[zuma]

Regarding the bench issue:

Ideas are like fruit, on the vine. When an idea whithers on the vine for several years without implementation, one wonders why. Did the idea wither on the vine because it was just not that sweet in the first place, or was left unused because no one was ambitious enough to go out and pick it?

I wonder how valuable park rangers would think a bench is, since they can get all the tax supported benchs they need anyway. I personally think a greater service to parks would be CITO events. CITO events have the further advantage of requiring a little bit of effort from a lot of WGA members. Whereas the bench idea would require a lot of effort from just a few people, and a strong champion to push it forward. If we want to build a stronger WGA community, a CITO event serves that goal, while the bench idea does little to build community.

If we did decide this was a useful idea, it should be turned over to a newly formed “Service Committee,” a committee made up of 2-3 board members and several other WGA at large members. The Service Committee could then work out the details of design, location, etc.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding goals for the next year:

My current goals:

1. Have fun.
2. Get my 200th FTF (getting very close now)
3. Have fun.
4. Maintain my caches currently out in excellent condition.
5. Have fun.
6. Add another 5 Yellowstone Trail caches, and modify a couple I dont like as well.
7. Have fun.
8. Cache in 5 new states.
9. Have fun.
10. Cache in 3 new countries. (Going to Canada Jan 28th-woo hoo!!!)
11. Have fun.
12. Place 7 new caches for the Chippewa Valley event along the Eau Claire River.
13. Have fun.
14. Help promote the Chippewa Valley event into a large scale event.
15. Have fun.
16. Find $10,000 in a cache.
17. Have fun.
18. Get a cool Street Pilot 2610.
19. Have fun.
20. Convince WI Robin to cache with me more.

Oh, and my main goal: HAVE FUN!!!!!

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding equality for all parts of the state:

Excellent question, Mathman!

I agree with the premise of your question, that this is the WISCONSIN Geocaching Association, not the Chippewa Valley geocaching asssocioation, or the Southeast Wisconsin Geocaching Association, or the Fox Valley Geocaching Association.

We need to do everything that we can to support geocaching and geocachers everywhere in the state, whether they be north or south, urban or rural. This is one of the reasons that in my introductory bio I proposed a series of regional camping events, spread throughout the state.

And as to your numbers question, I have cached in 69 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. And if you look at the cool map on the It’s Not About the Numbers website, you will see that I have made more than a token appearance in most counties. I know that you are partial to Marathon County, so I can tell ya that I have found 28 caches there, and will be back in the spring.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding the caches for folks with disabilities:

I have developed a bookmark list of caches that would be wheel chair accesible, assuming upper body mobility:

http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=261fe11c-dba9-4c18-a4b5-b8378ce9077d

Most of these caches I have visited, but I do add to the list when a cache owner emails me a request to add their cache to the list. For those unfamilar with the list, look it over, and let me know what ya think. If you are a cache owner, and think that your cache can be accessed by a person in a wheelchair, let me know, and I will add it.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding MAGC Involvment:

Coastie asked: Would WGA be interested in taking over the WI Chapter of MAGC on the MAGC Website when I leave?

Is WGA willing to help me hold Introduction Classes, Meet/Greet events?>>>>

I believe that the WGA should support linkages with the WI Chapter of MAGC, and I am not saying that just because Coastie helped me make it up the “high road” when we tackled the Gauntlet together.

I wish that the BOD would have given you a quicker response, and am a bit saddened and shocked to learn that you were not given a response to a reasonable request for help. I think that when any WGA member poses a question to the WGA BOD there should be an expectation of a timely response. The response may not always be the one you had hoped for, but it at least should be timely and polite.

