Terry Hutchinson, Prior Lake, Minnesota - Volunteer & Club Organizer
In his nearly 50 years of organized snowmobiling, Terry Hutchinson has been involved in all levels of the sport. It all started with the creation of the Prior Lake Snowmobile Association in 1972. He served as their President for over 10 years and Trail Coordinator for the past 45 years. In 1984, Scott County’s three snowmobile clubs created an alliance called Sno-Trails, Inc. Terry held the office of President and served as their Trail Coordinator for 40 plus years as well. It didn’t take long and Terry found himself very involved at the state level, serving the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association (MnUSA). Terry became a Region 8 Director. Terry eventually became Vice-President and then President of MnUSA, where he also took on the role as chair of the Trails/DNR Committee. It was then that Terry was instrumental in the implementation of a statewide corridor trail system across Minnesota’s 22,000 miles of snowmobile trails.
In 2008, during his presidency of MnUSA and as chairperson of the Minnesota Snowmobile Advisory Council (MSAC), he played a lead role in implementing funding changes when the club payment system went from a reimbursement program to a performance based funding program. Some other significant legislation passed under Terry’s leadership included the change in statute regarding the use of studs on state asphalt trails and MN Snowmobile registration fees to include a state trail pass. Presently, Terry is leading discussions with MnUSA and the state’s ATV Association regarding joint snowmobile and winter ATV trails.
Terry also represents snowmobiling on the Minnesota Motorized Trail Coalition and the Coalition of the Recreational Trail Users where he served on their Board since its inception in 2007. Not surprisingly, Terry got involved on a national level as the MnUSA delegate to the Midwest Chapter, American Council of Snowmobile Associations and has attended Washington DC Fly-Ins and several International Snowmobile Congresses. With all that, Terry still remains actively involved in his local snowmobile club and is responsible for marking his own section of trail. Terry’s passion for the sport of snowmobiling knows no bounds. He lives it every day of his life and it reflects in his actions and involvement, which is why Terry Hutchinson is an obvious choice for induction in the International Snowmobile Hall of Fame, Class of 2020.