From the Vice President

From the MnUSA Vice President What is November?

Tim Heinen

November is the penultimate month of the year, meaning “next to the last.” It used to be the ninth month until the ancient Romans shoehorned in January and February. November enjoys the distinction of being situated between the two biggest holidays on the American calendar… at least revenue-wise. October has Halloween, the #1 candy revenue holiday in America, a sucrose collecting bonanza for children nationwide which the dentists appreciate. And December features Christmas which started in late September. (Ah, the Xmas music will be here soon enough).

So now that Halloween is over, will the “pumpkin spice” be gone too? (Random thought here, how about pumpkin spice scented 2-stroke oil. Wouldn’t that make trail riding smell nice, huh? What do think? Game changer). The month of November is also the end of all those annoying negative “Election Ads” on TV and roadside signs. (Why not tell me what you can do?) Many famous people were born this month like JFK, Mark Twain, “No Respect” Rodney Dangerfield and, of course, me.

More importantly, it is the month to press for membership, as the season of snowmobiling is upon us. We need more volunteers to step up their game and get out there to help clubs get the trails ready. Every year there seems to be a storm that wreaks havoc on a trail, and every year the club is scrambling looking for help to clear and get the trails ready. I see a lot of people out riding the trails when it snows, but where are you in helping? As the saying goes, “Trails just don’t happen,” clubs and volunteers make them happen. By the way, thanks to all the volunteers that do get out there to help.

With that, I have been out preparing the trails for the upcoming season and, I’ll have to say, that for being a drought down in my area, I have never seen brush grow so high, so our mower is getting a workout this season. Speaking of trail prepping, I am going to remind you that trail signage is important. Please mark those trails well, as this will help cut down on trespassing. It’s just that when I stop at a trail marker, I should be able to see the next marker without binoculars. I have been on trails that I didn’t know if I was on the marked trail or not; I was just going by the tracks that were made before me. Not good, especially with safety training around the corner and we teach our young riders to look for the assurance markers as it lets them know that they are on the trail.

Thank you to all the safety instructors out there. It’s not easy to teach, and my feeling is the kids get more out of the safety course being in class, than learning online. I think Covid showed us that kids don’t learn well with online school, and the data shows that students have fallen behind on learning.

On a side note: It was told in last month’s issue that I was stepping away from my position as VP. I may be stepping down, but I am not stepping away. I will still be involved with Region 6, and I will follow through with what I have started.

So, with that…this is Tim Heinen signing off.

• On-site restaurant • Airport shuttle • Swimming pool and hot tub • New construction • Meeting room