Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Kings must have difficult and weighty responsibilities—but none so difficult as naming the Geocacher of the Month, we think.

 

The nominations for September’s Geocacher of the Month include a globe-trotting ‘cacher, the founder of a GeoCamping group, and a man whom many tribute as the greatest CO in Sweden.

Nominated as an “unsung hero”, cincol’s accolades are certainly not going unsung anymore! This “gentleman and a geocacher” is credited with planting the seeds of geocaching in the United Arab Emirates. Christie says, “The UAE has a strong GC community and I could not be more grateful to him that this isn’t just something I can do when I visit the US in summertime. We will likely never meet but thanks cincol on behalf of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman!”

fatkidsOTWunite is the driving force behind the Georgia Geo-Campers—a group of folks who mesh camping and geocaching in Georgia’s state parks. JunkingNGeorgia says, “[fatkidsOTWunite] puts a tremendous amount of work into these events every month, and always has a smile and laugh for all of us.”

1000sjöar is widely hailed as a “Swedish legend”. In Sweden, 10000sjöar is known as having hidden the most creative, interesting, and clever geocaches around (in the area? check out GC500Q5). Lok5 says, “This man has inspired a whole region in Sweden to start geocaching! He is always there if you need help in any way. With his creative logs, well-built hides, his sense of humor and his gentlemanly manners, he is with no doubt on of the uncrowned Geocacher Kings in Sweden!”

Drumroll please…

The September Geocacher of the Month award goes to fatkidsOTWunite! Hailing from Georgia, USA, fatkidsOTWunited has been geocaching for 7 years and has over 2,600 finds, but she stands out because of her incredible propensity to make others feel welcome in the game of Geocaching.

Although her work for Mega Events (like Going Caching), undoubtedly makes them incredible experiences for all, her specialty seems to be bringing smaller groups of folks together. fatkidsOTWunite is the driving force behind Georgia Geo-Campers, which geo-camps in a different state park for an entire weekend every month. In her nomination, LionsLair says, “She dedicates tireless volunteer hours working hand in hand with Georgia State Parks and each individual park manager to provide all attendees an experience that is not often offered to the general public.”

Everyone has something sparkling to say about the Geo-Campers group. Jane says, “Attending our first GA Geocampers event and not knowing a soul, [fatkidsOTWunite’s] friendliness, enthusiasm, and geo-spirit just amazed me and immediately made sure we met everyone! Now thanks to her dedication and hard work, we have a new monthly adventure of caching at a different GA State Park! Janet arranges moonlight ranger hikes, frogwalks, you name it!”

Scott says, “[fatkidsOTWunite] gives to Geocaching way more than she receives. [Remember] the old caching saying “Take something, leave something of equal or greater value”? Well she always leaves a “higher value” trade behind in everything she does.”

With her “terrific sense of humor” and “selfless” attitude, we’re happy to name fatkidsOTWunite as September’s Geocacher of the Month. And guess what? So were the 80+ folks her left nice comments about her.

“[fatkidsOTWunite] is very deserving of this honor and has always been a good steward of our sport. Very dedicated and always volunteering to help new and old cachers alike enjoy their adventures in caching!” says JB.

Thank you fatkidsOTWunite for all you’ve done to inspire and enthuse the geocachers you meet!

Three cheers for fatkidsOTWunite! Share your congratulations with her below.

 

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform.

 

Experience, friendliness and geocaching smarts—these could be used to describe all three nominees for the August 2014 Geocacher of the Month. Each has strong ties to their local communities, plenty of finds and hides, as well as a willingness to help out any geocacher who needs it. While all three are amazing, only one can be the Geocacher of the Month. Leave your comment below!

Each of the nominees below is an essential part of the global geocaching community and will receive a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle, but only one will be the next Geocacher of the Month. A  panel from Geocaching HQ will use your comments, community input and other data to decide the winner.

Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Geocacher of the Month: write a supportive comment for the nominated geocacher you feel should be awarded the title.

ikolor

One of the nominations for ikolor comes from Tracymegan who says, “When I first started caching and ever since then, I have always seen Ikolor as really a backbone of South Florida Caching. He wealth of knowledge, puzzle abilities, amazing finding skills, and determination to always fine a cache are unparalleled. She is the first to help out newbie cachers and is out and about with any number of cachers. You never know where you are going to find her. Her enthusiasm for this game and patience with all of us is so greatly appreciated! Her logs are fun and entertaining and her imagination is boundless.”

 

 

 

 

Trekkie79

Geocacher tweetnes says, “Trekkie79 is great geocacher with over 10,000 caches & put out 130 awesome caches. He is always there to help you out. You can call him anytime. He has done classes for 101 in geocaching & how to use the site.The world needs to know if all cachers were like him what a great world this would be.Plus he has a remarkable wife that backs him up & helps us all.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team Geo-Rangers

Geocacher Newo Max had this to say, “Team Geo Rangers (Brett) as been caching since 2003, and recently reached his 30,000 find milestone. He’s hidden over 750 caches as well, including his SANTA BARBARIAN series profiling other local geocachers. He writes his motto “It’s all good!” in every cache he logs.

“TGR” as he is widely-known both creates and attends event caches, and is always willing to help out new cachers with helpful advice and encouragement. We thanked him personally, and feel he says it best in his reply “Your welcome! Just trying to add value with the logs as a way to thank you for the extra effort. Every fun cache placed has a chance to attract and retain new geocachers. Keep up the great work!””

Leave a comment to vote for the geocacher who you think should be Geocacher of the Month.

 

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform.

Sometimes the world is a big place.

 

It’s a daunting place with crisscrossing borders and politics, and for many it’s often isolating. Then there’s geocaching. The Geocacher of the Month taught us a lesson. The world of geocaching is small, connected and ready to celebrate the contributions of other geocachers.

We met three geocachers from different countries. Each delivers serious geocaching joy to their local geocaching communities, whether it’s gadget geocaches, inspiration and encouragement or a groundbreaking series of geocaches, or even all three.

Each of the geocachers will receive special recognition and a prize package for their contribution to the adventure of geocaching. Before naming the Geocacher of the Month, Geocaching HQ reviews community input and blog comments. Each comment is read and posts in native languages are encouraged.

It was a difficult decision.

 

With over a decade of geocaching and ambassador expertise, this adventurer can now claim the title “Geocacher of the Month”.

Leftygator is known throughout the Mississippi geocaching community for his contagious smile, extensive GPS knowledge and round-the-clock helpfulness.  With over 100 hides under his belt, he is also a master at hiding. Rumor has it that his are the toughest and best in the area.

One geocacher writes, “Ricky and I first met Lefty in August 2008 at our very first event that we went to. When Ricky saw Lefty he told me he was going to hang onto Lefty’s coat tail and learn everything he could about geocaching and hang on we did. We went on a number of caching trips with him and he took time to show us how to load caches and how to use GSAK. Ricky was diagnosed with leukemia on Sept. 5, 2011 and Lefty visited with Ricky quite often while he was in the hospital and would take Ricky’s phone calls anytime of the day or night. Ricky went into remission and we had eight good months of caching before Ricky passed on Nov. 17, 2012. Lefty was there for me as well as many of our geocaching friends. Leftygator is my friend and hero.”

Another geocacher says, “He was the first cacher I came across while on the hunt and stopped to talk to me for a few minutes even though he could have just continued on his way. His hides always make you think, “If I was Lefty where would I hide this cache?” He never hesitates to help, not only in the geocaching world but he passes on advice as a military veteran to the active military in the community. I consider it an honor to have Leftygator as one of my caching mentors.”

Congratulations again to Leftygator for earning the July 2014 title of Geocacher of the Month.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, simply fill out this webform.