Annual General Meeting - October 20, 2021

Call to order at 6:30pm

Acceptance of Agenda, was accepted

District Board Meetings update; Denis advised that the meetings are still being done by zoom. The financials were discussed at the meeting held on Oct. 19th and the district is in good health financially. District has about $235 accumulative in the district. Discussed that the clubs should be contributing a percentage of funds to new purchases. Need to get the GPS coordinates to Jessica asap so the maps can be updated.

Financial Report, Mike sent us the September's budget. Fundraising account nothing to report. The budget process is underway, Mike will complete the form and sent it in tomorrow to Jessica. Starting with a budget of 66K, based on estimate of 4 years grooming. We have to absorb the14K for the engineer report on the French and Pickerel bridges.

Bridges; The repairs to the French River bridge completed and we received the certificate from the engineers. Date of next inspection is April 21. 2023. Certificate expires on April 30, 2023. The MOT gave us permission to use the old hwy 69 for this season only for the Pickerel bridge reroute. Jessica wants the engineers to give us their estimate of what is required for the Pickerel bridge. Who is going to pay for that? It is a major trail do they want this closed ongoing, we can't afford to pay repairs every 2 years. Since other clubs have trails on the Ran maybe they should contribute funds for repairs on the bridges to keep the RAN trail open. The trail south of us (Parry Sound) should contribute also since their trail access the RAN. Gates will be installed at both ends this year of the Pickerel Bridge this year. We currently have 1 gate available and Denis will see if we can get the one from the Mayer Rd property that is not being used.

TRAIL Reroutes update: Around Noelville area, using our old trail FD704; Rob is going to see if we can use Shawn Road route again this year or is another reroute required; CNN tracks up in Estaire, can we use tracks instead of using road, Andrew will investigate; Running on trout lake road for about 2 kms, is there anything we can do to get a trail off the road, will be looked at; Delamere swamp trail- need to look at reroutes etc., south side there are spots available to groom and create a spot to turnaround. North side you can back groomer in; Few areas on the Alban trail need to be fixed; Hwy 607 under pass, MTO made deep ditches along this area so we may need bridge or culvert in this area. MTO is currently working on it, MTO should be responsible for added a culvert if needed and packing gravel etc. to that area. This will be discussed with AECOM at their office in Alban; Prevost Rd culvert needed, Denis will talk to works dept to see who is putting in the culvert, them or us.

Oil Tank Repair at French River Inn - update Luc checked it out and it is on a slope so he will try to put in a stopper (board, stakes etc) by it so the tank does not slide and cause problems.

Landowners - We have a few a agreements that are expired so new ones will be requested. Denis will talk to the owner of the Tower Rd. property, need to get their authorization again this year. A couple of agreements are needed on Golf Course Road in Alban. Didn't have a lot of land owners selling their properties which is great.

Advertising -not required for the map this year.

Old Business Open: nothing to report

New Business - send letter to Killarney and French River council for donation this year. Bev will prepare letters. Health and Safety session will be held at December's meeting. There is a PowerPoint presentation that we need to review along with a quiz.

Approval of Previous Annual General Meeting - accepted

Nomination & Election of Executives for 2021 - 2022. The following will remain in their current positions: Denis Prevost - President, Andrew Rowaan - Vice President, Michel Paquette - Treasurer, Beverly Bratton - Secretary, George Landry - Director, Robert Bertrand - Director, Fran Pilon - Director, Eric Ferguson - Director, Luc Bisaillon - Director, Diana LeBreton - Director. John Kazimer has stepped down from his Director role but will continue to assist with trails. We are not replacing this position for the 2021-2022 year. No new nominations.

Next meeting November 24, 2021

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - JULY 28, 2020

Covid-19 screening was done on all attendees before our AGM was called to order. Social Distancing was practiced during the meeting.  

Call to Order at 6:16pm   

In attendance:

FRSA board: Cathy Kazimer - President, John Kazimer - Treasurer, Bev Bratton – Secretary, Fran Pilon - Director, George Landry - Director, Rob Bertrand - Director

General attendees: Sue Landry, Denis Prevost, Luc Bisaillon, Diana LeBreton, Eric Ferguson

Acceptance of Agenda

Moved by Rob Bertrand, Seconded by John Kazimer, Carried

Acceptance of AGM Minutes from June 23, 2019

Minutes accepted

Moved by, Eric Ferguson, Seconded by Luc Bisaillon. Carried.

