The first meeting to discuss the prospect of grooming equipment took place in Wyllie’s Garage at Sutherland’s Lake on May 22, 1993. Talks centered around the bumps and moguls in the area and the focus was on the possibility of buying grooming equipment to smooth out the bumps. The purpose of the meeting was to find out if there was enough interest and the result was a resounding yes.
A committee was formed and asked to look into the cost of purchasing equipment, the cost to operate it, and how to pay for it. Their first meeting was on June 8, 1993, in Truro. They decided that if each family could pay $200.00 as a membership fee that would be a good start to help pay for a groomer. The trail passes cost $50.00 and would be available to people who donated less than $200.00. They decided these fees would drop in the future if fundraising efforts were successful. They would need 70+ members to make this work, along with corporate donations and fundraising.
On July 17, 1993, another general meeting was called and it was agreed there could be a club without a clubhouse by forming an association for grooming trails. By the end of the meeting it was decided to start the ball rolling and so the club without a clubhouse became known as the Sutherland’s Lake Trail Groomers Association; it was incorporated before the end of the year. Over $13,000.00 was raised that summer and fall through memberships, fundraising, and corporate sponsorships made up the rest and the first groomer in the area was purchased in the fall of 1993, and delivered in December.