[jks1033]

Geocaching is different for everyone, but we all started somewhere for that first find.  As I noted in my profile, our first geocache experience including meeting an experienced geocacher, who showed up during our first search.  We actually found the cache first – mainly because we had no preconceived expectations of where it could be, and it was not in the “normal” spot for that type of hide.  He chatted with us about geocaching and gave us a trackable and explained what a trackable was.  That lead to a very positive first experience that hooked us on geocaching.  Much of our geocaching is part of trips we take because that is what works for us.  That is not the case for everyone.  Your first experience can be positive like ours or negative with the frustration of not finding the cache (or not realizing you actually found it but did not recognize as a cache).

My advice the new cachers, is to try to set yourself up for a positive experience.  We have done this with several people new to geocaching by taking them out for those first finds.  If you know a geocacher, see if you can do an outing with them.  If you don’t, start by attending some events, including a Geocaching 101 event and take the time to learn about geocaching etiquette.  The more geocachers you meet and talk to, the more tips, tricks and hints you can learn.  The more you learn the more, the more you get a feel for what geocaching means to you (that will change over time), and how you want to interact with the game.  Events like the WGA events often have several new caches for people to find.  That is the perfect time to join a group to find those caches and a great way to learn more about geocaching and meet other cachers.  Do be afraid to ask to join the group, it the best way to get to know others and learn.

Geocaching continues to grow and evolve with different ways to participate.  We have not hosted any geocaching 101 events, but the events we have hosted, always include questions (including our own questions) and discussions around certain caches, various apps for caching, and learning about the cool caches in the area (that’s how we learned about The Doctor Is In – GC6YDR6).  We do our best to make sure new cachers feel welcome at our events.  We will continue to look for opportunities to host events in our area to bring old and new cachers together.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

Well, I do have to agree with MavWitt that The Doctor Is In! (GC6YDR6) is an awesome cache if you are a Doctor Who fan (we are), but there are so many cache owners out there who have placed creative caches, caches with scenic views and caches that appreciate the beauty of an area.  It’s not fair to their hard work to just narrow it down to one cache.

So, I am going to go to the experience instead.  One of the great things about geocaching is you go caching solo, you can go as part of a group at an event and meet other cachers, or you can cache with other geocaching friends.

 If I only had one favorite point to give, it would be to our epic geocaching road trip with swpickett in August 2020.  It included crossing Lake Michigan on the SS Badger, chartering Captain Mike’s boat to get to Power Island where the oldest cache in Michigan is located, the “off road” road to the second oldest cache in Michigan, zig zagging through various Michigan counties finding caches and Adventure Labs along the way, stopping at the Time for Breakfast with Friends-3 Event in Three Rivers, Michigan to meet other cachers, caching through 17 counties in one day (even catching a cache in Ohio where it boarders Michigan and Indiana, finding the oldest cache in Indiana, zig zagging through a bunch of Indiana counties (and almost running out of gas in the middle of nowhere),  attending a work meeting on my phone while hiking to another old cache (yes, I was on vacation, but it was an important meeting for a large project I was leading), making to Illinois where we stopped in Casey, IL where we saw the biggest Mail Box, Bird Cage, Pencil, Rocking Chair, Key Fob, etc… and found a cache on Dave, the Minion, (GC6QXA6) who had walked off from his previous spot to another spot in town (not at his listed coordinates) where we finally stumbled upon to him (swpickett provided the cache owner with updated coordinates a few blocks away).  If you have kids (or like to see big things) stop by Casey when you pass by on I-70.  It was an adventure we will never forget and embodied what geocaching is all about.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

The skills I can bring to the board are being a problem solver, listening to other perspectives, and being a team player.  Most of my work has been around solving problems working through issues which involves understanding the options available and which ones may work best then implementing the chosen option.  In addition, my work has required that I take the time to listen to and understand others’ perspectives in order to work together to get work and projects done.  To do that, I have to be a team player which sometimes means taking the lead and other times letting others take the lead.  I believe all of these skills can be an asset to the board.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