Adoption and Acceptance of Standard District Bylaws

Moved by Rob Bertrand, seconded by George Landry, Carried

Adoption and Acceptance of Standard District Policies & Procedures

Moved by Rob Bertrand, seconded by George Landry, Carried

Financial Report

John Kazimer reviewed the expense reports for the year ending March 31, 2020.  The financial report was submitted and attached to the minutes (printed copy).  Motion to accept the Financial Report.  Moved by Fran Pilon, seconded by Denis Prevost. Carried.

Trails

Andrew provided a summary which stated that our trails were great, positive feedback was heard from riders and the trails held up well until we were mandated to shut down all trails in March due to Covid-19.

Groomers 

We did not have any major issues with our groomers (as they were both thoroughly checked by TSI in the summer and repaired before the start of the snowmobile season). The cost of the repairs was covered by the District, but we gave the District our wage equity that we received in the amount of $7,200 to help offset the expense.

Before next season one machine needs the Block heater fixed and the drag (hydraulics) on the other machine.


Fund Raising

Clothing sales were not promoted this year because of a lack of volunteers. Several clothing pieces are still in stock.

Advertising on our maps should be promoted this season (2020-2021) since we only had 2 businesses that advertised on our maps this past year.  Try to get businesses to purchase at the lowest price for them to get on the map.

Social Media

Currently we have 1480 people following us on Facebook.

Website is set up and the district said ours is one of the best in our district.

Training/Health and Safety

This year our groomer operators went through the training and health/safety courses.

It was discussed that 2 groomers should be in the groomer at one time.

Election of Executive for 2020 – 2021

President

Denis Prevost was nominated and elected to this position.

Moved by George Landry, seconded by Rob Bertrand, Carried

Vice President

Andrew Rowaan will remain in this position.

Secretary

Beverly Bratton will remain in this position.

Treasurer

Michel Paquette was nominated and elected to this position.

Moved by John Kazimer, seconded by George Landry, Carried

Directors

Fran Pilon will remain in this position

George Landry will remain in this position

Rob Bertrand will remain in this position

Nominations for New Board of Directors 

The following were nominated for Directors:

Cathy Kazimer moved by Denis Prevost, seconded by Eric Ferguson. Cathy’s title will be Director/ Past President

John Kazimer moved by Luc Bisaillon, seconded by Fran Pilon

Eric Ferguson moved by George Landry, seconded by Rob Bertrand

Luc Bisaillon moved by Cathy Kazimer, seconded by Eric Ferguson

Diana LeBreton moved by Cathy Kazimer, seconded by George Landry

All were carried

Signing Authority (Bank)

The 4 executives will have signing authority:

Michel Paquette, Denis Prevost, Andrew Rowaan, and Beverly Bratton

NNTA Delegate and Alternative

Denis Prevost will be the delegate

Cathy Kazimer will be the alternate

NNTA Trails Committee Representative

Andrew Rowaan will be the delegate

Rob Bertrand will be the alternate

Volunteer of the Year

Presentation will be held at our fall general meeting if large gatherings continue to take place because of Covid-19.  The award will be presented to Luc Bisaillon                              

Old Business

Nothing discussed

New Business

Nothing discussed

Meeting Adjourned at 7:48pm

Thank you very much

General Meeting Minutes, Thursday December 19, 2019

Held at Countryside Motor Inn

In Attendance:  Cathy Kazimer, John Kazimer, Michel Paquette, Andrew Rowaan, Mark Meilleur, Bev Bratton, George Landry, Robert Bertrand, Fran Pilon and 10 other non-executive members of the club.

CALL TO ORDER and WELCOME at 7:03pm.

ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Michel Paquette moved to accept minutes and Rob Bertrand seconded.  Carried. It was noted that going forward all meetings will be documented.   

