Candidates for 2012/2013 committee elections

[Maple Leaf]

This thread is for the CV/Manifestos of the candidates and will be locked.

There is a discussion and Q&A forum here (https://www.gagb.org.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=53)

The 13 candidates standing in the 2012/2013 committee elections are (in alphabetical order):
*geocass*
Bobo Frett (Steve)
Countrymatters
daddyanddude (Dax)
Geocaching Womble
JackieC Mollyjak (Lilian)
northking (Jeff)
sandvika
Team Microdot (Pete)
The Wombles (Dave)
Walker Clan (Andy)
Zomblou


keehotee - withdrawn 20/11/12

The election of committee (8 places available) will be by email ballot between Friday 23/11/12 and Thur 29/11/12.

Following on from the Chair discussion thread and a committee majority vote, both the CVs and Q&A threads have been posted in the general area. Anyone can view, but only GAGB members can post.

20/11/12 keehotee has asked me to withdraw him from standing for election.

[Maple Leaf]

*geocass*

I'm Cass, *geocass* (Formerly part of the duo 'Cassandy'). I've been caching since March 2010, but in that time have found over 11,000 caches! I've maintained a Geocaching blog for most of that time (http://geocass.wordpress.com) which has many readers and subscribers. I enjoy long walks on big caching series, but also try to hunt out those individual caches which will provide a great adventure. I've contributed a lot of these caching adventures and photos to the GAGB Seeker magazines.

I've been on the GAGB committee for the past year, plus helping out a few months prior to that. During this time I've gradually taken on the role of webmaster dealing with the admin in the background and the everyday maintenance tasks. I also started work last year on a brand new, fresh GAGB website which I believe is desperately needed. I'd say that my site design is about 80% complete, however the final touches require a lot of re-coding which other commitments have delayed. I'm hoping that if I am reelected, I will get the opportunity to finish this project and upload the final redesign early next year. :)

So what can I bring to the GAGB? I truly believe that the GAGB is beneficial to Geocaching in the UK. After being on the committee for just a year I was surprised to see just how many people turn to the GAGB for help and advice on Geocaching and I genuinely believe that the GAGB provides an essential support for UK Geocaching. I would really like to help the GAGB develop and still firmly believe that I can contribute to the development with my technical abilities, ideas and enthusiasm!

[Maple Leaf]

Bobo Frett

Now then, I’m Steve, one quarter of Bobo Frett.

I’m a Scot based in Lincolnshire. I’ve been caching for nearly two years, which isn’t a long time compared to many of our Tupperware hunting brethren but I have fallen in love with it, as have the rest of my family, perhaps not as vocally (obsessively) as I.

In the real world I work as the creative manager for a theatre-in-education company, I am a youth worker and a youth offending worker for the council too. I am also a volunteer footpath checkerer for Lincolnshire council.

There was a lot of internal debate involved in me accepting my nomination. My youth, good looks and newness to the caching world were all arguments against.

But, I have a lot of time for caching, I have a positive attitude, I get on well with people and I am honest and critical without being demeaning. I know what it’s like to hide caches and I know what it’s like to find them.

I feel there is a lot of venom directed at the GAGB without good reason. I want to help build an association which is there to support cachers, to offer sound advice to members of the public and one which can be a positive force for caching. I would like to create the sense of community that we feel in our local forums and social networking groups across the UK geocaching masses because they are lovely places to be. Filled with debate and reasoned arguments from old and new cachers alike.

I want to help the GAGB be the voice of the lone cacher and the voice of the community. It should lend weight to complaints, queries or worries when cachers are dealing with the caching websites. Cachers should feel comforted knowing that they have the support of the GAGB behind them.

The GAGB needs to be an honest, transparent voice which reflects the opinions of the UK caching community and gives cachers the confidence that there is an association which will listen to them and support them if necessary.

If you’ve ever met me then you know you’ll get the above from me.

Cheers,
Steve

[Maple Leaf]

countrymatters

TERRY MARSH (COUNTRYMATTERS)

I take the view that GAGB should fulfil two basic functions: it should be a point of contact for external enquiries from the public, landowners and organisations; it should also seek to provide a service to its members. In the former case, it is vital to present an efficient and prompt service, in the latter a service that keeps members up-to-date with changes and developments in the geocaching community, as well as providing news about geocaching activities across the UK.

