Groundspeak needs your help featuring a geocacher each month that stands out by inspiring other geocachers with their innovation, creative hides and/or logs, respect for the environment, and helpfulness. More than a fifty geocachers submitted outstanding nominees from around the world.

The featured Geocacher of the Month recognition celebrates geocachers for their contributions.  A panel of Lackeys had the difficult task of selecting three of the most outstanding nominees. You can help name one of these nominees the featured “Geocacher of the Month.”

Each geocacher you see below displays extraordinary geocaching qualities including generosity and  inventiveness. Write a comment on this blog post about which of these three geocachers you’d like to see as the September featured “Geocacher of the Month.” Those not recognized as a nominee or as the featured “Geocacher of the Month” are encouraged to submit nominations again next month.

Read the testimonials below and leave a comment with your suggestion. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

AussieCacher

(Member since 2006)

Nomination by pkreun: “AussieCacher has hosted events in both the US and his native country, Australia, helping experienced and new geocachers alike. He is always willing to go out of his way to help others. In 2007 he organized a Travel Bug race from Sydney, Australia to Sioux Falls, South Dakota with 33 Travel Bugs taking part in the race.  He laminated each competitors TB details and delivered them all to the starting location in Australia. AussieCacher has created and hidden some very unique and creative geocaches in both Australia and the US. Many of these geocaches have not been seen anywhere else and were hand made from scratch.

AussieCacher thoroughly enjoys the outdoors and respects the environment immensely. During his travels geocaching he has performed CITO many times and rescued animals from turtles, birds, frogs to dumped kittens. AussieCacher has taken part in 12 CITOs and just last month he hosted his first CITO.  He has developed 12 EarthCaches as well as finding over 180.”

 

SuperGoober

(Member since 2005)

Nomination by The Weasel:  “Jeff has hosted five “official” 101, 201, and 301 events. What I would like to stress is that Jeff has done WELL over 50+ 101 events for SEVERAL groups from the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Libraries, and any group that asks for a class to be held. Some of these events have been several hours away, but Jeff is always willing to lend a hand and do this.

Jeff has hosted 8 “unofficial” trips to a 5×5 caches of his, The Siege!. This is a very extreme cache which involves going over a cliff face. Jeff is ALWAYS willing to take groups to this cache to ensure their safety.

Jeff is a VERY active member of the Iowa Geocachers Organization where he has held a position on the BOD for several of years as well as part of the Land Management committee.

Jeff is a volunteer  with the Linn County Conservation, and has donated several hours helping them with various events.

Jeff is a model geocacher which all of us in the area and beyond can be proud of. He is always willing to lend advice/help to any cache that approaches him or contacts him.”

 

pilgrimsprogress

(Member since 2006)

Nomination by OddAngles: “David and Tina would be an excellent choice for this award.  This team has a Fire Love for Geocaching. They will take anyone who wants to caching and take them to do any and every cache that their heart desires.

David and Tina are always willing to participate in CITO’s and have co-held many CITO Events.

They have been caching since December 2006.

I would say David and Tina are well rounded cachers in experience when it comes to terrains and difficulties.  Their cache hides are as versatile as the caches that they’ve hunted.  The Pilgrim’s have hidden water caches and high terrain land hides as well.

When Pilgrimsprogress help’s with an event, they will go to no end to make it fun.  David and Tina will come up with the most exciting and fun games.  Besides the Human Checkers, they did a boardwalk team race once…where a team of 3 had to walk using boards as their feet. Pilgrimsprogress also co-managers of a Geocaching Group out of Augusta, Georgia called “CSRA Geocachers”.  They are the heart and soul, the brains and backing behind many of the group’s monthly events.”

 

A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide the featured Geocacher of the Month award. 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 and certificate acknowledging their contributions signed by the founders of Geocaching.com: Jeremy Irish, Bryan Roth and Elias Alvord.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be the Geocachers of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com.

 

Every nomination must meet the following requirements. Please include your name, the name of your nominee, their username, at least one picture of the nominee and description (in 500 or fewer 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 October Geocacher of the Month must be received by October 3rd.