FINANCIAL REPORT – John gave the following summary of the financial budget:

            o   Estimated revenue $50,600 including our share to cover District spare groomer and District office.

o  $56,264 budget for 2020 season, $5,660 over budget.

o   French River Snowmobile Association (FRSA) has approved to pay groomer operators for the 2020 season – first time ever.

    o   #2 groomer repairs at TSI was $10,393 plus new tracks for total of $35,552 (tracks $23,249).

o   #1 groomer repairs at TSI $15,573.

o   Club had to forfeit $7,213 back to District to help offset cost of the groomer repairs.  These were funds set aside as we previously did not pay our groomer operators.

o   New furnace for the groomer shed required for an approx. cost of $3,400 which was not in the budget.

o   Used $2,000 from the club funds to cover the repairs to our two suspension bridges over the French and Pickerel rivers.  Municipality of Killarney gifted our club $2,500.

o   Permit sales up from this time last season:

§  2020 – 361 seasonal, 27 classics

§  2019 – 326 seasonal, 37 classics

§  11% increase in permit sales for our club

§  Our District is reporting a 6% increase in permit sales

o   $7,744 in our fund account, $12,306 in our restricted account for a total of $20,050.

FUNDRAISING (signage and clothing), club clothing available for sale and trail maps are available

MARKETING (SOCIAL MEDIA), social media is working great for us, we have approx. 10,000 viewers and our posts get shared quite often to other feeds.

TRAILS                                                 

o   C trail @ Estaire, (CP and MTO), CP will not renew our land agreement, so we lost that trail as a result.  The site was surveyed to see if a reroute could be done. We now must go on the road which is a problem because MTO doesn’t want us to run the road.  For this season we will have to run down the old Hwy 69 in this area.  It is approx.3 km.  We will try and groom on the side of the road if possible.

o   C trail French River to Key River - reroute in Nov. done, now we can take the groomer down to Key River.  Also allows us to gas up.

o   Proposed C105D reroute - Argyle Club is pushing us to come down to Lost Channel instead of grooming to Dollar Lake.  The reroute won’t be done for this season, need to plan the changes and see what we can do.  South of Key River could be a problem because the trail goes over the railway tracks so getting an agreement signed will be an issue.

o   Local trails update on brushing, we haven’t been out much to date, starting now to check out the trails and see how much brushing needs to be done.  Clubs north of us have a lot of trees down so we are hoping we don’t have the same issue. 

GROOMERS and GROOMING OPERATORS, both of our groomers are back from TSI after getting repairs done.

RISK MANAGEMENT/HEALTH & SAFETY , this program has been rolled out this year so many volunteers are completing the course.  This training is mandated in Ontario so if anyone wants to do volunteer work on the trails or work in the groomer shed then the training needs to be completed first.  If you are interested in volunteering let us know so you can get the necessary training done, then you can get out and volunteer.  The Ministry will also be conducting checks to confirm that the necessary training is done.

VOLUNTEERS, we have a huge territory to maintain so we break it down to 4 different areas.  Each area has a trail captain, who in turn will arrange to have volunteers to assist in what work is required.

o   John Kazimer oversees, French river, Key river and a large section of the C trail. 

o   Bob Bertrand oversees the Estaire area. 

o   Andrew Rowaan oversees Noelville area.

o   Rob Bertrand and George Landry oversees Monetville area. 

o   Looking for people who have heated garages to store our groomers at different sections of our trails since it is not always feasible for them to return to our Groomer shed daily.  If the groomers and Argos don’t stay in a heated garage this causes problems and results in breakdowns.                       

MEETINGS AND/OR SOCIALS, we were asked if we want monthly meetings and if so, we need someone to organize for the club.  The monthly meetings will keep everyone in the loop and feedback from the monthly District meetings can be shared with the club. 

o   The attendees mentioned that they don’t want monthly meetings, bi-monthly meetings would be best for them.  If something comes up that is important from the District, then that information should be shared via social media or emails.

o   It was suggested that we have a social in February, maybe a sled run then meeting after.  After the family day weekend would be best.  Michel and Fran will organize, they will come up with ideas and present to the board.

OLD BUSINESS  - nothing to report

NEW BUSINESS

o   culvert in Nadon field.  This will be done after this season and the owner will complete in the spring. The club will provide a culvert.  One part of the trail needs to be backfilled with snow to get through this season.

o   Hwy 607 and 69, the trail will be the same as last year, there is a better ramp this year.  The other side of the road maybe a bit rough.  The gorge, between French and Pickerel.  90-degree bend is very difficult for the groomer, so we had to stop grooming down in this area last year.  MTO has done some work on this section and we may need to put in some fill, groomer must go through gorge to continue down to the south end of our trail.  Groomer may have to go down without the drag, but the groomer can’t get up the big hill with drag.  Could be issues when the 4 lane hwy opens, we need to work with MTO further to determine where the trail will go.  Mark will try and get out there to check it out soon.