For my part, I have served on Committee, somewhat fitfully, for the last two years, but as an active travel journalist and photographer, and being somewhat distracted by academic research, I tend to be less of a mainstream participant. However, I introduced the idea of upgrading the GAGB newsletter into an online magazine - Seeker - and have now edited and produced eleven issues. It is far from perfect, but its usefulness to, and appreciation by, members is often commented on. This is where I can continue to offer to help; in producing Seeker, and contributing to Committee deliberations whenever I have something relevant to say.

For those who seek to know, I live in Lancashire with my wife, who also geocaches with me. I have organised quite a number of events both here in the North West and on the Isle of Skye, and I'm the author of 'Geocaching in the UK', the only UK-centred book on geocaching.

You can read more of my professional background at www.terrymarsh.com (http://www.terrymarsh.com), but basically I write walking and travel guidebooks, I develop apps for iPhones/iPads/Androids and am currently developing a website to France (www.france-travel-guide.net (http://www.france-travel-guide.net)), which is my specialist country. For 17 years I was Secretary of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, and also served as a Committee member and Yearbook Editor for the British Guild of Travel Writers. I feel that this experience is something I can draw on to help further the aims and objectives of GAGB.

[Maple Leaf]

DaddyandDude

Hi my name is Dax, I’m one half of DaddyandDude (dude is my son and geokid!). I live in Tynemouth in the north east of England.

I have been caching since 2010 and can be found out and about with molliemooze (the misses) and our 2 beagles Benson and Abbey.

Geocaching has become an important social aspect of my life and was immediately smitten with the sport. A keen walker/hiker I was looking for a way to encourage my son to ‘follow in my footsteps’ (quite literally) when a friend introduced me to caching – we now have become a family of cachers and encourage many of our friends and family to take up the sport.

Building on my love of caching I invested in starting a caching business, which is growing steadily and now run a caching café. It is a fantastic way for people both new and old to the sport to come and have a chat with us and fellow cachers – everyday becomes a mini-meet and greet!

When not caching I am actively involved in scouting, running a scout troop of over 30 scouts, many who have their own geocaching adventures after plenty advice and encouragement. Many of them have then encouraged their friends and family outside of scouting to take up the activity.

As you can probably tell I am extremely passionate about geocaching and want everyone to enjoy this fantastic activity. I believe I can strive to promote the solid foundations laid by GAGB and build on them with a solid vision for the future and a voice for the caching community. Caching should be accessible to all and the members of the GAGB should feel safe that with someone as passionate as myself I will do all I can to promote the GAGB and their ideals.

Vote for me, and help me make GAGB a national voice for geocachers!

[Maple Leaf]

Geocaching Womble

I’m Geocaching Womble. Some of you may be wondering why you think you should vote for me in this election. I am a well respected cacher with several years of experience of varying styles and areas of management (please see my CV for more information.) I feel that, if elected, I would not abuse the power nor misuse it, I would try to repay your trust in me by using the power given to me for the benefit of the GAGB and it’s membership.

If elected I would bring to the committee a key skill I feel it has been lacking for quite some time, this is: the ability to actually understand what process a reviewer actually goes through in order to publish a cache. By this I mean I would adhere to make the GAGB Guidelines more in touch with the average geocacher in addition to making them more listing site friendly at the same time. When I say listing site friendly I do not mean just Groundspeak centred. I will make them fairly balanced towards all listing sites, not just one.

If I am given the opportunity to use my skills I will raise the standard of the already high calibre of the GAGB and will seek to employ a greater transparency into the dealings and arrangements that the GAGB already have. If permitted, I would also attempt to give greater flexibility and freedom to all members to allow members to feel they have more choice and actually what they say does matter.

I would also endeavour to try and keep my ear to the ground in relation to day-to-day caching activities and try to gain the average geocacher’s perspective on British geocaching on a regular basis (e.g. Once a month if possible.) I will then try to take heed of the information given to me by other cachers and act upon it to the best of my ability.

I have been involved in some form of geocaching since September 2008 initially caching as part of a team. Then from the start of November2008, I began as a geocacher in my own right. I have cached in the South East, The North East, Mid Wales and the West Midlands and currently reside in the North East. I have been an Opencaching.org.uk Management Committee and Team Member since late 2010. During this time I implemented the addition of a series of additional sub-forums and helped transform the OC UK forum into what it is today (although at first in an unofficial capacity as an advisor until the election came round at which point I chose to stand and then successfully won).I also helped design and write the OC UK cache placing guidelines.

I have experience of:

1. Website Management. This is something which I have been actively doing for a number of years now and would being willing to apply my wealth of experience and knowledge over to the GAGB.

