January Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments

They put on events, they readily share geocaching tricks and tips and they challenge new and seasoned geocachers with their hides. They are the January Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees.

December 2012 Featured Geocacher of the Month, Moneydork

Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as the Featured Geocacher of the Month for January.

Write a comment at the bottom of this blog about which of these geocachers you feel should be awarded the Featured Geocacher of the Month title.

In December, Wayne, a.k.a. Moneydork was recognized for establishing himself as one of Australasian’s most prolific geocachers. His efforts to support the community as a Geocaching volunteer reviewer and good Samaritan have not gone unnoticed. He even managed to organize New Zealand’s very first Mega-Event from 3500 km (2175 miles) away. According to fellow geocachers, Moneydork’s hides and events are legendary Down Under and he never hesitates to give his all to the sport.

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

Kirret

Kirret

Mr Bluesky writes, “On November 29th, Don, [a.k.a. Kirret] will have found a geocache every single day of the year, since November 2011.  He has done this in three different countries and on two continents. This year alone he has found over 1,700 geocaches, including a grand haul of 100 on March the 27th. Don worked in Scotland in 2010 and 2011 and I got to meet him through geocaching. We immediately became firm friends. I had the pleasure of geocaching with him in Canada in July 2012 and then again on August 18th in Scotland. Don is very enthusiastic about geocaching and has, just by meeting people while out geocaching, gotten many involved in this hobby by informing them of what he was doing and how enjoyable it is. He mostly geocaches with his wife and son and is one of Guildford, England’s most prolific geocachers. He is out in all weather conditions with a smile on his face and a GPS in hand. I think his achievements this year is a remarkable feat.”

 

The Raven

The Raven

ttcm4geo writes, “If you visit Prescott, Arizona as we were one weekend, you will note something curious. Many of the geocaches you visit will have a note stating that ‘while you are in Prescott, you must find a geocache called Raven’s Labyrynth.’ So many geocacher said this that we finally decided to pursue it. The geocache itself is amazing, which I am sure took weeks to construct. Then we found out that the geocache owner has many similarly thought-out geocaches in the area. In fact, Prescott is known as ‘Ravenland.’ But, even more amazing is that if you email Dan, a.k.a. The Raven with a question, he promptly replies and tells you to call him. So we called him and got some assistance. He was very nice, and you can tell that his only goal is to help people enjoy geocaching. His geocaches are creative, well thought out and so much fun. He does all this work for people many of whom he will never meet. Therefore, I think he deserves this recognition.”

 

 

 

The Weasel

The Weasel

SuperGoober writes, “Tim, a.k.a. The Weasel is what geocaching is all about. He gives back so much more than he takes. He hosted the very first CITO in the Midwest: EIGA 2004 CEDAR RAPIDS CITO EVENT. He is an active member and Board Director for the Iowa Geocacher Organization and a volunteer for the Linn County Conservation. Tim has conducted and assisted in over 50 geocaching 101, 201 and 301 classes and workshops throughout the State of Iowa and abroad. His knowledge of the wilderness extends well beyond that of an average geocacher. He uses his extensive knowledge of the outdoors to help other geocachers by placing some very creative and educational geocaches. The Weasel has an impeccable sense as to what geocaching is all about. He realizes that cache maintenance is very necessary to ensure that geocaching is fun and that the geocache is there. He is just unstoppable.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the January Featured  Geocacher of the Month. A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide which geocacher is awarded the honor. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon and a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for January’s award through Sunday, January 20th.

Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month. If you know an outstanding geocacher you would like to nominate to be a featured Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.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’ve submitted them for the award.

Nominations for the February Geocacher of the Month must be received by Friday, February 8th. 

Once we have received all of 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 we might learn from each other.

Geocaching in the News – A Story Worth Telling

Alaska airlines
Alaska Airlines article (click to read)

Geocachers grab headlines around the world as Ambassadors of Adventure, Everyday Explorers or just those people doing that new outdoor tech thing. While geocaching is not new to us, more and more people are seeing geocaching in the news and in TV shows.

swiss magazine bryan roth
Geocaching Co-Founder Bryan Roth speaks to the Swiss Magazine The Gentlemen’s Club. (click to read p33)

You’re part of an emerging hobby that gets people outside and into adventure. Geocachers are a global band of tech-guided explorers some five million strong. Sometimes the geocaching adventure is just around the corner, other times the hunt delivers geocachers to the top of a mountain. But people always love to hear about the geocaching journey, especially in the media.

In the past weeks and months, geocaching has appeared in publications around the globe. Geocaching was featured as a tool to see and experience the world in a new way in the USAToday video, “Want a modern day treasure hunt? Go geocaching.” Geocaching Co-Founder Bryan Roth helped Swiss readers of the magazine The Gentleman’s Guide (p.33) learn more about the addictive hobby. A police officer, who’s also a geocacher, used the Geocaching app to help find a lost hiker. The story made national news in the United States. Even airline passengers are reading about geocaching in the Alaska Airlines Magazine.

USAToday video of Geocaching
USAToday video of Geocaching (click to watch)

Geocaching delivers something most technologies cannot – and it’s worth writing about. Geocaching takes people outside to connect with each other. Every time you sign a log book or replace a geocache where you just found it, you’re adding to the story of that location. You connect to a community with each geocache you find. You also care for the environment along the way. It’s a newspaper article or television story that never gets old.