NEXT MEETING DATE, Saturday, February 22, 2020

ADJOURNMENT               at 7.53pm                                          

French River Snowmobile Association Annual General Meeting Sunday, June 23, 2019

Call to Order at 3:16pm   

In attendance:

FRSA board: Cathy Kazimer - President, Andrew Rowaan – Vice President, John Kazimer - Treasurer, Marc Meilleur - Director, Bev Bratton – Secretary. 

General attendees: George Landry, Sue Landry, Rob Bertrand, Tom Smith, Fran Pilon, Luc Bisaillon, Diana Bisaillon, Michel Paquette, Justin Carriere, Bob Coyne, Bill Howe, Debbie Howe, Jim Pettigrew, Laurie Pettigrew, Yvon Comtois, Debbie Comtois.

Acceptance of Agenda

Moved by George Landry, Seconded by Marc Meilleur, Carried

Acceptance of AGM Minutes from May 29, 2018

Bev Bratton read the minutes.  

Moved by Marc Meilleur, Seconded by Jim Pettigrew. Carried.

Financial Report

John Kazimer reviewed the expense reports for the year ending March 31, 2019.  Motion to accept the Financial Report.  Moved by Bev Bratton, seconded by Andrew Rowaan. Carried.

Trails

John Kazimer and Andrew Rowaan discussed some of the areas on the trails that need work as noted below:

• Major work needed around Highway 69 because of the ongoing road work and the impact on our C trail.

• Key River area requires a reroute. Met with Ministry Transportation Ontario (MTO) who accepted our new location as previous location was unusable due to running water in and around the tunnel. Will need an excavator for this.

• At the Ojibway Canyon (east side of tunnel) the groomer can’t make the necessary turn on the trail because of the reroute the MTO prepared for us. On the West side of the tunnel is a gorge that requires some fill to help the grade of the trail as there’s now a lip sticking out which is dangerous for riders trying to get up. The highway contractor may be able to help with the fill; however, we will have to hire a contractor to push the rock/fill down as the canyon trail is on Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) land. John K has applied for a work permit from MNRF, along with the one for the Key River reroute.

• Ongoing discussions are being held with MTO and MNRF.

• Boisvenue Road area may need stone laid in one section. Marc mentioned someone already put stone down, need to confirm.

• Both bridges are due for inspections this year. If work is required on the one or both bridges as a result of the inspection, FRSA will need to discuss costs with the District Board to determine if we (the District) has funds to proceed with the repairs. If we don’t have the funds to repair the issue will be brought up with the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC). Bridges may be closed if the costs are too high, which would mean the C trail and possibly the C105D trail will be closed for the season.

• Trail in Monetville needs to be moved in a section where an electric fence is located. The owner advised that the fence gets knocked down in the winter with the activity on the trail in the winter. Several trees need to come down, the owner advised he can move the trees once they are cut down. The Club will add orange stakes along the electric fence after the trail is moved. The section of trail should only take 1 day to move.

• Trail by Nepewassi Lake (C213) was closed because of a beaver dam. Need to fix so the groomer operator can safely groom.

 Groomers

Team did a great job with the trails this year considering all the problems we had with our 2 groomers.  It was a terrible year, lots of mechanical issues and 1 or both were down constantly. Downtime was a major issue.  Discussions were held with various parties (District and OFSC) regarding our groomer issues. One solution was to have The Shop Industrial (TSI) in Sudbury check out both groomers to see what work is required.  The estimates of the service required were high. Andrew mentioned that it maybe best to fix the groomers since he has heard the new groomers have a lot of electronics in them and the repairs on them are high. Refurbished groomers are now in the fleet and is proving to be cost effective. 

 Fund Raising

We still have T-shirts, Hoodies and Caps in stock.  The past year we posted the clothing on Facebook which resulted in some sales.  We also posted the clothing on our website. Currently $1208.77 in inventory.  When we have our next meeting in the Fall, we will discuss fundraising options and if we should continue to roll out clothing sales, we could expand in colours and other types of clothing. 

 Social Media

Currently we have 1185 following us on Facebook.

