March 2017
ATV Manitoba has had another successful year and we are very happy to report that
development of designated ATV trails in our province continues.
In June 2016 we held the grand opening of the Eastman and Little Big Foot Trails in
Southeastern Manitoba with a number of government officials and industry partners
in attendance.
With the ongoing development of designated trails in
Manitoba, comes the need for sustainable funding to
support this initiative. To that end, ATVMB met with
the Manitoba Government in November 2016 to
discuss a user-pay method of funding. Since that
meeting, Government personnel have been in touch
with other Federations across the country to determine
the most effective method of providing sustainable
funding and have recently advised that they would like
to meet with us to continue these discussions.
The Canadian Off Highway Vehicle Distributors Council continues to be ATVMB’s
primary funder, providing an annual grant that allows the organization to continue its
work. In addition, and in celebration of Canada’s 150th Anniversary, COHV has
announced a trail project grant program called the Canada 150 Grant Program.
ATVMB has applied for this funding ($10,000 per Federation), having submitted an
application for four separate trail projects, two in southeastern Manitoba, one in
Belair and one in the South Interlake area. The cost of these projects will far exceed
the funding that is available, however, with the dedication and commitment of our
member clubs, we are confident that the available funds will be put to good use in
expanding or improving our trail system.
ATVMB continues to focus on the strategic priorities of the organization, which are
trail development, funding/sponsorship and communication. Our goals are all
equally important and overlap, as one without the other will not result in a successful
outcome. Trail development is truly our main goal but cannot be achieved without
adequate funding and a sound communication plan.
Trail Development:
With the success of the southeast ATV trail designation projects, the Manitoba
Government is open to further ATV trail designation in the province and we are
pleased to report that trail development is moving forward with the latest project
taking place in the Belair Forest region, east of Lake Winnipeg. The Department of
Sustainable Development invited representatives from The Belair ATV Club,
ATVMB, local snowmobile clubs, the Red River North Trail Association and the Rural
Municipalities of Alexander, Brokenhead and St. Clements to meet to discuss the
proposed project and address any concerns that the various stakeholders may have.
This committee, called the Belair Trail
Committee will work to resolve any issues or
concerns raised and once satisfied with the
trail project as proposed, the Department of
Sustainable Development Resource
Management Team, consisting of
representatives from Forestry, Parks,
Fisheries, Water Resources, Enforcement,
Regional Operations and Environment, will
review the proposed project and determine if
the project can proceed. The Belair trail
project is primarily a signage project of
existing trails. If approval is received, there
will be some work to do on certain areas of
the trail and trail way finding signage will be
installed. The trail runs from Stead
northward to Traverse Bay with several loops
branching off the main north/south route.
Communication:
Communication is a key component of any organization. ATVMB strives to keep our
members informed and realizes that we have some work to do in this area. This
past year we have endeavored to provide ATVMB activity updates to our member
clubs and we trust that you have found these to be informative. In addition to relying
on club presidents to keep members informed, we also use our website, FaceBook
and our Twitter feed.
A website redesign is part of our strategic plan, but as with all improvements, this will
take time and money. If we are successful in acquiring additional funding, a website
redesign will be a priority.
Safety:
Safety education is also a component of our strategic plan. This is such an
important topic and yet it is one of the most challenging. Manitoba does not legislate
mandatory ATV safety training and as a result, it is difficult to encourage riders to
participate. ATVMB has partnered with Safety Services Manitoba as they offer an
ATV training course, however, there has been little uptake. We are currently
conducting a pilot program to test two on-line safety training programs; one for ATVs
and one for ORVs and if the programs prove to be of value, they will be promoted to
our membership and the general public. Both programs are free to anyone who
wishes to participate. These programs will only be a small step in ATV safety
training. The most effective method of training is hands-on. There are hands-on
programs available, however, there needs to be a market for them to be successful.
So far, that market among recreational riders in Manitoba is almost non-existent. It
may take a legislation change to grow that market and that will involve the
government. We are seeing success with trail designation, which improves rider
safety and the hope is that one day we will see legislation that will mandate ATV
safety training, particularly for younger riders and those new to the sport.
Partnerships:
• Manitoba Public Insurance
ATVMB continues to foster relationships and build partnerships with
stakeholders. In 2016 the safety committee met with Manitoba Public
Insurance to discuss how we might partner on safety promotion. MPI agreed
to develop artwork for a poster that would be distributed to dealers promoting
ATV safety and a brochure that would be used in dealerships and also when
ATVMB is attending trade show.
• Mid-Canada Marine and Power Sports Dealers Association (MMPDA)
Our relationship with the MMPDA remains strong. We recently ran a corporate
member recruitment campaign and now have a number of dealers as corporate
members of ATVMB. We also receive support from individual dealers and
have been supported by Headingley Sport Shop and Adventure Power
Products through their generous offer of meeting space within their
dealerships. In addition to that support, Enns Brothers is interested in a
sponsorship program and we are currently working with them on that.
• Saskatchewan ATV Association
Among all the ATV Federations across Canada, ATVMB and SATVA appear to
have the most in common. Early in 2016, SATVA General Manager John
Meed and ATVMB Executive Director Kim Wozniak started a discussion on
how the two organizations could work together and learn from one another.