I have been at UW-Madison for 28 years with 20 of those years as part of a management team.  While each of us were responsible for specific areas, it was critical we worked together and communicated with each other, so we were not stepping on each other’s toes.  By working together, we could share resources and people to get stuff done.  My last two teams were small work groups that had to work with many other parts of the University and other entities.  The people we were working with had different priorities than ours, so it was important to listen and work with them as well as a lot of problem solving to make things work for everyone.  The last two years with COVID certainly complicated that work, but we were still successful.  The ability to work together and to appreciate different perspectives people have are what I can bring to the board if selected.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

I am not experienced in web development, so I would not be of much help on further development of the website.  Also, I am not a social media person – I don’t have any social media accounts, so that is not something I would be good at.  If it’s a PowerPoint or spreadsheet that is needed, I can do that fairly easily.  I have some experience with newsletters, so I could help there.  I am pretty good at problem solving, brainstorming and planning.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

In general committees can be very helpful to get things done provided there are members willing to serve on the committees.  Getting members involved is a way to help other geocachers give back to the game/sport without having to make a time commitment to the level of a board member.  It is also a great way to develop members to eventually become board members.  That being said, a committee for the sake of having a committee or a committee with no interested members is not helpful.  Committees should come and go as needed.  If there is no member interest in a committee, the board may want to rethink if that event or project is one that they should be putting effort into. The board can’t do everything, so active committees are important to events happening or projects being completed.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

I love being the navigator and planner, so the driver can focus on driving (and so I don’t get car sick which usually happens when I am in the backseat).  If I know what we want to accomplish on the road trip, I enjoy the planning and figuring out the best route to take; however, I tend to be overly ambitious in what can be accomplished in each day on a road trip.  In 2020 we took some epic adventure road trips as a work around for COVID causing our planned trips to be canceled.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

I agree with the statements of the others.  It is important that each board member has had the opportunity to voice their opinion and be heard.  That also means each person should listen with an open mind because often times it is not one opinion that is best, but a combination of opinions and ideas put together.  Once the final decision has been made, the entire board needs to support it.  That’s not failure, that’s part of being a true team.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

Personal geocaching goals include working on the IAT series over the next year.  We have found 2 so far.  Since we finished finding at least one cache all the Wisconsin counties a couple years ago, we would like to find at least one cache in all the counties of another state.  So far, we have about half the counties in Iowa and Illinois.  We are two caches away from completing our terrain/difficulty grid, so hoping we can get an opportunity to finish that, but it will likely involve travel to another state.

As far as goals if elected to the Board, I would like to find ways to get more people interested in and excited about geocaching, including looking at what other geocaching associations are doing that might be interesting to build on here.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

Having been a supervisor and a manager, I know all too well the need for delegation.  There is no way you can successfully do everything yourself.  Sometimes that means teaming up with someone else to get a project done, and sometime that means finding the person or persons with the skills, knowledge and ability to get the work done.  Asking for help is not a weakness, it is understanding what needs to be done and what resources, including people, are available to get it done.  In an organization like this, you need to get the word out about what is needed and seeing who can help.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

From my experience serving on a board with another organization a few years ago, the biggest challenge is getting membership more involved and requires on-going outreach to the membership by the board.  Board members will need to do a majority work but should provide opportunities for the membership to be involved such as encouraging local cachers to do hides for WGA events, getting involved in committees, or even just providing input on the direction the board should go.  We must keep the membership informed using a variety of communication methods since not everyone is on social media.  Every geocacher has a different level of involvement with geocaching, and that must be respected.  Where geocachers have an interest in being more involved we need to invite and encourage that participation.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

I like taking on the challenge caches in geocaching.  By working to achieve a specific challenge, it keeps us going and trying new things in geocaching.  I get a sense of accomplishment with each challenge we meet.  For example, one challenge out there is to find a geocache in 10% of the counties (314 counties) in the United States. When we found this challenge, we were about 70 counties short.  As we planned our geocaching adventures, I would pick out caches to get new counties and within a year we completed the challenge.  As part of the board, I would take on the various challenges and focus on meeting those challenges with the same determination I use to achieve the geocaching challenges.

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[jks1033]

JKS1033, Karen, JKS1033

and

JKS1033, Jim, JKS1033

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The views expressed here are that of myself only and do not necessarily represent that of the WGA board

[Author]

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