Andy Valley Sno Gypsies
The Oldest Snowmobile Club in the State of Maine
Extreme Sports Team
MSA Information
MSA is the Maine Snowmobile Association
Started in 1968, MSA has grown to include 26,000 +/- snowmobilers (and friends) across the state.
Currently there are 285 clubs in the association whose members are supporting over 14,000 miles of groomed and marked Trails.
Currently there are 285 clubs in the association whose members are supporting over 14,000 miles of groomed and marked Trails.
Executive Committee
Officers
President Harvey Chesley of Clinton
Executive Vice President Jim White of Holden
VP Central Region Mark Blake of Winthrop
VP Coastal Region Bob Lafontaine of Northport
VP Eastern Region Eileen Lafland of Dedham
VP Northern Region David Stevens of Ludlow
VP Western Region Mac Dudley of Oquossoc
Treasurer Marion Pinkham of Glenburn
Assistant Treasurer Harvey Chesley of Clinton
Secretary Vacant
Regional Directors
Central Region Hal Garnett of Mount Vernon
Pete Stinson of Clinton
Jerry Withee of Palmyra
Sally Withee of Palmyra
Coastal Region Rodney Berry of Lincolnville
Clint Davis of Woolwich
Dave Watson of Waterboro
Eastern Region Mike Grass of Plymouth
Larry Lafland of Dedham
Barry Ryan of Glenburn
Northern Region Mike Daigle of Fort Kent
Mike Guerrette of Madawaska
Debbie Long of Sherman
Felicia O'Clair of Presque Isle
Western Region Ed Morris of Turner
Tyler Philbrick of Oquossoc
Gary Okenquist of Bethel
Mary Tassinari of Auburn
Committee Chairs
Finance Marion Pinkham
Fundraising Aleta Rioux
Hospitality Brenda Harford
Membership Phyllis Ouellette
Scholarship Richard Peck
Trails Mike Grass
Bob Hanson
MSA Staff
Executive Director Bob Meyers
Editor Peg Meyers
Membership Processing Elaine Barden
Executive Director Bob Meyers
Editor Peg Meyers
Membership Processing Elaine Barden
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Region are we in?
The Andy Valley Sno Gypsies are in the Western Region represented by VP Mac Dudley.
What does MSA do with the money for sled registration?
Absolutely nothing.
The money for sled registration is gathered and distibuted by the State of Maine, specifically the Department of Conservation.
I can tell you where your $40.00 goes, but it does not go to the MSA.
Here is the breakdown:
$20.24 trail fund
5.00 Captial equipment fund
8.14 general fund
6.62 to the registering municipality
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$40.00
The registering municipality gets money back from the state and often gives it to the club for the work done. Unfortunately, Auburn is not one of those municipalities. Even though we have asked the City Council for the money, the counselors decided to keep it and use it in the city budget.
Non-resident registration money has a similar breakdown and adds around a Million dollars to the Trail Fund and Capital Equipment Fund... but again, MSA does not receive any of that money.
Click this sentence if you want to know more about the actual breakdown and how much money we are talking about for non-resident registration fees from last year and the year before.
So where does MSA get their money for the work they do?
Membership fees.
When a snowmobiler joins a club, the club sends $15.00 of the membership dues to the MSA.
Membership dues are set by the individual club.
The Andy Valley Sno Gypsies has set their family membership at $35.00. Of that $35.00, $20 stays with the Club and $15 goes to the MSA.
There are a lot of people listed in the Executive Committee, do any of them get paid?
The Executive Committee is a group of volunteers. They are not paid a salary or hourly wage.
The MSA does budget money to help defray expenses occured by the officers and committee chairs. Generally the different budgets range from $500.00 to $2,000.00 for the year with the Trails Committee topping out near $8,000.00 for the trail monitoring and checks they do all winter long.
So no one in the MSA receives a salary for the work they do?
The Executive Committee does not get paid but the MSA Staff does. The Executive Director, Editor and Membership Processing individual receives compensation for the work they do which can include wages, commissions and work place benefits.
If $15.00 of my membership dues are sent to the MSA how do I know how where the money is spent beyond paying the MSA Staff?
If the Director is going to the monthly meetings, the MSA provides a monthly Treasurers' Report and Year To Date Income/Expense Statement. The Director could bring this information back to the Club meetings and share it.
For an overview of the entire 2011 Fiscal Year Budget, click this link and a PDF file will open which shows the anticipated income and expenses.
What confuses me is the difference between a Director and a Regional Director, can that be explained?
Each of the 285 Clubs statewide is allowed at least one Director (and one alternate). If the Club has more than 50 members, then that club can have two Directors... if a Club has more than 100 members, then that club can have three Directors... and so on.
The Andy Valley Sno Gypsies could have 2 Directors and 2 alternates given our membership size.
A Director is the person who represents and shares the Club's opinions with the MSA. The Director also shares with their Club information about news and issues from the MSA. The Director votes for or against MSA policies and changes based on where the Club's support lies. There are monthly meetings during the season that Director's are asked to attend, discuss and vote.
Now to explain a REGIONAL Director. Each of the 5 Regions (Central, Coastal, Eastern, Northern and Western) are allowed up to 4 Regional Directors. The role of the Regional Director is to share, under the direction of their VP, the reponsibility of MSA activities in their region. In addition, the Regional Director is part of the Executive Committee as noted above and therefore eligible to vote for items and issue at that level of the organization.
Why doesn't the MSA make Club Membership mandatory for all registered sled owners?
Requiring mandatory Club Membership is a function of our State Legislature and is not something the MSA can simply enact by snapping their fingers.
This sort of goes back to the confusion about the registration fees I answered above... just as the MSA does not administer or receive the sled registration money - MSA cannot require mandatory membership for registered sled owners.
What the MSA CAN do, if our Clubs statewide vote for it, is submit a bill for legislative review, provide information to the committees, and lobby for the cause. And the process is not easy and can take quite some time to get done.
Wasn't this tried in the past?
Sure was. Unfortunately the momentum was lost and the bill was voted down when it got into committee because the 'seats were empty'. Meaning, club members didn't show up to illustrate to the committee their support of the bill. Our Executive Director was essentially standing alone which was perceived by the committee as a lack of interest from the membership. And voila... no go.
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More FAQs to be added. Stay Tuned.
