40TH ANNIVERSARY - VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION
"Dan, Sue, Brad, Rachele and Hailey Guenette
Dan has been interested in snowmobiling for most of his life. Dan and Sue have been involved with the Club for over 25 years, with the kids also being involved at a very young age. In the mid 90's, Dan was approached by his mentors Alex Manweiler and Dale Gunderson to get involved with the Trailblazers Club and help out with another young guy, named Ken Linford. They were well respected business owners and could bring a lot to the group. Ken and Dan then became the best of friends. In 2000, Dan was involved with the Y2000 Sled ASA Jamboree and shortly after that, he came on the Executive in various positions.
Dan has done a tremendous amount with the club. He has been rotating on the Executive since 2002 as a Director, Publicity, Safety Director, Vice President, President and Past President. He dove into the Trailblazers organizing right from the start, nothing would scare or intimidate Dan. When Dan gets the ball rolling on an idea, he goes with it. GO BIG OR GO HOME is his moto. He was instrumental in purchasing the 2 snow cats, setting up the Groomer Shed, developing over 200kms in trails, 3 cabins, 3 lookouts and 2 staging areas. There is nothing that Dan has not been a part of over his years. He knows how to get things started and finished. He has been instrumental in planning 2 Invasions and working on his 3rd, all the annual rallies, ASA Jamborees, events and extra activities. He is very good at raising funds for various projects. He is a savy individual who is deeply involved in everything he does. He has been involved in the Golden Triangle for many years as well. He has attended many of the ASA meetings and ASPS events. Ken and Dan continued with the relationship building locally and provincially while they were in the President and Vice President positions; they were great team players, feeding off of each other. It was a great loss for the Club and Dan, when Ken moved away, as he was such a great support and knew how to make it happen.
The family are great volunteers as well; where Dan is, the family has not been far. Brad was a great part of trail cleaning and the girls Rachele and Hailey helped out with the rallies and other events. Sue of course is always at the events and helping Dan in one way or another, more than we will ever know. The Guenettes are outstanding members and leaders of the Whitecourt Trailblazers Club. Their involvement with the Trailblazers has offered them opportunities to meet and ride with like-minded people who enjoy snowmobiling and to spread the word that organized snowmobiling is a great family sport. They have been active volunteers and try to bring non-sledders into the group. They love the sport of sledding and don’t expect anything in return. They are true supporters financially (donating through his companies-Infratech Corporation and AWI), volunteering and participating at all functions.Dan and the family are true role models for other families and younger riders. They are an integral part of the club and the community. They have won many awards such as CCSO Family of the Year, ASA Family of the YearB and Brad-ASA Youth of the Year. Dan has been a part of many Club Awards through the ASA, Chamber of Commerce and SnoRiders-Rider's Choice Awards. Also, he has been a big part of some of the awards given to the Golden Triangle.
For the past few years, Dan has been extremely busy with work and on his weekend breaks, he has been riding his Polaris sled mostly in British Columbia in the mountains. The family likes to ride at Grizzly Lodge. He has been organizing group travelling rides for close to 20 years, if not to Grizzly then other destinations. Dan has been committed to our local club and without his support, guidance and participation it would not be the same. He has truly been a key player in this Club and lucky for us. he is still a part of the Executive training and guiding new board members and others, like he was mentored by Dale and Alex. We can never thank you enough Dan, Sue and the kids. We like to joke, that when you drink the koolaide, you never get out...…Cheers for now Dan and thanks!
