction of a breast cancer afghan. Saskatoon was very happy to raise a grand total of $5,359.96. Way to go SSC!!!! We must extend a HUGE thank-you to the handful of volunteers who worked so hard to make this event a reality. Give yourselves a pat on the back!!!!

The 2013 PWOS Mission ended up in Meadow Lake on Friday, February 8^th. It was at this final banquet that PWOS announced their Mission grand total - $209,885.42!!!!! This money pushes PWOS over the $2 million mark in total funds raised over the past 13 years. All of this money is donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.

The Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association (SSA) Provincial Festival is fast approaching. It is being held in Nipawin this year, from February 22^nd to the 24^th. If anyone is interested in riding there, from Saskatoon, the SSC has a group heading out. As of today there are seven members in this pack. For more information please call Jim Puckett at 931-1156.

A few weeks ago Brutus was having some mechanical issues and as a result the Penner Clubhouse yard was getting very blown in. We had reports of a few people even getting stuck in the yard. The SSC wants to extend a big thank-you to Jim Christie who very generously cleaned out the yard with some of his own equipment.

A thank-you also must be extended to all the SSC Members who sold their SSA Ticket books. This is a great source of revenue for our Club so we appreciate you taking the time to do this for us. Thank-you to those of you who have already given your tickets to John Popoff, to those that have not, please do so ASAP as the draw is made at the SSA Festival next week-end. We must take a minute to mention the OUTSTANDING job done by Darren Nemeth. This SSC Member sold not only one book of SSA tickets but EIGHT!!!! Amazing!

Earlier this year the SSC sent out a request for fire wood for the North 40 Shelter. The call was answered quickly by many members - thank-you. We currently have plenty of pallets in the Penner Clubhouse yard (thanks to Recreation Supply) that still need to be cut up and hauled to the North 40. As a result, at this time, we ask for no more pallets to be delivered until we have a chance to clean up this pile. In our previous ask, we did not specify that the pieces of wood must be no longer then 20 inches in order for them to fit into the stove at the shelter. In the event that you are delivering wood to the Clubhouse (old construction material, fallen trees, etc.) please cut them into an appropriate length, when possible.

The SSC has some fantastic groomer operators and they have been a busy crew this season!!! Hats off to these boys!!! Many passes have been made on our trails with many more to come in the weeks ahead. Brutus had some issues but they seem to have been resolved, which is fantastic. Currently the SSC is in possession of a Tucker Snow Cat, which is a demo unit. It was been here for a week and a half and our operators have each had a chance to play with it on our trails. The SSC Executive knows that it is time to retire Brutus and they are currently in the process of reviewing options, financing, etc. Once a proposal is in place, by the Executive, a General Meeting will be called for the Membership to review the proposal and vote on a proposed purchase. The ideal scenario would be to purchase a good, used unit to keep costs down, purchase a more user friendly unit so that more members can volunteer their time to groom the trails, and to sell Brutus to recoup some of the costs associated with a new groomer. Please keep en eye on your e-mail for a meeting notice.

The SSC held a survey, among its members, to determine the wants of the Club Members when it came to SSC Club Rides. There were 48 respondents, which was fantastic. The results were as follows:

1) What is the ideal start time for a group ride?

a) 9:00 a.m. – 9 responses (19%)

b) 10:00 a.m. – 31 responses (65%)

c) 1:00 p.m. – 5 responses (10%)

d) 6:00 p.m. – 3 responses (6%)

2) How long is your ideal group ride?

a) 2 hours – 1 response (2%)

b) 4 hours – 21 responses (44%)

c) 6 hours – 23 responses (48%)

d) 8 hours – 3 responses (6%)

3) What types of conditions apply to your ideal group ride? Please check ALL that apply.

a) Ditch – 19 responses (13%)

b) Field – 34 responses (25%)

c) Trail – 45 responses (33%)

d) Forest – 40 responses (29%)

4) What demographic is your ideal group ride? Please choose ALL that apply.

a) Experienced riders – 40 responses (43%)

b) Family riders – 37 responses (39%)

c) Beginner riders – 17 responses (18%)

5) What is your ideal destination for a group ride?

a) Family friendly restaurant – 14 responses (29%)

b) Warm up shelter – 15 responses (31%)

c) The ‘local establishment’ – 10 responses (21%)

d) A trip with no long term breaks – 9 responses (19%)

                In September the SSC received a cheque for our share of the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Trail Fund (the accumulation of the $70.00 registration fee we all pay when we register our sleds). $1.1 million dollars was distributed in 2012 amongst the "grooming" clubs in the province.   Even though we did no grooming in 2011/2012 (no snow), we received $4,185.24, or the equivalent of $32.20 per kilometer of our designated snowmobile trails! 48 Clubs participated in the Trail Fund this year and 24 of those were in same situation as us (no snow- no grooming), and received similar "per kilometer" funding. Since we are seeing such great snow conditions, and many passes of our groomer, we can expect a larger payout to the SSC this fall.

