January Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comments

They put on events, they readily share geocaching tricks and tips and they challenge new and seasoned geocachers with their hides. They are the January Featured Geocacher of the Month Nominees.

December 2012 Featured Geocacher of the Month, Moneydork

Now it’s your turn to help select one of them as the Featured Geocacher of the Month for January.

Write a comment at the bottom of this blog about which of these geocachers you feel should be awarded the Featured Geocacher of the Month title.

In December, Wayne, a.k.a. Moneydork was recognized for establishing himself as one of Australasian’s most prolific geocachers. His efforts to support the community as a Geocaching volunteer reviewer and good Samaritan have not gone unnoticed. He even managed to organize New Zealand’s very first Mega-Event from 3500 km (2175 miles) away. According to fellow geocachers, Moneydork’s hides and events are legendary Down Under and he never hesitates to give his all to the sport.

Here are your nominees for the January Featured Geocacher of the Month. Some testimonials have been edited for length.

Kirret

Kirret

Mr Bluesky writes, “On November 29th, Don, [a.k.a. Kirret] will have found a geocache every single day of the year, since November 2011.  He has done this in three different countries and on two continents. This year alone he has found over 1,700 geocaches, including a grand haul of 100 on March the 27th. Don worked in Scotland in 2010 and 2011 and I got to meet him through geocaching. We immediately became firm friends. I had the pleasure of geocaching with him in Canada in July 2012 and then again on August 18th in Scotland. Don is very enthusiastic about geocaching and has, just by meeting people while out geocaching, gotten many involved in this hobby by informing them of what he was doing and how enjoyable it is. He mostly geocaches with his wife and son and is one of Guildford, England’s most prolific geocachers. He is out in all weather conditions with a smile on his face and a GPS in hand. I think his achievements this year is a remarkable feat.”

 

The Raven

The Raven

ttcm4geo writes, “If you visit Prescott, Arizona as we were one weekend, you will note something curious. Many of the geocaches you visit will have a note stating that ‘while you are in Prescott, you must find a geocache called Raven’s Labyrynth.’ So many geocacher said this that we finally decided to pursue it. The geocache itself is amazing, which I am sure took weeks to construct. Then we found out that the geocache owner has many similarly thought-out geocaches in the area. In fact, Prescott is known as ‘Ravenland.’ But, even more amazing is that if you email Dan, a.k.a. The Raven with a question, he promptly replies and tells you to call him. So we called him and got some assistance. He was very nice, and you can tell that his only goal is to help people enjoy geocaching. His geocaches are creative, well thought out and so much fun. He does all this work for people many of whom he will never meet. Therefore, I think he deserves this recognition.”

 

 

 

The Weasel

The Weasel

SuperGoober writes, “Tim, a.k.a. The Weasel is what geocaching is all about. He gives back so much more than he takes. He hosted the very first CITO in the Midwest: EIGA 2004 CEDAR RAPIDS CITO EVENT. He is an active member and Board Director for the Iowa Geocacher Organization and a volunteer for the Linn County Conservation. Tim has conducted and assisted in over 50 geocaching 101, 201 and 301 classes and workshops throughout the State of Iowa and abroad. His knowledge of the wilderness extends well beyond that of an average geocacher. He uses his extensive knowledge of the outdoors to help other geocachers by placing some very creative and educational geocaches. The Weasel has an impeccable sense as to what geocaching is all about. He realizes that cache maintenance is very necessary to ensure that geocaching is fun and that the geocache is there. He is just unstoppable.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the January Featured  Geocacher of the Month. A panel of Lackeys will use your comments to help decide which geocacher is awarded the honor. Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat, a Geocacher of the Month profile icon and a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. We will be accepting comments for January’s award through Sunday, January 20th.

Those whose nominees were not recognized here are encouraged to submit their nominations again next month. If you know an outstanding geocacher you would like to nominate to be a featured Geocacher of the Month, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com and include the following information:

  • Your name, the name of your nominee, their username
  • A picture of the nominee
  • Description (200 or more words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award.

Nominations for the February Geocacher of the Month must be received by Friday, February 8th. 

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top candidates and post them on the blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.

  1. I am voting for a true Iowa legend…The Weasel! This is a guy who will drop everything to help another Geocacher out.

  2. Not only has Dan “The Raven” created some of the most amazing geocaches ever; he has also done much to promote the “sport.” On his own time, as a volunteer, He has conducted geocaching clinics for the city of Prescott and given presentations to local organizations. In the spring he will give a six week geocaching class for OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) in Prescott, AZ. My vote goes to “The Raven”!

