On October 11^th, 2004 at the Lacona VFW Hall, we held our monthly meeting. President Ed McGrew called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm and thirteen members were present for this meeting. The minutes from the September’s meeting were not read due to there was none taken.

Old Business:

Faron advised us of a correction to the August treasurer’s report of a miss quoted check that was paid out. The check was written to the Sandy Creek Big M, for the chicken for our chicken barbeque. It was reported as being written for $178.14 and that check was actually written for $173.14. So the “Ending Balance” that was recorded should have read $3,391.29 and not $3,386.29. All those present were in favor of making the correction.

Faron advised us of the deadline for un-paid memberships has now come and gone. We have now lost 22 memberships and 45 members due to un-paid dues. We gave them a deadline of September 30^th and just a couple responded. Faron asked everyone present if they knew of anyone who wanted to stay, but hadn’t gotten back with him. Those present had not heard from any of the 22 memberships, so therefore they are now officially dropped from the club’s membership list.

New Business:

Treasurer’s Report:

Roger Clark made the motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as read and Mike Bellinger seconded the motion. All those present were in favor.

Membership Coordinator’s Report:  70 Memberships with 150 Members

We all wished Patty Miller a very Happy Birthday, as her birthday was the day before our meeting on the 10^th of October.

She then informed us of a postage bill for $7.40 that she had for mailing out birthday cards to our members. And at the same time Faron had some postage and shipping bills for $22.20 that had accumulated over the past two months and he also informed us of our annual membership of $25.00 to the Sandy Creek Community Park has to be renewed. Ralph Miller made the motion to pay the bills and Ed McGrew seconded it. All those present were in favor.

Roger Clark talked to us about our club looking into having some mud bog races or drags in the upcoming year. He told us about one being done up to Florence this past weekend and how much of a turn out they had. Some members brought up the big question of insurance and how do we get some for such events. Some brought up the idea of an entrant signing a waiver or just joining our club for a one-day memberships. A motion was made by John Wood to allow Roger to look into finding a place where we might be able to hold such an event and Faron Cronk seconded it. All those present were in favor.

Then the question was asked if we were going to pursue Trailpass. Faron asked us if the club would like to have him get in touch with LeAnn Harris of Trailpass and invite her to our next club meeting. All those present were in favor of Faron extending an invitation to LeAnn of Trailpass. Trailpass is the only available insurance for ATV Clubs in the state. We need all members who have any questions in regards to this matter to make sure they come to our next monthly meeting and voice their concerns. We have not been able to grow our trail system due to the fact of the liability to the club on other landowner’s property. Motion was made for our club to provide pizza for this meeting by Mike Bellinger and seconded by Faron Cronk. All those present were in favor. President Ed McGrew will get in touch with Two Brother’s Pizza and order (2) 24 slice pizzas for this meeting.

Mike Bellinger informed us of the date of the Christmas Parade in Watertown for this year would be on the 28^th of November. We will be lining up for this parade somewhere on one of the side roads off of State Street in Watertown at 12:00 noon SHARP. We will announce exactly where in our next month’s newsletter, as Mike still needs to find out that information. The theme for this year is “All I Want For Christmas” and we all know what we, as ATV riders want and that is more trails. We would like to plan a float and need some ideas. Come to our November’s meeting and give us your ideas and think about helping out with making the float and planning for the parade.

President McGrew wants to get some memberships boxes placed at some dealerships to help boost our membership base back up. He asked the members about buying some boxes from Staples or Wal-Marts and placing them at dealerships. Mike Bellinger made the motion to set a limit of $100 for President McGrew to purchase the material that he needs to place some membership boxes at Waite Motors, Widricks, FX Caperras and The Outdoor Toy Store. Roger Clark seconded the motion and all those present were in favor. Faron also advise President McGrew that there are some “New” applications available now from NYTRO, Inc. He said that he has been in touch with the President of NYTRO, Inc. and he will be getting some as soon as possible.