                To date the SSC has 108 Family Memberships for this season, including 20 first time members. Fantastic!! Welcome to all new members, we hope that you are enjoying your time with us!

                I think that about wraps up the SSC news for another newsletter. Safe riding to you all.

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

December 2012

Season’s greetings!!!! It definitely feels like Christmas out there this year!!! I am certain that we have a lot of very happy members out and about since we have more snow already this year then all of last season combined. It looks like this will be a successful season for our Club.

The SSC held their Annual General Meeting on Friday, November 30^th. There were approximately thirty members present including Chris Brewer, the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association President and CEO, for this meeting and the social that followed. This was an excellent turnout considering how cold and stormy the night was. There were many topics of discussion that evening: past meeting minutes, financial reports, the 2012/13 budget, committee reports, the proposed changes to the Club’s bylaws and possible trail changes. There was also some discussion based around the RM of Duck Lake. Most of our members know that we had some issues with that RM providing us permission to groom that area last year. As it turned out no grooming was done last season and it was a moot point at that time. Several of our Directors will be attending an RM Council Meeting in the next few weeks to discuss our club, meet the new Reeve and answer any questions that the Council may have. It is our hopes that permission will be granted after that meeting. We will keep our membership apprised of changes to this situation.

There were some other interesting facts that arose from the AGM:

· The SSC has $83,375 in cash and short term investments.

· In 2011/12 the total number of SSC memberships was 85. This was down from

2010/2011 when the Club had 140 memberships - 91 “regular” memberships and

49 “dealer sponsored” memberships. These dealer sponsored memberships

were provided free of charge by the dealers to those that purchased a new

snowmobile in that season. There was a very small retention rate from that

program year over year so the program was discontinued. To date we have 76

members – 6 new and 70 renewed.

· Brutus, the SSC’s groomer, did not groom at all during the 2011/12 season. As a

result, the SSC received a very small payout ($5,021) from the SSA Trail Fund.

The 2011/12’s Financial Statement Surplus was $7,410, down from $11,332 in 2010/11.

After the AGM the SSC held their Annual Election of Officers. The following is a list of the 2012/13 SSC Board of Directors. You will be able to find contact information for all of these members on the SSC website. Please feel free to contact them at any time.

President: Cley Sametts Vice-President: Wes Cole

Secretary-Treasurer: John Popoff Past President: Bill Ziegler

Directors: Gerri Sametts Marcel Voyer Bob Nicol

Jim Puckett Ernie Quintal Dan Tremblay

Chris Barnardo Steve Cole

The SSC would like to thank the member who is no longer serving on the SSC Board of Directors after the 2011/12 season – Paul Webb. This member helped the SSC make many strides over the past few years. Paul, give yourself a pat on the back!!!

The SSC Executive has formed the following committees. All of these committees are open to all members of the SSC. If you have any interest in joining one, or more of them, please contact one of the Executive Members listed for more information. Please remember that this is a volunteer club and as a result we are always looking for members to help out in any capacity – be it for a few hours on a week-end, to helping with an event, to sitting on a committee. Many hands make quick work…………

Mission statement/strategic planning - Ernie Quintal, Jim Puckett
Sponsorship program update - Cley Sametts
Trail extension and changes - Chris Barnardo
Groomer replacement planning - John Popoff, Bill Ziegler, Jim Puckett, Daniel Tremblay

There has been some discussion in regards to the SSC Club Shirts that were ordered a few years ago. If there is enough interest in these shirts we may be able to have a second run of them made, which we would sell at cost. You may have already seen many members wearing these shirts at our events – they are blue, black with white trim with buttons up the front. They are very nice and they are great to help promote the SSC as a professional club. If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please drop me a line and I will see if there is enough interest to warrant a new purchase.

