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BFredericks88 4 years, 7 months ago.
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It’s really nice to see we have a good election here with great candidates. I wish you all good luck. I would like to know:
Why you accepted your nomination?
What can you bring to the WGA BOD?
What do you want to do differently or remain the same?
How can we grow the WGA Membership?
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
It’s a fourfer question!
Why you accepted your nomination? I have been asked several times to run for the WGA BOD. Timing and the ability to commit (and the support of one’s spouse) is everything. All three lined up this year and so I said yes. I love geocaching and all things related – LCG, COTM, POTM, campout, picnic – and understand that these things don’t just happen. There is a group that works hard to keep things fresh and moving forward. I firmly believe that at some time everyone should contribute to giving back and being a part of something bigger than just finding and hiding caches. For me – that time is now and so I accepted the nomination and if elected, will be super excited to see what I can contribute.
What can you bring to the WGA BOD? I am a big idea person. I love to thing about “what if…”. I also bring energy and the ability to motivate people toward a common cause. I enjoy getting people involved.
What do you want to do differently or remain the same? If elected, I would want to build upon those things that the WGA is known for – the Lonely Cache Game, Cache of the Month, Photo of the Month, WGA Travel Bug Race. These activities have provided a strong foundation for the WGA. I would like to add a state series – perhaps looking at a WGA series for state trails or state properties (in addition to what we have in place with state parks). I would also propose to add to Geoaching 101, with followup Geocaching courses – Geocaching 201, 301, etc. and include some of the more specifics for those who have been in the game enough to understand the basics, but need to learn more about writing logs, hiding caches, cache maintenance, etc.
How can we grow the WGA Membership? Networking – talking more to newer caches – being intentional about reaching out to new names that we see on logs. Using several social media platforms to promote the WGA and what it has to offer. Asking newer caches to get involved with the WGA by helping with a small task.
The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board.
Why I accepted nomination?
I accepted the nomination this time, because I feel the time is just right. A few years back, when I was nominated, I had the desire to be an elected representative of the WGA membership but I was a bit unsure if I had the time to devote to it. A busy family life had me thinking that it would be nearly impossible to fulfill my duties as a board member.
Fastforward a few years; we will soon have two teenagers driving themselves to all their activities and the younger whips are getting old enough to be much more self-reliant. Life has gotten so much easier! LOL
Having the support and understanding of my wife is also very important. She realizes that I have the desire to be on the BOD and backs me 100%.
What I can bring to the WGA BOD?
I’m A doer. When given a task, I strive to get it done efficiently and effectively. I also have much experience in lead positions in my profession; directing workers to perform their daily duties. I think these qualities will be valuable when holding WGA events.
I also have many years serving on other organization’s board of directors. This is experience will be helpful in listening to and understanding the views of the other board members. And being able to accept a vote of the majority that is different from my viewpoint.
What should be different or remain the same? How can we grow the WGA?
I am lumping these two questions together, because we do need to grow the WGA and the efforts could be different. One benefit to the pandemic was a big increase in new geocachers. But the events that have not taken place over this past year have hurt show this new group of geocachers who/what the WGA is. We need to get these events back up and going in 2021. We should look to connect more with young people and their schools/organizations within our communities.
I accepted my nomination after being nominated the last few years because I knew I could dedicate the time needed to volunteer this year and beyond. In years past, my kids needed me. They are all old enough now to go camping and I won’t have to feel guilty leaving my wife alone with three infants and toddlers.
I think I have ideas that will advance the WGA. I think I can be a good advocate for cachers and the board. I’m happy to listen but I also am happy to help lead the WGA board.
As I’ve stated before, I think the current board has done a good job. If elected, Id rely on their experiences. I’d also push to do more. I’m willing to put the time in. I think it’s safe to return to events with disclaimers.
I think we grow with exposure. With putting the time and effort in to get the word out the board is there to support the membership. With adding member at large committees to help with expanding games within games like the State Park series. Also we rely on our membership in various parts of the state to place and maintain caches for the board. I think I have the personality and enthusiasm to reach out and ask for help.
In any case, regardless if I’m elected this go around or not, I plan on attending more WGA events this year and getting to know more cachers.
