2018 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Communication |Accountability |Respect |Engagement

Saturday, February 24, 2018
McMillan Memorial Library
Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Attendees
Dawn Children – present
Lois Stedman -present
Brian Zubowski – present
Jessica Krueger – present
Renee Vanselow-not present (appeared via phone for elections)
Jim Peterson-present
Robert Hamblin-present
Kelly King-present
Daniel Bednarek-present

Agenda
9:00 Meet and Greet
9:14 a.m. Call to Order
Treasurer’s Report: Jessica reported that the current balance is $9540.23
Secretary’s Report: Brian handed out the most recent minutes and the agenda for this meeting
Election of WGA Officers:
Nomination for President: Dawn, Kelly 1st, Lois 2nd
Nomination for Vice-president: Lois, Dawn 1st, Bob 2nd
Nomination for Secretary: Jim, Lois 1st, Jess 2nd – Kelly Dawn 1st, Bob 2nd
Voted in: Kelly 6-3
Nomination for Treasurer: Jess, Bob 1st, Kelly 2nd

WGA Committee Reports and Assignments- All members of the Board are included in every committee by default.
Community Education Committee: Renee volunteered to chair, Daniel volunteered to co-chair
Website Committee: Lois volunteered to remain chair, Brian volunteered to co-chair. Bob volunteered to assist. It was agreed that historical posts would be the responsibility of the website committee.
Social Media: It was decided to split Social Media responsibilities from the Website committee and make it its own committee. At this time Social Media consists of Facebook and Instargram – Jess volunteered to chair, Dawn volunteered to co-chair
WGA Newsletter: Dawn volunteered to chair, Lois volunteered to co-chair
WGA Webpage Articles: ALL of the BOD will take responsibility
WGA TB-Race: Brian volunteered to chair, Kelly volunteered to co-chair
Membership Committee: Jess volunteered to chair, Lois volunteered to co-chair, and Jim volunteered to assist.
COTM Committee: Jess volunteered to chair, Daniel volunteered to co-chair
WGA Spring Campout: Jess volunteered to chair, Kelly volunteered to co-chair
WGA Spring Campout Pancake Feed: ALL BOD members will volunteer
West Bend Cache Ba$h: ALL BOD members will volunteer
West Bend Cache Ba$h Pancake Breakfast: Brian volunteered to chair, Jim volunteered to co-chair, and Bob volunteered to assist
WGA Fall Picnic: Renee volunteered to chair, Bob volunteered to co-chair
WGA Winter Chili Feed: TBD
Support of Member Driven Events: ALL BOD members will assist
New Committee Suggestions: ALL BOD members will assist

Special WGA Volunteer Updates

Maintenance of the WGA GeoArt: BigJim60 will stay on even with his new BOD role
Cache Rescue/LCG administrator: Verifying current administrators will continueOne will continue, Dawn to contact the other.
WGA Historian- It was decided that Historian will not get additional access for updating the historical timeline info. Historian would submit articles to the website committee and they would post articles. Dawn will be contacting the Historian with the updates.
Events Map on the Webpage: Lois will continue the events map with the help of the website committee. Dawn will continue the weekly activity posts.
Hyperactivity: Squirrel will continue.
Webmaster: Made notes on topics to discuss with the Webmaster when we met with him during this meeting.

Call with Webmaster at 11:00

LCG Admin will need to keep some permissions to be the admin for the LCG.
– Webmaster will remove all permissions and then re-grant permissions needed for the LCG,

Can Thread Stealers be cleaned up/recent posts first.
-Webmaster will look to see if there is a way to flip Thread Stealers so the most recent post is first. One option Webmaster is looking to see if he can archive oldest posts with a link to read only access.. The size of this thread may be an issue.

Issues with the Activity tab
Webmaster will look into captures, possible plug-in update.

Webmaster will look into adding links to the WGA Facebook and Instagram accounts. The FB link has been done.

Discussion of a mobile app: It was decided at this time, due to the time and money involved in creating and maintaining an app we will not pursue this option.

Looking for a survey/poll to pinpoint issues with the website: Webmaster will create a poll and present it to the BOD. When approved we can post to the website. UPDATE: Poll is posted on the site
Website Updates: An overhaul of the entire site would take minimum of 6 months but is possible.
Webmaster will looking fixing the gray checked background on pictures posted on the web-site. UPDATE: This has been fixed.
Updates/Upgrades will be made in small steps leading to the full overhaul.
Real-time chat options: Webmaster will look into the possibility of a real-time chat.