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.

Meet some of the Featured Geocachers of the Month

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List of Featured Geocachers of the Month by Date

 

August 2011 – haksu10

haksu10 is the August Geocacher of the Month. Dozens of geocachers wrote in to share stories about haksu10’s humble dedication to geocaching, geocachers and his local community. haksu10 created geocache.fi site, used by most Finnish geocachers daily. He also placed nearly a hundred creative and engaging caches. One of the most memorable is GC16QCH Haksulandia. According to a Finnish geocacher, “What makes it special, though, is that it is located at haksu10′s yard. According to the description, the cache is equipped with an electric outlet in case you need to charge anything. Call before you arrive (or just ring the doorbell) and haksu10 will make you some coffee.”

 

September 2011 – SuperGoober

SuperGoober is the September Featured Geocacher of the Month. Dozens of geocachers wrote in to share stories about SuperGoober’s humble dedication to geocaching, geocachers and his local community. He has hosted and attended numerous events, led many geocachers on their first outings, and is involved in local geocaching organizations. According to one nominee, “Jeff is a model geocacher who all of us in the area and beyond can be proud of. He is always willing to lend advice/help to any cacher that approaches him or contacts him.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2011- coast2coast2coast

coast2coast2coast has been named the October Featured Geocacher of the Month. Numerous geocachers wrote in to support coast2coast2coast’s humble dedication to geocaching, geocachers and his local community. According to one nominee, “Tom and Heather are the reason why I learned about geocaching in the first place and ever since they have been an inspiration to all geocachers in our neck of the woods. They have hosted multiple events, hidden excellent caches, all at various levels of difficulty, and are always aiding fellow cachers when in need.”

 

 

 

November 2011 – Rokman4

According to many, Rokman4‘s dedication to the game and his positive contribution the geocaching community are evident in his time spent assisting new geocachers, speaking at local libraries, and organizing the first ever geocaching training ground. According to one comment: “Rod is looking into getting the city to donate a meeting room so that once a month new and seasoned cachers can learn how to use the different programs associated with geocaching, how to use pocket queries, and just general information about geocaching. Rod is a terrific role model for those of us that are new the the game.”

 

 

 

December 2011 – AbbeyAckbar

AbbeyAckbar, a geocaching couple, is the December Featured Geocacher of the Month. They are known for organizing many of the most creative and popular events in Dublin, Ireland. According to one cacher, “AbbeyAckbar have gathered people for such events as: WWFM VIII – Dublin, Ireland and a mega huge International Geocaching Day (IGD)01: CITO Burrow Beach, Dublin, Ireland and later that day another event: IGD01: Dublin, Ireland and recently 11.11.11 – It’s all about the numbers. They are great planners, everything is always under control with them.” AbbeyAckbar is also being recognized for their consistent willingness to assist a geocacher in need. One geocacher mentioned, and many others agreed, that, “they introduced me to Geocaching and have been great to me, on many a geocaching outing, helping and encouraging me along the way.”

January 2012 – SerenityNow

SerenityNow, a geocaching couple from Ohio, is the January Featured Geocacher of the Month. They are known for their popular annual geocaching events and creative puzzle cache hides. According to TeamDotOne, “SerenityNow is responsible for the largest annual events in Ohio known affectionately as the Grand Caching Events (GCE). An example of one of these events is CSI: Cleveland.  Not only do to they go way out of their way to host the best events ever but they always seem to come up with something new each and every year to make people want to keep coming back. We have spent countless hours enjoying their company, enjoying their events, enjoying their caches and most importantly, enjoying their friendship.”

 

 

 

February 2012 – magicman65

Magicman65, a Comedy Magician from Vancouver, BC, is February’s Featured Geocacher of the Month. Magicman65 is the Vice President of the BC Geocaching Association as well as an active member of the Mid Island Geocaching Association and the Vancouver Island Geocaching Association. In addition, Magicman65 teaches geocaching and hides many creative caches. According to one geocacher, “magicman65 sets an example to other cachers- he carries a knapsack with him filled with logbooks, plastic baggies, and swag.  When he comes across a cache that needs maintenance, he will fix it right there on the spot and then he will send a private message to the cache owner informing him/her that the cache is fixed, saving others a trip.”