After discussions with our respective Boards, it was decided that each
Federation would have one representative remotely participate in board
meetings for the purpose of sharing ideas and learning from one another. This
partnership has been working very well and we plan to continue the partnership
indefinitely.
Public Relations:
Public relations activities are an important aspect of ATVMB and the board strives to
participate in events that provide an opportunity to connect with the public,
government and riders for the purpose of promoting responsible recreational riding in
our province.
Over the past year ATVMB has participated in the following events:
• Association of Manitoba Municipalities Trade Show in November 2016. This
event an opportunity to meet with councilors and reeves from rural
municipalities across the province to discuss ATV use and organization of the
sport within their communities.
• In February 2017 we participated in the Manitoba Outdoor Show, with
Eastman/Ride for Mom hosting their own booth and the Woodridge Sandhogs
joining ATVMB in the provincial booth.
• In April we will be at the MTCML trade show, once again to network with rural
municipalities. The MTCML, or Municipalities Trading Company of Manitoba
Ltd., is the business arm of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.
• The Mid-Canada Marine and Power Sports Dealers Association have advised
that they will be hosting a powersports show in the fall of 2017. This trade
show has proven to be an excellent venue for ATVMB as it attracts the right
audience. We have attended in the past and will likely do so again this year.
National Representation:
ATVMB continues to be very connected to both COHV and AQCC. Past President
Donald Eidse and our Executive Director Kim Wozniak attended the AQCC AGM
and conference in September 2016, which resulted in Kim being elected to the
AQCC board of directors.
Benefits of Membership:
Member benefits are not always clear to the average member. Some benefits are
very evident, like receiving free copies of Go Riding four times a year, while others
are not.
One of the major club benefits is discounted insurance. General Liability Insurance
protects the club while hosting club rides, meetings and social events; and Directors
and Officers Insurance protects the personal assets of board members in the event
that the organization is sued for any wrongful act or mis-statement in the course of
day-to-day activities. Both policies are critical to the success of an organization and
both are offered to ATVMB clubs at a significant discount.
In addition to discounted club insurance, individual members have the opportunity to
save when insuring their ATV through the “Got Toys” program run by Oasis
Insurance. Next time you need to renew your ATV insurance check it out,
http://www.insuretoys.ca/.
And then we have advocacy. This activity quite often goes unnoticed by the average
member, however, it is a critical component to the success of a club and important to
individual members. ATVMB is your voice when dealing with Government. It is
through the advocacy efforts of ATVMB that we have been able to successfully
designate ATV trails on Crown land. ATVMB is advocating for sustainable funding,
which when received will benefit all ATV clubs under the ATVMB umbrella. ATVMB
also responds to the threat of trail closures, such as in the Mars Hill case a few years
ago. It is through the advocacy efforts of ATVMB that we were able to preserve
some access to trails in this area.
Lastly, and possibly the most important benefit of membership, is the opportunity for
ATVMB clubs to access Federal and/or Provincial funding when it is made available.
ATVMB and three member clubs took advantage of Federal funding made available
through the National Trails Coalition in 2014/15. In honour of Canada’s 150th
Anniversary, COHV is running a grant program and 4 of our member clubs have
submitted applications through ATVMB. It isn’t a large amount of money, however,
some is better than nothing at all and we anticipate that clubs will make good use of
the available funding.
Membership:
ATVMB club membership currently stands at 5 clubs – Belair ATV Club, Eastman
ATV Association, Portage Off Road Vehicle Club, South Interlake ATV Club and the
Woodridge ATV Sandhogs.
Our hope is that as we continue to develop ATV trails in the province, new clubs will
be formed and those that currently exist but are not under the provincial umbrella,
will realize the benefits of uniting and will become member clubs of ATVMB.
In an effort to increase our member numbers, ATVMB ran a corporate member
recruitment program inviting power sports dealers to become members of ATVMB.
This program is seeing some results and has also generated interest from one
dealer regarding a sponsorship program. At the request of Enns Brothers, ATVMB
submitted a sponsorship proposal asking for sponsorship of the four trail projects as
submitted by Belair ATV Club, Eastman ATV Association, South Interlake ATV Club
and the Woodridge Sand Hogs. No news to date as to whether our proposal has
been accepted.
Annual General Meeting 2017:
The ATVMB annual general meeting was held March 18th, in Victoria Beach
Manitoba. Members participated in the annual election of officers and approved a
new set of bylaws. Departing board members Monica Helfrich-Fischer and Deborah
Nicol were recognized for their service on the ATVMB Board of
Directors over the past year. Donald Eidse, Past-President, was
recognized for his dedication and commitment to ATVMB over
the past 5 years, and was presented with a plaque
commemorating is 4 years as ATVMB President, 2013 – 2017.
The newly elected ATVMB Board of Directors:
Armando Brambilla
Calvin Egg
Chris Frazao
Greg Gowryluk
Gary Hora
Jim Nicol
Hartley Pokrant
Natalie Sever
Brian Rychlicki
As per bylaw 7.1, the officers of the Board shall be President, Vice President and
Secretary/Treasurer, and shall be appointed by the Board of Directors at their first
Board meeting following this AGM.
Art Bergmann notes the municipality has issued a fire ban, effective immediately. That means no burning trash or grass.
