/ Eric Schudiske /

November Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comment

Geocacher-of-the-month-geocoin-sunflare
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (sun flare optional)

From the cold winter nights in the frigid north to the warm beaches of tropical paradise, the nominees for Geocacher of the Month share (at least) one thing in common: dedication.

Each nominee is being honored for their contributions to the geocaching community. Each will receive worldwide recognition and a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle, but which will be named Geocacher of the Month?

This is your opportunity to  help decide who will take home the earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (at left). Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the exclusive special edition Geocoin, a hat and a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Mic68 - October Geocacher of the Month
Mic68 – October Geocacher of the Month

In October, Mic68 was named Geocacher of the Month.

One geocacher who commented wrote, “After visiting (Mic68’s)“Dragonheart” I kept referring to this cache as the best I’ve ever done. By now they have published another one which we have just finished a couple of weeks ago and I have to say that this cache definitely is a milestone in geocaching! Wow! In Germany people are willing to travel quite a bit if the cache is worth it and I see people flocking in. The mixture of storytelling, suspense, technical know-how and fun is hard to beat.  Also, this team is immensely nice and helpful! All in all they are very worthy candidates and I would be happy for them to win!”

Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Geocacher of the Month. Write a supportive comment at the bottom of this blog for the nominated geocacher that you feel should be awarded the title. A panel of folks from Geocaching HQ will then use your comments to help guide the decision of which geocacher is awarded the Geocacher of the Month honor.

Here are your nominees for the November Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

 

Janizy

MMH_7543-4
Janizy – Geocacher of the Month Nominee

Milton Munoz writes, “Janizy has been one of most outstanding geocachers in the history of the hobby in Puerto Rico. She started 4 and half years ago, since then she is being a leader, creating events and inviting geocachers to the most beautiful places of the island. Her caches combine a wide variety of clever ideas and diabolic camouflages, which have become the most wanted (and frightful too) in the local arena. She has created one the most successful Multi-Cache in the south part of the island, inviting geocachers to do CITO in a beautiful coastal valley area.

Janizy has involved her entire family into the hobby: husband, 2 daughters, brother, sister, brother in law, niece and nephews. Janizy and her family are known as one the most successful FTF (First to Find) hunters of the island. Janizy has a great passion for the photography too and always is taking pictures and recording video of every geocaching adventure and produces excellent videos that she uploads in her YouTube and Vimeo channels. Janizy combines pretty well her profession as Special Education Teacher and her passion for the geocaching, recently she created the first Earth Cache published by a local geocacher on the island. For all the energy and interest that Janizy puts in to geocaching, she deserves to be honored as the geocacher of the month!”

 

BIGBROTHERBEAR

BIGBROTHERBEAR - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
BIGBROTHERBEAR – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month

Gary Goodyear writes, “I would like to submit BIGBROTHERBEAR as the Geocacher of the Month.  BBB (bigbrotherbear) and his series Quest For The Holy Grail (GC3WKNB) was an inspiration for us. Jim (bigbrotherbear) spent months planning and researching the series.  BBB has taken time out of his life for so many people to accompany them on this journey. If someone needs some help while out on the trail he is more than willing to do this for them, not just a nudge or hint, he will bring them water, food or whatever they need. BBB is involved with the Iowa Geocaching  Organization. He has hidden many caches to help make the events successful for them.

BigBrotherBear is more than the average cacher. He contributes countless hours to the community as well. His series Quest For The Hoiy Grail won the IGO peoples choice for outstanding series of 2013.

If you look at the entire series you will see that it has been awarded more than 650 favorite points in total. BBB has hiked this series with several of the teams. 8-12 miles of rough terrain, hills, river crossings and wild life. BBB is planning a new series that involves over 161 well placed caches. It has been placed submitted and is awaiting review.

BBB will take the time to get the permission to place the caches and he also maintains them. I found one of his bike trail geocaches that was in need of repair. I called BBB and told him about this. The next day he was at the site and had repaired it.”