You can continue reading too. You can always find geocaching in the news through this link.

Announcing the December Featured Geocacher of the Month

We are wrapping up 2012 with yet another outstanding featured Geocacher of the Month. Congratulations to Wayne, a.k.a. Moneydork for being named December’s Featured Geocacher of the Month!

December Featured Geocacher of the Month, Moneydork

Moneydork is recognized for establishing himself as one of Australasian’s most prolific geocachers. His efforts to support the community as a Geocaching.com volunteer reviewer and good Samaritan have not gone unnoticed. He even managed to organize New Zealand’s very first Mega-Event from 3500 km (2175 miles) away. According to fellow geocachers, Moneydork’s hides and events are legendary Down Under and he never hesitates to give his all to the sport.

A geocacher who voted for Moneydork writes, “My first ever event was Moneydork’s third Massive Easter Egg Hunt, which he held every year until he moved to Australia – that were seven events in total. I was the last to find a nearby Multi-Cache at one of the events, and he was walking the opposite direction as I walked towards GZ (ground zero). He promptly turned around to make sure I found it. I didn’t know who he was, but even in just three months of geocaching, I knew of his geocaching handle. When I first started geocaching, my town had a few active geocaches then for a while there was no activity. Moneydork came and placed a cache just out of town to try and get things moving again. He is always unassuming, quiet, and willing to help anyone with geocaching. He won’t tell you where it is but he will make sure you have to work it out yourself and find it. He has always been a bit of a legend down here and insists he’s no different from anyone else. I’m just surprised he hasn’t been nominated before now. Only shame is I can only vote once, but I’ll just have to make sure every other New Zealand geocacher votes for him too.”

Moneydork will receive a collector’s edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging his contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon

Thank you to the fellow December nominees and all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Geocaching. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.comEvery nomination must meet the following requirements:

  • 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’ve submitted them for the award.

Nominations for the January Featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose three candidates and post them on the Geocaching blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.

Geocaching HQ Presents: The Geocacher of the Month

Click on the image to learn more about each Geocacher of the Month

NOMINATE A GEOCACHER OF THE MONTH

 

They don’t speak the same language and they don’t all live on the same continent, but all of these geocachers above have something in common: they’re all united through their love of geocaching and the community it creates. They’re all Geocachers of the Month.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered fill out this webform now.

Every nomination must include the following items and abide by the following guidelines:

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

Wonder who else has earned the Geocacher of the Month award? Check out this video below and click CC for subtitles.

[vsw id=”8cGOns2eBMQ” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]

Subscribe to the Official Geocaching HQ YouTube channel for the latest tips and tricks in geocaching.

Is that a Geocacher in Your Rear View Mirror?

By MissJenn and RCA777

Is that a geocacher in your rear view mirror?

Geocachers might be easier to spot in Ontario, Canada than anywhere else on earth. The province approved the world’s first official Geocaching.com branded license plate.

A Geocaching.com license plate was one of the attractions at the 2012 Geocaching Block Party. It was proudly showcased in the “Geocaching Museum.” It rested among other unique items from the history of geocaching. Exhibits included the world’s first geocoin, a log book from an original Project A.P.E. cache and a Travel Bug that spent some time on the International Space Station.

These unique license plates (which also feature a “GC” license plate number) are now available in Ontario, Canada. Local geocacher Roy  Alexander aka RCA777 spearheaded the initiative.

Geocaching Museum exhibit

Roy says, “The Ontario government have offered graphic license plates with logos of professional sports teams for a few years. The graphic license plate program expanded and other organizations were also beginning to offer graphic license plates. I was certain that geocachers in Ontario would appreciate their own geocaching license plate … and the Ontario Geocaching.com License Plate Project was born”.

After contacting Geocaching.com and the Ontario government to confirm the process and work through the details, Roy reached out to the Ontario geocaching community for their support.  Roy is also an active community member within his local Central Ontario Geocachers  group (COG). Through monthly events and their annual Mega-Event, COG spread the word of the project across the province. Other regional groups also helped to spread the word, echoing the message of the project within their community groups and discussion forums.

Living room full of license plates

To keep everyone informed, Roy created a Driven to Geocache website as well as an Ontario license plate Facebook group.

Roy explains “The Ontario government required a bulk order of 200 sets of plates before they could process our application to the graphic license plate program.  After a year of promoting the project, there were commitments for all 200 sets of plates. The government fee for the new plates was collected from everyone and the order was placed.  After the plates were manufactured, they were shipped to me for distribution. The living room floor was quite a sight for a few days!”

At the Geocaching Block Party, Geocaching.com received special delivery of their own license plate from Roy.  As the Lily Pad is located at Latitude 47 (hence the name of our blog), it seemed appropriate that our license plate would be 01GC47.

RCA777

Geocaching.com branded license plates are now available to all Ontario residents through the local Service Ontario offices, who handle driver and vehicle licensing.

Some tips for success:

  1. Make sure you understand  all the requirements from your official agency.
  2. Ask Geocaching.com for official permission to use the logo.
  3. Early on, agree on a foolproof way to allocate license plate numbers within your group.  The first numbers (01, 02, 03…) and the doubles (77, 99, etc.) will most likely be very popular.
  4. Create an easy way for group members to communicate with one another.