20 | Snowmobile VERMONT Trails Awards (Presented by Matt Tetreault) GROOMER OF THE YEAR This volunteer has certainly gone above and beyond to keep his club’s trail system in top shape for the 2016/17 season. He was out all hours of the night in the groomer herding moose out of the trail and even stopping the groomer on occasion to do a short selfie video explaining what the trail conditions were like in each area of the club’s trail system. The membership loved these videos and his trails. This year’s Groomer of the Year goes to Dave Dominico Sr. of the Northeast Kingdom Snow Blasters. AMBITION He’s a young man with a lot to do, but snowmobiling runs in his blood. His father has been active in the local club for decades and apparently the apple did not fall far from the tree. This young man grooms countless hours and does what needs to be done in order to get the trails ready for the season. He actively recruits some of his friends who ride to help keep winter recreation alive. It would be easy for him to find other hobbies, but snowmobiling and grooming are what he loves. The Ambition Award goes to Jared O’Hear of the Sterling Snow Riders. APPRECIATION This gentleman has been one of those behind-the-scenes kind of guys for many years in his local club. He does a lot but doesn’t ask for a lot in return. In fact, I am not sure I have ever even met him in person. However, I have talked to him on the phone numerous times about landowner issues and trail projects because he is the man getting it all done. I appreciate these types of efforts because without them, all clubs would be lost. This year’s Appreciation Award goes to Tim Hall of the Hardwick Snowflake Ridge Runners. 50th Annual Meeting DEDICATION He grooms a significant amount of mileage each season for his local club and simply loves being outdoors. He drives nearly 50 miles round trip to get to and from the groomer and operates at all hours of the night and morning in order to get the job done. Dedication is what keeps this guy going. There is a fear that he will give up grooming to join ZZ Top if and when one of their band members needs replacing. Hopefully, that won’t happen. This year’s Dedication Award goes to Arklin Minor of the Woodford SnoBusters. EFFORT This award is going to three outstanding individuals from the same club. They have put a tremendous amount of effort into not only their local trail system, but also the surrounding areas as well as the county and VAST. They are all young and willing to take their time and effort and put it into VAST. They all lead busy lives with demanding jobs and home lives, yet they continue to put in the effort to VAST. They have put heavy machinery through the majority of their trail system with no financial backing from VAST. All I see are photos of the excellent work they have done. They do a lot of their own work on the groomer and simply get things done. An amazing amount of effort gets them the Effort Award this year. Mike Mann, Andrew Godfrey and Dana Kendall from the Justin Morrill Drift Skippers are this year’s recipients. ENTHUSIASM This gentleman has been an active member of the Sterling Snow Riders for many years. He is always enthusiastic and willing to help out on the trails, no matter what the task may be. He rides a number of miles on his machine and always involves his family on trail work days. He recruits local folks to help out and join the club. This year’s Enthusiasm Award goes to Louis Lesage.