Looking forward to a fun filled year. Cheers!
Please note: my comments are mine alone and may not necessarily reflect an official stance of the WGA Board of Directors.
For me, deciding to accept the nomination to run again for the WGA BOD meant, do I still have the energy and passion to continue? After giving it some serious thought, I believe I still do. It is a commitment, from a time perspective, to financial for the costs to attend the events across the state, to energy for coming up with new ideas. The 2020 BOD has made some great progress, behind the scenes with a few things that I would like to be part of implementing.
In terms of what do I see WGA can do differently, I would say there is always room for creativity, imagination, fun and improvements. A step made behind the scenes in 2020 was a switch over to handle merchandise sales in Square versus Paypal. Square gives us the huge advantage of live inventory management that we have wanted especially with BOD members being located across the state. Another change was the flip of the Spring Campout to Fall, and the Fall picnic to Spring – I am thinking this will have some huge advantages with having new BOD members jumping into a day event first before an entire weekend. I brought up the Pathtag wheel that had made an appearance at a West Bend Cache Bash. Really, sometimes it is looking at what we did in the past that was successful and evaluating if what was old could be new once again.
We can grow WGA members in several ways. I see the first is going back to the promotion of the “Join WGA” on geocache pages because honestly that is how I first learned about the WGA. I see a second is the creation of a WGA trackable decal to increase awareness as we are out geocaching. I see a third by the promotion of more Geocaching 101 classes across the state. I see a fourth by bringing back more CITO events and having a presence in more parks.
I chose to accept the nomination because it was an honor that a fellow member thought I was worthy of such a position. I look at all of the candidates on the ballot and think to myself the very question you posed: what do I offer to the board? As I reflect on literally all of these questions you asked, it all comes down to one thing: I want to learn. I’m someone who is young and has the time to commit to the organization. It’s just me (no kids, pets….yet, etc.), so it’s very easy for me to pick up and head off somewhere. I’m someone who is energetic, open-minded, and can look at both the bigger picture and the small details. I want to make the organization better for BOD members, WGA members, and cachers across the state. I’m someone who gets along with a wide range of people. Through my job as a teacher, my fourteen years as a counselor at Badger Girls State, and involvement in the American Legion Auxiliary, I work with a wide range of people that have a wide range of experiences and beliefs. If I can keep the peace and lead there, that would help immensely if given the opportunity to serve on the board.
I would want to grow WGA membership the same way that I was encouraged to, which is by reaching out to other cachers. When I first started caching, I did it by myself because that’s all I knew. I didn’t know anyone else who geocached near me and I certainly didn’t want to mistake a muggle for a cacher! When I moved to Watertown, I found out one of my colleagues cached and together, we have been attending more and more events with the hopes of maybe hosting an event of our own in the future. Through attending events, I have met some amazing people who I am excited to go on future ‘cache-ventures’ with. Networking is everything. Just the other day, I had someone send me a message on geocaching.com and we had a nice chat about a favorite West Bend cache (Face Darth Vader!!). Being able to do that with other cachers would make more people feel included. I remember going to my second ever event in Waukesha, the CLUE event. The first thing I noticed when I got to the shelter was that everybody knew each other. How is that? Very quickly, people came over and introduced themselves and we bonded over shared caching experiences (and they then proceeded to wipe the floor with us in the game, but that’s another story) and it was like we had always been a part of the group. Since then, we have been able to connect with those cachers on other outings and it’s been so wonderful!
As I’ve said in other forum posts, I’m not one to rock the boat until I’ve had the chance to listen. I think it’s important to go into new commitments with an open mind. There are a lot of great things that the board has done in the past and I think things can only continue to grow in positive ways. I think having less experience than others gives me the opportunity to provide a fresh set of eyes to the things we do. I genuinely like to ask the question why (seriously, my grandma got me a book called ‘How Come?’ when I was in first grade because I would ask that question all the time…I know that was thirty years ago, but you get my point) because I’m a curious person. How can we make what we do better? If you would like to call it my agenda, then so be it.
In the words of Lin Manuel Miranda, I’m ‘young, scrappy, and hungry and I’m not throwing away my shot.” It would be a fantastic opportunity to serve on the board of directors.
The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA Board of Directors
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