Newsletter
North Country ATV Association, Inc. 
January/February 2012 Newsletter
NCAA Meeting Location and Date to Change
Please note we will no longer be meeting at the American Legion in St. Albans for our monthly meetings. Our new location is at Superior Technical Ceramics in the St. Albans Industrial Park around the bend from Barry Callebaut beginning at the new time of 6:30pm.
We are also in the process of moving the meeting to the third Wednesday of the month instead of the first Tuesday. This will allow us to provide members with the most up to date information from the VASA office.
**Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 15th, 6;30pm at Superior Technical Ceramics in the St. Albans Industrial Park off Route 7 on the south side of town.
VASA Annual Meeting Highlights
Saturday, January 14th was the VASA 14th Annual Meeting held at the Canadian Club on Route 14 in Barre.
Justin Lilly from Tread Lightly was the keynote speaker sharing information about their program. VASA will be looking into adopting this program in the future. For more information you can visit their website at www.treadlightly.org .
Members voted to raise the VASA Trail Access Decal dues $5.00 beginning with the 2013 membership year. 2012 dues will remain the same as 2011.
The VASA staff expressed appreciation for all the members help over the past year on ATV issues. Even though things seem to move at a “snails pace” VASA has had good relations with people and agencies on the state level in 2011. We will see if this continues in 2012.
Nominations at February Meeting
The Vice President and Treasurer positions of the NCAA are up for nominations in February. If anyone wants more information on either of the positions, feel free to contact Steve or Claire. You can also be nominated from the floor at the March meeting before voting.
NCAA Annual Meeting
On March 21st we will be holding our annual meeting for the club. We will vote in Vice President and Treasurer.
We are planning to have munchies at this meeting. If anyone would like to bring something to share, please let Claire know. Thanks!
From the President
It seems to me that this time of year comes around sooner if we have a mild winter. As of this writing we’re only eight weeks away from the first day of Spring, and hopefully if the Winter stays as mellow as it has, trail conditions should be great to begin the 2012 riding season. With that being said, the thing on everyone’s minds is trail expansion, and by Spring we will know about a few pending issues. More to report on that later.
I would like to take a moment to let you know about some key positions in the NCAA that have recently been filled. The Ride Director position vacated by Joe Larose has been filled by previous Membership and Public Relations Director Marty Koldyk. We think Marty will be a good fit as he has attended many club rides and has ridden in many areas around the state. If you have any thoughts on rides you would like Marty to look into, please contact him.
With Marty leaving the Membership & PR Director’s seat that left us with another vacancy, which wasn’t empty long. Member Crystal Woods stepped up and jumped in both feet first. After being asked to think about taking the position, Crystal came to the next meeting not only accepting the position, but with a list of ideas to go over. She has a lot of ideas and is not afraid to think outside the box. Something that I think will benefit the NCAA greatly.
Thank you Crystal and Marty for stepping up into these seats and I look forward to working with both of you as we move the NCAA forward.
With 2012 here, I want to stress that there will be plenty of riding opportunities this year, so don’t let that ATV sit and collect dust. We are planning a full schedule of club rides as we have in the past, plus there will be other events such as VASA’s Mt. Washington ride and the 2nd Annual Big Event over at the Top of the World club’s area in Concord, VT. The NCAA has already sent out notification of another Maine ride this year near the end of June, which I have heard is a fantastic time.
As always with another year upon us, I want to put out the call for help. If you enjoy riding, and club activities please think about getting involved. There are many ways to help the NCAA from trail work to coming to meetings and giving us your input. Which brings to mind another thought that I would like your input on. For years our monthly meeting attendance has gone up and down. We have tried different locations and venues, and it seems we still see the same faces every month. We have tried 50/50 raffles and give-aways, and still the same few faces.
Send us your thoughts on why this is the case. Why would you attend or not attend our monthly club meetings? Is it the time, or location? What is it? Many people complain about the lack of trail opportunity in our corner of the state yet people aren’t willing to even show up for a monthly meeting. We repeatedly ask for help and input yet the same few are still doing everything with our own input.
