b'VAST NewsA message from VAST Vice President Jeff FayHAPPY TRAILS, PEGGY!By Cindy Locke First, I want to thank those ofwill be addressed as quickly as More than two years ago, VASTyou who attended the VASTpossible. went looking for someone to joinAnnual Meeting in Waterbury - the2) Do not procrastinate. Buying our team to help with the day to dayplanning and preparation madebefore the second week of December administration of our fundraisingfor an uneventful event! Under theis recommended and appreciated; campaign for the Lamoille Valley Railcurrent circumstances, I was happy16,000 early bird TMAs have been Trail. Because of that search, we wereto see the turnout of members.normal over the last few years, and fortunate to hire Peggy WhiteneckCongratulations to the awardhaving to process 6,000 or 7,000 to help us with those tasks. Peggywinners and apologies for notonline on December 15th may lead to worked hard on donation solicitation,having the pomp and circumstancecomplications. Buy early!donor thank yous and fulfillment,of a normal awards presentation. and expert grant writing.However, look for the write ups in3) Handle problems. Contact your this issue.club if youre having trouble with What she has actually done for VASTthe online system. Most clubs are in the past few years expanded toI would also like to thank Peggysetting themselves up to assist their the tedious manual loading of TMAsWhiteneck, our VAST/LVRTmembers with the new process and into our database (from January toadministrative assistant, for herare willing to help you out. There are August) and database management,contributions to the associationalso videos on the VAST website to proofing our magazine, reviewingand congratulate her on joining thewalk you through the buying process.our websites and much, much more. retired ranks, where every day is Saturday. I understand she will be4) Provide feedback. Id like to get What we did not know when weon the call list for help in processingyour opinion on the new system. We hired Peggy at the time was howTMAs, so the word retirement mayare already planning to review the valuable and wonderful she is. Peggynot be exactly correct. Thank you,process in the spring and obviously not only adds a bright light andPeggy! will be monitoring how it goes during positive energy to our hard-workingthe season. I would ask that you not team, but a thoughtful intelligenceAs this season rapidly approaches,blast a difficult experience all over and meticulous standards withinclubs are already in the woodsFacebook; venting might make you everything she does.clearing trees, decking bridges andfeel better, but it does little to actually Unfortunately, we did not discoverimproving trails. Contact your localsolve the problem. Id be more than Peggy until she was close to her ownclub or a club where you ride to joinhappy to help you out or at least try retirement, and now that time hasthe fun - help is always needed andto put you in contact with someone come. She is still working duringappreciated.who can. this first month of processing onlineThis message will undoubtedly hitA final thank you to the clubs for TMAs from the new system andmailboxes after October 1st and thesupporting the new on-line sales might come in to help out per-diemstart of online-only TMA sales, somethod. Change is never easy, but as needed during the season.Im going to ask a few things of ourits often for the better. We hope you will join us in thankingmembers:Stay healthy, Ride safe, Ride right, Peggy for her hard work and1) Have patience. As with anythingEnjoy!passionate dedication to VAST. Wenew, there are most certainly going will miss her tremendously!!! to be glitches with the system, whichJeff Fay, VAST Vice PresidentFall 2020 | 5'