In September, the Sno-Bees of Barre received a special award: the club was named Snowmobile Club of the Year by the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST). VAST gives this award to clubs that demonstrate a commitment to the advancement and betterment of snowmobiling in their community.
The Sno-Bees, based in north-central part of the state, offer members a way to be snowmobilers year-round.
Showcase your club in SnowGoer magazine. Fill out a form at www.tinyurl.com/GreatSnowClub.
What are the best in-season club activities that make membership fun?
There is no “best.” They all serve a purpose. Our club puts a lot of effort into various events before and during the season that also serve as a means for club fundraising, consisting of a Monthly Money Raffle (which, historically speaking, may be the largest total income generator for the club), a trailside Club Sponsorship Signboard, and in recent years, a Trail-side Ridein. They each have their own flavor. The club ride-in is a great chance to learn more about the history of the club, share stories and give back to the
community, while the signboard is a constant in-season reminder when you’re in the saddle of how much the community chooses to give back to us, the club.
Describe a favorite off-season event or activity.
The Annual Dinner Calcutta is the highlight of our pre-season, getting members and friends revved up for snowmobiling a couple of weeks before the season starts. Attendance has been strong, and it’s always been a good time. Post-season, the club gives back in the way of a scholarship award to a student in the Central Vermont Career Center. Special consideration is given to applicants pursuing a career as an automotive and/or diesel mechanic in hopes that their skills could be useful in the snowmobile community in the future.
How do you find new members?
Social media has been a primary focus in recent years, keeping membership involved with posts and club updates in the off-season. Our in-season go-to lately has been live-feed videos with our groomer guys while they’re out there making things flat. We’ve also made efforts to utilize the information provided by VAST about members who have checked the “I want to help” box. This has at least provided some sort of metric to quantify interest. The club is continuing to work on ways to organize effective events with new volunteers who want to learn. Work-bees/trail workdays require careful planning depending on the scope of work that needs to get done. Our newsletter, The Buzz, is sent out every month during
the season to active membership to keep folks informed of everything going on with the Sno-Bees.
How do you make newcomers feel welcomed in your club?
We ask, “What do you ride!?” More seriously, the Sno-Bees do a good job of both introducing themselves friendly and respectfully to new members at club meetings. We thank them for showing up and encourage them to get involved, if they would like to, at their own pace. All efforts go somewhere. It is a tough thing to manage when some younger members head off for college. The club is also starting to manifest ideas to get new members excited about the Sno-Bees early in the season with some sort of welcome “ perk pack.”
Besides safety training, how do you engage youth who are involved in the club or sport?
Selfies with our mascot, BuzzBee, have been very popular with riders of all ages. Our trail crew will move BuzzBee around on the trail network throughout the season, so riders are always looking to “Find BuzzBee ” and post their selfies to our Facebook page.
One interesting thing that our club does for the good of the sport is…
embracing the fact that snowmobiling is a team effort, and this goes all of the way up the chain, and the spine of the Green Mountains. We step up and support neighboring clubs if needed, whether with administrative advice or trail-related equipment assistance. If we can, we will. I like to believe that we have or are still, in our own small way, bringing back a sense of community to the sport of snowmobiling in the great state of Vermont. I think that is something to be proud of.
Overall, the thing that makes our club great is …
volunteer passion and engagement. Our history, longevity and no-quit attitude. We work hard for the sport and for each other. What we do matters and we want our efforts to show this every time.