 

 

 

March 2012 – Alexschweigert

Alexschweigert, recognized for sharing his love for geocaching and the sea with others is March’s Featured Geocacher of the Month. Alex chartered a ship for nearly 300 geocachers and led the Allerhalligen-Cruises on March 24th. That’s the fifth event of its kind led by Alex and his team involving chartered ships and a geocaching adventure across the North Sea. Alex also shares his joy of geocaching and life on the coast through his popular geocaching blog. According to one geocacher, Alex “is tremendously engaged and so much into geocaching that he is putting up great caches in his surroundings and besides that, he has the capability of putting on outrageous events.”

 

 

 

 

April 2012 – Milosheart

Milosheart, a power couple from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada is recognized for the success of geocaching in their community. They have been hosting monthly breakfasts and contests in various locations in Fredericton. Not only have they put so much of their time into organizing events and contest, but they make sure to take the time to greet and welcome new cachers to the area. According to one geocacher, Gwen and Terry are nothing short of “excellent ambassadors of the sport.”

 

 

 

May 2012 – Lulusoy

Lulusoy is recognized for being one of the most active geocachers from the island of Puerto Rico. She organized the very first official CITO event that was held in Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo and runs a podcased, called Cache D Island every two weeks. She loves to talk about anything and everything geocaching-related. Lulu also loves to explore new places and do new things. She and her crew organize different geotrips to various places across Puerto Rico. According to one geocacher, “she is a great representation of an enthusiastic geocacher.”

 

 

 

June 2012 – SniperChicken

SniperChicken is recognized for his kindness and creative ability to engage the geocaching community through his caches. He is the Board President of the Mississippi Geocachers Association, owns over 140 caches, and is known to go above and beyond to research every hiding location to provide fellow geocachers with a unique geocache and story. According to one geocacher casting a vote, “he [SniperChicken] does whatever he can to help others, to make a cache different and exciting. He’s a real inspiration to newbies and seasoned cachers alike.”

 

 

 

 

 

July 2012 – De Wijngemachtigde

De Wijngemachtigde is recognized for encouraging a record number of geocachers across the Netherlands to participate in Geocoin races. His creative approach to get the community to put their trackables in circulation, instead of keeping them at home, allowed the coins to travel across all 415 municipalities of the Netherlands. As one geocacher put it, “Not only has he [De Wijngemachtigde] put and continues to put a lot of effort in the Dutch Geocoin race, he also frequently gives away Geocoins to other cachers through quizzes and sweepstakes. These initiatives really create a very positive vibe for geocaching in the Netherlands and beyond!”

 

 

 

 

 

August 2012 – whbaisden

Wendy, a.k.a. whbaisdenn is recognized for putting together the Hatfield and McCoy GeoTrail Kickoff Event scheduled for September 1, 2012. She has also been a strong advocate for her community since she started geocaching in 2010. As one geocacher casting a vote put it, “In the very short time she [Wendy] has been involved with geocaching, she has managed to instill in any number of people the joy of geocaching. She has managed to get multiple city governments and chambers of commerce aligned behind what has turned out to be a major event, possibly even a Mega-Event. Nothing in her previous geocaching experience has prepared her for this massive undertaking, but she has not wavered in her determination to succeed, nor has she been stopped by any obstacle. I think she had done a truly remarkable job and is worthy of recognition.”

 

 

 

September 2012 – SpongeBob CachePants

Stuart, a.k.a. SpongeBob CachePants is recognized  for his ability to influence and encourage geocachers around him, and for his commitment to providing quality geocaches for his community. SpongeBob CachePants is also praised for his work on the Hatfield McCoy GeoTrail Kickoff Event – a small community event that quickly became a Mega-Event. According to one geocacher casting a vote, ” Stuart has done a lot for the geocaching community and his local community. His efforts in the Hatfield McCoy GeoTrail was a stellar. He brought his caching experience to help create a combination of history and locations to bring cachers together from all over the country. Not only did he recognize cachers when they attended the events, but he also sent personal e-mails to most attendees acknowledging their will attends. Now that is attention to detail.”

