Jeff Rahmlow – GeoPink

[GeoPink]

Jeff Rahmlow
aka GeoPink

Personal

• Born, raised and currently living in Manitowoc, WI
• Husband of one (Judy) and father of five (Sara, Audrey, Elizabeth, Cassandra, and John)
• Employed as a Metal Fabricator/ Machinist at AH Stock Mfg., Newton, WI
• Geocaching related business owner (to be opening soon)
• Have been elected to several church boards and am currently on our Church Board of Education

Geocaching

• Discovered geocaching in January 2003
• Bought GPS and found first geocache on Oct 31, 2003
• Hid first cache in Dec, 2003
• Total over 450 finds and more than 30 hides

Related Experience

• Elected to first Board Term 2005-2007
• Co-chair or committee member for 2005 Campout, 2005 Picnic, 2006 Campout and 2006 Picnic.
• Elected WGA President in 2006

Notable

• Created the first Event Booklet for the Lake Wissota Campout (Anyone remember how we did it before that?)
• Worked with park staff at planning several WGA events
• Have given presentations for the DNR
• Have pushed for changes to the inner workings of the board

Agenda for next term

• I would like to continue to implement changes to the structure of the board and the WGA. Many of my proposals sat idle for lack of interest. I believe that the upcoming new faces on the board will be more open to making the changes needed to make the WGA a vibrant, growing group with a purpose.
• My proposals were to turn over many of the event planning duties to committees made up of both board members and the membership. This would allow our board to focus on more of the items that are getting left behind currently, such as a budget, tax status, the WI-DOT, and other larger issues.
• My proposals included the formation of a Community Education committee which would assist with many of the requests for help that we receive. The current suggestions involving assisting our local community law enforcement with geocaching education could fall under this Committee’s duties, along with several other suggestions made in the past.
• My proposal at our board meeting last year was to attempt to meet more regularly. I will again push for this. I believe that in order for the board to have any chance of accomplishing anything, there must be more specific meeting times beyond our annual organizational meeting. I will propose a second meeting in late August / Early September and a monthly 60-90 minute online chat.

If I am again elected to the board, I will push for the changes and actions required to bring the WGA to the next level. This group has so much potential, and the Board has got to harness this energy and use it for the good of geocaching in WI. Thank you for considering me for another term on the Wisconsin Geocaching Association Board of Directors

[GeoPink]

Members of the Board of Directors are elected for a two year term. One of their responsibilities is to communicate with the members through the use of our forums. Do you feel it is reasonable for members of the board to take a month or two off; not visiting our forums at all?

The forums are not the WGA, much like geocaching is not geocaching.com. Despite our best intentions, life can often get in the way of our duties. Just recently my son broke his leg. Much of my attention was devoted to that. Would that mean that one can not fulfill his or her responsibilities to the WGA and the BoD? Not at all. I used that time to tackle other WGA business that can not be done on the forums. I personally do not post and frequent the forums as much as I had in the past, for many reasons. But an absence from them would not be a reliable measure of activity or devotion.

As a member of the Board of Directors, you would be assuming the role of a leader among us. What do you feel your qualifications are that might make you effective in this role?

I’ve provided leadership to the WGA for the past two years. I’ve been on numerous boards and committees of various organizations. My business knowledge continues to grow as I develop my geocaching related business. All of these experiences contribute to my ability to lead. Setting the bar high, constantly looking for ways to improve and persuing new ideas are the goals I look to achieve as a leader.

There have been several proponents of donating park benches to the parks that provide space for our events. These would be with the inscription “Donated by The Wisconsin Geocaching Association.” What is your feel.ing on this initiative?

This could be a nice gesture as a way to give back to the parks. I guess (in a rare moment for me) I don’t fall on one side of the fence or the other on this one. The only major negative I could see would be potential cost. The major positive I could see would be increased exposure of the WGA name.

The WGA sponsors 2 events per year and members of the Board of Directors are encouraged to attend these to get to know their constituents. Should members of the Board also be expected to attend at least some of the local events for the same reason?

I think its great to see the Board members active in local events. Requirement or Expectation? No. The job of the board is not to socialize. The job of the board is to take care of the business of the WGA.