If any SSC members have some pictures we would appreciate if you could upload them to the SSC website - www.saskatoonsnowmobileclub.com . Many of the pictures there are now stale dated and it would be nice to see some new ones on there.

Snowmobilers now have a choice in how they receive their snowmobile safety training. Remember all persons born after January 1st, 1989 MUST complete a snowmobile safety course to ride on public lands.

OPTION ONE - ONLINE COURSE: An online snowmobile safety course is now available. This course is administered by the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association. This course is S.G.I. and Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association approved. The cost for this course is $44.95 + GST. To access this course log onto www.sasksnow.com (the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association website). Find the link on front web page and follow the prompts to the online safety course. Once you have completed the registration process you can take the course, write the exam, and obtain your certificate on your personal computer in the comfort and convenience of your own home. It really is that simple!

OPTION TWO - SASKATCHEWAN SAFETY COUNCIL COURSE: For those that prefer an instructor led, classroom style course, with some practical “hands on” sessions this course is for you. This course is administered by the Saskatchewan Safety Council. This course is also S.G.I. and Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association approved. The cost for this course is $75.00 for one student or a family rate of $155.00 (GST included). There are minimum registration numbers required in order to hold these courses. In Saskatoon, please contact Marcel Voyer at 384-2420. In other areas contact Peter Huebner, at the Saskatchewan Safety Council in Regina, at 306-757-197. All courses will be held at Saskatoon Snowmobile Clubhouse, North Corman Park Industrial Road, (old Penner School). The cost is $75/person or $155/family (including GST). These are one day courses and they will be held on:

December 15

December 28

January 26

March 16

The SSC will once again be hosting the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles during their 2013 Mission. This will be our fourth year in a row supporting this great cause!!! There will be an overnight stop in Martensville on Wednesday, February 6^th. This will be a smaller event then last year’s Finale Banquet. It will be very similar to a small scale Steak Night event. Anyone wishing to help with this great cause, please drop me a quick e-mail. Any help is appreciated!!!

The SSC’s new Executive have met and discussed many proposed changes for our Club. One of the main items of discussion is that the Club needs to have more off trail, varied rides to keep all of our members interested since not all members are excited to ride on the groomed trail all of the time. In the past, the SSC had very successful day rides to various parts of our province. There was even a time when the SSC had no groomed trail of their own and ALL of their Club rides were off trail. The SSC is interested in any trip that is planned by an SSC member. If you are willing to lead a group, commit to the ride, and welcome other members to join you please let me know and I would be more then willing to advertise that ride on the Club website/blog, our Facebook page and via an e-mail to the SSC members. We are interested in small rides, large rides, day rides, night rides, family rides, cross country rides – anything and everything. Even if there ends up to be several rides on one day that is fine as our members would then have a choice of destinations and ride types. The biggest responsibility in this proposal is that the organizing member be prepared to commit to that planned ride so that no member decides to join that ride and then no one is there that morning/evening to lead as discussed/advertised. As you can see from my e-mail on December 5^th the member would provide a contact number and communication between that leader and the interested SSC member would proceed from there. We think that this is a fantastic opportunity to get some new excitement in the Club, see some new areas and provide rides that are suitable for families and newer riders as well as the seasoned pros!!!

We hope that you have a great Christmas season, a safe and happy New Year and that by the time the next newsletter comes out you will have a tonne of miles on your machine!!!!! We’ll see you in the New Year!!

Saskatoon Snowmobile Club

October 2012

Hello, everyone!!!!!

To date the SSC has 24 members for the 2012 - 2013 season. 23 of these are renewed from last year and we are very happy to welcome one new family to our group. Please remember to get your renewal forms to John as soon as you are able.

Thank-you, in advance, to all those members who offered to work a shift at the SSA Show for our Club. We will be promoting our Club, our trails and selling some SSA tickets at our booth. We are not in charge of the main ticket booth at this year's show, this will be handled by the SSA themselves.

The Directors met last week and hammered out our new season's Calendar of Events, including the Safety Courses that are being offered this year. Please see those sections of the website/blog for that information.

Our first event of the season will be our Annual General Meeting & Elections. This will take place on Friday, November 30th at the Penner Clubhouse. The AGM will begin at 7:00 p.m. with the Election to follow. Once this wraps up there will be a cash bar, munchies and a time for visiting. We hope to see you there!

Have a great day!!!!!

Gerri Sametts
SSC Communications Committee

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Saskatoon Snowmobile Club December 2015 Newsletter.

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