[Lacknothing]

I completely agree with labrat_wr and JimandLinda for all the reasons they have stated.  If we can make this decision quickly and it does go to three years, it could look like this to ring all terms into the three-year rotation

Five BOD members have terms expiring in 2022.  For the five candidates elected in 2022, the top three vote getters will be elected for three years (2025) and the remaining two for two years (2024)

During the 2023 election year, there will be four BOD members who will have terms expiring. Top three vote getters get three years (2026) and the fourth elected will get a one-year term (2024)

By 2024, there would be three members whose term expires each year.

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

[Lacknothing]

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.

[Lacknothing]

I love the WGA events!  To date, I have attended 31 WGA events – from picnics, campouts, mid-summer meet & greet, chili event, LCG event, Pancake breakfast.  Since I live in SE Wisconsin, most of the events are some distance away.  We did get the WGA campout down near me in 2016 – and so that was about a 25 minute drive. Other than that, all other events are at least an hour away.  The 2019 WGA Fall Campout was at Lakeview Park in Rib Lake which was 259 miles away. I was unable to stay overnight and so I left my house at 5:00 in the morning and got back at 11:30 p.m. just in time to pick up our Exchange Student from the Homecoming Dance! On average, WGA Events are about a 2-hour drive for me.

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

[Lacknothing]

I think the key to the success of the WGA as a whole and also for growth is reflected in the sentence that you copied and pasted from the bylaws.  It is the responsibility of the Board to “manage” and “administer” the affairs of the WGA.

In order for the Board to manage and administer well, we need to get more involvement from the WGA membership – so that the Board is indeed managing and administering the “affairs” of the WGA.  If elected to the board, it is no longer about what I want or what I think primarily, but rather what the membership desires and is thinking.  I would like there to be more committies made up of members who would have discussions, do research, come up with a plan that could then be presented to the Board. Ultimately, it will be the Board who makes the decisions – for this is the role of any Board, but a successful Board will base its’ decisions on what the general membership wants. I am about empowering people whenever possible; giving them a task and then stepping back to allow them to do the task, while at the same time keeping them accountable to what they agreed to.

I tend to be a goal setter. I think it is healthy to have goals.I like to have different types of goals; short-term goals (3-6 months); mid-term goals (6-12 months); long-term goals (1-2 years). I have geocaching goals, personal goals, work goals, etc.  I would love to see the WGA Board be more specific in goal setting. I believe in doing so the “affairs” of the WGA members can be more well represented.

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

[Lacknothing]

Pandemic?  Did someone say pandemic?

I think your question is specifically asking how the WGA BOD should connect with WGA members and hopefully, I am understanding that correctly.

As others have mentioned, social media is a great platform to connect. Most of our WGA members are on some aspect of Social Media, whether it be the WGA website, a Facebook geocaching group, a messenger chat room, instagram, WhatsApp, blogging, etc.  Let us also not forget “old school” e-mailing!

I firmly believe we should not rely on any one specific platform to get information out, but rather to blast on several platforms so that we are sure to communicate with the largest audience possible. Watching posts on Facebook groups is also helpful, in that when we see a newer cacher or a name we don’t recognize, we can reach out and private message that person and ask if they are familiar with the WGA website, LCG, COTH, POTM, etc.

If I am doing an event, I will reach out to newer cachers who have logged my hides and personally invite them to my event. Often times, that is what is needed – a personal invitation.

Hosting events during this time is also important. We should have no problem in following CDC guidelines in hosting events, especially those that are outdoors. We need to trust that each and every geocacher will make their own decision to attend or not attend based on their personal needs and health concerns. We need to be respectful of all people! Whenever possible during this pandemic, we should offer a virtual option for those not comfortable attending in person. Geocachers are people and they just want to feel that their presence is important and just as important in person as it would be virtually!

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

[Lacknothing]

I had to ask for clarification on this question as I wasn’t completely understanding the context. You can live in any state and be a member of the WGA, however, to have voting rights, you must reside in Wisconsin.  Thanks for unpacking that.

I would find it very disheartening that someone would do this. However, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I would definitely contact the person writing the logs directly to ask if there had been something that happened or if there had been a miscommunication of some sort. If the outcome of that correspondance turned out favorably and we were able to resolve the issue amicably, I would leave it at that. If not, I would ask that they refrain from using a public platform to air their grievances and encourage them to contact the WGA member directly.  If that still did not resolve the issue, I would discuss it with other members of the WGA BOD to see what course of action we wanted to take as an organization.

