Summer 2017 | 17 moment. Then I said, “Well there’s you and there’s me. You only need two for an association.” Didn’t the bill in the legislature help? Well, there was a big problem. When the bill went to appropriations, the chairman and his buddy couldn’t stand the idea. They hated snowmobiling. So they sat on the bill so it wouldn’t be presented. Time was running out and I knew I had to do something… and do it fast. So I did a little research on the legislative process and came up with an idea. What did you do? I found out that towards the end of the year, some representatives withdraw their bills if they feel they won’t go anywhere. Also by requirement, the bill must also be voted on the next morning for withdrawal. By practice, the vote typically ends up being yes and the bill is gone. So what I did was make a motion to withdraw the snowmobiling bill. This rattled a lot of people. The rest of the day, pages were delivering memos to my desk from other representatives. They couldn’t believe that I withdrew the bill after all this work. I just told them “Just make sure you’re here tomorrow morning when it’s time to vote.” So what happened the next morning? When it came time for everyone to vote on withdrawing it, the votes were no! The chairman was steaming because now he had to present it. It was finally approved in 1967 and snowmobiling was now protected! Years later VAST gave me an award when I was a guest speaker at Annual Meeting. After all this work, what will keep VAST and Vermont snowmobiling going strong for the years to come? We need to make sure it can be a family sport. Years ago, family snowmobiling was even more popular than skiing. You couldn’t always take the kids up on the ski slopes. It was easier to head out with the family on snowmobiles. Also back then, you could fix up an old sled for a hundred bucks and just have fun riding around town. But today, lots of folks just stopped snowmobiling because sleds are expensive as a car. Many can’t afford it because you’re talking thousands of dollars for the whole family. If there is a way to keep families involved, VAST and Vermont snowmobiling will be just fine. Our chat ended with a firm handshake as Amos Colby went back to his gardening. As V AST celebrates its 50th anniversary, we encourage everyone to reflect and share tales about our favorite winter sport. A memorable conversation can also be the best ride of your life. Snow Sage