The Annual Christmas Party was great fun in December 1998. There was good and bad news that month. The bad news was that the trails were not open by late December due to lack of snow and open lakes. The good news was Katie Burzinski was selected Miss Sno-Eagle for 1999.
Trails opened the first week of January 1999. Some trail rides were planned for January. Elmer Jensen was looking for hot seat hosts for the Derby. Dinner books went on sale at 8 local establishments.
The February membership dinner meeting was held at the Dutch Door in St. Germain. Jim & Sally Ayers hosted a night ride to Knockers for pizza on February 11.
The March annual meeting was held at DeNoyer’s, but the turnout was small and there were no candidates for the officer or director positions. As a result, elections were suspended.
Tom Tomlanovich, President of Headwaters Trails reported the Unimog groomer needed over $10,000 worth of repairs. Tom also reported that the Sno-Eagles request of having 3 Sno-Eagles members on the Headwaters board of directors instead of 2, was declined. There was a long discussion about this issue. Tom Montag stated the Chamber no longer supports snowmobiling and being on the Headwaters board of directors.
May 1999 found the Sno-Eagles hosting a fundraising breakfast at the White Spruce Inn, with proceeds going to Headwaters Trails. There was talk of disbanding the Sno-Eagles if members failed to volunteer to run for office.
The May 1999 board of directors meeting had a few topics that impacted the club. The first being to combine the positions of Recording Secretary and Corresponding Secretary into one position, the Secretary. The second item was that the previous year’s officers and directors will continue on in their respective positions in 1999 due to lack of candidates. The third item was that the board of directors meetings will take place one-hour prior to the membership meeting so any member can attend. The fourth item was to move the elections to September rather than March. All items were approved by vote.
Jim and Sally Ayers will be hosting the Weekend Away, February 11-13 traveling to Iron River, MI. The July 4th parade, summer picnic at Braywood and the annual canoe trip with a cookout at Sportsman’s Chalet was planned.
AWSC Miss Snowflake Mary Kotschi (our previous Miss Sno-Eagle) and our current Miss Sno-Eagle Katie Burzinski rode on the July 4th float.
At the September meeting Jerry Tahtinen was elected President, Max Rockafellow VP, Audrey Stearns Treasurer, and Jeanine Rockafellow Secretary. Don Range, Lou Van Dyke, Wayne Zelinski, and Gene Kozicki were elected Directors.
The Christmas Party was hosted by Donna Richter on December 4th at the Logging Camp Kitchen and Still. Snowmobile Safety Course was held December 3-4 with 40 attendees. Gary Case and Sally Ayers were the instructors.
The Sno-Eagles installed water in the grooming shed to wash groomers. Gene Kozicki worked on this project. Max Rockafellow got the financial report from Headwaters Trails for the year and relations seem to be getting better between the two clubs now.
The club opened trails December 1, but there was no snow. The Tombstone-Pickerel Snowmobile Club asked for help from the Sno-Eagles because the Greenpeace movement was attempting to close trails in the Crandon area.