Faron informed us of our website was coming up for renewal and that we do not want to have happen what happened to us last year. He needs to get in touch with David Beyer, as he has the information of our domain user name and password for this account. Faron gave us a few options that we can sign up for. He asked for all members present what plan that they think we should sign up for. Mike Bellinger made the motion for us to apply for the 5-year plan at $19.99 per year. Lynn Miller seconded it and all those present were in favor.

Faron advised us of a couple of request from our Web-site Administrator, Greg Hall. He asked Faron if he could revise the newsletter a little to make it simpler for him to post it to our website. Faron said that he would comply and will be giving it his best in the next newsletter. Greg also asked if someone would help pre-process our club pictures for the web site prior to submitting them to him. Mike Bellinger has been taking our photos of our rides and then he forwards them to Greg. Mike said that he would be glad to pre-process the pictures, but he needs the program from Greg. We need to have Greg get in touch with Mike and assist him in making this happen.

Faron talked to us about having our club members receive the full organizational newsletter of NYTRO Inc., which includes our newsletter in it. This way we are made aware of what the other chapters are doing and any rides that they are planning. Faron said that he has been in touch with the President of NYTRO Inc. and it would cost us about .59 cents per newsletter. Usually their newsletter is about eight pages long. Faron would provide them with a list of our member’s mailing addresses and they then would take care of mailing the newsletters out. He would still have to provide our chapter’s version for their newsletter on the deadline date of the 25^th of each month. Mike Bellinger made the motion to have NYTRO, Inc. mail out the newsletter to our membership base and to have Faron coordinate this with the President of NYTRO, Inc. Nancy Bouchard seconded the motion and all those present were in favor.

Discussion on getting sponsorships was brought up. Faron informed us of the charges that NYTRO, Inc. was requesting that we get from dealers or sponsors. This fee would be for advertising in the NYTRO, Inc. newsletter. We decided to table this until we are able to ask NYRTO, Inc. some more questions in regards to what actually do the dealers or the sponsors get and what benefit will it be for our chapter.

Faron informed us that NYTRO, Inc would like to get their annual meeting underway sometime in the very near future. He asked that some or all of the board members would accompany him to this meeting. He would let everyone know as soon as he found out when and where. This would be the time for us to ask them all our questions and discuss how we can design our by-laws around theirs.

Roger Clark made the motion to adjourn our meeting at 8:30 and Ralph Miller seconded it. All those present were in favor.

Upcoming Events / Rides:

November 8^th, 2004: Our November’s monthly meeting will be held at the Lacona VFW on this day. We will be getting started at 7:00 pm SHARP. Lee Ann Harris of Trailpass will be our guest speaker and all members are encouraged to come and ask your questions in regards to their insurance coverage. Directions to the Lacona VFW are as follows:

Directions for coming from the North: Take Route 81 South to Exit 37. Turn left onto Salisbury Street. Go pass the High School and just before you cross the railroad tracks the Lacona VFW Hall will be on your left.

Directions for coming from the South: Take Route 81 North to Exit 37. Turn right onto Harwood Drive. Go about 500 feet and take the next left onto Academy Street. Go to the end and turn right onto Salisbury Street. Just before you cross the railroad tracks will be the Lacona VFW Hall on your left.

November 28^th, 2004: Watertown Christmas Parade will be on this day. Lining up will start at 12:00 noon SHARP. You’ll want to decorate your machines and come ride your ATV down the main street of Watertown. We will be gathering on one of the side streets off from State Street. As soon as we find out which street we will be on, we’ll get the word out to our members.

July 22^nd – 24^th, 2005:  Brasher Falls Week-ender.

Everyone should call the folks at the Riverside Campgrounds before then, but not until next year to help save any confusion or the folks losing your reservation over the winter. The number to call after May 1^st, 2005 is (315) 389-4771.

Birthday Wishes:

NYTRO OF NNY

“A Division of the New York Trail Riders Organization, Inc.

Member of the Sandy Creek Community Park

Member of NYSORVA

Member of the Blue Ribbon Coalition