Make a difference, volunteer in your community

Volunteers are the ones who make things happen.

Last week a large group of snowmobilers gathered at the county line where Price and Taylor County come together deep in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest.

A story and photos from the event appear on page 10 of this week’s edition of The Star News. History buffs will note the groomers from Taylor and Price county clubs facing each other in a scene reminiscent of the “Last Spike” ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.

While not quite as history-making as creating the first nationwide railway connection, last week’s event marked the formal dedication of a 37 mile trail, connecting under-served areas of the two counties. It was the completion of a three-decade long effort that has spanned generations of area snowmobile club volunteers and would not have been possible without massive volunteer effort.

At the same time that the community is celebrating the work done by these volunteers, members of the county forestry and recreation committee were being cautioned that routine trail maintenance efforts are falling short in some areas of the western part of the county due to lack of people willing and able to volunteer for that work. If the trend continues, the county may need to look at using forestry department staff or hiring contractors to meet the requirements of trail maintenance to continue to receive trail funding from the state. What this will mean is far less time being spent on trail system improvements and ongoing delays in opening and grooming areas of the trail system. Not only would this be a blow to local trail users, but would have a direct and negative impact on the area’s economy due to the money spent by local and visiting snowmobilers.

Sadly, the challenge facing snowmobile clubs is being felt throughout all organized groups from service organizations to youth sports. People are just not willing to step up and volunteer to share the load.

There are many factors which contribute to this reduction in volunteer effort including people being busy with work and family obligations. With labor shortages and forced overtime making a weekend off a rare treat for many workers at area plants, it is understandable that helping out at an event or taking part in a trail maintenance work crew may be low on their list of things to do. Others don’t have those excuses, and simply make the choice not to volunteer or simply don’t realize their help is needed.

The end result is that more of the volunteer work is falling on the shoulders of fewer people who are quickly becoming burned out.

It would be nice to have an easy answer to this challenge. To wrap up a solution and put a bow on it for any group to implement. Things don’t always work out that cleanly.

Volunteers are the backbone of all communities. They make things happen. Volunteers deserve our thanks and more importantly, they deserve help in carrying the load.