GGA Steering Committee Election coming soon!

[+Rebel]

Greetings! If you are a Georgia Geocachers Association member and have not checked the GGA Forums lately, this information may be of interest to you.

 

The GGA is holding an election to fill vacancies on their Steering Committee. I am one of the candidates and I'd like your vote! I live in Locust Grove and am a past member of the Steering Committee. I think that I can best represent you on the committee. On the GGA Forums, several questions were posted and below are my answers to those questions. If you go to www.ggaonline.org and click the link on the left to the forums you can read what the other candidates have written. You must be registered on the forums and have "members forum" access to read the forum and to vote your choice.

 

Thank you for your time and attention!

 

Why should I vote for you?

 

Please let me answer this one last.

 

What kind of caching have you done this year?

 

I’ve done the fun kind. I’ve gone on hyper-planned cache hunts with friends and alone. I almost always have my GPS and PDA loaded with cache information of the area where I plan to be whether at home or away. I’ve hunted easy peasy micros under skirts and driven a hundred miles round trip to snag a puzzle cache. I hunt caches as the whim strikes and time allows. I’ve also hunted caches at times of great stress and found the find to be a welcome break to the tension.

 

What, in your opinion, is the most pressing “problem” with the GGA, and what will you do to help “fix” it?

Quite frankly I see several problems and will do whatever is in my power to solve all of them.

 

Can you separate your personal views with those of the SC (as a whole), and how would you resolve a conflict?

 

To a certain extent the answer is yes and to a certain extent the answer is no. I will always have my own opinion and outlook on things and will, if I feel I’m correct, present my point of view clearly and concisely. If I am outvoted I will support the group decision and not backstab or undermine that decision,

 

What do you hope to accomplish in your tenure as an SC member?

I hope to help bring the GGA back to the forefront of geocaching groups in the US.

 

There have been some observations that annual events/happenings within the GGA (Coin/Calendar/SC Elections/Monthly events/etc.) seem to be handled haphasazardly at the last minute. What do you suggest to remedy this?

 

Elect me! Really! During my previous term of office on the SC I made a real pain of myself in reminding the others that things needed to be done. The end result a lot of times is that I was the one who wound up making it happen. Look at the very first GGA geocoin as an example. I led the charge, gathered member submissions, ran the voting, ordered the coins (and had them here in sufficient time for the anniversary meeting), collected the monies, and made the distribution. My promise to you is that I will do everything in my power to make things happen when they should happen.

 

Have you organized or posted a Geocache Event?

 

I have organized, hosted, and MCd many geocaching events. I was the primary impetus behind the very first Annual GGA Challenge (this was even before I was on the SC) and have had my hand in four of the six challenge events that have been held. I’ve also organized smaller events in my local community. I am very proud for having organized an event in Bremen so that a cacher who currently has limited mobility could meet and spend time with Geocachers.

 

Do you consider yourself an “organized” cacher?

 

Yep, sure do. I almost always have my GPS and PDA loaded with geocache information for the area that I’m going to be in. In the case of planned hunts I have maps and other useful information to make the hunt go smoothly. My expertise with mapping software has been recognized by DeLorme in that I am one of their beta testers for their Topo USA software series.

 

What is your favorite color?

 

I don’t have one. Really! It all depends on my mood and the time of the year. Some days I wear light colors and others I wear dark. In the spring I love the green of new life, in the summer I love the blue of the sky and water, in fall I love the yellows and golds of the trees, and in winter I love the white of the snow and the grey of the clouds in the sky.

 

And now, the first question – [drumroll]

 

Why should I vote for you?

I moved this to last as I feel that it is actually the most important question.

 

You should vote for me because I am the best choice.

 

I am proven in my abilities to work in the SC and with individual Geocachers, state, local, and Federal parks officials and land managers. I’ve discussed geocaching with folks at the US Congress and with some of our elected officials at county and state level. During my previous tenure on the SC I got many things done and coddled, cajoled, and *spoke loudly* to prod others to do the same. I get things done.

