Senators join the Pathfinders’ celebration of Yamaha Grant

Posted on July 27, 2022 in Grant, Thomaston Dam, Trail Maintenance, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Work Party

Photos by Bud Wilkinsons/RIDE-CT.com

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal gives a thumbs up to the first rider to navigate the newly repaired trail aptly named “Blasted Rock”.

On Saturday, July 23^rd, the Pathfinders performed a work party at the Thomaston Dam in support of their 2022 NETRA Dam Good Hare Scramble to be held on July 31^st. The work party was held in conjunction with a celebration of the awarding of our grant from the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative sponsored by the Yamaha Motor Co. We also unveiled our new Yamaha Viking UTV which was part of the grant. Thank you to George Libby and the crew at Libby’s Motoworld in New Haven, CT for working with us and Yamaha Motor Co to obtain the Viking.

We had two special guests in attendance to join in our celebration. US Senator Dick Blumenthal and State Senator Henri Martin took time out of their busy schedules to spend some time with our club.

Both Senator Blumenthal and Senator Martin listened intently as club President Jim Blais, club Treasurer Tom Cameron and Grant Coordinator Scott Nimons provided them with a background of the Pathfinders MC Club, the Yamaha OAI grant and how the club has utilized the grant funds as well as future plans. Both Senators peppered the club officers with a number of questions regarding the grant, our volunteer work on the trail system at the Dam and general questions regarding off-road usage in the State of CT.

The Senators were able to witness firsthand the tremendous amount of work the club members perform with regards to trail maintenance and reclamation. Just as importantly, they were able to witness the trails being used as they were meant to be – by dirt bikers!

It was a very productive meeting. Both Senator Blumenthal and Senator Martin came away with a great understanding of the volunteerism of the club members and how much we regard the Thomaston Dam trail system as a precious resource to, not only our club, but the entire off-road community. They also left with a better understanding of the need for more recreational space for off-road use similar to the Dam.

Thank you to both Senators; Jim, Tom, Scott and all the club members in attendance for this special event. Both Senators expressed an interest in continued communication with our club. Hopefully we can continue to build a productive relationship and work toward common interests!