Announcing the April 2015 Geocacher of the Month

The April 2015 nominees for the celebrated Geocacher of the Month award run the gamut of what it means to be a legendary geocacher.

For Marchand de cailloux, it means crafting intricate, clever, beautiful wood caches.

 

 

For Zugführer, it means organizing Cache-Events that repeatedly draw dozens of old and new geocachers alike.

 

 

For hoosiersunshineFailedApparatus it means inventing a highly popular local geocaching trivia night complete with customized trophy.

 

 

The featured Geocacher of the Month is named by a panel at Geocaching HQ after reviewing community input and blog comments. It’s a tough decision, given the combined contributions of these folks to the geocaching community as a whole.

All the nominees will receive special prize packages from Geocaching HQ, but only one will receive the elusive Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.

 

After tallying the sentiment and reading the comments, hoosiersunshineFailedApparatus have been officially named the featured Geocachers of the Month for April 2015.

 

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‘Caching team hooserisunshine and FailedApparatus have made a big impression on the the geocaching community in North and South Carolina with their regular geocaching trivia events, ‘It’s All Just Trivial!’

Though the geocaching trivia nights were spawned as a way to spice up regular Cache-Events, they’ve since become an institution. The winning team at an ‘It’s All Just Trivial’ event take home medals and sometimes a trophy – both of which were created by hoosiersunshine and FailedApparatus.

Geocacher Beth Andrews says, “Hands down… my vote is for Hoosiersunshine and FailedApparatus. Not just for the great and wonderful things they have done with geocaching trivia around the whole South East…., but with geocaching as a whole. From fun hides to hair pulling puzzle caches to just being great people. I’m honored they are part of my geocaching family and no two people deserve this more than those two.”

Echoing her sentiments, Matt Norris says, “Hoosiersunshine and Failedapparatus are the best nominees I could think of for this! Anyone who has ever been to an “It’s All Just Trivial” event knows that this would be incredibly well deserved. Those who have not can’t even imagine what those two have put into these events! Not only fun trivia, but everything from fully stocked caches, to unactivated geocoins and everything in between as prizes to every person who attends. And every person who wins gets a real gold medal! They bring fun geocaching events to a new level that I have never seen. Amazing people bringing fun not only to SC and NC, but they’ve traveled to host these events in GA, FL and VA too!”

Thank you to all the April 2015 Geocacher of the Month nominees for your tireless efforts to bring joy to other geocachers. Three cheers for legendary geocachers!

 

Know an outstanding geocacher who should be recognized? Nominate them for next month’s award!

 

 

Help Name the April 2015 Geocacher of the Month

This month’s nominees for the very special Geocacher of the Month award take the geocaching cake for their contributions to the game we love.

Among them are a geocaching event organizer extraordinaire, the founders of a popular geocaching trivia series, and a maker of intricate and clever wooden caches.

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.

The decision won’t be easy. Luckily, we have you to help. Post your vote below and let us know who you think should take home the earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin (at left).

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March 2015 Geocacher of the Month, Schlurie

Although all the nominees will receive prizes, the featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the exclusive special edition Geocoin, a Geocacher of the Month hat and a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate that recognizes their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Schlurie was the March 2015 Geocacher of the Month. Of Schlurie, Geo-Tootles says, “There are lots of cachers outside in the woods, searching for caches, for great and for special moments. But without having creative owners these experiences would be reduced to a minimum. Schlurie spent months of crafting new hides, this time with an incredible range of different bird-houses to let cachers smile and especially children laugh.”

Now  it’s your turn to decide which geocacher should be further recognized. Read the profiles of this month’s three nominees, and write a supportive comment below this post describing why you think this person should be recognized.

A panel 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 April 2015 Geocacher of the Month.

 

Zugführer

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hoosiersunshineFailedApparatus

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Marchand de cailloux

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Comment below to tell us who you think should be the April 2015 Geocacher of the Month.

 

Know an outstanding geocacher who should be recognized? Nominate them for next month’s award!

 

 

And the March 2015 Geocacher of the Month is…

The time has come. Earlier this month, three outstanding geocachers were nominated for March 2015’s Geocacher of the Month award. A winner has been chosen, but first, let’s take a look at the nominees.

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Schlurie is famous in Rheinland-Pfalz for creating fun and inspiring geocache hides. His particular specialty is birdhouse caches, which have generated a lot of “WOW” moments for geocachers over the years.

Fivebales is a geocaching team from Idaho, whose behind-the-scenes work for an amazing annual Mega Event and their local geocaching organization has gone a long way in strengthening the local geocaching community.

chuck80196 is always willing to help another geocacher out, and if you know him he is probably number one  on your PAF (Phone A Friend) list. He has over 880 FTFs (first-t0-finds) and of late holds back to allow others the chance to get their first FTF…especially if he has already gotten his geocache for the day.

