Hello Pathfinders: Well another summer has gone by and the leaves will be turning soon. Hope everyone had a safe and happy summer and now it’s time to get in “Snowmobile” mode. Get those sleds out, polish them up and hope for an early winter!

Now to bring you up to date on things around the Saco Pathfinders.

In March we had our annual Election of Officers for 2011-2012 and the officers are: President – Scott Forrest; Vice-President David Lambert; Secretary – Gordon Mehlman; Treasurer – Michele Hughes, Trail Master – Rick Grant. Members of the Board of Directors are: Scott Forrest, David Lambert, Richard Ouellette, Bruce Plouffe, Gordon Mehlamn, Scott Cyr and Robert Berry.

The first regular meeting will be on Wednesday Oct 5th and the second meeting on October 19th. As always meetings are the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the clubhouse on Heath Road in Saco and we encourage all members to attend.

It has been a few years since the keycards have been changed so they will be changed this year. You will need a new keycard to get into the club house beginning in October. The new 2011 - 2012 keycards can be picked up at our monthly meetings.

We are looking for volunteers for the 2011 - 2012 season who would be interested in grooming trails in the Scarborough area. For the past several years, one member has been taking care of the trails in that area and assistance is greatly needed. If you live in the Scarborough area and you’re interested, let us know.

We purchased a used 2003 Polaris Wide Track Snowmobile this past season which was like in new condition and very low miles. This brings us to a total of four pieces of machinery in the Saco Pathfinders stable used for grooming 30+ miles of trails in the Saco area. A new drag was built for the Polaris Wide Track and our other drags were updated and painted. Thanks to the volunteers who did the work.

Pathfinder Cup Lawn Mower Racing The 2011 lawn mower racing season is not quite over yet but it looks like it will be a great success once again! We raced 9 times so far and we still have 1 race left at our track on October 7, 2011. We also will be running a race at the Cumberland Fair September 29, 2011, which will be great exposure for the sport. Thanks to all the volunteers who worked this year at the race events helping make them a huge success once again. We couldn’t do it without your help!

We would also like to thank our 2011 trophy sponsors TK Equipments Sales & Service, Ed’s Grove Discount Warehouse, Arundel Machine Tool Company, FM Abbott Power Equipment, Big Moose Harley Davidson, Hall Implement Company, Reynolds Motorsports, Award Champs LLC, Pine Tree Waste Services, Planet Fitness of Brunswick, Pullen Heavy Industries, Mainely Motorsports TV, Ace Hardware Scarborough and Grants Farm.

A special thanks to Hall Implement Company for the use of their equipment used to maintain the track this year and to the volunteers. Great job!

We are currently looking at expanding our race program for the 2012 season. We are in hopes of adding a Go-Kart division to the program for all 10 races. The Go-Karts ran once during the season as a special event and they provided the spectators with a great show.

As a side benefit to it all, the parking lot is in the middle of being greatly expanded again to accommodate the ever increasing number of spectators. The parking lot was getting a little crowded this past snowmobile season on weekends so the parking lot expansion will help this coming season greatly.

A reminder that MSA memberships expire on September 30th, along with your Saco Pathfinders membership. Club Memberships As previously mentioned, Club memberships expire on September 30th. See our link for the new membership form for 2011 - 2012. Memberships are $35.00 each family and include $2,500.00 accidental death and dismemberment insurance thru MSA for each membership.

It is important to renew your membership promptly to support both the MSA and the Saco Pathfinders as well as keep your accidental death and disability insurance in effect.

Business memberships are $40.00 and includes the following:

Subscription to Maine Snowmobiler MSA membership card MSA business certificate MSA supporting business decal Listing in the Maine Snowmobiler as a supporting business Prominent listing as the Saco Pathfinders Clubhouse

Trail Work Parties to be announced. Please join us when you can to keep the Saco Trail System the best in the area.

Upcoming Activities/Events (October) We would be happy to entertain any ideas you may have for both fun and fundraising activities for the 2011 - 2012 season so come to a meeting and let us know.

10/22/11 @ 5:00 PM Pathfinder Cup Lawn Mower Racing Awards / Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at Saco Pathfinders