I run into quite a few people that always tell me about a place they have ridden or would like to ride. We talk about it, there seems to be excitement and nothing ever comes of it, because I never see them again. Folks, if you want more trails, we need your help. The half a dozen of us that do everything are doing the best we can; however we all have full-time jobs and cannot devote the amount of time we would like to the NCAA. Together I believe we can accomplish more and get trails on the ground. More trail riding opportunities will make all of us happier, so give it a try. Try coming to one meeting this season. Try the next one and see how it goes. Like my Mom used to say when I was young and trying different foods, “try it once, if you don’t like it you never have to have it again”.
I hope everyone reading this has the chance to get out and ride as much as they want this year. Have a safe year and I hope to see you at a meeting or on the trail in 2012.
-Steve Carlin, President
Fairfield Town Meeting
At the March 2012 town meeting in Fairfield we have asked to have the issue of opening some of the roads to ATV use put on the agenda. We will need quite a bit of support from the Fairfield members and families to get this through. If you could please spread the word to your friends and family in Fairfield who are ATV riders and supporters we would greatly appreciate it.
Georgia Mountain Closed for 2012
We have heard from the landowner and as they are about to begin the wind turbine project on Georgia Mountain we will not be able to utilize any of the trails that exist for 2012. This project will take most of the year to complete and due to safety issues will be closed. All access areas will be blocked off so please do not attempt to ride the mountain!
2012 Calendar of Events in Process
We are still in the process of lining up the schedule for 2012. We should have this very soon and will post on the website and send out via email. Thank you!
Newsletter Schedule Changes for 2012
We will be making some newsletter schedule changes this year. We are looking to only mail out two or three editions but will email and post on the website four to five editions. Please check our website frequently for rides and information about what is going on in 2012. If you have any feedback on this, please feel free to contact Claire Willette at: secretary@ncaa-inc.com .
Trail Patrol
Hello! Another riding season is almost upon us. I can’t wait for it to get started. I will be taking names from people that want to participate in Trail Patrol this year at our monthly meetings.
I still have a few trail patrol vests out with people from last year so please turn them in to be used with the 2012 group. Thank you!
-Mike Tedford, Trail Patrol Director
NCAA Website and Facebook
Please visit our website www.ncaa-inc.com for updates on rides, general information, etc.
You can also friend us on Facebook. Search North Country ATV Association and you will find us.
We have many ways to keep you informed.
Trail Expansion Continues
We will once again be focusing on trail expansion in 2012. We need your help!! A lot of members complain we do not have enough trails to ride. We agree!! Many of you have places you ride that are not currently open to VASA. If you know of landowners who would be willing to talk to us either through you the member or sit down and talk with us directly please contact us. We cannot do this alone!! Your help would be very much appreciated. One of the benefits is the member can get a free membership by getting landowners to sign on. Landowners with ATV’s can also get free memberships. So please help us expand in 2012!!
-Rusty Getty, Vice President
Calendar of Events
February 15, 2012-NCAA monthly meeting, 6:30pm at Superior Technical Ceramics off Route 7 (this will be our annual nomination meeting).
March 21, 2012-NCAA monthly meeting, 6:30pm at Superior Technical Ceramics off Route 7 (this will be our Annual Meeting where we vote in Treasurer and Vice President).
Contact Information
Executive Board:
Steve Carlin, President-363-9523 (cell) or email to: themadcatter1@gmail.com
Rusty Getty, Vice President-309-8419 (cell) or email to: outlander800@comcast.net
Claire Willette, Secretary-849-6729 or email to: secretary@ncaa-inc.com
Randy Nichols, Treasurer-782-8080 or email to: 1mrwinter@comcast.net
Directors:
Marty Koldyk, Ride Director-238-2782 or email to: unca.marty@yahoo.com
Greg Cadieux, Parade Director-309-0780 (cell) or email to: g_cadieux@hotmail.com
Brian Willette, Trail Director-849-6729 or email to: briclair@hughes.net
Mike Tedford, Trail Patrol Director-524-7418 or email to: m44jmt@myfairpoint.net
Crystal Woods, Public Relations Director-393-5815 (cell)
Lisa Bourgeois, Events Director-868-2231 or email to:
Matt Laroche, Director at Large-370-0812 (cell)
Ron Lawyer, Director at Large-868-4121 or email to: lawyerr1@hotmail.com
Steve Leedy, Director at Large-827-6680 or email to: vtatver@comcast.net
North Country ATV Association, Inc.
968 Ellsworth Road
Fairfax, Vermont 05454
802-849-6729