Although it’s tough, there has to be a winner. Say congratulations to the March 2015 Geocacher of the Month,

Schlurie!

 

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Our March 2015 Geocacher of the Month is based in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Schlurie sets an incredible example as a geocacher maker, maintainer, and finder. His contributions to the local geocaching community are best described by local geocachers, like Geo-Tootles, who sing his praises:

“There are lots of cachers outside in the woods, searching for caches, for great and for special moments. But without having creative owners these experiences would be reduced to a minimum. Schlurie spent months of crafting new hides, this time with an incredible range of different bird-houses to let cachers smile and especially children laugh. Next to that he had to organize everything else with the local forestry commision office to determine the spots for placing the hides. All that time he could have spent for searching caches by himself, but statistic seem not important for him, much more important is giving other cachers a great time during their trips. Being that unselfish is the reason for my wholehearted vote. And even if he will not be decorated with this little award … every single cacher in our area will know exactly that he will look forward to the next Schlurie-caches.”

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Schlurie’s birdhouse geocaches have garnered a lot of attention (and favorite points) from geocachers far and wide. One needs only to read the last few logs on his cache, “VHT 11 schlüsselfertiges Mehrfamilienhaus,” to get a sense of how carefully crafted his hides are. This particular cache earned 75 favorite points in less than two months.

As a geocache finder, Schlurie goes to great lengths — and heights — to sign a logbook. He’s found a whopping 440 T5 (terrain 5) geocaches.

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In recognition of his contributions to geocaching, Schlurie will receive a prize package from Geocaching HQ, which includes the earned, never-for-sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin.

Send your congratulations to Schlurie!

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.

 

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor next month, simply fill out this webform. You’ll need to 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 Featured Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. 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.

 

Help Name the March 2015 Geocacher of the Month

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month Geocoin.

You know you’re a geocacher if…

 

  • When you get asked, “Cash or Card?” you hand the teller a lock-n-lock…
  • You wake up early to be first in line for ammo can sales…
  • You’ve been to a CITO event (Cache In, Trash Out), and…
  • You’ve been nominated for Geocacher of the Month!

This month, these three awesome people know for certain that they’re geocachers (in case they had any doubts before).

Here’s 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 profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Without further ado, here are the March 2015 nominees for Geocacher of the Month.

f1173c58-0c41-4b59-86b5-ba3d5f1e9bd5_lSchlurie
Schlurie is famous in Rheinland-Pfalz for creating fun and inspiring geocache hides. His particular specialty is birdhouse caches, which have generated a lot of “WOW” moments for geocachers over the years. His nomination comes from Gruet: “Es sind alles selbst gebastelte Vogelhäuschen der Extraklasse. Raffinierte Tricks zum Öffnen, versteckte Mechanismen und integrierte Elektronik. Alles mit Erlaubnis der Gemeinde in einem wunderschönen Waldgebiet installiert. Über 40 Favoritenpunkte in nur einem Monat sind selbst erklärend!” All the caches [in the series] are homemade birdhouses of the highest order. You’ll find clever tricks required to open them, hidden mechanisms, and even integrated electronics. All placed with permission from the land manager of a beautiful area of forest. Over forty favorite points in just one month!

 

 

7f2c421b-050b-4fbd-8edf-e6f610c21dee_lFivebales
Idaho geocaching team Fivebales are all about strengthening their location geocaching community. Their nomination comes from you+me_makes4, who says, “I’d like to nominate Fivebales as Geocacher of the Month because of the amount of work that they put in behind the scenes. One half of Fivebales has been the Event Manager for the Yuma Mega Event for the past two years. It’s a largely thankless job that requires countless hours of work for an amazing annual Mega Event. The second half (and, I’m sure in her words, better half) of Fivebales has served as Secretary for South West Arizona Geocachers (S*W*A*G), the group that organizes the annual Mega. She also organizes a monthly newsletter that is sent out to every member of S*W*A*G to keep up on local happenings and events. The Yuma, Arizona geocaching community would not be where it is without them, and this is our way of thanking of them for all the hard work.”