12 noon: Call ended
Break for lunch
1:00 Reconvene

Unfinished Business:
1. Motion to officially change the bylaws to reflect the address of the WGA financials as that of the Treasurer. Table until status of non-profit is known.
2. Motion to update the duties of the officers in the bylaws: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. All BOD members will review and be prepared to discuss at the April meeting.
3. Distribution of older WGA geocoins in the WGA inventory. Silent auction Fall picnic ‘18 and Spring Campout ‘19, eBay auction – Tabled until after trailer inventory.
4. Kid’s Club Looking to the membership to take the lead. Dawn and Kelly will co-chair this. Possible age groups 4-9 and 10-15
5. What spending requires the need of a motion. Renee and Jess to gather historical data for the May meeting to provide a baseline of spending on events.
6. Donations and solicitations. Chamber of Commerce is a great resource. Dawn to contact the Prairie du Chien CoC for Spring Campout.
7. Sales kits for BOD members: There were split feelings on this. It will be up to each BOD member to decide if they want to have a sales kit or not. BOD member would be responsible for the cost of their kit.
8. Inventory tracking app to avoid hand counting. Jess is going to research options.
New Business
1. Purchase of a tablet and hotspot for POS use. Kelly and Brian will research tablet options. We will not be pursuing a hot spot at this time, enough BOD members and members in general have offered use of their hot spots if and when needed.
2. Monthly Photo Contest Prizes Photo of the year will get a Geocaching yearly membership, $29.99 value. Monthly winners receive a gift card for WGA swag valued at $12.00. The gift certificate will have no cash value and change will not be given in return. Dawn will create the gift certificate.

2018 WGA Merchandise and SWAG
1. Theme for 2018 Uniquely Wisconsin
2. BOD pathtag All BOD members agreed (Renee needs to reply) to purchase a BOD pathtag for 2018.
3. Geocoin Dawn will be reaching out to our graphic designer members to help with a design, going with the Uniquely Wisconsin theme.
4. Shirts/sweatshirts/hats: we need to discuss when Renee is available. Do we want to look at other vendors to compare products and prices?
5. Cachekinz – Will continue the new theme, need to see what the coin is before moving on.
6. Candyman merchandise/WA stickers – We need more bison tubes. Our inventory is zero. We will not order more rocks.
Pocket T-shirts and tennis hats/visors were requested in our suggestion box at the Chili feed. Winter Beanies were suggested on the forums. Again, we need to discuss when Renee is available.
Information Relevant to Hosting Events
WGA member volunteers: Volunteers are an asset that is very hard to come by at times. We need to make sure that we don’t accept their help without having tasks that can be done within that person’s capabilities. Volunteers that don’t feel appreciated don’t volunteer as much.
Guessing Games – Games of Skill vs. Games of Chance — Cache Containers in a bucket. Guess the weight of an ammo can. We can offer games of skill without the need to acquire a raffle license. Games of chance are not something that we want to venture into. If you are unsure…ask.
Silent Auction of donated/ handmade WGA Member Items: This is a successful activity, but we cannot rely on it. If we host them often, we don’t get a lot of donations. We should keep this as an “emergency fundraiser” idea.
Discussed the possibility of doing a member spotlight
The following is copied from the forums as member suggestions:
Member: Forgot to throw this idea in the suggestion box today. I briefly mentioned it to Dawn a few days ago. Maybe you can put it up for discussion at an upcoming meeting.
LCG Award- traveling trophy to the yearly champ
Large ammo can with engraved placard on the side for year and cacher name entry
Small memento by champs could go in cache to stay forever (picture, pathtag)
We discussed the traveling trophy and the idea is great in theory but logistically a traveling trophy caused concern such as it getting lost, member moving and taking it with them, not getting it back for the next year’s hand-off.

Member: I overheard a fellow cacher at this weekend’s event talking about how difficult the website can be to manipulate through. She said she doesn’t use the site because of that reason. Can we put some type of question for suggestions to make the WGA website more user friendly? Maybe our members have some great ideas. I’m sure there are other sites out there that we could build off of. – This was addressed with Chris S, see notes above.

