I wanted to start a series to provide recognition for a specific set of folks. Although there are many people deserving of being recognized, I wanted to do so for a group that has previously been overlooked. These are NOT tribute caches (whatever they are). These are Attaboy and Attagirl caches for Randolph County Geocachers for surpassing the goal of 5,000 caches AND/OR for providing extraordinary adventures for geocachers. Each cache provides an affirmation that the geocacher has passed some milestone deserving of some recognition. I've been threatening to post this series for a while and NOW is the time.
Our next Attaboy goes to Markcase. Anyone who meets Mark will recognize his passion for living (and ADHD) immediately. I can say that because it takes one to know one. When he chooses to do something, he is all in. Geocaching has been no exception. Once he got his training wheels off, and that didn't take long, Mark began caching to beat the band. If he is traveling, he finds a way to work his caching in. He was the first actual resident of Randolph County to top 5,000 geocaches found. Last year, he found over 5,000 in one month.
He also incorporates his geocaching into his classroom and into his profession. While he has been a leader in providing events of all sorts, I want to particularly highlight his work in two places. First, he has been hosting training events with the Discovery Education Network to introduce teachers to geocaching as a way to enhance student learning. Second, he was the primary motivator for our North Carolina Star, one of the 50 such geoart stars in the U.S. In addition, Mark is Mr. Earthcache in our area. If you've found a n earthcache locally, he is probably the C.O. If you cache with Mark you can count on learning lots about our environment, and probably you will assist in collecting and carrying samples he wants to take home. Attaboy, Markcase! Salute!