One of the initiatives introduced at the Feb 2006 BOD meeting was to approach the WIS DOT to create a special “Vanity” license plate for member cars. It was pointed out that the WGA could reap some monetary benefit from this. What are your feelings on pursuing this initiative?

This initiative was presented with limited information. No formal follow-up was done. Some later discussions among the board were had regarding this venture. Quite frankly, there would be no real benefit to pursuing this type of initiative and the resources of the WGA could be much better spent elsewhere.

The list of disabled caches in Wisconsin is now hovering at about 200. Some of these have been disabled for several months. What are your thoughts of cleaning this list up?

The WGA is not the Wisconsin Cache Police. If our members would like to assist others in helping maintain faltering caches, great! Is this the job of the WGA? No. Should the WGA help our members? We certainly do! I would encourage communication through the forums and Private Messages to help other members with their caches.

One of the initiatives introduced at the Feb 2006 BOD meeting was for the BOD to create one or more presentation kits for WGA sponsored introductions to geocaching. The kit(s) would contain GPSrs, compasses, literature and perhaps a projector for a powerpoint presentation. The kit would be loaned out to WGA members to assist in their presentations. What are your thoughts regarding this initiative?

This initiative will be one of the projects for the Community Education Committee I would like to create. There is a huge need for not just presentation materials, but to have an organized group of volunteers to assist folks who ask for our help with these types of projects. In the last year I have been able to line up helpers for several folks who have requested our assistance and in all those requests, one thing was clear. They need to be able to get their hands on some GPSr’s. I believe this will be on of our next major endeavors, to form and equip a group of volunteers to be able to go into the community and teach WI about geocaching.

One of the initiatives introduced at the Feb 2005 BOD meeting was to create a display and rent space at the Milwaukee Sports Show and other outdoor Expos for the purpose of getting information of geocaching to sports minded individuals. What are your thoughts on this initiative?

If this can be done without a large outlay for renting booth space, etc. I would have no problem throwing a booth together and having volunteers staff it. This would definitely fall into the realm of community education. The key to this and many of the proposals mentioned is resources. Where do we best put to use the resources of the WGA to best fulfill our mission as put forward in the by-laws.

One of the initiatives introduced at the Feb 2006 BOD meeting was to sponsor a section of roadway (Adopt-a-Hiway) and hold 2 or 3 CITO events on that section of roadway over the year. What is your position on such an initiative?

I am all for this. This last fall and winter I took the initiative to get all the information necessary to pursue this venture. I have been in email contact with each of the Adopt a Highway representatives from each of the statewide regions and they are aware of our interest. Right now we are at the point where this information needs to be brought before the board for perusal and discussion. I have listings of which sections of Highway are available for adoption in several areas of the state. More or less we will need to decide how many sections we would like to adopt. There is still time for us to get involved this year. Yes, I see the DOT as another group that the BoD will need to work with and I see Adopt a Highway as a nice place to start in creating a positive relationship with them.

One of the initiatives introduced at the Feb 2006 BOD meeting was an updated WGA Logo. What are your feelings on changing the logo?

I am torn. The logo has served the WGA so well over the years, but like all things has grown out of date. Much like the old website, I believe we need to make a serious effort to have a professional looking logo developed that will take us into the next several years.

Some hold that the numbers make the cacher, others say there is more to it than that. What makes you a geocacher? How many caches have you found/hidden during the past year? and do the numbers really matter?

Do the numbers matter? I can truly say no. My family and I enjoy the time outside, together. I try to share this activity with as many people as I can. I enjoy telling folks about geocaching and regularly invite them along with us. Our geocaching times are farther apart than I’d like as the other family activities (basketball, poms, soccer, etc.) are starting to invade our lives more and more. So now each time we can go is more special.

[GeoPink]

Below are my proposals to the BoD of Mid September
In the first five years of its existance. the WGA has been a loose-knit group bound by common interests to promote geocaching in WI. As we grow I think we need to beef up our support structure so our organization can grow healthily.
Standing Committees
I am calling for several standing committees to be formed. The purpose is to give the board a hand with event planning by including membership in the planning process. The committees would be made up of both board members and WGA members. The goal is to give us each a focus area and not have everybody handle everything. Major decisions would still need to be approved by the board but all minor issues should be taken up on the committee level. What I’m trying to avoid is serious discussion about the type of sausage to buy for the pancacke breakfast taking place at our annual meeting when other matters can and should be taken up.