 Training

Health and Safety courses are going to be rolled out to all volunteers.  This is a new initiative by OFSC for liability issues and is mandatory for all volunteers and employees.  A plan how to best implement is being worked on and details will follow prior to our trail work beginning.

 Election of Executive

President, nominations requested because Cathy Kazimer declined this position.

Andrew Rowaan was nominated by Bob Coyne, Andrew declined.

Bev Bratton was nominated by Fran Pilon, Beverly declined.

Since no one wanted the President position Cathy Kazimer advised that she stay in this position for one more year.  

Moved by Marc Meilleur, seconded by Michel Paquette, Carried         

Vice President

Andrew Rowaan will remain in this position.

 Secretary

Beverly Bratton will remain in this position.

 Treasurer

John Kazimer will remain in this position.

 Directors

Marc Meilleur will remain in this position

Bob Bertrand will remain in this position

 Nominations for Directors 

Fran Pilon, moved by Andrew Rowaan, seconded by Marc Meilleur, Carried

·         Fran volunteered to organize monthly meetings for the club

Michel Paquette, moved by Fran Pilon, seconded by Andrew Rowaan, Carried 

·         Michel volunteered to be on the District Trails Committee

Tom Smith, moved by Andrew Rowaan, seconded by Bob Coyne, Carried

·         Tom volunteered to handle administration duties, along with Health and Safety

Rob Bertrand, moved by George Landry, seconded by Debbie Comtois, Carried

·         Rob volunteered to handle grant applications, i.e. Trillium Fund

George Landry, moved by Marc Meilleur, seconded by Andrew Rowaan, Carried

·         George volunteered to oversee the signage on the trails

 Volunteers

Sue Landry, Yvon and Debbie Comtois

Volunteer of the Year Award

This award was given Marc Meilleur for all his ongoing hard work on the trails and maintenance of the groomers. Thank you very much!

Old Business

Nothing to report

New Business

Cathy advised that we need to add “zero tolerance of cannabis” to our policy.  This will be added to the no alcohol, drugs, etc. wording. The new wording was handed out by Cathy for all to review.  It was agreed to add the applicable wording. Moved by Andrew Rowaan, seconded by Marc Meilleur, Carried

 Meeting Adjourned at 5:15pm

Annual General Meeting Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Call to Order 6:00 pm

In attendance: Cathy Kazimer, John Kazimer, Marc Meilleur, Philip Hammond, Bev Bratton, Rich Saul, Paul Sharp, Ken Stonely

Also attending but not executive committee: Denny Sharp (Note taker)

Acceptance of the Agenda

Moved by Philip Hammond, Seconded by Marc Meilleur, Carried

Financial Report

See Report as per John Kazimer

General Governance

Discussion of growing pains within the new system. Information to be shared with head office.

Action: 2018-2019 Executive

News from Head Office

District Manager let go. Will be hiring District Co-Ordinator. Cathy on hiring Committee.

MOTTS moving forward vote will be May 30

Bylaw OFSC – President of District = Governor

Trails

TDF funding applications

Head office to employ a Co-ordinator to handle grant applications. Club is responsible for trail evaluation, identifying projects. Must include GPS co-ordinates and photos. Send to Co-ordination to include with application.

Bridges (over French and Pickerel Rivers): Currently chained in the off season due to no insurance. MTO concerned over status of insurance. Work on the bridges passing to district then OFSC.

Groomers and Operators

Grooming went well. Thank you to the dedicated volunteers who gave so generously of their time and effort. Some concerns over our aging groomers, plan to advocate for newer machines if possible. No known major mechanical problems to address, but aging groomers could present possible budget issues going forward.

Fund Raising:

Currently $2,500.00 in inventory. 20 hats were distributed to volunteers for safety seminar.

Social Media

No report

Training

Went well, 20+ volunteers attended. Good turnout

Signage

District to be dividing up inventory of signage throughout the clubs. We need to make our requests. Going forward each club will be responsible for acquiring their own signage by way of the budget process.

Elections

President

Nomination: Cathy Kazimer nominated by Rich Saul

Ken Stonely nominated by Paul Sharp – Declined

Marc Meilleur nominated by Cathy Kazimer - Declined

No further Nominations. Nominations Closed

Cathy Kazimer acclaimed as President

Vice President

Nomination: Andrew Rowan nominated by Cathy Kazimer

No further nominations. Nominations Closed

Andrew Rowan acclaimed as Vice President

Secretary

Nomination: Renee Carrier nominated by Cathy Kazimer

No further Nominations. Nominations closed.

