Summer 2017 | 27 entation due to the le legislation. t Vermont of enacted bill was d. s held in St. nded, it was he treasury stood at t dues were raised on it was too. In the fall of 1968, VAST began an earnest membership drive. Members set up booths at shows and fairs and soon VAST began to be known throughout Vermont. More clubs were formed with VAST officers traveling many hundreds of miles to help in their formation. Legislation once more reared up, but the only changes that year in the legislative session was the addition of a reciprocal agreement to the already enacted bill. VAST began the publication of a monthly newsletter, VAST News, and new decals and embroidered patches were distributed to the membership. 1968 was also the year of the 1st Northeast Kingdom Marathon, the forerunner to the St. Johnsbury Ride-In . The second Annual Meeting of VAST was held in the spring of 1969 in Burlington. By now, VAST had doubled its membership to 1,200 and could boast 40 affiliated clubs. New officers were elected including John Hall of Hardwick, president; Bill Oakes of South Burlington, vice president; Mary Stratton of Hardwick, secretary/treasurer; Gil Long of St. Johnsbury, VAST News editor. Once again, six directors were elected. They were Ray White, Harold Turner, Elwyn Neil, Wilfred Bourdeau, Bill Sumner and Keneline Collins. Under the leadership of its new officers, VAST marched forward with gusto. President Hall attended the first Snowmobile Congress in Albany, New York. VAST became a steady advertiser at summer and winter shows where they promoted their motto “Safe, Sane Snowmobiling.” Work was begun on new structural changes within the association. A committee was put to work to revise the bylaws and come up with a more equitable voting procedure. It became apparent that there was going to be new anti-snowmobile legislation introduced in the upcoming 1970-71 session of the legislature, so preliminary plans were put into action to prepare for the looming battle. VAST pushed to increase its membership even further, for a unified front was badly needed if the snowmobile and snowmobiler were to remain part of Vermont’s winter. To Be Continued... s