SAD NEWS

[+volnut]

I AM SORRY TO SEE OUR GREAT REVIEWER AROUND OUR AREA MAX LEAVE THE REVIEWING STAND. HE WAS NOT ONLY A GREAT REVIEWER BUT HE WAS A GREAT PERSON. THIS IS SAD FOR THE AREA HE TOOK CARE OF AND A SAD DAY FOR LOTS OF CACHERS CLOSE TO MAX!!! YOU WILL BE GREATLY MISSED BIG GUY AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN EVER BE REPLACE!!!! HAVE FUN ON THE TRAILS!!! NOW YOU WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO CACHE WITH THE BLUFF BOYS!!!

[+Monkeybrad]

It is funny, when I found out that Max was going back to being Joe, it was almost like having a friend pass away after a long illness. I was happy for Joe that he was finally going to be free to play the game as a private citizen again, but at the same time a selfish part of me was sad that we were losing him as a reviewer. I have traveled around a little bit and found a cache or two and I know several reviewers well and I respect them all for the job they do, but Joe was different.

 

Beyond his obvious passion for the game and his willingness to work tirelessly to expand our playing field by working with parks departments and state and national regulatory agencies to create geocaching policies, Joe understood completely what a responsibility it is to be a volunteer reviewer and he always treated the position with the respect that it deserves. As a representative of Groundspeak and of the members of the geocaching community he always worked to make sure that the guidelines were applied equally to all geocachers, whether he agreed with you or not, you were guaranteed of a fair hearing. He also worked extensively with geocachers to help them create placements that were in compliance with the guidelines, without trying to stifle creativity. He and I butted heads many times in the last five years, but I knew that even if we were on the outs personally, I could count on his sense of responsibility and fairness when it came to reviewing my caches.

 

Another thing that many people in our area may not realize, if you don’t hunt extensively elsewhere, is the amount of time he spent making sure that area cache owners were maintaining their placements. It was not until I began traveling around hunting that I realized just how good we have it here. In some areas you will find several caches that have maintenance issues that have not been addressed in a year or more or caches with multiple no finds and SBA’s that have not been attended to. I remember being shocked the first time I encountered this, because we never had that sort of thing at home. In Tennessee if your cache had five or six no finds you could count on a friendly note from your reviewer asking if everything was OK, and if you did not respond in ninety days or if you had not signed onto the site in a year the cache would be disabled or archived. While it was frustrating to be on the receiving end occasionally, it sure does make a difference as a hunter, and I want to say thank you for working so hard to make geocaching better for the rest of us.

 

Of course, there is no way to replace Joe, his dedication to this sport is legendary. His passion for this game as a player is unrivaled and his enthusiasm is infectious. We can only hope and pray that our next reviewer will try to maintain the same high standards that Joe has set, not only for Geocaching in Tennessee, but for the game worldwide. Joe understood that while it is an honor to be asked to be a reviewer, it is not a feather in your cap to be worn in pride, but rather a mantle of responsibility to be worn with a certain amount of humility. He served us proudly and honorably, and he never forgot that to be worthy of the title meant living up to that responsibility, and he never let us down.

 

JoGPS is without a doubt the true “Father of Geocaching in Tennessee”, and I am saddened that our state has lost Joe as a reviewer, but we have regained a great player and it is with a happy heart that I welcome this legend back into the ranks of the players.

 

There are not enough words to say it properly, so I will say it simply. Thank you for your service, I am honored to call you a friend and having you back is “Too Cool”.

[+BigDaddyD]

Well said guys, not much more that I can add except to say that I will also miss you as our reviewer. Thanks for all you have done to make the sport what it is today!!

[+drat19]

I'll echo and amplify Monkeybrad's comments as a longtime Mississippi-based cacher (for which state he also served as reviewer for the majority of the past 5 years)...thanks for the great service, Joe.