01/04/2020
President’s Report
Written by: Chad Finlay, WATVA President
I would like to start off by thanking all of our volunteers for their hard work and generous donation of time and skills to help get the Westman ATV Association off its feet. Our committee members have also done an excellent job dealing with the growing pains of re-starting a club and keeping things organized and moving forward!
In 2019 we focused on:
Club Formation and Structure
The Westman ATV Association was re-started in February of this year after some discussion on the Brandon community forum website (www.ebrandon.com) indicated a desire for an active ATV Club in the Westman Area. At the first AGM in February, a President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer were voted in, and the club began to brainstorm ideas for the coming year. The club also became a member of ATV Manitoba. Our membership rose from approximately 10 initial members, to over 40 members in the short span of this year.
Creating Business Partnerships
Efforts were made to collaborate with local ATV dealerships and businesses to provide members with discounts in return for advertising their businesses. Several dealerships and businesses came on board, notably C and C rentals, Action Power, TransCanada Motorsports, Wheat City Cycle, and Denray Tire. Several other businesses stepped forward and donated supplies and gave discounts on needed items such as Murray’s Fire Extinguishers and Safety Chicks.
Fundraising
Several fundraising events were held including an ATV Show N’ Shine and BBQ, and selling hot dogs at club rides,. We also obtained a lottery license through the Liqour, Gaming, and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba, which will allow the club to easier obtain lottery licenses for future fundraising events.
The sale of memberships also helped cover the cost of the ATVMB membership, as well as costs associated with running a club and hosting group rides.
Spending funds
Through our efforts we were able to purchase the following items for the club:
• new membership cards that can be used to obtain discounts from cooperating ATV dealerships and businesses
• Membership to ATVMB
• Food for events such as the members appreciation BBQ held in September.
• Costs associated with the planning and development of a designated ATV trail system in the Sprucewoods Provincial Forest/ Camp Hughes area.
Community Involvement and Support
The Westman ATV Association worked hard to improve the public’s view of ATV users by working with landowners and levels of government to establish open lines of communication and create positive working relationships that will continue to grow in the future.
The club also promoted safety and responsible ATV use at all of its meetings and group ATV rides. This atmosphere of safety and responsibility was created to ensure the safety of our members and those who ride with us, as well as to keep riding areas open by respecting the land and the privileges given to us.
The club also became involved in a bylaw dispute in the RM of Cornwallis and aided the residents in that RM with their efforts to work with the council of that RM to ammend the restrictive bylaw that was put into place two years ago. In addition to this, the club also helped to keep the trails in the Camp Hughes and the Sprucewoods areas open to all users by clearing the trails of fallen trees and debris.
The Westman ATV Association is proud to be a positive influence in the communities of Westman and we hope to continue to build on this in the future.
What does the future hold?
*UPDATE: The outbreak of COVID-19 has put a lot of our future plans on hold at this time. We will continue to try to plan for the year and make arrangements for events/rides as we are able.*
The club has many exciting goals for the future. In order to achieve these goals, we need the continued support of our volunteers and members. Your contributions and efforts are extremely important, and we cannot do this without you!
The club continues to help the residents of the RM of Cornwallis to work with the council to come to an agreement that benefits both sides, so that the residents can use their ATV’s to access gas, food, and the beautiful trails close to their community of Sprucewoods.
In addition to this, the club is planning on having the final details in place by this summer on a designated ATV trail system in the area commonly referred to as Camp Hughes South. This area is located near the historic training grounds of Camp Hughes, east of Brandon, and will include about 30km of signed ATV trails, as well as many non-designated side trails for all motorized and non-motorized users to enjoy. This is the first phase of three planned phases of trail expansion in this area. The club has worked closely with the several government departments, CFB Shilo, local landowners , and ATVMB to make the designation of these trails possible This trail system is a very time consuming and costly venture, so your continued support is vital to this projects success.
The Westman ATV association is continuing to look for ways to grow the club by increasing our membership base, working with more businesses, expanding riding areas, and increasing our community involvement.
In summary, the hard work of the core membership of WATVA and the board members helped to make 2019 a successful and exciting year. With your continued support, we hope to help make 2020 an even more exciting year for the Westman community and ATV/ORV users in the Westman Area!
Sincerely,
Chad Finlay
