Jan 14, 2021
It is January 14, 2021 and we are waiting for snow. I received notice yesterday the West Carleton Snowmobile Trails Association (WCSTA) has 983 Members to date this year through Permit sales. I believe this is the highest number we have ever had this early in the season. We have worked hard in the last several months to have our trails and groomers ready for when we get snow.
I want to thank our volunteers for their continued support to the Board and the Members. Snowmobiling may be the biggest recreational activity in Ontario that funds the development and operation of its trail infrastructure and maintenance and grooming equipment and operations from Member Permit dollars with no ongoing financial support from any level of government. Volunteers do it all, including fund raising.
We face challenges keeping Members informed of new volunteer opportunities. Of the 983 Members, 233 of you have agreed to be contacted for volunteering. This is very encouraging. We are working to put in place a means to email these people and let them know how they can help on projects, trails or the Board. You will hear from us shortly.
Below is a message from our Governor, Bruce Robinson on the value of our volunteers and his thanks to those that keep our Clubs running. Please read it. I want to thank all our volunteers, including the silent people that I do not meet and never hear from. Your time and efforts are appreciated.
As Roy Rogers would say – “Happy Trails to You”. Now we need snow.
Paul McDonald, President
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A Message from Bruce Robinson, Governor, District 1 – December 24, 2020
Its Christmas Eve and I just returned from our church service which was quite different without carol singing and limited to 30 percent capacity but at least we were able to hold it before the approaching lock down. Christmas is a time to be with our families however for many this Christmas will be much lonelier because many folks are not travelling due to the virus. So much has changed and it has become very clear to me that we have taken so much for granted. My Christmas Greeting tonight is for my snowmobile family who I, and many others, have taken for granted. Each year at this time as I travel throughout Eastern Ontario, I notice the thousands of signs and pickets that spring up in the fields. Being a trail worker myself, I know how much effort it takes to prepare the trails. We got the OK to picket our last 2 corn fields just yesterday and there was 4 inches of frost. Thankfully we had a generator and drill. But my point is that we take for granted the thousands of hours of volunteer labour to make those trails happen. Not to mention the work that went on beforehand getting all the land use permissions in order and re-routing around new seeding and new owners that have refused to let the trail on the property. And this not only happens in District 1 but all across the province. Imagine that field you picketed connects to the next piece of land and to the next and so on and so on until you have a complete trail system of 30,000 km. An amazing feat. Then there is the grooming and then the spring clean up. Incredibly it happens every year and in spite of disagreeable weather, Bill 100 (remember a few years back), insurance issues, pandemic viruses, and a host of other issues, the volunteers persevere and the trail happens. And we all take if for granted that the trail will be ready once the snow flies. So this Christmas message is for all those unsung volunteer heroes who work behind the scenes and never get the recognition they deserve. A big MERRY CHRISTMAS and THANK YOU. You are part of the snowmobile family and we appreciate the work you do. Hopefully the snow will soon arrive so we can at least ride locally and enjoy the fruits of our labour. Please distribute this Christmas Message to all the volunteer heroes in your club.
Bruce Robinson