  3. I’m going with The Weasel. His constant work with Linn County Conservation, the numerous classes he teaches, and how well respected he in the community by everybody is second to none!

  4. Vickie is a Linn County Conservation Education Specialist at the Wikiup Hill Learning Center.

  5. Jenny is the Director for Linn County Conservation Education at the Wikiup Hill Learning Center.

  6. The Weasel gets my vote also! He is working on creating a cache for Brucemore, Iowa’s only National Trust Historic site and we are thrilled. His passion for nature, history, geocaching and the community is inspiring if not a bit contagious. Weasel’s nomination for Geocacher of the month is well deserved!

    Deb Engmark

  7. Add a vote for the Raven. He should be paid to create geocaches – he spends so much time, material and brain power creating fantastic geocaches. He is also quite willing to give tours. He should be the geocacher of the month, and maybe you can get him a job as a paid geocache creator while we are at it! If you are in Arizona, you absolutely MUST stop in and visit/play his caches. They are ALL truly amazing. He has a fantastic rapport with our local land managers – which also really helps the sport. Go Raven!

  8. The Raven has added an entirely new dimension to the sport of geocaching. Instead of simply finding a geocache, logging you visit, and going home, he has made the geocaches themselves the most amazing part of the challenge. Every time I do a new Raven cache I get giddy with anticipation of what awaits me. What kind of amazing puzzle is going to be ahead of me?! Yes, the geocaches are in great locations around our area and I enjoy getting out and seeing the different areas, but any geocache from any geocacher can do that. The Raven’s caches get you excited way beyond a normal geocache. There are very few geocaches I would say I want to go back and do over and over, but all of the ones on my list are from the Raven. I always recommend his caches to newcomers and have some geocaching friends that have been obsessed with beating a cache. I think he has earned this honor and much more.

  9. I vote for The Weasel. Your countless acts of contributing are endless! I encourage EVERYBODY to do his caches!!!

  10. Wow, I am SO glad that some friends told me about this contest and that Tim The Weasel was nominated for this award. I can’t say enough great things about Tim. I am not an overly avid cacher, but my daughter is in Girl Scouts and I attended a class that The Weasel put on for them. Tim did an outstanding job working with all the girls. To keep athe attention of a bunch of girls is no easy task, but Tim did! He made sure that he made it fun an easy to understand. When it was time to find some caches and show the girls first hand what to do, you could tell Tim was in his element. You could tell Tim has a passion for not just Geocaching, but passing along his knowledge of the outdoors as well. I felt totally safe leaving the girls in Tim’s hands as he made sure everybody was safe. I can’t wait to schedule another class with you, maybe this Spring if your available 🙂

  11. I’m voting Weasel based on what I have read so far. ALL nominees should be very proud of what they have accomplished!

  12. We have spent time in Prescott with the Raven and Raven’s Eagle Eye. They are wonderful people, and both of them are an asset to Prescott and to Geocaching. Needless to say, my vote goes to the Raven.

  13. Raven’s caches, both in town and in the boonies (and there are serious boonies around Prescott !) are the most fun and most creative I’ve ever encountered. One more for The Raven.

  14. I can’t wait to do your Outdoor Lesson caches Weasel!! I have heard a great deal about those and your “Weasel Style” caches!

  15. Son of jeananjoe votes the RAVEN as the most creative cacher he has had the privilege of meeting. His caches are so far beyond the usual caches as to almost be in another world. RAVENLAND a fantastic destination………….

  16. I talked with Dan (the Raven) last year as he was leaving Prescott to go to Phoenix and pick up an obscure part for a new cache. Prescott-to-Phoenix and back is close to 200 miles ! I was impressed. Not many goecachers wil go to that length for the sport – and for that, if nothing else, he deserves my support.

    Thanks Dan – here’s my vote!