4:30 Meeting adjourned and group photo

Member: I learned last month there is a Cache of the Month winners LIST and a Cache of the Month winners BOOKMARK. They have different information. The shorter list is shown on the WGA COTM page, however a link is provided for the longer geocaching.com bookmark (both created by the WGA). I didn’t realize they were reporting two different sets of information. The list shown on the WGA website only reports cache winners from 2/2015 to current (currently 161 caches), while the bookmark list only reports the winners from 2/2002 through 10/2014 (407 total). Nov 2014 to January 2015 are not presented on either list. Maybe they didn’t have COTM voting in those months. I suppose I could look it up.
Each month I (usually) nominate some caches for the Cache of the Month. After selecting possibilities in all 5 regions (I get around), I have been using the bookmark list that is linked on the COTM page to reference what has already won. Last month I was informed that two of my nominations had previously won and therefore those nominations were being omitted, so today I looked closer at the bookmark list. That’s when I noticed that the bookmark list was outdated. Could this be addressed so we know which caches we can nominate and vote for?
When I click on “View Cache of the Month winners as a geocaching.com bookmark list” it takes me to this bookmark list:
https://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=5ac71e2a-311c-43be-9b74-1df91ade7399
So to correct the disconnect, several possibilities:
1. If the lists are not going to be synched/updated, simply change “View Cache of the Month winners as a geocaching.com bookmark list,” to state “View Cache of the Month winners from 2002-2014 as a geocaching.com bookmark list,” and change the list shown on the WGA website from “View complete list of previous Cache of the Month winners” to state “View list of previous Cache of the Month winners 2015-current.”
2. Add the missing COTM winners (if any) from Nov 2014 to January 2015.
3. Add all COTM caches to the geocaching.com bookmark list, keep the wording that says “View Cache of the Month winners as a geocaching.com bookmark list,” and change the wording on the WGA COTM page for the recent winners to state “View list of previous Cache of the Month winners 2015-current.”
4. Take no action and leave the two different lists as is.
I prefer option 3, since I’m used to referencing the bookmark list when considering possibilities for nomination. When looking at that bookmark list, I can select Ctrl-F (“find”) and search for a keyword in the title of the cache I’m considering. If it doesn’t show up on the search, I know it’s not on the bookmark list and I nominate it. But I now know that it won’t necessarily work since there are two separate lists and they do not contain the same information. Going forward, at least for now, I’ll have to search two separate lists before nominating a cache.

Member: Thanks for asking. Just brainstorming some possibilities here…
1. New promotional items to consider (merchandise that has not yet ever been offered before might have robust sales since it’s new): ammo cans WITH a geocaching label applied, soft 6-can coolers (for snack or drinks for those geocaching day-trips), two-port USB car charger, 2200mAh or better portable battery backup charger (I actually like 4000mAh or better but they probably have a significant cost increase), rainwear, small geocache stickers, mosquito head netting (without a WGA logo), 2”x3” and 3” x 4” Ziploc bags (without WGA logo), waterproof phone pouch, playing cards, and log books (with or without WGA logo). Some of the items without WGA logos we would potentially only be a reseller of popular geocaching essentials (like 2” x 3” Ziploc bags or perhaps geocaching.com small logbooks).
2. Host a WGA-sponsored GSAK class/event.
3. Ability to create photo albums (on the WGA website or FB site) where members can upload pictures or albums.
4. Host a Geocaching 201 continuing education day with 3 to 6 seminars.
5. Making available (on FB and WGA website) and *promoting* printable geocaching log sheets in assorted sizes.
6. Making available printable “stash notes” (explanation cards to include inside caches). Laminated if possible to resist the wear and tear of being inside of a cache.
7. Making available weatherproof geocaching labels in assorted sizes to place on the outside of caches. Either free or for sale, I bet a bunch of cachers would label their caches if it was promoted and readily available.
8. Create a downloadable PowerPoint presentation for Geocaching 101 for use by members when promoting geocaching.
9. Creating a glossy geocaching brochure (or making available an existing one?).
10. New WGA geocoin or pathtag
11. Create a document with an annual status report (“state of the state”) of our ongoing relationship with the Wisconsin DNR and what is currently being done to educate, inform, and partner with them regarding geocaching. I would guess only a small handful are aware of the initiatives taken and who has been our connections in the past.
12. Reach out to current and previous members that have created pathtags and other trackables to establish a WGA pathtag collection for viewing and promoting. Possibly send an email to past & present trackable owners to ask for one or more copies of their pathtags/coins. I bet many have had their pathtags sitting in a drawer for years and don’t know what to do with them. Any extra copies of the pathtags could also be used for fundraising opportunities.
13. Have all nine of the BOD occasionally take a more active role in nominating caches for cache of the month, and then all nine (not just one newsletter post) promoting the voting and nominating through social media and other means.
14. Regarding trackables, if the WGA were to create a new one, my own preference is with geocoins and pathtags, rather than extagz and others. They have a long history (relatively speaking) and are easy to display as a set. When logging pathtags online it keeps of record of your collection and wish lists, but other types of trackables don’t quite have this service.
15. Creating a Facebook GROUP (where members can post) as well as the current Facebook business page (where members cannot post).