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

[Lacknothing]

Oh my – but this question is the best.  Wow!  First of all, because I want to be transparent, I must confess I had no idea what a Take 5 was.  If Bethany is elected, this will be her first task – to make sure the entire membership knows what a Take 5 is.

Do I go with the snack I like?  Nope…that was not the question….

I think I would be a chip. I feel that chips have all kinds of different flavors to them. Deep River Sweet Maui Onion being the best – they are sweet, but cracked black pepper are good also – and a completely different taste. Sometimes chips are salty, sometimes sweet; sometimes even sour (those vinegar ones).  I feel like I have a lot of different facets to who I am and can always find a way to connect with someone.

In terms of how this applies to the board, as we discussed in a previous question – the board will be made up of different personalities and I am the kind of person who can be easily adapt to different personality types.  However, like a chip, I am very firm in what I stand for also and do not like to compromise my moral values.

I am now hungry…..snacks at the first BOD meeting if I am elected.  Caramels for everyone!

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

[Lacknothing]

Another great question!  The best part of the WGA BOD is that it is composed of nine different personalities who have nine different backgrounds and nine different perspectives.  As a person who will potentially be on the WGA BOD, I get super excited to even think or imagine all of the ideas that can and will come from nine different people, many of which will be ideas that never crossed my mind.  I love that ideas can be discussed among a group of people and that after discussion it will be a group of nine people who will collectively decide which ideas are the best to implement at the given time. What is important is that everyone’s opinion is heard and taken into consideration. There is very little that upsets me more than someone just shooting down another person’s opinion without allowing the person with the opinion to be heard. In my job as the Regional Development Manager for PAX, it is my job to hire, train and mentor Coordinators and I can assure you that as we plan a year’s activities for our students, my Coordinators come up with some ideas that are better than any I could think of. So it will be with nine different personalities. Over a two-year tenure, it would be my guess that each person will have an idea that will take flight.

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

[Lacknothing]

I firmly believe that CITO events are important and essential in the Geocaching Community. It is an opportunity and time for local geocachers to give back to the communities and spaces that have so graciously allowed us to place geocaches.

Having said that, I don’t think it is important who hosts the CITO event as the quality of the actual event is. Local geocachers hosting CITO events probably makes more sense in that they are more familiar with areas that need attention in terms of clean-up. Since the WGA has more members than Board Members, it CITO events are encouraged, it would seem that we should be able to have a good number of CITO events throughout the state of Wisconsin, both in the spring and again in the fall.

However, in the absence of a local geocacher (or geocachers) being willing to host, I would expect the WGA to step in and host a CITO event.

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

[Lacknothing]

Another great question!  I absolutely loved the WGA State Park Series that was put out in 2013/14. It motivated me to visit all 47 or Wisconsin’s State Parks, something that I probably would not have done otherwise. I would definitely be in favor of taking a look at the current State Park Series and see if it could be updated to regenerate interest for those cachers who have already completed the initial series. If elected, I would also like to look at perhaps establishing additional Wisconsin State series to include State Trails and/or other State Properties.  I would also love to look at a WGA Ice Age Trail Series – perhaps a geocache hidden either in every county the IAT runs through or on each segement. Wisconsin has so many treasures in the way of lands to spotlight! The possibilities are endless.

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

[Lacknothing]

This is the awesomeness of geocaching – it focuses on the great outdoors!  Putting together events that are COVID friendly takes a little more work and creativity, but it can be done.  Since COVID launched last March, I have hosted or co-hosted four different events – all well attended  The first three were outside – and social distancing was not that difficult. The last was inside and masks were required and our attendance number was limited. The last, which has traditionally always been a potluck, became a chili dinner where we not only made the chili, but placed it in individual containers so that those attending would feel comfortable. We received great kudos on our efforts.

As humans, we are wired for relationships – some of us more than others. The neat thing about Geocaching and Events is that as adults, we can make our own decisions to attend or not to attend. It is that simple. We must make sure we have mutual respect between those who chose to attend and those who chose not to attend and that we don’t fall into the habit of being disrespectful, mask shaming or other unnecessary actions.

