President Jeff called our March meeting to order and Secretary Hillary read the minutes from last month’s meeting and they were accepted. We currently have 554 members.
We have had a great month of sledding this past February and Trail Coordinator Steve spoke about trails, signs and grooming this year. He mentioned we would like to keep the stakes at a maximum of 25′ apart so we don’t get too spread out in a field. Putting stakes too wide makes it tough for the groomers to make an established trail. Using three stakes going up hills is also important to keep sleds in their correct right lane. We get many compliments during the season so our signing is spot on we just want to reinforce this to everyone so that we are all on the same page when it comes to marking for next year.
Mike Black brought our new trail paver drag to the meeting behind our John Deere tractor groomer. The new drag had just arrived last Friday and looks like a nice piece of machinery to flatten trails. We have been fighting a battle with the winds blowing our trails back in after grooming this winter. Our groomer guys have spent many hours in the fields to try and keep our trails the best around and they are to be thanked for their efforts. Lots of miles have been ridden already on our trails this year without having to go somewhere else to find snow. I know our local restaurants on the trails have benefitted tremendously from this very consistent winter. Temperatures will be going up soon as we approach Spring so make sure to ride some more before the end is here.
Our annual NYSSA Forum is coming up April 10-12th and we have a number of members signed up to attend this event in Rochester. This is very educational and helpful in understanding the State Parks thinking and rules from year to year. Our sport is constantly evolving and we need to stay up to date.
Our Landowner Picnic cards have just been printed and will be mailed soon. Once again we will be holding this at the Warsaw Legion Hall in the Warsaw Village Park on Sunday April 19 from 12:30-3pm. If anyone would like to help serve at this picnic your help would be very welcome. We also work ahead of time to pick up door prizes that are given to our Landowners. Again as you’ve heard me say many times we wouldn’t have much of a trail system without them so we respect their properties and treat them right. Steve Mehlenbacher will be doing the chicken barbeque once again which is one of the first barbeques of the season.
Tim Rosenberg mentioned our Antique Show being held on Saturday May 16th at the Charcoal Corral. He is looking for volunteers to help out with this unique event.
Pastor Jeff Guesno is concerned with sleds riding in his Church parking lot next to Kwik Fill in Perry when the children are out from school which is held at his Church. We will be working with him next year to route the trail to Kwik Fill a little differently but in the meantime when entering his property stick to the left side where the snow bank is and cut through where the groomer makes a hole in the bank. We need to stay out of the center of his parking lot so we don’t come close to contact with parents or children. Thanks for your cooperation on this as he is very concerned for safety reasons.
We want to thank our volunteers who work many hours to make OVSA a great club with superb trails.
See you on the snow…Jeff f. President
