Renee Vanselow – AuntieNae

[AuntieNaeModerator]

After watching a friend having fun on the weekends outdoors, I began geocaching in February 2004. I literally bought the same GPSr they had, printed a bunch of cache pages and told my friend TamCo while on the plane for Charleston SC to attend an Aquatics conference, oh by the way, let’s try doing this. We arrived two days before the conference started and had a blast discovering things like a real pirates historical grave, seeing a lighthouse, the civil war submarine and so much more. We had no idea what we were doing, hand entered the coordinates and did actually find caches.

 

I attended my first WGA event, the campout in May 2004 upon invitation of other geocachers I had met along the trails a few weeks prior.  Looking back, I have attended many WGA events first as a member then as a BOD member:

WGA Campouts – attended from 2004 to 2020, having only missed 2017.

WGA Picnics – attended from 2004 thru 2020, having only missed 2007 and 2017.

WGA Chili Feed – attended since its inception from 2010 thru 2020, missed 2018.

WGA West Bend Pancakes – attended since its inception from 2011 until the last one in 2019.  Plus the various GIFF events, some CITO’s, Lonely Cache Game events along the way too.

 

For me, geocaching has been about the people, places and things. People because of the many friends I have made along the geocaching journey. Places because of many locations geocaching has taken me to that I probably would not have discovered.  Things because of the things I have seen – from creative geocache containers to unique sculptures to geological features seen.

 

In my career, I am a Recreation Supervisor for the City of Greenfield Parks & Recreation Department.  My program areas are Aquatics, Summer Playgrounds, Fitness, Arts, Enrichment and Safety. I am an American Red Cross Instructor Trainer and then Instructor in a number of areas.  I just finished serving the past 5 years on the Wisconsin Park and Recreation Associations Aquatic Section Board where I held the positions of Chair-Elect, Chair, Past-Chair and member at large.  My focus was to raise the quality of speakers at our annual conferences and aquatics seminars which I did accomplish.  I was recognized as the WPRA Aquatics Professional of the Year in 2019.  I am also a member of the Association of Aquatics Professionals where I was recognized as the Aquatics Professional of the Month in March 2019.  In November 2008, I planned and led a pre-conference session at our WPRA Annual conference at UW-LaCrosse on geocaching geared towards Parks Supervisors that also included Recreation major students.

 

I have been on the Wisconsin Geocaching Association Board for many years, having served 8 years as the Treasurer then the past 4 years as a member at large. Geocaching has changed so much over the years and so has the WGA so I do find myself explaining things from the past.  I have worked with so many different people on the board that I have enjoyed doing so with.  I have also met so many member geocachers across the state as well.  My role really has become that of the WGA merchandise.  As the WGA does not charge membership dues, the yearly operating expenses have been supported by merchandise sales and some donations.   We did hold an auction one year to help raise funds but other than that, it has been the merchandise that has driven the financial side of the organization. I also enjoy presenting Geo101 sessions and was glad in 2020, that we were able to totally update my PowerPoint.  Looking ahead to 2021, the plans for the WGA are looking positive with some fun new ideas already in discussion that I would like to be part of.

 

I would love to see the WGA support the Ice Age Trail ColdCache EarthCache program.  In 2019, I spoke at the Ice Age Trail Alliance (IATA) annual conference about this program with two IAT volunteers. In the program inception, I was the geocacher that Dolly reached out to gain an understanding from.  Originally, the IAT had considered creating a series of geocaches along the IAT BUT the National Parks Service was not in support.  Dolly literally stumbled upon my EarthCache at the Parnell Esker which got her thinking. She and I met, and she dreamed up the ColdCache program.  Dolly retired from the IAT in 2020 but shared her notes for more Cold Cache Earth Caches along the trail.  Since the pandemic has brought out so many new Ice Age trail users, the ColdCache program has also seen an increase on the IAT side. It would just mean supporting the creation of more EarthCaches to highlight the geological features along the trail.

 

On Saturday, January 23, 2021, we held the 17th Annual Waukesha Janboree Geocaching Event. It might be one of the longest running events here in Wisconsin thanks great to the support of the many local geocachers.  A key piece of this event is that I offer a Geocaching 101 presentation.

 

I am excited to be presenting at the Association of Aquatics Professionals (AOAP) conference in February 2021 on our Greenfield Parks & Recreation Mermaid Swimming program. It will be a virtual experience so it should be interesting for my first national level speaking gig!

 

I do have a medical condition that has impacted my ability to walk. I do have regular physical therapy and have daily maintenance that have both helped me greatly. Geocaching is still something that I enjoy and it still provides me the same people, places and things enjoyment it always has.  

 

For those who many not know, I recently lost my Mom on Monday, January 18, 2021 to COVID-19.  My Dad is recovering but has a few lingering health issues unrelated to Covid that we are now tackling.

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