 

 

NorthWes

NorthWes - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
NorthWes – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month

Darlene Fortin writes, “I would like to nominate NorthWes of Anchorage, Alaska for geocacher of the month. NorthWes is the president of Geocache Alaska. NorthWes is a man of knowledge on his state and on Geocaching. Northwes took time out of busy life to help me organize Events and Geocaching tours for 72 geocachers who were cruising from Vancouver to Alaska. Northwes organized a Meet and Greet for the Cruisers and the locals to meet each other and supplied some awesome prizes for the Event. Northwes is a very respected cacher in his area and has many caches throughout Anchorage and works hard to keep his and other caches in the area maintained. He also guided many of us on private geocaching tours through many of the parks in Anchorage. His knowledge of Alaska was amazing to help us with the many earthcaches through out Alaska.

NorthWes also helped me with all the paperwork to make Bermuda Island Geocachers a non-profit organization. His organization is well established and has members all over the world.

He is for sure one of the best ambassador for Geocaching and is well respected by his local cachers and now all the cachers that were cruising from all over the states and Bermuda. This man surely deserves to be recognized for all his hard work he has put into geocaching for Alaska!”

 

 

 

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the November Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through December 30.

If your nominee wasn’t recognized here, please submit your nominations again next month. We’re always looking for the next Geocacher of the Month. To nominate a geocacher, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@geocaching.com and include the following information:

  • Your name, the name of your nominee, their username
  • A picture of the nominee
  • Description (200 or more words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. Nominations for the next Geocacher of the Month should be received by January 3. Once Geocaching HQ has received the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so that we might learn from each other.

Eric Schudiske

  1. My vote goes for BigBrotherBear. He is an inspiration to new cachers. I was lucky enough to meet him shortly after I started caching and i can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from him. He has gone out of his way on numerous to help out cachers with his caches or other caches that he has already found. He is quick to help with repairs to caches that he comes across as well as even repairing another cacher’s cache if they can’t get to it in a timely manner. And his caches will knock your socks off. His Quest for the Holy Grail series is epic. And as if that wasn’t enough, he thought up a series of 164 caches, all themed around hunting down three different mob families who have been terrorizing the locals. “The G-Men Series” will test your skill and determination. Way to go Jim! With or without this title, you are great cacher and I’m glad to call you my friend.

  4. Gotta give it to BigBrotherBear. He just set up this amazing series based on mobsters… so cool, but challenging!

  5. I would like to cast my vote for BIGBROTHERBEAR. Over the years, BBB has put out some outstanding challenge caches in the state of Iowa, including a very difficult and strenuous “Quest for the Holy Grail,” which is a series of mystery caches placed along a river valley in beautiful Northeast Iowa. Not only has he graciously placed and maintained all of these caches, he has volunteered his time to take groups out and lead them on a “tour” of this challenging series. In addition to the caches, BBB has done his part to promote geocaching in the state of Iowa and is friendly, courteous and welcoming to all new cachers. BBB exemplifies what a “Cacher of the Month” should be. Iowa is blessed with some outstanding individual geocachers and you’d be hard up to find a single cacher in our state that wouldn’t put BIGBROTHERBEAR near the top of the list. He is definitely deserving of COTM!

  8. Not only is Northwes an integral member ofthe geocaching community he is also active in many other parts of the community. Frankly, I am amazed he finds time to geocache at all.
    His main geocaching interests include earth caches and benchmarking. He has truly mastered the science of finding benchmarks and teaching others how to do it. His earth caches are among the best written earth caches I have found.
    Northwes also has a strong committment to furthering geocaching in Alaska and elsewhere through h is leadership as president of GeocacheAlaska!. His work in regards to land owner relationships has help create an attitude among many local, state and federal organizations that geocaching is an activity which benefis them and helps them meet their goals while erxpanding opportunities for geocahing.
    To sum it up, I think Northwes deserves ti be The Geocacher of the Monthy.

