The Green Lake Snowmobile Club isn’t just a sports club it’s also a social space for the whole community.
That’s the direction executive board members like Sue Olliffe are looking to take the club in the coming years. The club is hosting an open house on Saturday, Sept. 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the clubhouse at 176 Green Lake South Road.
“There’s a social side and riders side and in the past people would only sign up for the riders, so I’m trying to promote the club into involving as many people in the community as possible,” Olliffe said.
The open house will include a 50/50 draw and information on the benefits that club members will enjoy. Currently, the club has 110 members with plenty of room for more. Olliffe noted that the majority of the club’s revenue comes from membership and that having more people would allow them to do more for the community.
A concession by donation will be on-scene run by XH Buffalo Ranch, a newcomer to the area, who will be offering buffalo burgers, hot dogs and other refreshments. The South Green Lake Volunteer Fire Department Auxillary also plans to be on-site selling pies.
Following the open house, if the trail conditions aren’t dangerously dry, Olliffe said the club’s main trail guide, Ron Tonts, plans to do a tour of the club’s trail system on an ATV. They welcome anyone with an ATV, side by side or dirt bike to go with him to get a sense of what they’ll be able to ride in the winter.
“Some people think the Green Lake Snowmobile Club and think the trails are only for people with snowmobiles but we’re finding more and more people don’t ride a snowmobile anymore. There are a lot of people who use the trails for dirt biking and ATVing so we want to promote the idea the club is not just for snowmobilers, it’s for anybody who uses the trails and wants to be a part of the community.”
Olliffe said she joined the club last year to help make it a group that involved the entire community. Due to the area’s changing demographics, she thinks it is important to create a strong sense of community.
In addition to snowmobile rides twice a week, Olliffe remarked the club plans to run a potluck dinner once a month, a game night twice a month and yoga classes at the clubhouse twice a week. She added the club is always open to new ideas and suggestions from the community.
“It’s a long dark winter out here, it’s an hour’s drive to 100 Mile in the winter so we need to create a community here to involve as many people as possible.”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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