Region D's 2000 Year End Newsletter


Chairman's report: David Cleveland


Howdy All

Well there have been a lot of things going on here in Region D, the region of many seasons.

It has been my honor to be YOUR Chairperson twice this year, I'm sorry in one way that I let my emotions rule my thought at the fall meeting. I want to THANK YOU all for wanting me to stay on and be your Chairperson for the next two years. But do to my declining your nomination I was out of the running, I am sure that Erika will do a great job as Chairperson and has already started to help me with the change over, and is taking the bull by the horns so to say, and running with this Region, and with your help I am sure we will be 100 % soon. I am not going far, I will still be in the background doing what I really enjoy, as you all know it's working on the Community Related events.

Now on to a brief overview of things that have happened or are happening:


I am working on getting Region D Incorporated and should have it done(or close to being done) by the next meeting and the biggest thing is the insurance for the Region's clubs. This is going very good (slow but good). The way it looks is we will have insurance for every Region D club. The Region voted a dollar amount for this but what I would like to see is maybe each club picking up part of the cost of this. Again I will know more for the meeting.

Due to an unforeseeable turn of events our Trailfest 2000 was canceled, but most people had planned their vacations and their rigs around that weekend, so we ended up having an unofficial Trailfest 2000. We had great weather for the weekend. In all, I think from what I saw and was told, we ended up with around 50 to 70 rigs showing up for the weekend; not bad for an event that was canceled!!! Again, from what I saw and heard, everyone had a great weekend.

The Region was part of an event on October 1st. Our region and some other clubs that use the trails in the Tekoa Mt. Area started a memorial fundraiser for Deputy Chief John Murphy from the Russell Fire Department (Fireman Murphy lost his life while fighting a fire on Tekoa Mt.).

We have had two plaques made that we donated, along with a cash donation. One of the plaques has been mounted right in front of the Fire House and the second one has been donated to Mrs. Murphy. We also made a donation to the John Murphy memorial fund of $1100 ($600 for the plaques and $500 in donation). The memorial / dedication has gained the support of the Western Mass Fire Chiefs Association and the Mass Fire Council. Both of these groups have signed on to help with this cause.

We had the memorial / dedication at 1:00 p.m., October 1 2000. There were many members from our Region and also members from New England Four Wheelers and Bay State Jeepers on hand as well as many Fire Departments and local and state officials. TV station 22 (local NBC) also was on hand to cover the service. There were some great shots of our plaque mounted on the memorial that was made right in front of the Fire House.

Some other things that went on were our Region's Food Drive on November 4, 2000. I must say that this was a great success again this year as we doubled our donation to the Northampton Survival Center. We made a donation of 766 LB's of food items and a cash donation of Two Hundred Seventy-one Dollars ($271).

Our Region's Toys-for-Tots run was on December 2, 2000. We started out with a very cold day at the meeting spot but that didn't dampen your donation any, we did it again this year, we filled the whole back of the Marine Corp's Suburban. The Corporal didn't have much seating room left for him to get back to the base with all the toys we had in there.

I also made the trek up to Essex Junction, VT with the Raffle Jeep this year. I had great weather and meet many a nice person there also. Our Region sold Six Hundred Dollars ($600) worth of raffle tickets alone that weekend.

I want to thank Wendall and Gail Cameron for there help on that Saturday, I wouldn't have been able to do it with out them.

It is good to sell the raffle tickets for many reasons, some of which are the money helps out the Association as well as the Region, it also helps out some of our charitable donations as well as our Associations Sponsors (advertisement for their donations) of which without their donations we wouldn't have a raffle Jeep.

I want to thank a few Region D Sponsors here. Northampton Tire for the front end work and alignment, J.N. Phillips Glass for their donation of a windshield, (over $600), Brilliant Signs for there graphic work on the Jeep and last but not least Trail Smith 4X4 for the new gear and locker and the install of both.

I also want to thank the people that helped transport the Jeep to and from our events and than the return trip to Penn.

One other way that the Region benefits from the sale of the tickets is we get a donation back from the Association of 10% of the total amount of our sales.

