This topic contains 6 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by 
sevencards 8 years, 10 months ago.
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First, thank you all for offering your time to the WGA as potential BOD. Super great thing you are doing. Now my question:
As planning the events for the year are a sizeable amount of the time spent as a BOD, please share all the WGA hosted events you have attended over the years.
Any favorites?
Following the signals from space.
I started caching in 2014, so I probably haven’t attended as many WGA events as some of the others who have been caching longer, but my very first WGA event was the spring campout at High Cliff State Park in May of 2015. I didn’t know anyone, but everyone I met was very nice and friendly, it was a very enjoyable weekend. In 2015 I also attended the WGA Pancake Breakfast after the cache bash, and I also attended the fall campout at Pattison State Park. In 2016 I attended the Chili Feed Event, helped host the Lonely Cache event, attended the chilly spring campout in Kettle Moraine State Forest (picked up my very first tick here, yuck!) and also attended and helped out at the fall picnic in the Black River State Forest. So my total is 7. I’ve really enjoyed all the events, but if I had to pick a favorite, I think it would be the picnic at Pattison. The area is gorgeous up there, and I really doubt I would have made it up that far if it wasn’t for the WGA event. The caches were fun and creative, and I enjoyed seeing the waterfalls, and also visiting Amnicon State Park, which again I’m sure I never would have visited. Looking forward to more WGA events and adventures this year!
~ **~ All posts are my opinion and do not in any way reflect the opinion of the WGA Board of Directors ~**~
Our WGA event journey started back in the spring of 2011. We had been caching for about a year, and had no idea what the WGA even was. We met this cool guy named cheeto, who was hosting a CITO. Now this cache in, trash out concept sounded like a amazing way to give back to the community, and cheeto couldn’t have been cooler if he had black sunglasses, orange fingers, and a real name of Chester Cheetah. (We didn’t know the origin of his caching name at the time, and honestly, I still don’t.) We were drawn in by the way we were welcomed by everyone involved, thanked by the people who just thought we were there picking up trash in the park, and able to talk geocaching without getting puzzled looks from those around us. We felt accepted by the WGA. We followed up our first event with some pancakes after the Ca$h Bash and had a great time, even with someone who wasn’t quite president yet giving us the stink eye for winning $500 the night before on our first time to the event.
These by far are my most memorable events, but seven years later, every WGA event that we are able to attend is one we look forward to. We have made it to every pancake breakfast since except for the year we didn’t spend the night. (This would be because we had some newbie cachers by the name of rawevil in tow, and didn’t want to overwhelm them with the entire weekend.) We have made it to every Appleton CITO that didn’t happen on a bad weekend for us. (A couple of times the CITO has fallen on a weekend where we attend an event on Mackinac Island, and we just can’t miss that one.) We got one HWY 10 cleanup in before the interest in that started to fade. (That by the way was quite memorable as we got to ride in the mercmobile and may or may not have discovered a few unplaced cache containers.) Recently, we have had more free weekends, and some great caching partners who enjoy traveling to these events, so we have been able to make it to a couple of picnics and a LCG kickoff event.
In all, we have attended 13 WGA sponsored events in the six years since our first. We are looking forward to attending as many WGA events this year as our schedule allows, starting with some chili and lonely caches. The best part of these events has always been the connection with others who share the same interests. Spending time with friends, catching up with those we don’t see very often, and meeting new people has always been a highlight of being involved in the WGA.
My posts should in no way be considered as the views or opinions of the WGA or its Board of Directors. All posts made under my name are my personal opinions only.
Very good question and thank you you for your questions. The answer I want to say is not enough but the ones I have attended has been a blast. Meeting new cachers trading TB’s finding new caches in new places I have never been to is priceless. My first event was the WGA picnic in 2011 our first year of caching and also attended the picnic in 2012. In 2013 we attended the campout which we also attended the cito. We have attended the 2013,2014, and also 2015 Cache bash. I don’t have a favorite but they all are awesome to go to for there reasons. Look forward to more and possibly planning some. Thank you
All opinions, comments, and useless drivel I post are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD.
I started caching 6/7/14 and went to my 1st event, “Our Dam Meet and Greet” a mere month later. This was not a WGA event, but it made me want to go to MORE!!!
My first WGA event was a few months down the road, September 7th 2014, the 2014 WGA Geo Picnic at Kettle Moraine State Forest – Lapham Peak Unit. WOW – what a difference from the first event I attended where only 8 people/teams including myself attended. 93 teams and individuals log attendance at the 2014 Picnic. I came to this event with my geo-buddies JeepDBC and Diesel76. Since we were all new to caching and were at our first event we joined up with some experienced cachers and cached our way through the park learning more in those few hours than we had in the 2 months we had been caching. Then to top it off we ALL won a raffle prize!!
Since that first modest event I have attended 35 events. 5 of those being WGA events.
The WGA events I have attended are as follows:
2014 WGA Geo Picnic, 2015 WGA Geo-Campout, WGA Breakfast|Cakes on the Cliff, 2016 WGA Wild Cakes & Stampede Sausages, 2016 Fall Geo Picnic
My favorite WGA event would have to be the 2016 Fall Geo Picnic. Despite the horrid weather at this event I made the most connections and came out of my shell the most. This event gave me so much more than a great caching experience, and really encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone a lot more.
*note* I only listed events that were/are listed as “an event cache hosted by the Wisconsin Geocaching Association”
Disclaimer : All posts are the opinion of the poster and do not in any way reflect on the WGA Board of Directors
Quoting myself from my answer on another question “I have personally been to the following: Interstate, Governor Thompson, Lake Wissota, Kettle Moraine South, Bong, Lapham Peak, Governor Dodge, Mirror Lake, Hartman Creek, Pike Lake, Brunet Island, High Cliff, Horicon Marsh, Black River and Peninsula. I have only missed Pattison due to the distance and not being able to take off work to get there and back, Wildcat and Rocha Cre due to family weddings.” I believe in my tenure as a BOD member, I have actually only missed 2 WGA campouts or picnic events. In looking back since becoming a member in 2004, I have only missed 3 campouts/picnic events overall – could it be?
As for my favorite, each WGA event has provided me with a fun experience and opportunity to meet geocachers from across the state. From hiking the beautiful terminus of the Ice Age Trail at Interstate, to watching baby turtles hatch at Thompson, the Zuma trail of caches at Wissota, night caches at Hartman Creek in the field, finding caches down along a ravine – might have been Penninsula?, I have enjoy each and every one in some way.
I think potential BOD members need to take a look at the WGA events scheduled this year and get their calendars marked now. The most successful events have been ones that have had ALL BOD members being involved and taking a role – not just “showing up and being a bug on the wall”. I would like to challenge everyone running for a position on the BOD to start evaluating what you can bring to the events personally to make them the best ever. If you are not selected, please come and participate in the events to get involved and learn what goes into the events.While the perception is that the West Bend Cache Bash is a WGA event, it is not, just the pancake breakfast on Sunday – of which I have attended each and every one.
WOW I had to recap which events we have attended.
2010 Geocampout
2011 Cachers and Cattails
2011 Bonfire and Chili Feed
2012 10th Annual Pig Roast
2012 Campout
2012 LCG Event
2014 LCG event
We probably would have attended the WGA CITOs, but we have usually hosted our own close to home annually.
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