Anyway, here is how I would have answered this question if on the BOD:

I do believe that there are a number of things that could be done to work with and build bridges with MAGC to our mutual benefit. These should be explored as soon as possible. Much can be done, short of “taking over” the WI chapter, which is probably not feasible. We could however provide a link on our website to the MAGC website. The MAGC website could have a link to the WGA website. We could also add a folder to the current regional forums for MAGC members, where military people within the state could make connection and discuss issues of interest to MAGC members. And we could also offer assistance with events, and with classes, something that could be easily done once we reorganize and implement an Education Committee.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding WGA issues in 2007.

I agree that the issue mentioned above by Cheesehead Dave remains an important issue. I believe that the WGA needs to do more things that service geocachers in the state to increase WGA membership, including regional events, coins, training programs, and the other things we have already talked about.

I also agree that the 5 issues mention by Team Lighteningbugs are key issues, and have previously posted my thoughts on all 5 of them. I will keep this post short and say that I essentially agree with Dave and Jennifer.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding new initiatives:

I have several in mind, and will post on each of them seperately, as I flesh them out. This one is pretty well fleshed out to the point of introducing it, and soliciting input to improve it.

The one that would be a top priority is to develop a law enforcement training program related to geocaching and how it may interface with law enforcement. I am currently in the development stage of this idea, and all suggestions are welcome.

My intention is to develop a 30-40 minute program, probably on Powerpoint, and with sample geocache containers that can be taken to training sessions for law enforcement officers. I will be working on this idea this spring, and hope to present it first in Eau Claire and N. Fon du lac as trial programs. After I have field tested the program, revised it as needed, I would want to standardize it, and then provide “train the trainer” type of events so that other geocachers could then provide this training to law enforcement groups in their own areas.

Program content would include:
–What is Geocaching?
–How to tell if it is a bomb or a geocache.
–What’s that strange man doing in the bushes?
–What are the benefits of geocaching to law enforcement?
–Using GPS coordinates to locate a MVC or crime scene.

I think that I am uniquely equipped to develop this program, given my background in EMS education and the unfortunate incident in N. Fon du lac. Here are what I consider my qualifications for this undertaking:

–One of my caches was recently a cause of concern for law enforcement as a potential bomb.
–I have 11 years experience training EMTs and Paramedics, and much of that job was going to their squad rooms and setting up classes.
–I have completed many college level courses in educational methodology.
–I was a member of the curriculum develoment committee of the Wisconsin Technical College System that developed the current First Responder program, a program of emergency medical information that all certified law enforcement officers in Wisconsin are required to complete.
–I taught the First Responder program to many law enforcement officers in the 1990s, and while I might be getting a little rusty, I know their learning style.
–I am not afraid of cops. (Unless their blue flashing lights are turned on behind me for running a stop light cuz I was trying to figure out where to park in Chicago to grab a cache.)

I will add that I plan on working on this over the coming months, whether elected to the BOD or not. Whether elected to the BOD or not, I would want to serve on a committee that we form as a working subgroup of the BOD to pursue this. I would propose developing an “Education Committee of the WGA” to work on disseminating the training program that I hope to develop. An Education Committee would also be an asset to the WGA and could be used for other training programs that we develop.

I have noted many people posting about taking in written material to law enforcement. While this may be somewhat beneficial, the truth of the matter is that emergency services personel are deluged with notices and papers, and they do not have the time to read everything that comes in. A short presentation of the necessary information, with handouts and actual cache containers and actual GPS units that they can see and feel will be much more effective, I believe, and worth the effort.

As I said, this is in the development stage. I am very open to suggestions.

zuma

[zuma]

Thank you for pointing out that the problem is still with us. As a result of your post, I looked a little more, and read through the disabled list that you have. Looks like about half are disabled for a good reason, such as seasonal issues, or have been recently muggled and the owner has not yet replaced.

It looks like the other half (about 100 caches?) are just gone, and the owner has lost interest, for whatever reason. I continue to support the current policy of owner notificaton of impending archival after 3 months, followed by actual archival. I also think the post that Tie leaves is well written, to the point, and quite polite for what could be a very sensitive topic.