2. Forum Moderation. This has been something I have become very adept at in the last couple of years and I am prepared to leave contentious topics that spark debate (e.g. I do not believe in censoring an unfavourable post for the committee. I would rather spend the time finding out what the reason for said post, then try and solve the problem rather than just editing it to make me look more favourable) while at the same time, I WILL come down hard on those who regularly abuse the system and or take advantage of my laidback forum moderation style.

3. Cache Approving. Having been ‘on both sides of the fence’ so to speak I have an almost unique understanding of what is physically practical for cache placements as well as what is actually legal in relation to this subject. This is a trait which I feel has been lacking from our committee in recent years.

4. Guideline Writing. As one of the OC UK Management team I played a key part in the setting up, writing and designing of the OC UK specific guidelines so I have had experience across all major cache problems and eventualities which were considered as part of the project.

5. Practical Promotion of Websites. I have spent a great deal of time actively promoting OC UK and hopefully will continue to do so for a very long time. If elected I would be happy to utilise those skills for the benefit of The GAGB.

6. The Ability to Take Responsibility. I have shown that I can work with other groups of people rather than just cachers during my time at OC UK.

[Maple Leaf]

JackieC

Hi, I’m JackieC and I’ve been caching since February 2004, where I found 3 caches in the Newcastle area and there has been no looking back since then. I’m not a numbers cacher so I only passed the 1000th mark in August this year, but I am an active event cacher and have organised and co-organised both camping events and day events in Scotland, with the most recent event being a Halloween themed night trail. I was part of the 2010 Mega Scotland team and have helped fundraise for the following two mega events (Wales and NW).

I cache with my husband Will, and two dogs (Old English Sheepdogs, hence the avatar), and travel to events in a motorhome with a large blue gazebo (which some of you would have seen at Cartmel) and now a green event shelter in which we become a catering operation to feed hungry cachers (curries and BBQ a speciality!)

For my day job I travel extensively in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and occasionally into Northern England, but I’m usually running late to get to the next visit so I don’t get as many drive-bys as I should, but it does allow me to attend more midweek events.

My own personal opinion is that the GAGB was set up when there was very little information about Geocaching, back then it was an 'underground and secret activity' and having a information website was really helpful. Also having a 'body' to help talk to councils/landowners did give caching a more formal approach and did help with some permissions in the early days.

In the following 10 years (about) since its formation I do not think the GAGB has kept up with the rate of expansion and popularity of Geocaching, as other information sites (and new cache listing sites) have appeared and taken over. Individual cachers now negotiate with councils/rangers/landowners and share the information locally through facebook groups and regional forums. Some of the new info sites (e.g. the wiki and follow the arrow) are visited much more and are more up to date.

So, I think that if GAGB wants to evolve and grow then it needs to go back to first principals and find out what services/facilities cachers want and need and provide them. If information is available elsewhere (and is a better resource) then I think we should be working with those resources rather than duplicating them.

My own personal 'wish list' would include :


forging links with the other listing sites,
being more of a C.A.B (cachers advice bureau) and helping out (if cachers want them to) on permissions issues etc, and
developing the point of contact for anyone who wants to get in touch with cachers (journalists, landowners, educators, individuals etc, the ones who find us by Googling “Geocaching”, pages in the uk, and then click on GAGB; or just call the phoneline).

What I DON'T have on my wishlist is creating policies. I do think the GAGB should represent cachers, not legislate for them, I've NO desire for anyone to formalise themselves as the cache police. If this sounds negative then I apologise, I do believe in and want the GAGB to have a future, but I want it to have a useful and sustainable future.

If voted onto the committee I will also work to update the perceptions that the caching community has of the GAGB and work towards us being a usable resource and not a “quango” (which is what a cacher recently described the GAGB to me as).

[Maple Leaf]

keehotee

20/11/12 keehotee has asked me to withdraw him from standing for election.

[Maple Leaf]

mollyjak

My name is Lilian Maund and I am a retired schoolteacher. I was introduced to Geocaching in Jan 20005 by my then Headmaster and I thought ‘What a silly, nerdy, anoraky thing to do’. That is until we found our first cache and since then I have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of our hobby (except for uphills which can be a bit of a problem as I live in S Wales).

I was pleased to be nominated for the GAGB last year and I was proud when I was elected onto the Committee. In December 2011 I started to reply to the many emails received by the GAGB. These range from irate farmers/landowners who had found caches on their land, Estate/Park Managers who wanted caches on their land, groups who wanted help, advertising, etc. Since August I have also taken over the role of replying to phone calls to the GAGB.