  9. My vote is for BIGBROTHERBEAR (BBB) !!! All you have to do is meet him once and you will see the enthusiasm he has for Geocaching. His latest feat! The “G” Men Trail is quite amazing. 26 miles, two fizzies, and such a variety of hides on a nice rail trail is quite the feat. The theme and all the work going into the cache pages for 165 of them is quite worthy of not copy and pasting your find logs. He has 100% favorite points on his “G” Men trail so far. And I am not even mentioning his previous feat of “The Holy Grail”. Quite the ambassador for Geocaching in the Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois part of the country.

  10. Our vote is for Janizy. She is one of the most active geocachers in PR and turned a big group of geocachers into an extended family that grows every day. Very important to mention the excellent sense for hiding and seeking new extremes caches that takes you to the limit and sharing those adventures with others.

  12. I vote for Janizy. We enjoy a lot sharing adventures she plan with a nice group of geocachers including my family.

  15. I have to give it to Big Brother Bear he raised the bar for Iowa , 742 fav points in just over a year on the Quest for the Holy Grail is a amazing feat. He is the second most favored cacher in Iowa and has hike well over 150 miles with groups taking on the Holy Grail. You just don’t see that to often. He has work Dubuque county DNR in placing his caches and has helped bringing much needed visitors and revenue to the heritage trail through his placement of The “G’ Men series. I would like to thank Jim ( Big Brother Bear ) for all that he does for Geocacheing and his community, he truly exemplifies what Geocacher of the month is about.

  16. My vote is for BIG BROTHER BEAR!
    He is without question an asset to Geocaching.
    His “Holy Grail” series is like NOTHING I’ve ever
    experienced before.
    The fact that he is more than willing to take other Cachers
    out on this series at a drop of a hat says a LOT.
    His Cache maintenance is impeccable!
    BIG BROTHER BEAR is what I would call a Geocaching “Giver”.
    He takes great satisfaction placing well thought out Caches
    in very scenic areas.
    BIG BROTHER BEAR is most deserving for this coveted honor!!!

  17. My vote is for BIGBROTHERBEAR. I’ve found many of his quality caches while out on the hunt and each has been a treat! I’ve also met him on the caching trail where he was nothing but a gentleman and a pleasure to chat with. He’s an all-around terrific addition to the geocaching community in Iowa and beyond!

  18. Wow, what can I say about BigBrotherBear that hasn’t already been said.!
    Jim has dedicated a lot of his time (more than anybody I know of) to place 2 outstanding cache series so that the rest of us could have the enjoyment of doing them. I recently had to chance to do the Holy Grail series with BBB leading the troops. I had originally planned on doing this series a couple weeks prior, but wasn’t able to make it. “No Problem” says Jim, and 2 weeks later he takes another group of us on an adventure of a lifetime.
    To explain the Holy Grail, think of hardest, most physical day of caching you have ever done, and multiply that by 10, and you might get close to doing half the series.
    The day I completed the series, I got to talk to BBB about this series. I thanked him for taking us and felt bad that he has is continually taking people out to do this “bear” of a series. I think his answer sums it up why I think he deserves to be the COTM…”To me, getting people out and enjoying this area and seeing the joy on their faces when they complete a series like this is what makes caching fun to me”. Not only that, but on the trip I was on, we had a young cacher around 10 years old get separated from our group. BBB took off and was able to locate the cacher after a little looking and got her back to the group safe and sound and stayed with her the rest of the day to make sure was Ok and turned the trip into a positive one for her.
    Thanks Jim for all the hard work that you do and the sacrifices you have made for the rest of us. I truly hope you win this MUCH deserving honor!!
    Tim Stewart “The Weasel”