Our Region has also joined forces in two other very important matters to our sport. The first one is our own Bob Blair, Andy Murphy, Steve Kearney and Bill Bailey have joined the New York Trails Advisory Board on behalf of Region D to represent the Regions interest in keeping and opening up land for our sport. And the most important thing is opening up the states eyes to our sports and peoples benefit to their state.

This is still in the start up stage and I hope to have more info from them for our Regions January meeting.

The next Trail Use item is something that is being started up in New Hampshire. Adrian Dodgin, Chris Smith, Ken Kozze and myself made the 3 to 4 hour ride up to the meeting where we meet with many other clubs to start up a NH Association to oversee trail use in NH. At the meeting we also meet with a person from the NH Fish and Wild Life Division, who was there to help us out with different ways of starting up this association and to tell us what they expected of us.

There has been a second meeting since than that I could not make do to work but from what I understand it is going good. We will have more info on this at the January meeting also.

Now you are all saying what's this January meeting that he's talking about, well here goes; Erika and I felt that with the change and the need to get a few things rolling as soon as possible that an earlier meeting date was needed. Please contact your club president and let them know if you are going to go to the meeting and club presidents PLEASE CONTACT Erika and give her a head count so we have some kind of head count for seating and food.

OK, here's the info on when and where.

NEXT REGION D MEETING:

Sunday, January 21st, 2001 10:00 a.m.

Where: Pamby Jeep in Ridgefield, CT (near Danbury). See directions below. Lunch will be provided.

PAMBY JEEP
36 Danbury Road
Ridgefield, CT 06877


I-84 In Connecticut
Exit 3 to US-7 South Towards Norwalk
Follow US-7 south for 4.3 miles (you will pass a Pamby dealer on the right but that's not the JEEP dealer)
Right at a light with a gas station on to Danbury Road / CT-35
Follow Danbury Road / CT-35 2.6 miles
Pamby Jeep is on the left at the corner of Grove Street and Danbury Road.
Park in the back.
Go up the stairs and in the right side door (left side if you are standing on the street) then up another set of stairs.

Again please let your club president know if you can make it and club pres's please let Erika know the head count.


The other two dates for Region D meetings were also set at March 4th and October 7Th 2001. So please mark those down on your calendar and plan on attending them.


The By-Laws committee (Jerry, Erika and myself) has been working on the By-Laws that were proposed at the fall meeting that passed by majority vote but didn't have the 2/3rd's vote needed to pass at the time. I'm felling good that we have redone them to a point that they are what the club's wanted changed and will pass this time. The new by-laws will go along way to help out this Region avoid the many problems we had in the past.

We will be posting the up-dated by-laws on the Regions website (in the EC4WDA site, www.ec4wda.org.), the Region D mail list and sending them to the clubs presidents. So please look them over before the January meeting.

Well that's about it from me.


Thanks for the ride,
OIIIO

David M. Cleveland
"dclevela@smith.edu"
Region D Chairperson
Region D Community Events Chairperson
Eastern Four Wheelers Community Events Chairperson


Well that's a few words from your outgoing Chairperson, now here's some from your new incoming Chairperson Erika Smith:


Incoming Chairperson's Report: Erika Smith


I am looking forward to working with all of you in the upcoming years. The following report states some of my goals and objectives. I presented this to the Association this past November:


To my fellow EC4WDA Executive Board and EC4WDA members:

As this year comes to a close, so does another chapter of the East Coast 4 Wheel Drive Association Region D. The year 2000 was quite tumultuous for us and although I would rather not dwell on many of the year's events, we cannot just dismiss them. The past has implications on both the immediate and long-term future of our Region. It may not be an easy task, but I feel many of these impacts can be minimized.

Yes, it is true, that the leadership has wavered recently, which, in turn, has wounded the reputation of Region D. Some clubs have been discouraged by what has taken place and have chosen not to renew their Region membership. But this damage is not permanent. There is one club petitioning for membership with the possibility of others too.

We can also not dismiss the fact that the Region has extended our land-use endeavors and has expanded our community outreach. More communication has taken place with property owners and we have shown through our food drives and toys-for-tots trail rides we support local neighborhoods. Even with all that has been done we plan to do more.

