| CLUB UPDATE by Bob Smith – TTF Vice President Happy New Year Snowmobile Friends!  It’s hard to believe it’s a new decade…. 2020… but wow here we are!! We start this new decade with a brand-new 2020 Tucker Snowcat to groom the many miles of trails around Tollgate. We have a membership of over 120 Members and a good balance in the bank to keep the lights turned on. We are starting the new year with our club by-laws brought up to date and voted in by our membership. Bob Carrell worked tirelessly updating the by-laws as well as getting our club’s IRS tax status updated as nonprofit. Many thanks Mr. Carrell. The club is working to update our website and make it more user friendly. Board member Jeff Wagner is working with Walla Walla University Department of Technology to bring it up to date and into the new decade. Hopefully we will be able to take membership payments electronically soon. We’re still doing the snow dance and it might be working. At the time of our January newsletter (1-8-2020) we have around two feet of snow at our club house. The Milkshakes Snotel site currently reports 45”. NOAA Weather for the Tollgate area predicts snow every day for the next week and cold temps as well. This should allow the groomers to get started this week. The trails have gotten rough due to a lack of snow that didn’t allow the Groomers to run. Once the Grooming Department gets a chance to catch up, the trail riding should be good and non-rocky meadows in the higher elevations should be ok for boondocking but be careful of obstacles that may be lurking below the snow cover.  Bluewood Ride Brandon Christensen and Glenn Warren led the 95-mile round trip ride to Godman warming shelter. There were more than a few sore muscles the following day from the long ride but fun was had by all. Huge thanks to the Blue Mountain Snowmobile club for cooking some amazing burgers for our crew, it was much appreciated. Poker Drawing and Holiday Party  We had a phenomenal turnout for the Poker Drawing-Chili Feed and Holiday Party on the Dec 28th. There were several thousand dollars in cash and prizes given away at the party. Many thanks to all that donated the cash and prizes for the event. We especially want to mention our corporate sponsors, Big D Powersports and Rentals, Hollis Zschokke State Farm Insurance, Goss Family Jewelers, Don Johnson Polaris, Desert Pump and Irrigation and RC Adventure Footwear. Our club was able to raise well over $2500 from the event! Club Rides Many of the club members still meet up at the club house on Saturday morning about 9 to go out on a ride together. There isn’t a lot of scheduled rides until we get more snow so keep the snow dance going and pray for lots of the white stuff! Watch the TTF Facebook page for the latest ride announcements and schedule. 1.). OSSA Winter Convention – Jan 14th thru Jan 18thJoseph, Oregon Guided beginner to advanced rides Tuesday thru Friday, socializing every evening, Poker night after dinner Thursday, Pizza night on Friday, Poker Run on Saturday, delicious banquet on SaturdayAvalanche Awareness Courses AvailableSpaces and lodging still available! http://oregonsnow.org/convention/ 2.) WSSA – Winter Rendezvous – Feb 14th thru Feb 17th Campbells Resort on Lake ChelanExperienced off-trail riding groups as well as family-friendly trail rides. WSSA and the local clubs will set up rides you’ll LOVE! Dinner on Friday and Saturday as well as some type of entertainment. Plenty to do in Chelan and a casino is nearby if you want to take a break from sledding. Join us! https://www.wssa.us/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=431529&item_id=1086105 3.) McCall Winter Getaway The Club is planning a winter getaway to McCall Idaho in mid-February. This was a great success last year and it included UTVs as well as snowmobiles. Plan to attend it should be a great time as McCall is a beautiful winter wonderland. 4.). Club officer and board member election. March 7 is our Club election. If you are interested in running for a leadership position, let us know so we can get you on the ballot. This is also the date for our end of the year party…. We call it the Steak out.. More details to come. The TTF is looking forward to another great season of snowmobiling. The grooming team is ready to rock and roll when the snow arrives. Come and be a part of our TTF Snowmobile club and enjoy the weekend rides that usually originate at our club house around 9:00 am. Think Snow and have a great year of sledding! Your friends from the Tollgate Trail Finders Snowmobile Club. Brandon Christensen – TTF President Bob Smith TTF – Vice President |
