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Microsoft
Word Membership Application
What
do you get for your $30? First, it is a family membership (just yourself or family of Mom, Dad, and kids). Organized events such as: Weiner Roast out in the state lands; Clymer dinner ride; scavenger hunt. Check-out our events from the last couple of years. (Click on Club History button on the left.) Members have unlimited access the Clubhouse (the only Club in Chautauqua County to have a Clubhouse) to unload, get ready to ride, take a break, use the restrooms, warm-up, dry out, load-up, get ready to drive home. We ask $2 to make each copy of the master door key. The locks are changed every two years and they will be changed again in October of 2005. We have a hot chocolate machine and pop in the refrigerator (50¢ please to cover our cost). We have an End-of-Season party. Cost is normally $10 or $12 per person and the Club covers the rest of the meal. Cash bar. Our annual meeting and election of officers is held this evening. Late October you will receive: two activity cards, a membership card for each named member, a new $10 Chautauqua County Trail Map with ALL trails in the county, a club membership sticker for each snowmobile you have. With the extra $5 in the membership dues, the Club will sign you up for the minimum membership in the New York State Snowmobile Association (NYSSA). We need a stronger voice in Albany and NYSSA is the only voice for us at the state level. Many snowmobile clubs in New York State are going to 100% membership. NYSSA is the only reason we ever got the insurance mess straightened out last year. Without NYSSA no trails would have been open last year! Print a copy of the form, fill it out, send it with your check
to the address on the form. New family memberships are voted on at our regular
bi-monthly meeting.
Why Every New York State
Snowmobiler Should Belong To A Club
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Club volunteers gain landowner permission for trails. |
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Approximately 85% of trail mileage is on private land. |
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Landowners prefer that riders belong to Clubs and NYSSA. |
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Clubs work closely with landowners to meet their needs and keep trails open. |
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Without the graciousness of landowners and the volunteer work of Clubs and NYSSA (New York State Snowmobile Association) there would be NO interconnecting New York State trail system. |
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NYSSA holds the contract and administers the trail liability insurance policy, which makes the trail system possible. |
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NYSSA is recognized in Albany and across the state as the association that represents the rights and needs of snowmobilers statewide. |
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NYSSA has hired a Lobbyist and full-time Executive Director to further the objective of promoting and protecting snowmobiling in New York State. Keeping trails open and expanding the statewide trail system is a top priority. |
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Registration fees only pay for approximately 50% of the cost of maintaining trails. Club & NYSSA fundraisers and membership are necessary to raise the balance. |
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Clubs purchase and maintain grooming equipment. |
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Grooming equipment is very expensive. The cost of a groomer and drag costs up to $120,000. |
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There are over 9,000 miles of funded (@50% cost) trails in New York State. |
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There are over 172,000 registered snowmobilers in New York State. |
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Only about 25% of riders belong to a Club and NYSSA. |
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Clubs and NYSSA need YOUR membership to help fund trails and participate in promoting and protecting snowmobiling. Your membership will help assure trails in the future. |
United
We Trail. Divided We Fail.
Join a Club and NYSSA today…
Thank You!
Contributed via e-mail from Jim Jennings, Executive Director, New York State Snowmobile Association (NYSSA)
Top 10 Reasons To Join A Club:
(An article in the March 1997 issue of Snow Goer magazine by John T. Prusak)
10 Snowmobile clubs gain land access to create snowmobile trails. Without the clubs securing land leases and paying insurance costs, no trails would cross private property, and that means the sport as we know it would not exist. All this takes time, effort and money.
9 Snowmobile clubs clear and create trails. After the land access is received, somebody has to go out and clear away the brush, cut down interfering limbs, haul out trash and smooth the base of the trail. They also must build bridges over creeks, rivers and low spots, and that takes a lot of work and a lot of money. This is all done by volunteers who truly love the sport. Without these hidden heroes, either the trails would not get cleared, bridges would not get built and most trails would close, or some entity (say, the state) would have to pay a team of workers to do the grunt work. And if that happened, you could expect to pay several hundred dollars, maybe even a thousand, to register your snowmobile each year.
8 In most areas, members of the snowmobile clubs groom the trails. Sometimes these groomer operators get a token fee for their hard work, but the dollar-per-hour rate is menial at best, and that's when a groomer operator actually gets paid. Again, these are more of the hidden heroes who spend their time in a slow-moving groomer, tending to the trails and making them as smooth as they are. Remember, if you are not a club member you have no right to complain about trail conditions.
7 While we're talking trails, who do you think puts up all the stop signs, the directional arrows and the signs that tell you the distance to the next gas station or restaurant? If you said "the snowmobile clubs," give yourself 10 points and keep reading, because we've only just begun.
6 When funding is needed to pay for groomers, insurance or trails development, do you know where that money comes from? Sure, the $15 or $20 people spend to join a snowmobile club helps, but in most states the money comes from snowmobile registrations and gas tax rebates. Why does our sport get this money from the state? Because our sport is organized. If the state snowmobile association can talk about its 25,000 members, for example, and then those members call their local lawmakers and ask for support, the bill has a much better chance of getting funded. Furthermore, it is the snowmobile clubs and state associations that fight the battles to open public lands to snowmobilers, and there is strength in numbers. Become one of those numbers.
5 With some clubs and associations, membership brings financial benefits. I know I get a couple grand worth of accidental death and dismemberment insurance, I get discounts at sponsoring businesses and I get the state publication. All this and more, for a mere $15 a year.
4 Belonging to a club makes for better, safer snowmobiling. That's right, surveys and accident statistics have shown that snowmobile club members have a much lower accident rate than non-club members. Why? Because club members tend to be conscientious, they tend to stress safety and they are aware of safe-riding issues.
3 Belonging to a snowmobile club gives you a great social outlet for your favorite hobby. You can attend club rides, go to club meetings, take part in club fundraisers or take a club trip to a faraway snowmobiling destination. Belonging to a club gives you a good opportunity to ride with different people, experience different area and hang out with people who have similar interests.
2 Belong to a snowmobile club makes you part of the solution instead of part of the problem. If you think the snowmobile trails should be groomed more often, that a certain trial should move to the opposite side of the road or if you consider some corners on the trail dangerous or poorly marked, get involved. Most snowmobile clubs seek fresh opinions and want more feedback from users.
1 And the No. 1 reason to join a snowmobile club: It's just the right thing to do. For all the reasons listed above and many more, you should belong to a snowmobile club. The costs are minimal, the benefits are nice and it is your responsibility to support the sport, It's cheap, it's simple and it's right.
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