Thank you Rick for your volunteerism and support for over 2 decades. Rick and his brother Dave own and operate Whitecourt Transport which has been also a great supporter of ours. As President in 1995/96, you lead the Club through the fight against the Bylaw changes for riding sleds/ohv in town, again, which would have stricter fines and confiscations of those abusing the Bylaw. There was a plebiscite question issued: "Do you support banning of OHV's in Whitecourt?" and the vote was obviously in our favour. Rick spoke out about the impact it would have on the community with the Golden Triangle System and the Trailblazers' trails. The changes would be detrimental to the economic impact of our community and affect the image we have as the Snowmobile Capital of Alberta. There are always some bad apples that ruin things, however the vote was "no" and the Bylaw remained the same.
Rick was involved in the Rallies that were held on the Golden Triangle in 1995, 1996 and 1997. In 1995, the Club hosted Race Line Super Trax Sports Magazine that came to town because of the increased popularity of the area for recreation and Whitecourt's designation of the Snowmobile Capital of Alberta. In addition, he helped with the construction of a warm up shelter and bathrooms that were placed at the start of the Golden Triangle Trail and other locations in 1996. Rick also held other positions on the board for over 10 years such as Memberships, Director, Safety and Sgt at Arms. Many projects were completed over those years that Rick was involved with: Golden Triangle opening, races, rallies, Snowaramas, Trike Races, Silver Summit Trail Development, lots of riding and trail cleaning as well. "Rick was one of the best guys to go out trail cleaning with, and Rick was also known to be a bit accident prone, as he broke his foot on the grader walls at the snowmobile races that were held in the field across from the St. Joe's Church" quotes from members. He loved to race in the NWSA - loved the speed and competitions. He would also spend hours talking sleds and performance with Dale Gunderson.
Now Rick and Jane travel south for the winters, but he still rides when he is home. Thank you Rick for your many years as an extraordinary volunteer!!