The Alberta Snowmobile Association (ASA) office does not just function in the winter, providing things for snowmobilers to do.
Our executive director, Chris Brookes, and Amanda Niblett, the program and marketing person, don’t take the summer off other than for regular vacation time. Chris is busy working on getting bookings for the annual trade show in October, along with show manager Perri Price.
Being part of the Canadian Avalanche Centre is also a commitment that requires time throughout fall and winter, overseeing bookings for seminars and keeping the media up to date if there is a fatality.
Chris also administers the Safe Riders school program, getting it ready for the coming season, as well as all the other safety programs. There are also board meetings, our awards programs, general meetings for the clubs, a show in Calgary, national meetings, and government relations and grant programs—both national and provincial—to keep his summer busy.
Amanda is always looking for new sponsors and keeping the regular ones up to date with what has been happening in the snowmobile world. Sending out the next year’s trail pass books along with all sorts of other office duties keep her a busy girl. She is also working on keeping our database updated and organizing mailouts and other sponsor programs.
The ASA board meets monthly from September to April with an annual meeting in April and a semi-annual meeting in October, along with the Alberta Snowmobile & Powersports Show and annual awards night.
For all the meetings, Chris has to make up an agenda and produce reports to place with the agenda. The executive and zone directors have reports ready to present at the meetings, and Amanda reports on her progress with the marketing items.
It gets very confusing when the board members and the club leaders don’t send in reports on what is happening in their areas. The more information that Chris and the board receive from the clubs, the more he can present to the various government ministers that he deals with.
The Alberta government supports the snowmobile industry in Alberta, so we have to keep them up to date with current information. Many times when there is a switch over in club leaders the ASA office is not informed, so it has to contact the clubs on a regular basis to make sure the office has the correct contacts.
Otherwise the ASA information may not be reaching the right people. Make sure your club lets the office or regional director know when your contacts change.
Every year brings new challenges to the snowmobile industry with new models with more power, lighter weights and easier handling. A large percentage of snowmobiles sold in Alberta are equipped for mountain riding, and British Columbia reaps the benefits from this, although there are still a lot families and members who love to ride the safe trails that the ASA-affiliated clubs provide.
Trail pass sales help clubs maintain their trails, and that is why it is so important to buy trail passes that allow riding on any registered ASA trail in the province of Alberta. Even if you don’t ride a lot in Alberta, the small cost of our trail pass will help provide a voice for snowmobiling in Alberta and provide valuable safety information for our kids. The Safe Riders program gives free presentations to Alberta schools every year, so why not help our kids?
Keep an eye on our calendar of events page on the ASA website, http://www.altasnowmobile.ab.ca for c,oming events throughout the winter season. And don’t forget to send your event details into the ASA calendar to let everyone know when your ride or poker rally is happening.
In closing, if you are a club member, thanks for all your hard work to make snowmobiling in Alberta a first-class winter activity.
All members—try to take a friend snowmobiling. They may become very active and new members are always welcome.
The latest quote I am using: “Don’t look over your shoulder, you are not going that way!”
