HOLLIS – Amos White doesn’t like the attention he’s been getting lately. He’d much rather give credit to others.

But that has been difficult for White since he was honored as the state’s Snowmobiler of the Year and recognized for his years of service to the Hollis Nor’Easters snowmobile club and the community.

Still, it hasn’t stopped him from trying to shine the spotlight on others.

“I was surprised,” he said of the award. “There’s a lot of people that really work hard. This (award) really belongs to all of them.”

White received the award May 5 at an annual meeting of the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association.

He was nominated by other members of the Nor’Easters, a nonprofit snowmobile club that maintains local trails and holds many community events throughout the year.

And while White may shy away from his recognition, those who nominated him, such as club treasurer Doug Cleveland, said he is the perfect candidate for the annual award.

While has not only worked to build, map and maintain local snowmobiling and multi-use trails, Cleveland said, but has also helped to grow the sport of snowmobiling locally.

“Amos is the kind of guy that leads the parade,” he said.

But Cleveland said he is not surprised to see White humbled by the honor.

“He’ll be the first one to tell you that it’s a joint effort,” he said. “He’ll try to give everybody else the credit but we all know where the credit really belongs.”

White was first introduced to snowmobiling as a child, he said, when his aunt had one he used to love riding. As he got older, he got his own snowmobile and today owns several.

He studied wildlife management in college and said he always thought he would be doing something in that field for a career. While he now works in real estate development, he said his work with the Nor’Easters has let him live out his passions.

In 2001, White was one of several locals who reorganized the Hollis Nor’Easters after years of inactivity. And for the past several years, White and others in the club have worked hard to build and maintain a local trail system that is used by snowmobilers, hikers, bikers and even horseback riders.

Hollis and other surrounding towns have always had trails, he said, but they were often isolated and were hard to travel between. After years of work by White and others, the town now has 48 miles of groomed trails within its borders alone.

White has also worked to help connect the local trails with those in Brookline, Wilton, Mason and even trails that head out of state.

“Our trail system is one of the best maintained in the state,” he said. “You could ride these trails all the way up to Canada if you wanted to.”

White said he spends close to 15 hours a week maintaining the trails, cutting trees, laying down wood chips in the fall and spring and packing down snow in the winter.

He regularly takes along his family, friends and community members – anyone he can – to help keep the trails in good condition for all activities.

The work has earned White the position of trail administrator for the Nor’Easters and a spot on the town’s Trails Committee. It has also gained him a lot of respect among his fellow Nor’Easters and other snowmobilers statewide.

Cleveland said that White has been nominated for the Snowmobiler of the Year award twice before, each time by a different snowmobile club White wasn’t even a member of. When his name was announced as the winner this year, he got a standing ovation from the hundreds of snowmobilers in attendance.

White said that while that recognition felt good, it is not his motivation for doing what he does.

“The real motivation, what makes me feel good is seeing people using the trails,” he said.

And if White has his way, the number of snowmobilers riding the trails will continue to grow.

Snowmobiling has already changed in a lot in the past few decades, with a lot more women involved than when he first started riding, and getting more locals involved, he said, is one of the Nor’Easters’ biggest accomplishments.

The club holds guided trail rides every year for people who want to try snowmobiling, and White said he always brings his many snowmobiles to give people who don’t own a vehicle the chance to ride.

Outside of his work with the club, White does his own recruiting of future snowmobilers, keeping a list of people he meets who express any interest in riding so he can go back to them during riding season.

And while his dedication to the sport admittedly takes up a lot of his time, White said it is all worth it.

“It certainly is a labor of love, without a doubt” he said, laughing. “I keep coming back, so I guess I must enjoy it.”

Danielle Curtis can be reached at 594-6557 or dcurtis@nashuatelegraph.com.