  17. Finally a chance to log my vote, sorry it took so long. The Weasel and his caches deserve this!

  18. I am sure all of the cachers are very worthy of the Geocacher of the Month but only one can be voted for so my vote is to Dan Hunt – The Raven. I have not personally met any of them but I have had contact with Dan. From the first time I email him, he responded back quickly and has been very helpful. He has always given me his opinion on the matter of discussion but has never been one to make you feel inferior. The relationship he has developed with the City of Prescott has helped geocaching in that area but also will help geocaching everywhere as a reference and example of what geocaching can do for a community or city. His caches are ones that bring people to an area to cache not caching because they are in the area. Good luck to all three but my vote is for The Raven

  19. WOW!!! The Raven. If anyone deserves this honor It’s the RAVEN ! He goes out of his way to help the geocaching community and geocaching in general. He has some of the most unique and enjoyable caches we have ever seen from his Labyrinth, Indiana Jones part 1 and 2, The Origami Raven, Amazing, just to name a few, they are so much fun and a great adventure you just can’t wait for the next one to come out because everyone he does is so exceptional and unique and he puts everything into it. He is always very helpful to his fellow geocachers and will go out of his way to help.

    We are very honored to call Dan “The Raven” Our Friend he is the most qualified person we know for this honor.

  20. I vote for the Raven! Dan’s caches are so well thought out and very unique. Really amazing. thanks – Chuck (aka: Gadget Guyver)

  21. Congratulations to all that we’re nominated! My vote is for The Raven. He is generous, humble, and an all around great guy. And his geocaches are LEGENDARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  22. I vote for the Raven!! I hear people raving about his amazing caches from my home HUNDREDS of miles from Prescott Arizona a.k.a. Ravenland. I made the trip to see what the fuss was all about. Holy cow!!! His caches are amazing!!!! His two Indiana Jones caches made me FEEL like Indiana Jones! And the Labyrinth!! Amazing!! I ended up spending a couple days on Prescott so I could find more caches in Ravenland. Every one of them amazed me! How many hours did he spend planning and creating these incredible caches? I’ve never had so much fun and I plan on going back to find the rest of his caches soon!!

  23. My vote must be for the Raven. If you are ever in Prescott Arizona (Ravenland) you will discover a Geocacher’s amusement park. Not only are these caches geniously thought out and constructed but many are interactive. You become part of the adventure. You become emersed in the story or the hunt. People have flown thousands of miles to for the sole purpose of “playing” in Ravenland. (Some from other countries) While fun and challenging, his caches are also an experience for the entire family. I once read in a log at one of The Raven’s caches that if a new cacher was to start caching on the Raven’s caches before going on to other caches, that the new cacher would soon become dissapointed in the sport because their first impression would never be matched again. It has also been said that if a new cacher was to start caching on The Raven’s caches that his first impression would inspire the new cacher as his first impression would from that point forward raise Geocaching to a new level. On a personal level, Dan the Raven is the nicest cacher I have ever met. Always available to help you succeed or provide needed maintenance (even while he is at work) so that you can realize the experience that is a Raven cache. Many of the cachers that visit Prescott meet the Raven and I believe that there is not a cacher he meets that is not a friend afterwards. The Raven has also managed to bring community involvement into Geocaching furthering our sport. Where as many communities and parks detest or disagree with Geocaching, the Prescott City council happily sanctions Geocaching because of The Raven’s efforts. I hope that if you are reading this that you will take a trip to Prescott and see what I am trying to describe to you. Thanks again Dan for all of your time, your efforts and your love of Geocaching. You have provided hours upon hours of fun for families and cachers from all around. I am more than happy to give you my vote.

  24. I have been to Ravenland, I have met The Raven and I have experienced the fun. I even have the T-shirt. And now I have voted for The Raven.

  25. Well, I will start off by saying I don’t know any of these 3 cachers. Boy, all of these votes coming in for The Weasel and The Raven are amazing. It’s like watching “Rocky” with Apollo and Rocky trading blows. Obviously both cachers have a huge following that’s for sure. I have read many of the logs here, looked at profiles and made an independent decision. It looks like one cachers has outstanding engineering type caches and the other has outstanding educational caches, so I equaled that out. Both cachers seem to give back to their community in various ways. I give a slight edge to The Weasel as he had several comments from county park officials and from a historical trust location that he is working on jointly with. I equaled out the amount of votes each person has got. In fact, a lot of the votes in fact repeat themselves. I based my vote on a few other things. I liked the Podcast that The Weasel did. That was something unique. The other thing was the pictures somebody posted of the newspaper article of the Cito event, and the picture with the park official. The other thing is I am a firm believer of cache maintenance , the weasel also is huge on. The last thing I saw was how the Weasel helped create an organization and was a Board Of Directors. It’s because of these little extra things, I am voting for The Weasel.

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