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Not A OLD Boys Club Anymore


old sledhead

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Hope this gets some attention!!!!

I used this title instead of club needs help but the truth is it sort of does

The reason being do to personal reasons after 24 years of looking after the trails , landowners and grooming for the Eganville Sno Drifters in district six I have resigned as of the end of the season. I have told the club members to start passing the word around . I have offered to give as much or as little advice and help to my replacement as they want but it will be there show to run , I also offered to continue to groom if needed. 

So what I am trying to do is get the word out that without someone to step up I fear the trails in this area may close.

The Eganville Sno drifters will be meeting at the club house every Tuesday this month starting at 7 pm.

So anyone that can help out thanks , it would be hard to see 24 years of hard work be for nothing.

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To be honest after our meeting tonight I'm ready to say frig it as well

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1st thx for those 24 yrs,hope they find a replacement & keep the club going...

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old sledhead: Congratulations and thank you for your tremendous contribution.

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I just wish Snowmobilers would realize that the sport will die without volunteers. Its not that any one job takes much time to do but when one person like myself and countless other take on then it becomes overwhelming. I started as a groomer operator and took on a section of trail, now groomer operator, groomer coordinator , trail patrol rep , signage coordinator, district rep , land owner rep, association rep, part time groomer mechanic . On top of this yes I work full time six days a week .

  God help the next snowmobiler that stops me in the groomer calls me at home or even better comes into my work to complain about trails and to inform me they paid for a permit and I better get at it. Well for there info I have paid for two full season permits for more than 24 years I have never asked my club to pay for gas or meals to attend meetings , gas oil chains for my chain saw and the saw that blew up clearing trail or for the time off work and lost wages to go get stranded groomer operators to fix the groomer, to attend A.G.M or go see a mad landowner because snowmobilers cant stay on a marked trail .

One other thing while iam on a rant snowmobiler's it takes a lot of time to groom a trail what you cover on a sled in a hour takes many many hours in a groomer. Do the math you travel at a legal speed of 50kmh ya wright, our average groomer ground speed this year with low snow is a average 10 kmh  please do the math.

Sorry folks I know Preaching to the choir

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I just wish Snowmobilers would realize that the sport will die without volunteers. Its not that any one job takes much time to do but when one person like myself and countless other take on then it becomes overwhelming. I started as a groomer operator and took on a section of trail, now groomer operator, groomer coordinator , trail patrol rep , signage coordinator, district rep , land owner rep, association rep, part time groomer mechanic . On top of this yes I work full time six days a week .

  God help the next snowmobiler that stops me in the groomer calls me at home or even better comes into my work to complain about trails and to inform me they paid for a permit and I better get at it. Well for there info I have paid for two full season permits for more than 24 years I have never asked my club to pay for gas or meals to attend meetings , gas oil chains for my chain saw and the saw that blew up clearing trail or for the time off work and lost wages to go get stranded groomer operators to fix the groomer, to attend A.G.M or go see a mad landowner because snowmobilers cant stay on a marked trail .

One other thing while iam on a rant snowmobiler's it takes a lot of time to groom a trail what you cover on a sled in a hour takes many many hours in a groomer. Do the math you travel at a legal speed of 50kmh ya wright, our average groomer ground speed this year with low snow is a average 10 kmh  please do the math.

Sorry folks I know Preaching to the choir

Boy do I hear you 

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Thanks for your service ...

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Thanks for the great trails and the hard work and dedication you and fellow volunteers do.

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Thank you Old Sledhead for the many years of dedication and how many lives you touched along the way with all those fond memories for Eganville.

 

Certainly harder to find volunteers these days because part of the available pool are sitting at home playing video games, are on the Internet or watching TV.

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As many have said, thanks for the time and resources you've put into Ontario snowmobiling. 

 

I hope that someone steps up to the plate.

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Thanks for the call out as well.  I ride those trails from time to time and would hate to see them go.  Sounds like the meeting soup

kids went to did not go well?

And I am amazed people call you at work and give you crap about grooming...that is crazy.

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I just wish Snowmobilers would realize that the sport will die without volunteers. Its not that any one job takes much time to do but when one person like myself and countless other take on then it becomes overwhelming. I started as a groomer operator and took on a section of trail, now groomer operator, groomer coordinator , trail patrol rep , signage coordinator, district rep , land owner rep, association rep, part time groomer mechanic . On top of this yes I work full time six days a week .

  God help the next snowmobiler that stops me in the groomer calls me at home or even better comes into my work to complain about trails and to inform me they paid for a permit and I better get at it. Well for there info I have paid for two full season permits for more than 24 years I have never asked my club to pay for gas or meals to attend meetings , gas oil chains for my chain saw and the saw that blew up clearing trail or for the time off work and lost wages to go get stranded groomer operators to fix the groomer, to attend A.G.M or go see a mad landowner because snowmobilers cant stay on a marked trail .

One other thing while iam on a rant snowmobiler's it takes a lot of time to groom a trail what you cover on a sled in a hour takes many many hours in a groomer. Do the math you travel at a legal speed of 50kmh ya wright, our average groomer ground speed this year with low snow is a average 10 kmh  please do the math.

