Blue Hills Trails Association Annual Meeting

June 3, 2026

‍

Meeting called to order

by John Waldron at 6:02 p.m. at Out There: Nordic Sports Store, Rice Lake, Wisconsin

Attendance

Executive Committee: John Waldron (president emeritus), Bjorn Hanson (president), Geary Searfoss (vice president and treasurer), Amanda Wieckowicz (secretary), Tom Paulsen (secretary emeritus)

Directors: Andy Komp (director), Dominic Hodkiewicz (director), Bob Wieckowicz (director)

Members: Jan Paulsen, John Ziemer, Mark Zellmer, Joe Binek, John Kann

‍

Minutes

Motion by Bjorn Hanson, second by Tom Paulsen to approve the annual meeting minutes from June 4, 2025.  Unanimously carried.

Treasurer's Report

Geary Searfoss summarized the financial report for the year including the 'Profit and Loss' statement, and the 'Balance Sheet'.

Our bottom line shows a positive balance on May 31, 2026 (available cash) of $86194.23.

Summary of By-Laws

John Waldron summarized the by-laws highlighting the fact that the members of the BHTA are those that pay an annual membership fee, and the members are the voting body of the BHTA. The Executive Committee, also known as the Officers, are voted in at each annual meeting. The Executive Committee has appointed Directors to assist in the operations of BHTA.  

‍Election of Officers

Motion by Tom Paulsen, second by Amanda Wieckowicz to elect Geary Searfoss to serve as treasurer. Unanimously carried.

Motion by Tom Paulsen, second by John Waldron to elect Geary Searfoss to serve as vice-president. Unanimously carried.

Motion by Bob Wieckowicz, second by Amanda Wieckowicz to elect Bjorn Hanson to serve as president. Unanimously carried.

Motion by Bjorn Hanson, second by another attendee to elect Amanda Wieckowicz to serve as secretary. Unanimously carried.

Membership Report / Dues

Current membership was discussed. We are up 11 members season over season (98 members this past year 2025-26, 87 members the previous year 2024-25). Our peak number of memberships occurred in 2020-21, and 2021-22: 133 memberships per year. In the past 16 years, we've averaged 99 memberships per year. The annual membership fee was discussed and the attendees voted to keep the membership fees the same for the 2026-27 season, $40.00 for an individual membership and $50.00 for a family membership.

Season Highlights

John Waldron gave the season highlights for the 2025-26 season. Two generous donations this past year: one of our members donated $50,000.00 (an anonymous donation); and the Jean Sanford Replinger Foundation donated $10,000.00 in her memory. A huge thank you to these major donors.

After much research and discussion, we acquired new equipment that included a 2025 Polaris Ranger UTV, Duratracks and hitch for the Polaris Ranger, a new rear comb for the big Tidd Tech grooming implement, and a D.R. walk-behind mower. Bob Wieckowicz and Dominic Hodkiewicz dealt with equipment acquisition, and issues with Duratracks.    

Dominic Hodkiewicz, Joe Binek, and Tom Paulsen worked together throughout the summer to coordinate mowing of the East Side to keep our trails accessible and open to all members and visitors.  

John Waldron and others worked with the Rusk County Forestry Department and arranged for a new connector trail (on the West Side of the trail system) that runs from the Audie Lake parking lot to intersection K. The trail was planned and prepared and ready to use this past winter of 2025-26. A big obstacle to opening this new trail involved the removal of a huge number of downed/leaning trees and limbs. John Waldron hired a work crew from the Flambeau Correctional Center to clear those windfalls -- this work required several days.

A successful group gravel bike ride was organized and led by Bjorn Hanson on September 14, 2025. We hope to organize more group events.

John Waldron and Geary Searfoss successfully negotiated a formal Land Use Agreement with the Rusk County Forestry Department. This is a significant accomplishment. 

Kevin Westlund maintained the warming house.

Gwen Westlund collected monies from our P.O. Box, and documented donations and membership fees.  

The secretary could not write fast enough to document the names of all of the valuable members and volunteers who contributed to these projects and other projects. This shows just how many of you are contributing your time, energy, expertise, and funds. The Blue Hills Trail is a true team effort. Your contributions are greatly appreciated, thank you.  

‍

Equipment Report

The BHTA 2017 Arctic Cat Bearcat snowmobile (used for grooming) had an issue with overheating and its electronics that necessitated replacement of the main wiring harness -- the Bearcat was fixed after a few weeks sitting in the shop waiting for repairs.

The BHTA acquired new grooming equipment that included a 2025 Polaris Ranger (with Duratracks and hitch), a D.R. walk-behind mower, and a new rear comb for the big Tidd Tech grooming implement.

The drive sprocket on the 2025 Polaris Ranger's right front Duratracks suffered a major welding failure that was quickly repaired by replacing the drive sprocket (under warranty).

‍

Snow Report

The 2025-2026 season had 50.5” of snow (the 27 year average snowfall is 61" per season). Generous early season December snowfall carried us through dry months of January and February. Follow this link that shows snowfalls since 1999.

‍

New Westside Map

Tom Paulsen proposed a new Westside Map that was shown to attendees. The new map will incorporate this new trail that was added (see 'Season Highlights' above). This new West Side map is the latest version of about 20+ modifications Kirk Paulsen has reworked, along with Tom’s input and Jan’s helpful critique. They have been intermittently working on this since December 2025.

‍

Surveillance Cameras

Dominic Hodkiewicz will head a committee to explore adding surveillance cameras to monitor our equipment - and possibly other areas.

‍

Donation to Rusk County Not-For-Profit

John Waldron suggested it may be time to consider making a donation to other charitable persons or entities. John Kann suggested free skiing for Rusk County students under the age of 18 years old. Amanda Wieckowicz thought this was a fabulous idea and could encourage the next generation of recreational skiers.

‍Meeting Adjourned

Motion to adjourn by Tom Paulsen, seconded by Bob Wieckowicz. Unanimously carried. Adjourned ~ 8:00 p.m.

Minutes

Taken by Amanda Wieckowicz.

‍

 A Listing of Active Committees

• Banquet Committee
• Fun Day / Full Moon Ski Committee
• Equipment Committee
• Fundraising Committee
• Grooming and Trail Maintenance Committee
• Social Media
• Snowshoe Trail
• Website Committee

‍