Some cachers have told me this is not the responsibility of the GAGB but I believe it is as quoted from the GAGB Constitution :-

‘acting as intermediaries, and being the first point of call for all interested parties in The United Kingdom ensuring that the positive educational, environmental and recreational aspects of caching are properly represented.’

2011-2012

I have organized two events (one a camping event) with another event in the pipeline for December.

I helped at the Christmas in Cheddar event, organized by Muddy Legs and the Mad Hatter by taking charge of Registration and running a Tombola which raised £130 towards the event costs.

I helped at Mega Piratemania organized by Pop Up Pirate and The Cache Hoppers by taking charge of Registration (for the Second Year) and running a Tombola which raised £370 towards the event costs.

I attended Mega Cartmel where I was on Registration for the first 90 minutes after opening and then I moved on to the GAGB stand where I passed out flyers about the GAGB and also pointed out that the famous Cuckoo cache could be found and logged close by (well on the table we were standing by in fact). J

I attended the Hallowe’en Mega and volunteered to help with Registration and did spend a short time helping but to be honest The Fuzzy Bears had it well covered and didn’t need any help.

I am one of the Administrators on our active GAGB Facebook group. This group has doubled in numbers this year as more and more cachers join and in my opinion has been responsible for the large numbers who voted this year for the Chairman.

I am Admin on a Number of other Facebook groups and a Member of Regional groups and take an interest on what is going on elsewhere.

If elected for a second year, I would continue to promote the GAGB, its guidelines and the continued need for this organisation according to the expediential growth in our hobby as seen over the last few years. I would use my organisational, communication and fundraising skills as required within the GAGB Committee.

[Maple Leaf]

Northking

I am 50 years old and live with my wife and our daughter in Bingham, Nottinghamshire, which is close to the Lincolnshire and Leicestershire borders. My caching name is Northking, an amalgamation of our surnames (my wife’s and mine).

I retired from Nottinghamshire Police in 2010 having completed 32 years service. The majority of this time was spent as a Detective concerned with the investigation of Major Crime and Homicide.

I have been a Geocacher since 2009. I have made many true friends through Geocaching and believe that my enthusiasm for this great pastime has rubbed off on those around me. I am fair-minded and have a can do attitude when dealing with issues.

I am a volunteer Canal Ranger on the Grantham Canal and walk the towpath regularly, (usually to check on my caches as well as the Wildlife). I currently manage to cache 3 or 4 times a week, and can honestly say that I enjoy all types of Geocaching, but have been known to travel 75 miles or so to claim an EarthCache in the dark. I am proud to have achieved Platinum EarthCache Master status.

I regularly attend and organise events. I have attended Mega events in the UK and Europe. It was whilst attending the NW Mega that I began to think that I could help in raising the profile of the GAGB and hope to change some of the negative perceptions of it. I was therefore pleased to receive and then accept the nomination for the GAGB committee.

I believe that the GAGB is an association that should actively represent its current members, and aspire to attract new members. I feel that this can be best achieved by being accessible and taking the lead on emerging issues, rather than reacting to them after the event.

When discussing the GAGB the biggest and first point that is raised seems to be the Landowner Database, I would like to see this issue acknowledged and a clear strategy put in place to deal with the frustrations and lack of progress. In doing this I believe that it would raise our profile and send a clear message that the committee are listening and making a positive difference to the game.

I would suggest that there needs to be clearly defined areas and responsibilities with the database, rather than addressing this on an ad hoc basis lets use the current database as a starting point and build a structured approach around it to make it a trusted and well used resource for all of our players.

I also feel that the membership procedure for the GAGB is a little confused and confusing. During the recent elections for Chair it was clear that some people didn’t know if they were a GAGB member or not. I would like to see this simplified. I suggest that each new player be welcomed with an introductory e-mail and a clear explanation of who we are, what we do and what are the benefits of joining.

If elected, I will seek to play a positive role in representing the views of players, in raising the profile of the GAGB, and hope that I can help to assist the Chair in moving the association forward in a positive and open manner.
Thanks for reading this, please look me up, even if I don’t get elected to the committee, I am happy to help and share my enthusiasm for the game.

[Maple Leaf]

sandvika

In my election statement for Chairman, I set out my ambitious goal to make GAGB the pre-eminent Geocaching organisation in the UK – the focal point of our community (https://www.gagb.org.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=59826&postcount=2 (https://www.gagb.org.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=59826&postcount=2)). I’d like to thank those of you who supported me with their vote and would ask you please to vote for me again in our committee election. I’d also like to invite those of you who did not vote for me to be our Chairman to consider voting for me for our committee.