Sorry folks I know Preaching to the choir

 

You are indeed preaching to the choir but are entitled to vent a little. THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THOSE YEARS AND COUNTLESS HOURS YOU DEVOTED TO SUSTAINING THE TRAILS SO MANY TAKE FOR GRANTED!!!!! :right_on:  :right_on: I believe you just spoke for a lot of volunteers.

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I just wish Snowmobilers would realize that the sport will die without volunteers. Its not that any one job takes much time to do but when one person like myself and countless other take on then it becomes overwhelming. I started as a groomer operator and took on a section of trail, now groomer operator, groomer coordinator , trail patrol rep , signage coordinator, district rep , land owner rep, association rep, part time groomer mechanic . On top of this yes I work full time six days a week .

  God help the next snowmobiler that stops me in the groomer calls me at home or even better comes into my work to complain about trails and to inform me they paid for a permit and I better get at it. Well for there info I have paid for two full season permits for more than 24 years I have never asked my club to pay for gas or meals to attend meetings , gas oil chains for my chain saw and the saw that blew up clearing trail or for the time off work and lost wages to go get stranded groomer operators to fix the groomer, to attend A.G.M or go see a mad landowner because snowmobilers cant stay on a marked trail .

One other thing while iam on a rant snowmobiler's it takes a lot of time to groom a trail what you cover on a sled in a hour takes many many hours in a groomer. Do the math you travel at a legal speed of 50kmh ya wright, our average groomer ground speed this year with low snow is a average 10 kmh  please do the math.

Sorry folks I know Preaching to the choir

Yes, Thank you, and to all the volunteers thank you. I don't think you are just "preaching to the choir". There are a lot of people that read these threads. There is a lot of VOLUNTEER WORK to be done to keep this sport ALIVE so STEP UP, don't be scared, and just "grab the bull by the horns" and get it done.  I have, and I have  seen a lot of people do this and the results are all positive!!

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Thank you very much for your 24 years of blood sweat and tears, we relly appreciate your hard work!

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Thanks for all the time spent helping the snowmobiling community.  Many people and organizations benefit from all the work put in by dedicated volunteers like you without them taking the time to realize how lucky they really are.  Enjoy your well deserved time off.

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Thanks for all your service to our sport Sledhead. Many of us here know what is involved in all that you have done.  We had a very similar situation in the St. Clements Club 10 years or more ago. We had a couple that did almost every job in the clubhouse and many others as well. These dedicaed people finally retired from their work and the club and moved north. We all wondered how we would replace them. We ended up splitting the work they did into many smaller responsibilities and communicating to club members and everyone we could that if we didn't find people to fill all thes positions that the club would not be able to go on.  We were able to find the volunteers needed and the club continues in many ways stronger than ever. Things have a way of working themselves out even though sometimes it doesn't seem possible.

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I just wish Snowmobilers would realize that the sport will die without volunteers. Its not that any one job takes much time to do but when one person like myself and countless other take on then it becomes overwhelming. I started as a groomer operator and took on a section of trail, now groomer operator, groomer coordinator , trail patrol rep , signage coordinator, district rep , land owner rep, association rep, part time groomer mechanic . On top of this yes I work full time six days a week .

  God help the next snowmobiler that stops me in the groomer calls me at home or even better comes into my work to complain about trails and to inform me they paid for a permit and I better get at it. Well for there info I have paid for two full season permits for more than 24 years I have never asked my club to pay for gas or meals to attend meetings , gas oil chains for my chain saw and the saw that blew up clearing trail or for the time off work and lost wages to go get stranded groomer operators to fix the groomer, to attend A.G.M or go see a mad landowner because snowmobilers cant stay on a marked trail .

One other thing while iam on a rant snowmobiler's it takes a lot of time to groom a trail what you cover on a sled in a hour takes many many hours in a groomer. Do the math you travel at a legal speed of 50kmh ya wright, our average groomer ground speed this year with low snow is a average 10 kmh  please do the math.

Sorry folks I know Preaching to the choir

It's unfortunate that people are like that. The rest of us appreciate the work you've put into the trails. I've never ridden in the Eganville area, just skirting the area to the north.

 

Back when we had trail wardens I had to put up with some middle aged guy freaking out at me in a restaurant. I was very polite, handed him a map & pointing out the club's president's phone number. There was an older chap with them (father, F-I-L?), he basically told the guy to settle down. As if I'm responsible for the tral grooming dumbazz!

 

I had posted this elsewhere:

 

 

My other rant is why can't people remove obstacles from the trail? Tuesady when I was out, I moved 3 or 4 largish (8" - 10" dia') rocks that the groomer had kicked up. Today (mid-afternoon) I came along to a forked piece of wood about 4" in dia' & 2' long. I imagine it would do a pretty good number on a belly pan or suspension piece. Everyone else had had just ridden around it.

Some people feel that by buying a permit they are entitled to complain to whoever about the state of the trails regardless of the situation. You're the "face" of the club to these "entitled" folks, so it makes you or any groomer in thier crosshairs.

