b'Whos In The Groomer?residents are simply able to survive. He says, Its just how I was raised. Ian makes his living as a logger, diesel mechanic, and welder. He offers his mechanical ability to the club by making repairs and improvements to the groomers. His passions are problem solving, fabrication, and recycling. Running his own portable welding business has taught him how to think on his toes to get the job done inexpensively and right. This easily translates over to what he does for the club and community. His boss nicknamed him Suitcase, saying he could just pack him up like a suitcase and Ian could fix anythinganywhere. Ian is a self-described Nature Boy, and any time spent indoors is usually just to sleep. He has no television and is outside in nature from sunup to sundown and beyond. He credits his hard-working mentality and all that fresh NEK country air as the secret to staying physically healthy. Gotta keep moving! Never stop! he says. His favorite view when grooming is out on Potters Trail when the ice crystals are sparkling on the softwoods. Grooming is the best of all Ian Fissette - Canaan Border Riders worlds for Ian. He is out in nature and applying his mechanical and problem-By Beth Flintsomething that helps the greater good.solving abilities at the same time. It Ian Fissette has been grooming forThis is especially important in thisseems that Ians passions and abilities the Canaan Border Riders for fiveremote area where neighbors helpinghave aligned quite perfectly, right years. Club Trailmaster Pat Gormanneighbors is a way of life and howwhere he lives and loves to be - in the leads the logistics of the groomingNortheast Kingdom.operation by planning routes and workdays, but Ian is the manager for his crew of groomers, deciding who to hire and being responsible for training them. Ian was introduced to snowmobiling back in the early 1980s, when he would be paid with snowmobile rides on his neighbors sleds for shoveling their driveway and stacking wood. At age 7, he began to go on some ride-alongs in the groomer with Paul Jackson, who was a founding member of the Border Riders and recently passed away in 2019. A life-long resident of the Northeast Kingdom, Ian is passionate about his local community. He is most proud of how the club contributes to the local economy, and he gets a lot of satisfaction from being part ofIan turns on and sets up the clubs GPS tracker. This unit allows the trailmaster to be able to know where the groomers are at all times in case of emergencies.(Beth Flint photos)14 | Snowmobile VERMONT'