Our objectives should also focus on keeping trails open, exposing more trails for our utilization, and increasing membership in the Region. This is extremely important to the endurance of our sport. Local communities and property owners need to be continually shown that we are responsible members of an organized 4-wheeling association. Admittedly, there are individuals and clubs that are not part of organized 4-wheeling who can be a hindrance to our efforts. More effort should be made to reach them and show them the benefits of a unified group.

The key to implementation of these objectives is better communication between the Association, the Region D Board, the Club Presidents, and the Membership Body. Past communication has at times been quite poor. Misunderstandings have run amuck. I am optimistic this can change. Nowadays, with many of us having email addresses, it is easier to keep lines of communication open. Without good communication nothing can be accomplished.

As a new year approaches, so do the future possibilities of our Association and Region. I look forward to working with all of our members to increase the land available for our sport, to step up our efforts of communication with local communities, and to expand the membership of the Region. I have faith that through hard work, good communication, and the dedication of all of our members, we can restore the strength of the Region and make it even better in the coming year.

Respectfully submitted,
Erika B. Smith
Chairman-Elect Region D



Summary of Minutes from Region meeting on October 1, 2000

By Erika Smith (Recording Secretary)

Clubs in attendance:

4 Play Off-Road, Bergen County 4WDA, Eastern 4 Wheelers, JonFund, Long Island Off-Road, Northeast 4 Wheelers, Nutmeg State 4x4, and Rock Attitude who is a new 13 member club petitioning to join Region.

22 members in attendance.

The bylaw committee presented many bylaw changes. Most notably were the proposed change from delegate to membership vote, the Region will accept unmarried couples under one membership dues, add a Vice-Chairperson position and officially add the Region D Editor position. The bylaws were voted on and were not passed.

David Cleveland is investigating obtaining Region insurance that would cover clubs.

Discussion to try to have a Trailfest next year, but to scale it back. Perhaps make it a Region only event.

Next year's meetings will be Mar. 4th and Oct. 7th, with the possibility of one in Jan.

Elections took place and those positions currently listed in the Region bylaws were filled as follows (several current officers resigned as of the meeting therefore those elected took over as of that date).


Chairman:--------------------Erika Smith (as of January 1st, 2001)
Recording Secretary:------Dan Stra (as of January 1st, 2001)
Membership Secretary:---Matt Smith (as of October 1st, 2000)
Community Services:-----Chris Smith (as of January 1st, 2001)
Land-use:--------------------Dave Brill (as of January 1st, 2001)
Treasurer:--------------------LoreLei Tucker (continued as Treasurer)
Bylaws chairperson:------Jerry Rouvrais(as of October 1st, 2001)


Report of Association Meeting, November 10th - 12th, 2000

By Erika Smith

I would like to thank those Region members who made the long trip out to Dubois, PA for the annual EC4WDA meeting, including Bob and Joan Blair (Long Island Off Road), Jim Guld (Long Island Off Road), Dave Brill (Eastern 4 Wheelers), and my husband Chris (Eastern 4 Wheelers). I think we all enjoyed networking with other Regions and hearing about issues and concerns other Association members have.

Some issues discussed:

Bylaws: According to the Association our bylaws can't contradict the Association bylaws in particular under Articles XIII and XIV entitled Regions Defined and Region Officers respectfully (see the bylaws at the back of the membership directory). Therefore, the change in our bylaws to membership vote from delegate vote can only be made at the Association, not Region level.

Another motion passed concerning a change in the Association bylaws which allows for unmarried couples that are living together to be under one membership. The Region is proposing a similar change to our bylaws.

A motion was pasted which allows clubs who had ads in the 2000 directory to ask for a waiver of their $50 ad fee in the membership directory for either 2001 or 2002. This was presented because some clubs were concerned that the membership directories came out so late and they feel they might not have gotten their monies worth.

The weekend wasn't all business. A trail ride was offered on Friday for people who could make it and I heard it was a success. There was also a food drive that donated some food to a local shelter, but admittedly our Region food drive was more successful.

On Saturday night, after feasting on a buffet dinner, the award ceremony began.


Awards:

To outgoing Association board members.

To companies who sponsored the raffle jeep.

