President's Message

Member Clubs and Snowmobilers:

As I write this message I’m looking out at the bare lawn, the snow has all gone and I’m trying to remember if winter ever came this year.  Last year our trails were in pristine condition and we were able to ride up to the beginning of April.  For a lot of us, we will remember this past winter as the winter that never came, good thing this only happens once every 25 years or so.  I’m sure next year things will be back to normal with lots of snow.

A big thank you to the clubs that had snow and groomed trails, they did an excellent job in keeping trails groomed and handling the extra traffic from the areas that had no snow.  Many of us were very thankful to be able to have a place to ride even if it meant trucking our sled a couple hundred miles.

As Snoman moves from the active snowmobile season to the summer, what are some of the plans for next season and beyond?  The Snoman Integration Committee continues to work with MPI in order to improve Snopass sales and develop a better process to sell Snopasses to out of provinces snowmobilers.  Snoman is also working with MB Conservation and Manitoba Infrastructure and Highways (MTI) for legislation changes to help improve safety on our trails system.   This summer, a committee will be working at developing a provincial trail numbering system.  A trail number system will greatly aid snowmobilers in their travels and getting to their destinations.  The trail numbering process could be a two- three year project depending on grants that become available.  This summer the committee will be looking at other jurisdictions to see what systems they have and by the end of the summer hope to have a preliminary trail numbering plan for Manitoba. 

Snoman will be hosting the second Annual Snowmobile Congress November 9 & 10, 2012 at Club Regent.  The committee has started to work on the event, with improvements suggested from last year’s Congress - this will be an event you will not want to miss.  Workshops are being planned so individuals will be able to attend more than one workshop.  The workshop topics that will be available will be determined within the next month.  Keep an eye on the web site for the latest information.

The Snoman Trail Funding Committee has set its first meeting date to start the process to determine the amounts clubs will receive for grooming.  Clubs can help in this process by complying with the request for information that comes from the Snoman office.  The quicker the office receives the required information the sooner pay out can be determined and sent to the clubs.  Last year clubs received their payments in September we would like to improve that to Sept 1 and with the clubs help it can be achieved.

Have a great summer and if at any time you wish to contact me please feel free to call me at 1-204-821-5288 or abutler@mymts.net.

Alan Butler
President
Snoman Inc.