 

I am reliable. If I say I'm going to do a thing then I'm going to do it. In those rare instances where I see I cannot do as promised, I enlist the aid of someone else to get the thing done. I do not just dump the task on the others and force them to do something they hadn't envisioned doing. (OK, there was one instance where this happened but there were matters of a lack of respect and elitism that had to be addressed and by doing so those issues were driven home.)

 

I am hard working. I will put in the time and effort required to make things happen in a timely and quality manner. I try to make the effort expended appear transparent to the members so that they can enjoy a quality time at meetings and events. I start the task with enough time to get the job done right but am also willing to fill in at the last minute to make something happen. I'll MC a meeting, meet with officials, cook the hot dogs or clean up the meeting area - whatever is needed to be done I will do.

 

I am steadfast. My opinion is my opinion and most likely won't change. If outvoted by the consensus system I will support and work hard at the decided upon path. However, if I feel strongly that I was correct I will revisit the issue from time to time. Telling me to "Get over it" doesn't work with me if I am right.

 

I cannot promise that if elected I will fix the GGA SC. But, I can promise to do the best job for you, the members, that I can possibly do.

[+Deliveryguy428]

Anyone willing to host an event in or around the Augusta area has my vote.

[+Rebel]

Anyone willing to host an event in or around the Augusta area has my vote.

 

I'm willing! If I get elected we'll get together and work something out. And, if I don't I'll make a pain of myself until it happens.

 

How's that?

[+CSpenceFLY]

Anyone willing to host an event in or around the Augusta area has my vote.

 

You should start your own group over there. The GGA for the most part has it's efforts centered in the Atlanta area,as it should. It does not make sense the try to run events that are hours from where you live. Nor does it make sense to travel hours just to attend every event because none are in your area. Augusta should have a large enough population of cachers to have their own organization. Anyone who would campain against that is just power hungry. THIS IS JUST A GAME!!!

 

On topic, I have met Rebel and would vote for him if I were a member. He is one of the people that actually puts thought into his caches and does not just spew micros around just because there is a place to put one.

Edited December 3, 2007 by CSpenceFLY

[+Deliveryguy428]

Anyone who would campain against that is just power hungry. THIS IS JUST A GAME!!!

 

I am guessing this was directed towards Rebel...anyways we actually have started a local group and it has done really well. Just a lot of people have asked about how they could get the state group more invovled in the area and sadly all we get are responses like yours

 

Start your own thing, do your own thing, and leave us alone

that is sadly the short and sweet version of what I know a few members of the local CSRA Geocachers have gotten when talking to the higher ups of the GGA.

 

I'll be honest, after seeing some of the issues the SCGA has had in the past I am happy either way group of no group. If you are going to call a state group a state group though, make an effort to include the state is all we ask. If you want to center your group around ATL, great, drop the name GEORGIA and just call yourself the Centeral Georgia Geocachers or something. Once again, I just dip my spoon into the pot because a large numbers of geocachers ask the question and a few of us just try to get answers and the brush off.

 

I am not here to mince words, or start some he said/she said war of words on here by no means. I know the GGA has done some great things in the past and we have some pretty good things coming up in our area in terms of a county of two as a whole promoting geocaching and it would have been nice to include the GGA in all the information we presented to the tourism group...a litle...or a lot of positive PR never hurts any group.

 

Really I want to start the group known as E.G.G

Edited December 5, 2007 by geoholic28

[+CSpenceFLY]

No, nothing was aimed at Rebel. As I said if I were a member I would vote for him.

 

While I enjoy getting together with some fellow geocachers the political atmosphere within some of these groups is comical. This person getting mad cause another person had a coin made, another person getting upset because someone suggests they should maintain a cache that has been missing for months, people in one area getting upset because people in another area don't want to drive 3 hrs to events and want to start their own group.

 

My statement "It's just a game" was ment for anyone reading. Do what is fun for the people in your area and don't take any c r a p from anyone.