I have reviewed the WGA Bylaws and they do specifiy that at least one Board Meeting annually must be in person. If elected, it would be my hope that the initial Board Meeting would be in person. With a Board of nine members, this should be able to happen and all guidelines for social distancing and masking followed.

If elected, I will work hard and put in the extra time and effort to make events Covid-friendly for as long as need be.  Whenever possible, adding a virtual option for those who choose not to attend in purpose is a great idea. I am part of a group that meets every Tuesday. There are nine of us. Some choose to meet in person. The others meet with us via Zoom. We have been doing this since last March and it has worked well and there is no judgement on either side. I feel that it should be the same with Geocaching if we are all putting on our adult manners – or as Aretha Franklin sang all those years ago – R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

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

[Lacknothing]

This is a great question and one I have thought about many times.  I agree with all of the thoughts penned by my fellow candidates above.  Communication is key, without a doubt.

As mentioned by others, the WGA has done some great things and if elected, I am excited for the opportunity to build on that. My main objective would be to get more geocachers involved in the Wisconsin Geocaching Association.  One of the things I have done with the LCG is reach out to cachers who log a find on a cache on the LCG, but don’t submit an LCG report on the WGA site and ask them if they know about this “game within the game.”  More often than not, they do not and I will walk them through how to submit a report. I have done the same when a new WGA TB Race starts.  I keep an extra stash of travel bug tags so that I can set up a racer for a new cacher to get them in the game, if they are unable to get a racer to me on time.

I would also like to see more Geocaching 101 classes held and perhaps expand on educating geocachers. We have a new generation of cachers (especially this year) who don’t understand that a simple TFTC really is not adequate. This new generation, more often than not, is logging from the field and doesn’t understand the significance of awarding favorite points.  They don’t understand to carry a bag with fresh logs, baggies, etc. with them. They don’t understand the etiquette of geocaching.  We could do so much more to help them be better geocachers

I would also making establishing some committees a priority. Our WGA members need to have a voice. We need to figure out who is passionate about what and get them working on that committee. There are so many options – LCG, Newsletter, Photo of the Month, Cache of the Month, Historian, Campout, Picnic, Chili Event, etc.  Ultimately, the WGA Board needs to make decisions, but many hands make less work and getting our members involved more will provide for more ideas and options for the WGA Board to discuss and make decisions on.  I would want to make sure the WGA was an organziation of the Cachers, by the Cachers, for the Cachers!

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

[Lacknothing]

People skills are huge – the ability to connect with fellow geocachers.  I also feel that the ability to think outside of the box is important to contributing as a Board Member.  In addition, listening to what the members of the the Wisconsin Geocaching Association want is significant.  If elected to the board, I would be here to serve the membership.  In order to serve the membership effectively, I need to be a good listener.

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

[Lacknothing]

This is a good question Kelly.  The WGA website needs to become more user friendly I think to draw more cachers back to it.  I have made it a point to promote the Lonely Cache Game and the Cache Rescue Mission that are on the WGA site.  Those are both set up very well on the WGA site. I have enjoyed that the WGA Board minutes have been posted on the WGA site and always in a very timely manner.  Kudos to the current Board.

When it comes to the banter/dialogue that is so healthy between geocachers, the WGA forums are what are not the most user friendly. Facebook has done a great job of making conversation/messaging happen with ease, regardless of whether you are sitting at your laptop/PC/MacBook or you are on your iPad/tablet or you are on the road using a smartphone.

Are there things that could be done to improve this aspect of the WGA site?  My skillset does not include anything IT related at all.  Mark/chevyole’s suggestion of a possible app sounds intriguing!

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

[Lacknothing]

The bottom line is that I enjoy getting people involved – in this case – geocachers involved with all that goes on in the world of geocaching in our great state of Wisconsin. This list includes, but is not limited to WGA events (such as campout, picnic, etc.), Lonely Cache Game, Travel Bug Race, hiding caches, finding caches, solving puzzles and more!

I feel that I am a fairly good motivator and can get people excited. I am a visionary – a big idea person.  I love thinking big and imagining “what if”. I am fairly good at organizing an event and/or a group of people and delagating tasks.

Do I want change? I am not about change for the benefit of change. It needs to make sense. At the same time, if changes are proposed and what the membership feels is needed, I can work with that too!

Why this year? It’s a great time to get involved. The WGA has some great things going and I think I could work well with current and new Board members to make them even better.

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

[Author]

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