The January board of directors meeting was held at the Olson Library and found the Sno-Eagles discussing Groomer repairs. The track fell off the BR 180 and needed repairs, the Husky needs 12 new track cleats, and the tractor is down due to cold weather. Holly continues to update the snow phone and Facebook daily. Dave Mroczynski was selected as the club fundraising chair to hopefully find new ways of getting more monies to pay for a new groomer.
The club now has 184 members as of January. Carole Linn is the club Public Relations chair and is writing articles for the Vilas News, Wisconsin Snowmobile News, and working with the Chamber to promote the club.
Brittany Pockat, a St. Germain resident, and senior at Northland Pines was selected as Miss Sno-Eagle 2015. Her parents, Gary and Karen, were present for the crowning ceremony held at Club DeNoyer on January 15.
An emergency Board meeting was held on January 22nd to discuss options with all three groomers down again and plenty of snow on the trails. Renting a tractor was discussed and it was decided that Trail Boss Tom would contact Lulich to rent a New Holland TM 115 with Soucy Tracks to groom trails. Three Lakes and Conover snowmobile clubs have offered to assist the Sno-Eagles with grooming; however, Trail Boss Tom explained their help will not work due to high water north of town and high water south of town. Tom does have a tractor out grooming now and plans on using a Tucker after the groomer show to help out. Tom suggested purchasing the rental tractor and Bugs made a motion to purchase the 2013 New Holland T7-210 for $202,000. Lulich will not charge the rental fee of $9000 if we purchase the tractor. Tom said the tractor is too tall for the heated building and maybe heavy in the swamp areas but highly recommends the purchase.
Our new Fundraising Chair Dave Mroczynski created the Football Frenzy fundraiser and the St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser both creating new funds for the club. Great job Dave. On the trails, the new tractor and the use of a Tucker after the groomer show got the club through the grooming season but the trails did not get as much attention as they should have. Our groomer drivers did a great job with the machinery they had. The Weekend Away at Lake of the Torches was a fun weekend ride. Fred and Kathy Rockafellow were named King and Queen of the event. Chris Kloiber received the toilet award as his Arctic Cat consumed more gas than anyone else.
Forty-five members attended the March 19, 2015 membership meeting which was the Annual meeting to elect new officers. Roger and Carla Klein were introduced as new members bringing the membership to 216. Dennis Wick changed the Tuesday guided rides to Thursday, as many restaurants are closed on Tuesday. Elections were held with Dave Mroczynski elected VP, Fred Rockafellow Treasurer, and Jim Ayers, Ron Engels, and Dan Weidner were elected directors.
The summer picnic was scheduled for August 1 with Bob Stencil doing the cooking. Steve Linn will again be the chairperson for trail maps, Take Pride and Ride raffle tickets, and meeting sites for the next year. Ken thanked Steve for all his support to the club. Bob Kloiber and Dick Matkin are working on a design for the club’s 50th Anniversary pin. A new 50th Anniversary sticker was developed, and stickers were made.
The St. Patrick’s Day Fundraiser at Eagle Waters brought in $1000 for the club. The club bylaws were amended to read, “All Officers and directors shall maintain their primary residence in the Eagle River area.”
Tragedy struck the Sno-Eagles on September 6, 2015, when Sally Ayers, a 47-year member of the Sno-Eagles, passed away. Sally was instrumental in the club’s Snowmobile Safety Classes, founded Women on Snow, and chaired many programs for the club over the years. Rest in Peace, Sally.
Bob Stencil made September 17 the start date for Fall Brushing.
Scott Linn and his instructors have set the Safety School for October 23-24 at Trees for Tomorrow. Last year 40 students attended.
Chris Kloiber made changes to the Sno-Eagles website and all are asked to check out the website.
Gen Hicks, Karie Linn, and Robin Flores are planning the interviews for Miss Sno-Eagle 2016 in mid-November.
President Ken set up Monday mornings to have volunteers come to the groomer shed to wash groomers and assist in maintenance.
Holly Tomlanovich has again agreed to do the club telephone message, Facebook postings and other snow condition postings this winter once trails open.
Groomer operators for this season are Tom Tomlanovich, Dan Towne, Beau Sanders, John Zwolinski, and Brooke Dreger. Currently, the new tractor and the BR 180 are running as of November, and the Prinoth needs track grousers.
In November Elaine Kloiber volunteered to run the clothing sales program for the club.
December 14 was set as the opening date for snowmobile trails in Vilas County.
Carol Radloff is heading up the committee for Salvation Army bell ringers for December.
It was noted that only Terry Smith and Ron Hintzman have shown up for Monday mornings at the shed. President Ken would like to see more volunteers. Carol Radloff and Sioux Regez are hosting the Christmas Party this year.
President Ken announced at the December board meeting that he is adding “Pissing and Moaning” to the agenda each month. This is an effort to control all the comments to the end of the meeting.
The Weekend Away will be hosted by Marv and Carol Radloff going to the Great Northern Resort in Mercer, February 22-24, 2016.
The big news at the December board meeting was the selection of our new Miss Sno-Eagle for 2016-2017, Victoria Sleeman, daughter of Dawn the owner of the Nutty Squirrel. Victoria is a senior at Northland Pines and plans to attend nursing school at Northern Michigan after graduation.
Steve Linn coordinated the Ride with Pride raffle fundraiser with Butch Grenier from Trackside. Bugs Mathieu and Dick Matkin will again sell tickets at Trackside and at the Derby Track.
At the December meeting of the newly formed Equipment Maintenance Committee, the members discovered the Prinoth is running but has metal in the hydraulic oil which will be changed. The BR 180 has new batteries installed and is ready, and the new tractor has been serviced by Lulich. The board asked maintenance records to be kept on all machines. The good news is that the club seems to be ready for trail grooming.