 

One suggestion, Get a sock puppet account, hide all of you caches under that name and never reveal it to anyone. I discovered that if you rock the boat things can happen to your caches.

[+salutations]

I have to agree with Geoholic. If it is a state organization, events should be held statewide. We lived in SC, but have helped form the CSRA Geocachers group and folks in our group want to be included in GGA happenings. If it is truly the statewide group, why not accomodate every region's request? In SC, there are 7 regions and each region has a SC member. Once or twice a year, each region is responsible for holding the state meeting. Not everyone has to come to every single meeting, no one is asking for that or for someone from Atlanta to host a meeting in Augusta. We have very capable people who could host it. All we are asking for is some recognition from our state group and to be able to hold meetings under the GGA umbrella, so that our members can also become state members without having to drive 3 hours to a meeting.

 

Of course, we will drive 3 hours for some meetings, don't get me wrong. However, we shouldn't ALWAYS have to drive 3 hours to attend a GGA meeting.

 

I live in Aiken, work in Augusta, and am originally from Thomson, so Georgia is very important to me.

 

We are planning an event in conjunction with McDuffie County in the spring and hope to have a lot of folks from other regions of the state. It's too bad we can't also hold a GGA meeting so the membership can grow.

[Max Cacher]

This thread is about the elections for the oldest Geocaching club in the world nothing else please bring it back on topic

 

Max Cacher

Geocaching.com Volunteer Cache Reviewer // Moderator

[+RebelJedi]

I have to agree with Geoholic. If it is a state organization, events should be held statewide. We lived in SC, but have helped form the CSRA Geocachers group and folks in our group want to be included in GGA happenings. If it is truly the statewide group, why not accomodate every region's request? In SC, there are 7 regions and each region has a SC member. Once or twice a year, each region is responsible for holding the state meeting. Not everyone has to come to every single meeting, no one is asking for that or for someone from Atlanta to host a meeting in Augusta. We have very capable people who could host it. All we are asking for is some recognition from our state group and to be able to hold meetings under the GGA umbrella, so that our members can also become state members without having to drive 3 hours to a meeting.

 

Of course, we will drive 3 hours for some meetings, don't get me wrong. However, we shouldn't ALWAYS have to drive 3 hours to attend a GGA meeting.

 

I live in Aiken, work in Augusta, and am originally from Thomson, so Georgia is very important to me.

 

We are planning an event in conjunction with McDuffie County in the spring and hope to have a lot of folks from other regions of the state. It's too bad we can't also hold a GGA meeting so the membership can grow.

 

Actually, the September meeting was supposed to be in Augusta, but the contact person who was to set up the meeting place was unable to fullfill their end so the meeting was moved to the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center.

[Clan Riffster]

What, in your opinion, is the most pressing “problem” with the GGA, and what will you do to help “fix” it?

Quite frankly I see several problems and will do whatever is in my power to solve all of them.

Rebel, at some point prior to the elections, could you revisit this question? What you typed seemed like a politician's non-answer from my perspective. In your opinion, are there problems within GGA? Are you willing to tell us, the unwashed, specifically what these problems are, and a proper course of action for addressing them?

Thanx!

-Sean-

[ParentsofSAM]

The election is over. It ended on Tuesday night.

 

I was elected along with mtn-man.

 

I look forward to serving the entire membership of the GGA over the next 3 years.

[+Deliveryguy428]

Congradulations ParentsofSam and I know from personal experience you are a wonderful geocaching family and will do your best to help run the group that will hopefully benefit everyone invovled.

 

I'm sure Mtn-Man has plenty of bricks to throw to make sure you do your job

[+Rebel]

Wow, go away for a few days and a lonely thread gets lively!

 

First, big congratulations to ParentsofSAM on her win! She's going to be a fine addition to the GGA SC.

 

I wasn't elected in this round but I've put my hat in the ring for a special election to fill the slot of an SC member who is departing ahead of schedule.

 

CR, I know that my answer was a politician's answer. I've been a member, and former SC, for several years and know what the problems are. All I can say is that I'll work hard to fix the problems.