There are many candidates for our committee this year, so to evaluate your choices more fully, I would be grateful if you would read the hustings debate in our forum before casting your votes.

Rather than repeat what I said in my previous statement, I’d like to recap on just seven key points from our Chairman debate.

Transparency – I genuinely believe GAGB does little that needs confidentiality and it feeds our detractors by not being open in what we do or say. If elected, I’ll do my utmost to ensure that confidentiality is kept to the bare minimum, with full disclosure as soon as this is possible. If there is inappropriate secrecy on our committee, I would encourage those responsible to amend their behaviour. I also think it is important that our ‘virtual’ committee meetings are open to all our members to witness, if they wish to do so. In general, use of email and the private committee forum should be avoided, our member-readable committee forum should be the normal place for committee discussions.

Accountability – I think there has been complacency which has resulted in there now being two other landowner databases, but this is only one symptom. Our Chairman and committee are answerable to each other but more importantly, to our members. If elected, I will not hesitate to draw attention to areas that are underperforming, with a view to getting help to where it is needed or re-assigning activities to others with more time or greater experience.

Communication – I think we need to maximise our outward reach to place our association at the heart of Geocaching in UK. This means using our web site, Facebook, Twitter, forum and Seeker in a coordinated fashion and having advocates on the listing sites and regional forums and Facebook groups to ensure regular two-way flow of information. Our objective should be to engage our members – to get you all involved in activities that support our common interests – and respond to your needs, and those of our wider Geocaching community.

Constitution – I think the more simple this is the better, as it means it will need to be touched less often, however, our current constitution needs adjustment. I think the changes drafted by our outgoing committee could prove counter-productive: After resolving the present issues with our membership database, we need affirmative renewal of membership to ensure the vitality of GAGB and prevent ‘dead wood’ from accumulating, akin to the need to maintain or archive our Geocaches!

Policy – I think this is where implementation details of our constitution’s objectives belong – not in our constitution. Our committee should draft an annual policy statement soon after our elections to chart the year ahead, so everyone knows what to expect and can assess progress. This is akin to the plans you make before any caching trip.

Landowner Database – I think we need to reclaim our home turf and make the other two databases redundant, as a priority. This means having a policy of continuous review and renewal, ensuring contact details are kept up to date and that each agreement has a GAGB member to own it and champion it. It also means not giving up when faced with a refusal – we need to communicate effectively and sell the benefits of our hobby to the sceptics to win them over.

Guidelines – I think we should view these as a means to an end: explicitly to support our efforts to gain landowner consent for caching. Thus they should be redrafted to be minimal and simple, not weighed down with policy brought in from listing sites. If a listing site wants their rules to read like The Book Of Torts then that’s their right, but it doesn’t help us achieve our goal.

More about me: I have been caching for 5 years and recently found my 2000th cache: I definitely prefer quality over quantity. I embrace almost the full spectrum of listing sites: OpenCaching.org.uk, TerraCaching, Navicaching, Munzees and even Garmin’s OpenCaching.com, to augment the ubiquitous Groundspeak. To my chagrin, I can’t yet claim a find on GPSgames.org! I’m a father of four children aged 12 to 21 and an active non-partisan parish councillor. I’m chairman of the Planning Committee and am dealing with the hostility associated with 2200 new houses being built on my watch, negotiating with developers and planning officers. I’ve worked in computer software for 28 years, supporting sales for the last 15 years. I know how to win hearts and minds! It would be my pleasure to be able to offer my skills and experience in your service on our committee.

Many thanks for your attention and support.
Roderick Parks (sandvika) caching@sandvika.co.uk (caching@sandvika.co.uk)http://caching.sandvika.com/

[Maple Leaf]

Team Microdot

I’m Pete, but most people in the caching world know me as Microdot, and in just over two and a half years, along with my team mates and caching pals I’ve racked up a little over 2000 finds and 78 hides. So while I might not be the most seasoned geocacher in the world I think I’ve experienced a reasonably wide range of the geocaching spectrum.

I’m particularly fond of clever puzzle caches – both as a solver/finder and as a setter/hider and have always tried with each of my own hides to do something a bit different each time and try a bit of everything – I’m even the proud owner of England’s first (and as it turned out only) Ethercache.