And while it does seem this problem does still exist, it is certainly much better now than it was a year ago, and I think it reasonable to thank the current BOD for their (your) leadership in this area, and note that Tie has done a lot of leg work in decreasing the number of disabled caches in the state. So thank you to T&TB and thank you to Tie.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding disabled caches:

Is this really still an issue? After reviewing the disabled caches within 100 miles of my home coordinates, it does not seem to be much of an issue an longer. A year ago, when T&TB and others brought it up, it was an issue. But now with the program that Tie has implemented, it looks like a problem mostly solved, at least to me. I also note that Surfer Joe is following pretty much the same procedure in Minnesota, so this is not a unique Wisconsin issue.

So, at this point, I dont think it is an issue an longer. There are always going to be a few disabled caches out there for any number of reasons, but mostly the problem has been cleaned up. Thanks to the leadership of the current WGA BOD for addressing this, and particularly thanks to Tie for implementing the policy.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding the presentation kit issue:

Dittos to all of the above. This is a reasonable idea, and I doubt if anyone would oppose this, as long as adequate funds are available.

Let’s Do It!

Zuma

[zuma]

No, veni vidi sivi, means: “I came, I saw, I signed in invisible ink.

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding the Expo Booth proposal:

“When you know something, say what you know. When you don’t know something, say that you don’t know. That is knowledge.” – Kung Fu Tzu (Confucius)

So with that note, I will admit that I do not know if this is a good idea or not. I would want to do a needs assessment to see if there was a need for this, what the anticipated benefits might be, and what the cost would be prior to making a decision.

zuma

[zuma]

[zuma]

Regarding the license plate issue:

I was the Secretary of the Wisconsin EMS Association in the late 1980s when we successfully lobbied for the state to allow for special license plates for EMTs and Paramedics, so this is not a new issue to me. The plate approved then is still the one you see on EMT vehicles today with the Star of Life on it.

Since then, the state has approved over 50 different special plates for a variety of groups. Until 1998, each of these special plates had to be approved by the state legislature, which meant each group that wanted a special plate needed to lobby the legislature for a modification of the statute to allow their group’s special plate. Since then, the DOT has been empowered to issue special plates for groups that qualify. I reviewed the qualifications in the applicable Wisconsin statutes, 341.14, and Wisconsin Geocaching would be a group that seems to meet the qualifications.

However, the statute also anticipates a minimum of 1000 plates to break even with the program, and a group making application for a special plate is required to pay a fee of $15,500, most of which is returned to the group if 1000 plates are sold.

Those interested, can look at the statute here:

http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0341.pdf

The applicable portion is 341.149(fm) and is on page 18 of the PDF document.

Therefore, at this time I cannot support an effort to apply to the DOT for a special plate for Wisconsin Geocaching. If one was available, I would certainly buy one, and I think it is a great idea. However, it is just not realistic at this point to expect that we would have over 1000 people who would want one, and it is not realistic to expect the WGA to have an extra $15,500 available to make the application.

(On the other hand, if a generous, kind-hearted geocacher such as T&TB dontated the $15,500, I would be willing to support this idea.) 😀

zuma

[zuma]

Regarding the numbers issue:

Despite the name of one of my favorite websites, it is NOT about the numbers. It is about exploration, discovery, finding and meeting new challenges, meeting great people, and having fun. Those things are not easily measured, so what we measure instead is what can be measured, that is, the number of caches found.

While it is NOT about the numbers, I do personally enjoy the numbers, and am fascinated by the It’s Not About the Numbers website, especially the map functions. I enjoy looking at the state county maps, and seeing how many I have in purple, red or better.

As to my own numbers, I have hidden 167, probably about 60 of those in the past year. I have found 3193, with just over 2000 of those finds being in 2006. I have found caches in 69 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, and hope to visit the last 3 counties this spring. I am giving you those numbers because you requested them, not because I think they are terribly important.

zuma

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