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Thanks for the call out as well.  I ride those trails from time to time and would hate to see them go.  Sounds like the meeting soup

kids went to did not go well?

And I am amazed people call you at work and give you crap about grooming...that is crazy.

JUST GETTING TIRED OF ALL THE BULL crap.

I've been at this a long long time (25+ yrs)

Believe it or not the last 2 seasons I honestly could not care if I got out to ride or not.

Seriously considering putting the whole works up for sale and say the hell with it.

2010 polaris SB 600 - 6000 miles

1999 XTL touring - 13,0000 miles

double enclosed trailer drive on, drive off.

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Old Sledhead I can't imagine how tired and fed up you must be given that you have a full time job six days a week.

You make the rest of us feel inconsequential with our concerns about Burnout and nobody coming up to assume the reins.

I just posted a State of the Club on our North Bay Snowmobile Club Facebook page setting out some of our issues and needs.

Guess what, 881 Views to date, only 4 Likes and only 2 comments, one said nothing and the other was a fellow who works in Alberta on 2 week shifts and said he could help when he is home which I appreciate.

Our Club is highly successful but only has 10 Volunteers and nobody interested in helping.

Asked for Volunteers to go for a ride and do a little bit of signing and brushing, nobody showed up.

It gets very frustrating and more and more will pack it in and there is nobody to replace them.

Look at Chapleau Arctic Watershed Snowmobile Club shutting down except for a few local trails.

Which Club wil be next.

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You get negative comments all the time from people who are never satisfied. Even last winter I had people complain about trail conditions late on a Saturday afternoon after they had gotten beaten by sled traffic all day. But then you get people that understand the reality. One of our newer club members who has just gotten back into the sport after a few years away sent me an email yesterday asking about the ice on Georgian Bay from Honey Harbour to Midland & Penetang. I called him back and one of the first things he said was to thank the groomer operators for the great job they are doing on the trails especially with the limited amount of snow they have to work with.

 

I will be seeing some of these folks on the weekend and I know they will appreciate hearing it. The guys out all night are often the unsung heros.

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Can relate to everything that I have read here. After almost 15 years of volunteering I have decided to step away this year from everything and just try to get some riding in (until my engine blew up...there goes the travel budget). Clubs cry the blues about lack of volunteers, but nobody seems to want to welcome anybody in to the "circle". Very frustrating. Lots of people want to be groomer operators, but nobody wants to start that process with a couple days of signage training or trail work.

 

At the start of the season there is always the discussion about declining permits sales and dwindling proceeds from poker rallys, but nobody seems to want to reach out to the "members" because, quite frankly, I don't think they know who they are. When suggestions are tabled to encourage more permit sales, or make the rallys more fun, it's always the same response: "Yeah well we've tried that but we need more volunteers...." It's like some psychotic Catch-22.

 

When I started snowmobiling it was about being part of a club, being a member. Now clubs just seem to be six guys and a pimped out groomer garage. We buy a permit to ride the trails, but there is no club atmosphere.

 

Volunteering was fun while it lasted, but just can't stand the negativity anymore. It's starting to spoil the ride, so it's time to step away. Anyway interested in a well-used Trail Patrol jacket and vest??

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Can relate to everything that I have read here. After almost 15 years of volunteering I have decided to step away this year from everything and just try to get some riding in (until my engine blew up...there goes the travel budget). Clubs cry the blues about lack of volunteers, but nobody seems to want to welcome anybody in to the "circle". Very frustrating. Lots of people want to be groomer operators, but nobody wants to start that process with a couple days of signage training or trail work.

 

At the start of the season there is always the discussion about declining permits sales and dwindling proceeds from poker rallys, but nobody seems to want to reach out to the "members" because, quite frankly, I don't think they know who they are. When suggestions are tabled to encourage more permit sales, or make the rallys more fun, it's always the same response: "Yeah well we've tried that but we need more volunteers...." It's like some psychotic Catch-22.

 

When I started snowmobiling it was about being part of a club, being a member. Now clubs just seem to be six guys and a pimped out groomer garage. We buy a permit to ride the trails, but there is no club atmosphere.

 

Volunteering was fun while it lasted, but just can't stand the negativity anymore. It's starting to spoil the ride, so it's time to step away. Anyway interested in a well-used Trail Patrol jacket and vest??

 

I hear what you are saying about not much fun being part of a club at times. I was looking at what being part of our club meant a couple of years ago and found it meant things like working long days at fund raisers, working on admin, working on trails and more work.

 

We started to look at trying to put some fun back into things. We have had for a long time the Wednesday Wanderers who head out mid week for a group ride. You had to either be retired or skip work to participate. I skipped work a couple of times and found that it was well worth it but I can't take every Wed off in sledding season. Last year we began Saturday group rides. Snowcrest is doing the same. Sometimes the group will be small or at times large. 50+ sleds to the ice caves on Giants Tomb (Georgian Bay) last winter. Feb 21 Baxter is having an outdoor fun day in conjunction with our local ATV club who we work exceptionally well with at Luckys Primitive Cooking on Honey Harbour Rd. (plug)

 

The goal is to put fun back into being a member of the club. If we are to survive it can't be all work.

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