What would I bring to the GAGB? That’s a very good question – and one I don’t have a specific answer for or any fixed ideas about at this point in time.

My primary goal would be to simply 'get on board and get up to speed with what the GAGB is / what it does / how it works and who does what' and to get involved and contribute wherever I am able.

Those who know me will vouch for my ‘anorak’ or ‘geek’ status when it comes to technology, IT and web based things – which might come in useful at some point in time and I’ve got a fairly diverse knowledge of geocaching guidelines and what goes into a good Handicache review.
I’d quite like to be involved in the further evolution of the game through relevant new and emerging technologies and to be aware of / offer support / guidance / collaboration / to and exploration of new ideas which might further enhance geocaching in ways which will encourage even more new players with new ideas and thus broaden the experience for all of us.

One 'role' I might enjoy is negotiation with landowners to renew permission agreements and bringing the database back up to date - if nobody else is doing it?

I’m a reasonably competent communicator and have successfully negotiated permission for caches with Canal River Trust, local Councils, park rangers and National Trust and I'd like to see if I can explore more wide-ranging / open agreements with them - and I might just have what it takes.
Only time will tell.

[Maple Leaf]

The Wombles

I have been caching since 2001, was one of the Founders of GAGB and have been on the committee since the beginning of GAGB including the last two years as Chairman. I have personally negotiated 17 landowner permissions including the National Trust (HQ), Woodland Trust, several Forestry Commission Regions and various other organisations. I’ve also contributed to GAGB in many other ways for example organised GAGB events, event stands, advised and supported cachers.

I enjoy caching both with my family (wife and three kids) and also whenever the opportunity arises. Clever hides and Earthcaches are my favourite, preferably including a walk with views, but I love the variety of ideas that geocaching makes possible. I’ve recently started trying challenges, for example I completed my D/T grid and the “cache a day” challenge during the last year.

I would like to see a higher participation level in GAGB. Facebook, Seeker and members discounts have been useful steps in the right direction and voting in the election for the Chair has shown a higher engagement than ever before. However we need to grow this engagement and find more people willing to turn their interest and ideas into development for the future. For my part, I would like to offer knowledge and expertise and to focus particularly on landowner permissions which need a refresh this year.

Thanks for your interest in reading these election statements and participating in the GAGB elections.

[Maple Leaf]

Walker Clan

At 42, I would say that compared to some of the founders of Geocaching I am a young spring chicken having started this hobby in 2009.

The game was stumbled upon on via my IPHONE but soon enough I purchased a GPS and was on my way. I would consider myself as a social geocacher however some would say it’s more than social. Geocaching is not only about the cache but about the walking with friends and sneaking out for that FTF kudos.

A proud moment within my Geocaching history is being a member of this year’s Annual UK Mega Event committee, which I am sure you will all agree was a fantastic event and a great advert for UK Geocaching and put it firmly on the map for encouraging Mega events.

Along with being a committee member within my Geocaching CV I have founded and set up a local forum (Warrington Cachers) bringing local cachers together to chat, arrange trips and provide a social network for fellow geocacher within the Warrington area.

In my life outside of Geocaching I’m a married man with two young boys and have been able to enjoy caching with the family also. My background is 20 years of retail management that stands me in good sted for arranging events etc.

What can I bring to the GAGB ? Well that is for you to decide but I can assure you I will put a 100% into everything and promote the game and use my personal experience of Geocaching and others to ensure it remains what we all love... A game of enjoyment.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Happy caching.
Andy

[Maple Leaf]

Zomblou

I started geocaching just over a year ago and since then I've found over 1000 caches of various types and hidden four. In doing so I've received a tremendous amount of help and advice from numerous people who have freely given of their time to help me. I've also enjoyed meeting and talking to people at the events I've attended and value the friendship of the many people I've met.

I’m semi-retired having been a teacher for 32 years and I now work for a school as a data manager. As my hours are flexible and I work from home there is plenty of scope for me to give time to specific GAGB tasks.

I think there is a general feeling amongst geocachers that the GAGB isn’t really relevant to them and that they can get along quite well without it. No doubt a major task of the new committee will be to promote the GAGB and make it more relevant to all geocachers. This may be achievable by a dedicated committee working collectively but whether it is achieved or not there is other work to be done, not least the revision of the landowners agreement database.

If elected I would view it as an opportunity to further the work of the GAGB by tackling any task entrusted to me to the best of my ability.

Andrew Cook (Zomblou)

[Maple Leaf]

Unsticking post ... as we approach the 2013/2014 elcection period.