  22. I VOTE FOR JANIZY, SHE IS MY HERO IN GEOCACHING I HAVE MET HER IN MANY EVENTS. SHE HAS MY ADMIRATION. ME TYING MY SHOE AND JANIZY RIGHT BEHIND ME AT A BEGINNING OF A HIKE TO TAKE TO FIND A CACHE NEAR A CLIFF AND A BIG WATER FALL WHEN IT RAINS IT GETS BIGGER WE THAT DAY WERE ABLE TO STAND AT THE EDGE OF THE WATER FALL CLIFF. JANIZY IS ALWAYS WITH HER CAMERA IN HAND.ON THIS TRIP WE HAD TO GO UP AND DOWN MOUNTAIN SIDES TO GET HERE TO ENJOY THIS VIEW. LOVE YOU JANIZY … ITS ME GAMALIEL

  23. MY VOTE IS FOR JANIZY, SHE ENVOLVES HER FAMILY IN GEOCACHING AND ALSO THE GEOCAHING COMUNITY OF THE ISLAND FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER.

  27. I’ll cast my vote for bigbrotherbear. He’s put out some awesome caches, and along with Iowapete had placed a very challenging new series that will allow you to fill your fizzy grid twice if you find them all.
    His caches are always a challenge and fun to find, he is great at maintaining them, and goes the extra mile to promote our hobby.

  30. Janizy deserves the honor. Selfless work to enhance the Geocache Community! She leads the fun-loving Janizy Crew to enjoy the sport, and provide fun for everyone!
    (Hi Virgen!) (:

  33. BIGBROTHERBEAR gets my vote. Several times he has traveled to where I was to help with a cache! His hides are original and special!

  34. BigBrotherBear has really put together some really exceptional geocache challenge series. He has shown himself to be a great ambassador to land managers and players alike. A swell guy to meet along the trail too.

  35. Janizy es mi favorita para el geocacher del mes. No por ser mi hermana, sino por las cualidades que posee y por el amor que siente al geocaching y a la comunidad. Nuestra familia la apoya en cuanta cosa que se le ocurre jaja. El poder de convocatoria que tiene, la hace líder de muchos eventos que se realizan con éxito en nuestra isla, Puerto Rico. La fotografía es otra de sus pasiones y siendo geocacher le da la oportunidad de desarrollar ese otro talento y demostrarle al mundo lo bello de la isla. Bueno , por eso y por muchas cosas más mi querida hermana Janizy se merece este reconocimiento. JANIZY LA MEJOR!!!!!!

  36. Mi voto es para mi mamá Janizy!! A ella le encanta el geocaching y siempre nos lleva a sitios muy bonitos. Hemos conocido muchos lugares y nos ha unido como familia. Mi mamá merece ser la geocacher del mes.

  37. My vote is for Janizy!! She deserves the honor to be the geocacher of the month. Her dedication and passion to the hobby are amazing.

  39. My vote goes to Janizy. She is a great, creative, charismatic and amazing Geocacher. There are numerous things she does for the community. Her events are always among the greatest. She is also an incredible FTF hunter and I am pretty sure she has the most FTFs currently in the country. I really hope she wins and that’s the bottom line ’cause Stone Cold said so.

  41. Bear truly has given beyond just a great cacher. He has placed some of Iowa best caches and most favorited ones, you never find one in need of repair and he is a awesome person.

  43. Mi voto es para Janizy! Los eventos y trips que organiza siempre son espectaculares y bien planificados.

  44. Janizy is amazing, she really deserves this opportunity, as she has delighted all of us with sense of adventure and professionalism. Go Janizy, you are #1

  47. All the candidates for CotM look like real quality geocachers and people and I believe BIGBROTHERBEAR should win this honor. He has multiple well thought out and challenging series and individual caches as others have mentioned. He is always willing to assist if assistance is needed in finding any of his caches. He also helps the organization he is involved with putting in his time to organize events and hiding challenging and interesting caches. He is always friendly and a real nice person to talk to.

  49. My vote is for BigBrotherBear. BBB has taken geocaching to a whole new level in his area. The amount of commitment that his level of geocache creation takes is off the charts.

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