Renee Carrier acclaimed as Secretary

Treasurer

Nomination: John Kazimer nominated by Ken Stonely

No further Nominations. Nominations closed.

John Kazimer acclaimed as Treasurer

Thank you to all those who stepped up for Executive Committee positions

Nominations for Directors open

Bob Bertrand nominated by Cathy Kazimer

Bev Bratton nominated by Denny Sharp

Marc Meilleur nominated by Paul Sharp

Jennifer La Casse nominated by Bev Bratton

Denny Sharp nominated by Cathy Kazimer

Justin Carrier nominated by John Kazimer

Paul Sharp nominated by Cathy Kazimer

All accepted positions.

Portfolios to be assigned at next meeting.

Volunteer of the Year Award

This award was given jointedly to Cathy and John Kazimer for their exceptional work ethic and commitment that has guided the club through the new governance model. Thank you very much!

October 2017 Newsletter

It’s that time of year again where we are about to kick off the 2017/18 snowmobile season and
planning has begun. Just to recap some information since our AGM in June, I am excited to
welcome our Board of Directors and Officers. Our Executive Officers are:
Cathy Kazimer, President
Phil Hammond, Vice President
Trista Verbiwski, Secretary
Samantha Lindsay, Treasurer (volunteer coordinator)

Our Directors are as follows:
Rich Saul (grooming coordinator and trails coordinator)
Marc Meilleur (grooming operator coordinator)
John Kazimer
Vince Roy (Social Media)
Bev Bratton (Fundraising/Clothing)
Sandy Smockum (facility coordinator)
Paul Sharp
Bob Coyne

As you may have heard, or read in our AGM Minutes (you can view it on our website), we will
not be having our skidoo raffle this year. Our major fundraiser this season will be the selling of
clothing with the FRSA logo on them. (caps, tshirts, hoodies, full zip hoodies to begin with).
Bev Bratton has offered to chair this fundraiser, however, to make this a success we do need
more volunteers. We need people for inventory control, deliver items to various store locations,
attend special events representing our club, etc. We will sell online, at various events and in
selected stores throughout the area. Stay tuned for more details on our Facebook page and on
our website.
Speaking of volunteers, we will be holding a members’ social on Oct. 19. October’s
meeting/social will be at the Monetville Tavern on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. We should have received
our first shipment of apparel which will be for sale at the social. To make a club successful is all
to do with their volunteers. We have been fortunate to see a few more people out but we still
require more. We need people for our fundraising, social event planning, special events,
brushing, trail maintenance, grooming, administration, to name a few areas. We hope to see
you there! If you can volunteer for anything, even only for a couple of hours, please email us
back at frenchriversnowmobiling@gmail.com with your contact information and someone will be
in touch with you.
We want to take this opportunity to thank all our last year’s members. Our success in
maintaining our trails depend on your permit purchases as without your support it would be
impossible to open and maintain our trails. We would like to remind everyone that OFSC
permits are now available at a 30% discount until Nov. 1. Permits can only be purchased online
and we thank you in advance for supporting the French River Snow Devils (on the OFSC website) which is the French River Snowmobile Assoc. Information and permit purchases can
be made at the following link: https://permits.ofsc.on.ca/
Thank you and we hope to see everyone out at the Monetville Tavern Thurs. Oct. 19!!

Cathy Kazimer,

President
FRSA

2017 Annual General Meeting Minutes (June 4th)

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Fran's Fun Run

Thank you to all our sponsors for this years' Fun Run, it was a great success. We managed to raise just under $1000.00. Here's a list of all our sponsors:

