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Lunch-and-cache With City Water Official!


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Hi everyone,

We would like to post an email we sent to 9Key recently about an upcoming meeting we secured with a city official. Please feel free to review and comment on topics for discussion. Your opinion matters to us, please let us know. Thanks!

 

Also posted on Texasgeocaching.com

 

----- Original Message -----

From: astrojr1

To: 9Key

Sent: Friday, February 20, 2004 9:53 PM

Subject: City

 

Dear 9Key,

Last week we ran across a web site that brings groups needing volunteers with those wishing to volunteer for things. One of those things was the City's Adopt-a-creek program. Thinking it was a CITO thing we submitted our name and email. Today we got a call from <the official's name>, who is The city official in charge of water-related things in the city, Creeks, sewers, drainage, the whole works. She didn't know about geocaching so we explained it. Bottom line, and the point of this email is, next week, she wants to have lunch and go do a cache with us. There was much discussion along the lines of, the city could have a powerful ally with our caching community. She explained the Great American Trash day or something and we explained CITO and events. She was captivated from the start. At the end she said "This is great! You've made my day!" Needless to say that made ours as well.

 

She wants, and can get, media coverage (Channel 8!) for her successful projects, which includes things like observing wildlife and poking around creeks taking pictures - something we do all the time while caching. If we can CITO the creeks in the city and somehow measure it (pictures of bags of trash would be fine), we have an opportunity to make the City and geocaching look good. Correct us if we're wrong, but isn't this the kind of exposure we seek, more so than the high-tech-treasure-hunt articles? Seems to us one city official going on a cache is worth a thousand forum threads.

 

In preparation for our lunch, we thought we'd 1) let you know and 2) ask if you advise a particular focus or avoidance of any particular topics during our engagement next week, apart from common sense. We thought about opening a forum thread, or just going ahead with the lunch and telling the story. Then we thought of you!

 

What do you think?

Thanks,

JR&Laurie

astrojr1&G-O-GardenerGal

 

To which 9Key replied:

 

Dang! That's really cool!

Would you like some business cards with our logo and your names on them?

 

I would open a thread and get suggestions about which topics to emphasize and which to avoid.

 

Great job guys!!

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I would stay away from the subject of caves and sites considered fragile for caching. These open too many cans of worms, and could be adverse to the intention of the meeting, even tho these are not urban considerations, they are too passionate a subject.

 

Keeping it simple, as in the joy and challenge of caching, and the good feeling CITO brings.

 

Good Luck :)

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I would also emphasize that not only does it get friends and family outside, exercising and having fun outdoors..but it also let's people enjoy parks, rec areas, etc. that they might not have ever gone to if they didn't cache.

 

You could even print some photos of people caching together or their favorite views while caching.

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To expand on Imajika's post, it introduces people to places they never might have found and creates new advocates for the area. The more people who know about a place, the more who want to preserve it. I guess this may not be an issue in Texas, Utah, or even Oregon, but in NJ, every stinking inch of land we can get is a good thing.

 

Geocaching also introduces the outdoors to people who have spent their lives behind a computer, or in front of a TV set.

 

The family bonding aspect is also a good angle

 

These are positives.

 

Also, please stress that we DON'T BURY CACHES! If I read one more article, or see one more news report about buried caches I'm gonna puke. On second thought I will.......give me a moment.........OKay, back...anybody have a mop?

Edited by briansnat
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