Member: I think that reminding the new and current BODs that they have been elected for a 2 YEAR TERM. This means that “coasting” the last few months of their term under the guise of “let the new BODs handle it” is in poor taste. If you start your term in February, your BOD responsibilities should be honored until the February two years down the road (and further, if re-elected for another term).
You know how I feel about the member survey issue. If the current website administrators are unable to program this aspect of the website, the BODs should take action to update the website or find someone that can add this valuable resource. If a third party programmer needs to be paid for the adjustment, it would be the best expenditure to serve the membership in years. I appreciate the time and effort that our volunteers put into the website, but it’s the WGA’s website…not the Administrators.
Member: Just a couple things off the top of my head. Maybe they’ve been beat to death in the past:
How to appeal to and retain new members (marketing, education, etc.)
WGA member games- rule changes, improvements, new game suggestions, kid’s games
Website improvement, mobile device improvements, WGA app
I believe a member has provided some excellent examples for discussion going forward.
I am unsure how to read the post from Jim. I believe he brings up a good point that the website could use improvements, but there also is more of a movement today for users to get instantaneous results through social media and mobile apps. More and more people are simply not sitting in front of their computers to go online, because they carry that ability around with them all day long in their pockets. As far as your opinion about “coasting” goes; the nominees that I see here up for election I would not consider “coasters”. I believe that every one of us understands what the term length is, and when it comes time to turn things over to the next group coming in, we will do so with a smooth handoff. If my answer is off base, because I read something into your post that wasn’t intended, please feel free to reply.

Member: Website v. Social Media? Perhaps take a survey of preference…….. Each has pros/cons and may fulfill differing needs of importance, communication efficiency/timeliness, reference source/knowledge base, etc. Age spread of WGA membership likely runs from 8 – 80+, and membership access to WGA might run from smart phone to terminal/mainframe, well, at least desktops. Determine/examine membership demographics, needs and wants to help steer the organization, or perhaps steer the membership profile: does the membership shape the WGA, or does the WGA shape the membership? Membership recruitment AND/OR retention? Who on the BOD would not say “Both”?
Related…is there an official WGA Facebook presence, and an easy link between the WGA website and WGA on Facebook?

Member: Another two topics for discussion. Involvement of non-board members or past board members on WGA committees. If you were to post that x amount of people are needed for a specific committee, or a general solicitation for participants for certain committees, you may get a bunch of volunteers who don’t feel ready to run for the board but would like to do SOMETHING. I first got my feet wet by serving on a committee, among other things. Some of the committees are fairly dormant, but if you read the definitions of those committees (most recent revisions in 2010 I believe) they spell out the duties of the committees, and how many BOD vs non-BOD members they can have. See GC4NBQA for additional notes on WGA committees.
The other topic is how to communicate to and encourage the membership to use the WGA banner on their cache pages. The different banners of different sizes could be shown. It might be good to repost every few years. Here’s an example of a possible statement to post. “If you are already a WGA member, why not help “spread the word” about the association to other Wisconsin geocachers you interact with. Also, please consider placing a WGA banner image and link to the WGA website on your own cache pages. It’s easy! You can get the HTML code to copy and paste by visiting the Cache Banners Page.”
Member: I can agree and disagree with the needs for a mobile app. Depending on the information or reasoning for it as well if changes are made to the website. Downsides it creates another location and object to be maintained and updated. But if we put some of the WGA games on there like ability to log LCG reports or more.
The website could use a face lift and redoing in most cases, and with that could be updated to fit the needs of WGA members today of finding information. I think there is a plus to keeping the site as well as social media. Got to have one source for accurate and Official information plus the ease and ability of doing things like the LCG, BOD Voting, or even easy organizing/finding past forum topics as other information gets lost on Facebook. Doesn’t mean discussions can happen there. But with today’s market, making the site mobile friendly is a big need though in my opinion. If it’s mobile friendly, do we need an app then that would have the same info????

Another more of an idea suggestion I saw on another association website is to have maybe a “Member of the Month” voted by other members, just like the COTM. Then after the MOTM is voted, have a questionnaire, like what do you like about geocaching, whats your favorite cache, what do you do outside of geocaching, etc…. and post it on the blog/website. Maybe the voted member could get a special MOTM Geocoin or pathtag or nothing at all. But could be fun to learn about members from across the state.

Member: Discuss ways to promote family-friendly caches…make caching great again

Member: Thanks! Quite the parallel universe over there! (On wishlist: Incorporate the FB link into this Website’s upper or left-side menu)