To individuals or clubs in their Region presented by the Region chairpersons.

I presented an award to David Cleveland (who was unable to make it in the last minute) that reads: "In appreciation for providing the necessary leadership to sustain Region D through adverse circumstances and for your continued loyalty, hard work, and dedication to the EC4WDA."

I then presented an award from David Cleveland to my husband Chris entitled "Region D - Trail Savior" for all his help to members when their trucks have problems (not that that ever happens to anyone) and for his stepping up to trail lead at many events.

One person / club from each Region was nominated for the Pappy Fry award for dedication to the Association above and beyond what is asked for. I nominated David Cleveland, but unfortunately he did not receive the most club delegate votes. At least everyone heard about what Dave has done for the Region this past year; taking over the Chairperson's duties on top of all of the successful community service events he organized.

Dave Brill also presented a land-use award to Bob Blair for his offer to represent the Association at the NYS trails committee meetings and for all his work with the website.


Raffle Jeep:

The winner is Bruce Barber from Ohio. Obviously not from our Region, but I believe the winner 3 out of 5 times has been from a ticket sold by our Region. I should report that our Region sold $1088 in tickets; therefore we got a check for $108.80 (10%) back for our treasury. Thanks to all who sold tickets.

If anyone would like to know more about any of this information from either the Region or Association meeting, feel free to contact me. Also, feel free to contact me regarding any Region business or to just express your thoughts and concerns. I will be sending out a meeting agenda to the club presidents and delegates so all of the club delegates can come prepared to vote on issues that will be presented at the next meeting.


Thanks for your time and patience in reading this far.

Yours truly,

Erika Smith



CLUB NEWS:


This is a new section that we are adding to the newsletter. Clubs can put their trail ride listing, things they did, or upcoming events, or other information that they would like the other Region D club's to know about.

So here goes:


From: JonFund

NEWS FLASH: Mark your calendars now.TheJonFund "http://www.jonfund.com"; is planning a big event in June, 2001 at Paragon Park. Details are not in excess right now as the event is just being planned but we hear that they already have some really cool sponsors lined up.

Word is that there will be camping, on-site catering, two or three days of trail running and more for one price.

The event is called "Cool Ride '01" and there will be a one hundred truck limit.
Details such as pricing and reservation info will follow as we get more info.

If you wish to be added to the list of news announcements for the "Cool Ride '01" Just email "jeff@morpheusfx.com". with your request, and your name will be added to the announcement list.



From: Long Island Off Road

We have started a Land accusation fund and are planning on having a raffle in 2001.

We are hoping to lease land somewhere in the northeast 2-3 hours from the NY metro area. We are also interested in seeing if other clubs from the area are interested in this.

This along with getting club insurance are the 2 most important goals for our club this coming year.

Jim Guld
Metal Ward Ltd.- "http://www.metalward.com"
NY

L.I.O.R. Club
EC4WDA
U4WDA




Now here's your Region D new incoming Board:


Region D Board Members:


Chairman

Erika Smith
71A Stearns Street
Bristol, CT 06010
860-589-5168
"ErikaBSmith@aol.com"


Recording Secretary
Dan Stra
33 Meadow Lane
Southington, CT 06489
860-378-0315
"JonFund@home.com"


Membership Secretary
Matt Smith
103 Taylor Avenue Apt. 2E
Norwalk, CT 06854
860-899-1708
"mattpsmith@yahoo.com"


Treasurer
LoreLei Tucker
53 North Fifth Avenue
Long Branch, NJ 07740-6533
732-870-8440
"Eugene48@aol.com"


Community Services Chairman
Chris Smith
71A Stearns Street
Bristol, CT 06010
860-589-5168
"TrailSmith4x4@aol.com"


Land-Use Chairman
Dave Brill
872 Westfield Street
Middletown, CT 06457
860-704-0849
"E4Wbrill@aol.com"


Bylaws Chairman
Jerry Rouvrais
53 North Fifth Avenue
Long Branch, NJ 07740-6533
732-870-8440
"s1cpup@aol.com"



Well that's as someone says J "ablee blee Well that's all folk's, ablee blee"



Happy Wheeling everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!



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