1. Campout Committee
   1. Purpose: Planninng our Annual Spring Campout
   2. Membership: 4 or 5 Board members on a rotating basis, 4 or 5 General members (Volunteer, approved by board, per event)
   3. Conducting business: A specific Campout Committee Forum will be set up for all members to use in the planning of current and future campouts.
   4. Goals: The committee’s first order of business will be to set a general timeline to follow in planning the campout.
2. Picnic Committee
   1. Purpose: Planninng our Annual Fall Picnic
   2. Membership: 4 or 5 Board members on a rotating basis, 4 or 5 General members (Volunteer, approved by board, per event)
   3. Conducting business: A specific Picnic Committee Forum will be set up for all members to use in the planning of current and future picnics.
   4. Goals: The committee’s first order of business will be to set a general timeline to follow in planning the yearly picnic.
3. Community Education
   1. Purpose: To fulfil our purpoose as listed in the bylaws “Educate Wisconsin geocachers about the responsible use of natural resources and educate non-geocachers about the sport of geocaching.”
   2. Membership: 5 non-officer board members, 4 General Members (Volunteer, approved by board, renewable one year term)
   3. Conducting business: A specific Community Education Committee Forum will be set up for all members to use in the planning of initiatives and lesser events.
   4. Goals: Set up a program to accomodate the numerous requests we recieve for assistance in speaking with groups and putting on presentations. Create some official WGA Literature (pamphlet{s}) for use throughout the state to unify the information we are presenting.

Some additional thoughts…

• So that all board members have equal duties in planning and working the events, I propose the following simple rotation of duties. Following a BoD’ election, he/she will be assigned to that year’s picnic Committee and the following year’s campout committee. This will spread the load out evenly, make it easier on new BoD’s, and give BoD’s an opportunity to enjoy the events with their familys. Committee members will be expected to contribute to the running of the event. Non committee BoD’s are always welcome to help out if desired, but not required.
• General Members would be voted onto committee by the board from the list of those who volunteered. (I’m still not sure if this is the best way, but it sits the best with me for now)
• Each committee shall elect from its own two co-chairs (one BoD, one General Member). All other duties should be distributed at the discretion of the committee.
• The final say on any actions always will remain with the board.

I would really like to see this plan in action by the next election cycle. This will evenly distribute the duties of board members, give the membership a chance to help and a say in what happens. This is a fair and simple structure for our organization to grow on. I look forward to your thoughts.

[GeoPink]

A Second Follow-up Post for Clarification

Let me give a few reasons why I believe we need to pursue this.

• Too much time is wasted looking for someone, a champion, to head up the events. By placing this task in the hands of a committee, this task is nearly eliminated. Members of the committee know from the moment they are on it, what is expected of them.
• Time will be better spent on making the most of the event itself. Again, the committee will know at least 6 months in advance that they have a job to do. No more last minute details.
• Duties of the board members will be better defined. Right now only four people have any “responsibility” on the board. These committees will give each member an area of responsibility.
• Involving the membership in the decisions and planning will bring the board closer to the members and the membership closer to the board.
• Involving the members will take some of the burden off of the board in planning and executing the events. The work of the board needs to grow and extend beyond “event planners.”
• The size of the committees and the wide range of duties will make geography a non-issue. As Ruth has shown, allot can be done to assist in events not held in your backyard. There will be plenty of ways to use all the “resources” found in our great body of members.
• These committees remain under the direction of the board. Letting our members run loose with our “official” events could be disastrous. By putting everyone under the same roof, we get the best of both worlds.
• The Community Education committee will be a great way to get the literature and presentation ideas off the ground. Again, we will be able to enlist the membership to whatever degree we can, while allowing the board to be actively involved.

I need this to turn into a part-time job, like I need a hole in my head. We’ve all got lives beyond this group. But we still need to work together to accomplish the goals we set forth to do at our annual meeting in February. These committees are the simplest, the fastest, and the best way to accomplish those goals.

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