 

October 2012 – TeamAstro

John, a.k.a. TeamAstro is recognized for creating the Solar System series of caches in South Australia. This series of caches is the world’s largest scale model of the Solar System. He is famous for his creative hides and is the proud owner of the most ‘Favorited’ cache in South Australia. John is also an important part of the South Australian geocaching community, and is known for his friendliness and eagerness in helping out new cachers. As one geocacher casting a vote put it, “TeamAstro has literally traveled the length and breadth of Australia with his cache hides, inspired others to look skywards with their caches, and is completely selfless in the way he conducts himself around other cachers…He just oozes inspiration… Team Astro is an absolute force behind the caching scene in Australia.”

 

 

November 2012 – balkamper13

Ted, a.k.a. balkamper13 is recognized for introducing and helping countless novice geocachers become caching addicts. He has donated quality homemade swag, time, and money to geocaching events. Ted has spent numerous hours teaching his secrets, and always invites new geocachers on geocaching adventures and events. He also shares his geocaching adventures and tips on this blog, LiveLoveCache.com. A geocacher who cast a vote says, “balkamper13 helped get us started. We love finding his caches and his swag.  The first CSI series cache find had us hooked. I have never seen such creativity! The events he hosts are first class. I have known balkamper13 for about a year and I have never met a fellow cacher who puts his time, money, heart, and soul into this great hobby to make his fellow cachers’ experiences the best.”

 

 

December 2012 – Moneydork

Wayne, a.k.a. 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 Monedork writes, “My first ever event was Moneydork’s 3rd Massive Easter Egg Hunt, which he held every year until he moved to Australia – that was 7 in total. I was the last to find a nearby multi at one of the events, and he was walking the opposite direction as I walked towards GZ. He promptly turned around to make sure I found it. I didn’t know who he was, but even in just 3 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.”

January 2013 – The Weasel

The Weasel is recognized for organizing Cache In Trash Out (CITO) events, helping guide local geocaching as a board member of the Iowa Geocacher Organization, and spreading the word about proper geocaching etiquette through conducting and assisting in over 50 geocaching 101, 201 and 301 classes and workshops throughout the State of Iowa and abroad.A geocacher who voted for The Weasel writes, “I heard my parents speak over and over again about caches put out by The Weasel, so I had to see for myself what was so good about them. On a few visits to see my parents we headed out to get a little caching in. Inevitably nearly every cache that I liked turned out to be placed by The Weasel. His caches are fun, unique, well placed, and well maintained. You can’t help but get excited about geocaching when you are working on one of his caches! And to know how much he cares about his community, the environment, and the awareness and promotion of geocaching through friendships and education”

 

February 2013 – louwtjievdw

Louwtjievdw is known in the South African geocaching community as a creative geocache hider. He’s built a reputation as a geocacher who’s as quick to maintain his geocache hides as he is to make friends with new geocachers. He’s also known for friendly advice, leaving great logs on geocaches he’s found and having a cup of coffee ready for geocachers at his home.One voter writes, “Oom Louwtjie, also called the “Flame of Bloemfontein”, gets our vote. His contribution towards geocaching can not go unnoticed. He accelerated this hobby and made it extremely pleasurable and challenging. His unique cache hides and above all his comments, his friendly nature, made him a legend in our country. He has the ability to find caches even in the toughest places with no complaints and he will always look for that something good in every cache hide…”

March 2013 – WVTim

WVTim is known for contributing one-on-one and through social media to improve geocaching for others. One geocacher who left a comment fro WVTim wrote, “I am familiar with WVTim due to his YouTube videos. His gadgetcaches channel, in only 3 months, has nearly 11K views. He does instructional videos on how to build his gadget caches. So, he not only has amazing caches, he is giving ideas and instructions to cachers everywhere on how to build them. Cachers everywhere are benefiting from this guy whose caches have over 2K favorite votes. Plus, he just doesn’t do great caches. I’ve learned from this blog he has seminars, educational events, he teaches geocaching in schools, and to the Boy Scouts. He assists his state and local government in placing geocaching trails.”

