46 | Snowmobile VERMONT As the trees start to change color and the nightly temperature dips into the 30s and 40s, you know that the upcoming season is ever so close. We find ourselves counting days like a child waiting for Christmas and the thoughts of snowfall measured in inches is the constant conversation among fellow snowmobilers. This time of year is always a special time for so many of us and one we long for starting mid-December every year. Once again it is time to start that sled, buy TMAs and begin making plans for this season’s winter adventures. This is also a great time to get involved with your local club and give a little of your time to help make a difference in the thousands of miles of trails we are blessed with and enjoy in Vermont each season. Over the coming months, many lifetime memories will be made and those thoughts can be shared and cherished for years to come and enjoyed by many. Be safe this season, respect the land and the landowners. Kim Davis - Connecticut For as long as I can remember, winters have signified spending a great deal of time together as a family. At the age of just 3 years old, my mom started bundling me up, wrapping an old belt around the two of us and jumping on her snowmobile for a day’s worth of adventures on the trails. While I may not have seen all the views on all of those rides as I would often fall asleep, the sights I do remember seeing at such a young age are vivid in my mind to this day. Throughout the years, we traveled to New York and Vermont to ride, but it was in central Vermont where my Thomas Bossie - Connecticut In the early winter of 1971, my dad bought our family’s first snowmobile. It was a 1971 Rupp 34 Sprint. I was 11 years old. There were not any trails in Connecticut so we used to ride the forest roads and the reservoirs. As I got older, I would take the Rupp and go off with some buddies and ride the railroad tracks. In 1978, we had a storm that shut down the state for three days. Let me tell you, I made some money giving stranded people a ride home on my snowmobile. Later in life, I would get back into snowmobiling in 2007. My dad had just passed away and I kept thinking about all By William Thomas Sr. & Fellow Snowmobilers Why I Volunteer and Snowmobile family decided to put down roots and build a cabin near the VAST trails. After getting familiar with the area, we started to learn the ins and outs of the main VAST trails, as well as the secondary trails that were more “adventurous.” We got to know Craig Trischman who was one of the groomers for our club, the Corinth Sno-Scramblers. Before long, we started joining him on Sunday rides and he welcomed us into the volunteer side of the club. In the next few years, our family became more active in the club, helping out with trail work on days when we could. Living out of state made volunteering more often a bit tougher. In the day and age of social media being used as an outlet for getting news out to snowmobilers, I thought that it would be a great idea to start a Facebook page for the Corinth Sno-Scramblers. In the fall of 2013 I presented the idea to the club officers and soon after that I began my work in the position as club webmaster. Since holding the position as club webmaster, I feel more connected to my club. I now also have a 2-year-old daughter who has started riding on shorter rides with me. Volunteering to help my club out helps to ensure that someday my daughter will have the experiences that I have grown to treasure the most with riding snowmobiles from our cabin with my family. Volunteering is a rewarding experience.