Rotary hosts Guiness record holder

By Scott Dionne
Special to the Pioneer Times
    The Houlton Rotary Club welcomed a Guinness World Record holder to the Shiretown on August 25th. Bob Davis, newly-crowned record holder for the longest snowmobile journey in 60 days, shared details of his 12,163-mile ride across northern Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec.
Contributed photo/Mike Clark
RECORD SETTER — The Houlton Rotary Club welcomed a Guinness World Record holder to the Shiretown on August 25th. Bob Davis of Eagle Lake, newly-crowned record holder for the longest snowmobile journey in 60 days, shared details of his 12,163-mile ride across northern Maine, New Brunswick and Quebec.
    The ample snowfall last winter combined with quality equipment and plenty of trail-side amenities familiar to the region assisted Davis, a resident of Eagle Lake, in burying the previous record of 7,211 miles. In the process of accomplishing this feat, he also set another record for the greatest number of miles on an original factory snowmobile motor. At the end of the season, the odometer of his 2005 Yamaha Venture read 34,768.
    Davis’ trip was not all about breaking records, though. Furthermore, he did not always spend his winters snowmobiling through the idyllic scenery of northern Maine and Canada. During his earlier years, Davis worked as an agribusiness owner who focused on marketing Christmas trees grown on his farm in upstate New York. His business thrived. He was so successful he was able to sell his farm and retire to Eagle Lake with his wife. Davis attributes his success to the fact that he never simply set out to be a tree farmer. He set out to be a businessman.
    Davis did not just sell trees; he sold the added value associated with the experience of buying a tree—added value that is not always tangible. When a customer would visit his tree farm, he sold them a tree, but he also netted the tree, tied it to the vehicle, and prepared it for a unique tree stand he also sold to customers.
    Davis paired this devotion to added value with creative marketing. To ensure people remembered his tree farm come Christmas, he imported pumpkins for sale and built a corn maze in the fall just before Halloween. Parents would bring their children to buy a pumpkin and frolic in the corn maze amidst Davis’ backdrop of Christmas trees. He complimented a purchase of a pumpkin and a tour through the maze with coloring books for the children. On the cover of the coloring book was the phone number of his tree farm.
    This approach to added value and creative marketing followed Davis on his snowmobile trip across Maine and Canada. He recorded his trip on a Web site (TotallyYamaha.com), so snowmobile enthusiasts could follow his progress. On the Web site he not only lists his mileage, but highlights fuel stops, service stations, restaurants, and trail-side amenities. He deliberately promotes the added value of the region by showcasing the hospitality of Maine and neighboring areas.
    The information on the Web site provides a layout of routes and pit stops for people considering snowmobiling vacations.
    Davis, thinking about the Rotary motto “service before self”, wishes to boost the economic vitality of northern Maine by encouraging tourism. This focus on service and promoting economic growth in our backyards follows directly in line with the goals of the Houlton Rotary Club.