Envirofor

Monetville Tavern and Lodge

Don from Monetville Tavern

Noëlville Restaurant Tattoo's

The Fashion Store

Noëlville Pharmacy

Mayers Esso

Beer Store

Dollars N Sense

Big Nickel

Caisse Populaire Noëlville

G.Gs.Eatery

64 Auto parts

Home Hardware

Noëlville Foodland

Nadon Lumber

Noëlville Rental & Sales

Linda NadonHairdresser

Municipality of French River

Day N Nite Towing

Marine Tech

Top End Marine

Séguin Lumber

Beauséjour Hotel 7 Restaurant

B Thomas Bulldozing

Caisse Populaire Alban

Norazanski North Realty Inc

Maples Golf Course

Hawkeye Pedershaab Iowa   Vern Cameron

Gagné Power Sports

Pembroke Napa Auto Parts Jim Pilon Norm Carriere

French River Inn

Owls Nest

Molson

The Shop Industrial

Mid City Motor Sports

Claire McMartinhair stylist

Options Security

Prescision Power Sports

ountryside Restaurant

Steve Smokem

February Newsletter

We hope everyone has had a chance to get out on our trails in the past week or so and you are enjoying them.  While it was  a slow start, and the weather was not cooperating, with the perseverance of our trail volunteers we were able to maintain what packed trails we had prior to all the warm weather and rain.  Because of this, the base remained and with the request sent out for everyone to do a snow dance, the sky opened up a couple of weeks ago and the white gold fell, and it’s been fantastic ever since.  

SKI-DOO RAFFLE TICKETS

Last call for those wanting raffle tickets!!  Our draw is being held  this Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4:00. We want to thank all of you that have helped sell tickets for us and for those that have already purchased tickets. 

To obtain raffle tickets, we need your name that you want on the ticket, address, and phone number.  Tickets are $10 each and payment can be either by email transfer or you can use a credit card.  If you wish you can give me a call at your convenience if using a credit card and you do not wish to include that information in an email.  If using credit card, your charges will show up as Owl's Nest Lodge as they do our processing of these transactions.  If you wish to do an email transfer, that can be sent to our VP, John Kazimer, at jfkazimer@gmail.com .  You can use the password FRSA to make it easy.

A photo of your tickets with numbers will then be emailed to you. (SEE ATTACHMENT FOR LIST OF PRIZES)

FRAN’S FUN RUN

Our Fun Run will be held this coming Sunday of the Family Day Weekend.  Please pass on to your neighbours and friends that this is a free snowmobiling weekend on all OFSC trails. They will need a trail pass, and can obtain a free one for each sled by going to www.ofsc.ca to obtain their no cost trail permit. .  I have attached the flyer with all the information you need about the Run and activities happening at the Maples Golf Course after the Run. Food and drinks will be available at Maples Golf Course.

We want to thank Fran Pilon, the organizer of this event, in advance for all her work in putting this all together.  She has done an excellent job in obtaining some great prizes and making it a fun event for everyone. 

TRAILS

What can I say about our trails, except they are AWESOME!!  As you all know it sure was a struggle due to the weather and conditions up until a couple of weeks ago.   While there were a few whiners, for the most part everyone was understanding and we certainly appreciated your patience.  We are now all green except for the D104 from Monetville to Warren Bay which will stay closed for the season.  We are looking at a reroute of this trail as we have spent many years fighting the beavers, and the beavers finally won.  We will keep you posted on the development of this trail. 

I would like to thank all the volunteers that put in many back breaking hours brushing, clearing and prepping our trails for everyone’s enjoyment.  I think you’ll join me in wanting to thank all the groomer operators for a job well done in maintaining our trails and appreciate their very long days.  Speaking of operators, please remember to stay on your side of the trail and slow down, especially on corners.  We are hearing of too many near collisions between sled and groomer.  

Please stay on the trails when you are riding.  There have been numerous instances and complaints, thankfully not so much around here, where the riders see the nice powder snow in the farmers’ fields and decide to go off trail and ride the powder.  Under that powder is someone’s livelihood and  we have heard that it has destroyed crops.  Our landowners have been very generous in allowing the trail to go onto their property and we just ask that you show some respect towards each landowner and stay on the groomed trail wherever you ride.

Other News

We have a new website up and running. which if you haven’t checked it out yet, you may enjoy looking at.  We will be adding in more information as we go, but this is a great start and want to thank Vince Roy for creating our new webpage.  You can view it by going to www.frenchsnowmobiling.com .  

Our Facebook page has been well received and we do use both Facebook and the Website to keep you current as to upcoming events, meetings, socials, etc. so make sure you like us on Facebook, or check in on the website regularly to keep up to date on everything happening within our club and trails.

Thank you to all our members for supporting the FRSA. 

Cathy Kazimer, President

FRSA