 

April 2013- MulderNScully

Cristina Florez, “Mamabear Crew” writes, “My nomination for MulderNScully isn’t just because they’re “nice”… it’s because they take geocaching as a true sport. And their caches… ooooh their caches……. just like their username suggests, they are out of this world! Inventive, thought out, truly educational, and some of them hard as hell. They have been an inspiration to us and we will be trying to follow their lead in making this sport a true adventure!”

Jerry Lynn DellAmic writes, “They have helped me when I got stuck on puzzle caches, but they never gave me the solution.  They made me talk out loud. …MulderNScully take pride in their geocaches.  For them, it’s not about the numbers.  It’s about enjoying life.  Taking the opportunity to walk among nature.  Go to places that you may not ever get the chance to see. If it hadn’t been for this great hobby, I would never have had the opportunity to meet these life long friends.”

 

May 2013 – OHMIC

Josh Bernier (username Stonagal) nominated OHMIC. He says, “With close to 15,000 finds, Jacques, OHMIC has found more geocaches than any other geocacher in the Canadian province of Manitoba.  He has more than 130 published caches, over six cache types.  But the biggest reason I think he should be the Geocacher of the Month is because of the great work he has done in providing quality events for local geocachers.  OHMIC is an interpreter at the Oak Hammock Marsh.  For the past seven years, he has hosted an event in May called “Cache the Marsh“.  Geocachers split into teams and explore the Interpretive Centre’s numerous exhibits to get clues as to the locations of several caches.  It’s a mad race for some new FTFs, and along the way cachers learn about wetlands ecosystems and wildlife.  It’s a great family-friendly competitive event that ends with a barbecue.  This was the seventh year OHMIC has planned and hosted the event, and it lived up to the great things I had heard other cachers say about it. OHMIC is also a Platinum-level Earthcache Master, and the owner of a local favourite

June 2013 – fredrikhast

 

 

fredrikhast  is  the Featured Geocacher of the Month for June 2013. Fredrik created a popular geocaching YouTube vlog, and has spent more than three years contributing to his local and the global geocaching community.

One comment shows fredrikhast commitment to the geocache quality, “His caches always got that little extra! Great places, amazing stories and a lot of work and love put into his caches makes you feel fantastic when you have logged a “fredrikhast-cache”! I also like to say that I really enjoyed the events Fredrik and his teammates arranged!”

 

 

 

 

July 2013 – Mollov 

 

 

One comment shows Mollov’s 360 degree passion for geocaching and its community, “Mollov is one of the most active geocachers in Bulgaria I know and probably the most enthusiastic one as well. His geocaching activities do not end with finding, hiding and maintaining geocaches. If you have seen any of his geocaching adventures on youtube, or read any of his geocaching articles on his blog, or attended any of the events organized by him, then you probably know why Mollov deserves to be selected as Geocacher of the Month. For all the rest, it would be enough to say that Mollov’s devotion has made geocaching a much more popular activity in Bulgaria. His dedication to the game deserves to be recognized not only in his own country but by the wider geocaching society as well.”

 

 

 

August 2013 – Dr Evil. 

 

Dr Evil. was officially named Geocacher of the Month in August, One comment details Dr Evil.’s family-friendly approach to geocaching, “His caches are fantastic for kids and getting them interested in caching but also in the great outdoors again. His vlogs on YouTube are always informative, upbeat but above all that you can see his dedication and his passion for finding caches and placing them. He’s organised some great events some for the family, some for the extreme cacher but he is always friendly, polite and always willing to help out a beginner.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 2013 – Old Navy 

 

One geocacher who commented wrote, “My vote is for Old Navy for Geocacher of the Month! He has done so much for the Geocaching community and goes above and beyond, whether it’s hiding quality caches or event planning as part of Northern New Jersey Cachers (NNJC) or working with local municipalities and parks to introduce geocaching to so many people. As Geocaching continues to grow in leaps and bounds over the years Old Navy has been there in Geo101 introduction classes to bring new people into the sport.”