Well, here we are – Summer 2003!  This will be the last newsletter for this season.  The next one will be issued for September and this will kick off the 2003/2004 snowmobile season. 

May Easy Bucks winners were Alexander Burke of  Clinton, MA and Tony Priori of Wind Gap, PA.  Congratulations!

Nominations for Officers and Board of Directors were taken at the May meeting.  (See final results of elected officers - webmaster).. The elections will be held at the June 14^th meeting at the Rangeley Congregational Church with dinner at 6:30 PM and the meeting to follow. Hope to see you there!

In the last newsletter we issued a report of donations received from local businesses. It was brought to our attention that this list did not show donations of items given, or sold to us at wholesale by local businesses for our auction at Snodeo. We apologize for not listing that information but we do want our members to know that many local businesses did donate and we sincerely thank all of you for your help in this fundraising event. Proceeds from all of our club fundraisers are spent directly on trail grooming and maintenance and without these funds we certainly could not keep the trails in top condition - remember, this is what attracts people to keep coming back to ride our trails!!!

Again this year, the RLSC will have a booth at the Maine Snowmobile Show at the Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine. This show will be held on October 3^rd through October 5^th, 2003. We will also be attending the New England Snowmobile Expo at the Big E Fairgrounds in  Springfield, MA on October 18^th and 19th. If you plan to attend the show(s), stop by our booth and say “hi”.  If you are interested in manning either booth for a shift during show times, please contact us. 

Many of you already know that Peoples Choice Restaurant in Rangeley has been sold to Aubuchon Hardware. This will have a somewhat negative impact on our operations since we held many of our events at Peoples Choice. However, please be assured that Snodeo 2004 will be held as usual.   We have met with Mr. Schinas of the Rangeley Inn and he has consented to let the club hold the Opening Night events (Friday evening of Snodeo Weekend) at the Inn. Snodeo weekend is January 22, 23 and 24, 2004.  Aubuchon Hardware has advised us that the trail can stay there – we are very thankful for that since this is one of our main trails into the village. 

This reinforces the need for our club to continue fundraising for a clubhouse. At a recent membership meeting, the members voted to direct the Board of Directors to start researching the area for a parcel of land that the club can purchase for a clubhouse and groomer barn. The membership feels very strongly that any building the club owns should sit on land owned by the club.  This means that we may have to purchase a piece of land and make payments on it  for a year or two before we can actually start building a structure. We will keep you posted on this issue when any progress is made, either by mail or on the RLSC web page.  We certainly would welcome any fundraising ideas you can come up with!!!

With the September newsletter, you will receive your renewal form, MSA Super Raffle Tickets, Easy Bucks renewal forms, insurance information, etc., the “usual” annual package sent out at the beginning of each season. Hopefully, by this time we will have some information to send out regarding the purchase of property for a new clubhouse and groomer barn.  We cannot use club funds for this project – our club funds are used to maintain the trails and the budget, as always, is tight – so we have to raise the money for this project.  With a lot of hard work and effort from all of you, it can be done. Once the clubhouse is built, it certainly would be capable of supporting itself.   We ask that you think about any ideas for fundraising.     

Please have a safe and happy summer – we look forward to seeing you in  the Fall. Check the web page often for new information, news, etc.  We do keep the web page updated regularly.

Until September.........

Gail Gavigan, Secretary

 Please visit our Sponsors page to check out businesses who have donated or pledged to donate to our grooming and trail maintenance program for this season. Be sure to patronize these businesses when in the area. It is due to their donations that we have the great riding conditions we all enjoy!