President’s Message 2018

Brad Mann, President CCSO / CCOM

Autumn 2018

I am excited and honored to have been elected as President of the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations. I have had the opportunity in life to experience many opportunities and achieve many passions and goals. This opportunity to be President like all the other adventures I have been on will be and should be exciting.

I asked for the support of the snowmobile Federations and Associations across Canada because I believe in what we can accomplish, I believe in the individuals who make up this national organization and I love snowmobiling and probably most importantly, I love having fun. Those who know me, if it is not fun, I do not understand why anyone would be involved? Why do something if it is not fun? As the CCSO we need to not forget, people snowmobile primarily because it is fun.

I also believe we, the CCSO, are responsible for a huge business in Canada. A business that is intimately linked to Canada and to what most and many of us view as an attribute and one of the very identities of our Country; snowmobiles and winter.

I also love winter. My snowmobiling and thus my passion for winter began early with my father and mother and the Sno-Jet that dad let me have as my own. I led dad and his friends when the trails were not groomed, participated in racing, led my local snowmobile club at my home in New Brunswick, served on the Provincial Federation for my region and just completed three years as President of the New Brunswick Federation of Snowmobile Clubs and served as a Board member of the CCSO. They were all fun and all rewarding.

As President I will ask our leadership to focus in two areas to improve our business and your fun. First, we need to strengthen and entrench the value of snowmobiling as a national tourism contributor to Canada. The economic opportunities are awesome, well entrenched in many jurisdictions already and with new partnerships will assist primarily rural communities all across Canada where the riding and spinoffs, in all forms, will flourish.

The second priority should be to focus on new national partnerships with our Federal Government. Past Federal and some Provincial Governments have seen the strong value in trails built and maintained by volunteers. Marketing is only part of the equation not entirely the solution where investments should be assigned. The reality of shared financial investments by our members, their Provinces and the Government of Canada into capital infrastructure will better serve both objectives of the CCSO, Canada as a Country and snowmobiling as the leader of the trail communities in Canada.

It is the business of snowmobiling that the CCSO will always try to improve. If we are successful we will improve your fun. This is my goal and why I offered to be your President.

Brad Mann, President, CCSO/CCOM, Autumn 2018