14e6df56-9b3f-4855-8a52-9d5ffc1574b4_lchuck80196
Missouri-based cacher chuck80196’s nomination comes from Stearman5: “This geocacher has found just about every geocache within the local area and is often traveling to other states to get his daily geocache. Chuck80196 has a current geocache find streak of over 1600 days with a find, and he is motivated to keep that steak going. After he passed 1,000 consecutive days with a find he was surprised at a local ice cream event with a golden ammo can; GC4F08J. He has over 880 first to finds and of late holds back to allow others the chance to get their first FTF; especially if he has already gotten his geocache for the day. He has over 4,900 finds and should pass 5,000 finds by April 5th of this year. He not only gives out favorite points but also receives them. Out of his 181 caches he has received 205 favorite points that is an average of 1.1 points per cache. And out of the caches he has found he has given out 460 of his 491 favorite points available that’s 94% given away. Chuck80196 is ALWAYS willing to help another geocacher out and if you know him he is probably the number one PAF [Phone A Friend] option on your list. And at events he is easily one of the most outgoing social persons at the event. Everyone loves to geocache with him and enjoys chatting it up when you cross paths with him.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the March 2015 Geocacher of the Month. 

 

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,

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform. You’ll need to 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 Featured Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. 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.

And the February 2015 Geocacher of the Month Is…

Each month, geocachers around the world nominate members of their community for the prestigious title of Geocacher of the Month. The people who earn this title are not superheroes in the traditional sense: instead of the power of flight, they possess the power to transform a park bench into a treasure chest; instead of teaching the baddies how to be good, they teache newbies good geocaching etiquette; instead of stopping monsters from tearing down the city, they stop decaying geocaches from being archived.

There is no doubt in our minds that the folks nominated for February 2015 Geocacher of the Month are our geocaching heroes. Here are the three nominees.

TexasWriter
This geocacher from — you guessed it — Texas, is always rushing out the door to be the FTF, but won’t hestitate to help out a fellow ‘cacher along the way. If you live within 50 miles of him, he’s probably at the top of your Phone-A-Friend list.

TexasWriter and CornDoll
TexasWriter and CornDoll

Ramgab
This geocacher has found just about 58% of the geocaches in his country. That’s quite a feat when the total number of geocaches in Hungary around is over 6000. Aside from placing stellar kayaking cache series, Ramgab has also helped organize multiple geocaching Mega events in Hungary. As a result, the Hungarian geocaching community has grown significantly over the last few years.

Ramgab on the hunt
Ramgab on the hunt

TeamPommes
This German geocaching Team has amassed hundreds of favorite points for their creative gadget caches, tricky Mystery caches, and stunning cache locations like this one, which has been featured on the geocaching Instagram page. You’ll recognize a TeamPommes cache by their signature pommes frites (french fries) page background.

TeamPommes
TeamPommes

 

All three nominees are outstanding members of their geocaching communities, and every comment that came in to us about them was full of praise. They will each receive a prize package from Geocaching HQ. But there can only be one winner.

 

A panel from Geocaching HQ has collected and reviewed your comments.

 

The February 2015 Geocacher of the Month is:

 

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After we opened our blog post on the nominees for comments from the geocaching community, stories of TexasWriter’s generosity and leadership flowed in.

afe2c2e6-47a9-42e0-9d89-ec0f8902cf80_lMike tells of the second time he met TexasWriter: I was with a group of cachers and we were caching his (locally famous) “Warrior Series” of caches. TexasWriter called me to ask about a cache that we had DNF’ed. (He knew we were getting his caches because I was uploading finds from the field). I told him I couldn’t talk to him right now because my phone battery was about to die and suggested that he should call one of the others in the group I was with. He surprised us when a half hour later he showed up on the trail and handed out water bottles. He then handed me a battery that plugged into my phones charging port and extended my phones battery life.”

TXDinoTrax says: “He’s also one of the nicest cachers I’ve ever met. My kids love that he’s shared his pathtags and helped build their collections. He’s always available for a PAF (Phone-A-Friend), and he and his wife have graciously opened their home to host educational geocaching events. And if that weren’t enough, he has had some truly epic adventures (think night caching in a Louisiana bayou surrounded by hundreds of shiny gator eyes at kayak level).”

Kind words from OMA&OPAof5: “We vote for TexasWriter. If there were such a thing as an International Geocache Goodwill Ambassador, he would be the perfect choice to fill the position. He has a passion for geocaching that is contagious. He uses his love of geocaching to mentor newbies like us and is always willing to answer any questions we might have.”

So says Swagglepuss: “My vote is for TexasWriter. His numbers are impressive enough to win based on those alone, but they don’t even begin to tell the story about the tremendous positive impact he has had on the geocaching community. I appreciate the time he puts into writing meaningful, thoughtful, helpful, encouraging, and at times, extremely entertaining logs on every cache he finds. I love the time, effort, thought, and craftsmanship he puts into placing and maintaining his numerous hides.”

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The outpouring of praise we received for TexasWriter goes on. The impact he has made on the Texas geocaching community (and elsewhere!) is clearly significant. We’re happy to award him with the Geocacher of the Month geocoin.

The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin.
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin.

 

Know an outstanding geocacher who should be recognized? Nominate them for next month’s award!