MulderNScully – April 2013 Geocacher of the Month

The April Featured Geocacher of the Month nominees contribute to their local geocaching communities and inspire geocachers around the world. They not only hide quality geocaches, but make sure those searching can contact them to make the find, if necessary.

Thank you to all those who supported the nominees. Those not chosen as the Featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Geocaching HQ.

The Featured Geocacher of the Month is named by Geocaching HQ after reviewing community input and blog comments. We all won seeing such great examples of how the geocaching community works together. After tallying the sentiment, MulderNScully have been named the Featured Geocachers of the Month for April 2013.

MulderNScully have been geocaching since 2008. They’re known for challenging geocachers with inventive Puzzle Geocaches. They support their local geocaching community by organizing events. One geocacher who commented about MulderNScully wrote, “My vote is for Mulder and Scully. They have been mentors to many new cachers and are always willing to give a helping hand to a fellow cacher and some of my most memorable caching adventures are because of them. They aren’t about the numbers, they are about the places geocaching takes us to.”

MulderNScully will receive collector’s edition Featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoins, along with Featured Geocacher of the Month hats and a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. See a list of all the Featured Geocachers of the Month here.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@geocaching.com. Every nomination must follow these requirements. Please include:

• 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 Featured Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you have submitted them for the award. Nominations for Featured Geocacher of the Month are accepted at any time.

Congratulations again to MulderNScully for being recognized as the Featured Geocacher of the Month for April.

The nominees for the April Featured Geocacher of the Month award hail from three different nations, but contribute to one global game.  Each offers a welcoming hand to those new to geocaching and creative hides for all geocachers.  The nominees come from the United States, New Zealand and Denmark.

Now it’s your turn to help us select the next Featured Geocacher of the Month. Write a supportive comment at the bottom of this blog for the geocacher you feel should be awarded the title.  Each geocacher is already a winner and will receive a prize package from Geocaching HQ. A panel of folks from Geocaching HQ will then use your comments to help guide the decision of which geocacher is awarded the honor.

Each Featured Geocacher of the Month will receive an exclusive special edition Featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, hat and profile icon. They’ll also get a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.

WVTim – Featured Geocacher of the Month

In March, WVTim was named the Featured Geocacher of the Month. He’s known as an inspiration to geocachers for his unique geocaches, excellent maintenance habits and his geocaching YouTube channel. He’s accumulated more than 2,000 Favorite Points on his geocaches and he teaches geocaching in schools and to the Boy Scouts.

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

Olefant

Olefant – Nominee for the Geocacher of the Month

Michael Schwartz “schwartz-hansen” writes, “Our nominee is Olefant (the name is a combination of his first name Ole and his logo a biking elephant – elefant in danish).

He is a retired music teacher from Copenhagen who by now has released nearly 250 caches in Denmark and other countries. He started geocaching in 2009, and has been very active from 2011 until now. He has made a lot of cartoon caches and his FTF-certificates are often laminated pictures of the cartoon figures. At his last event on the 16 of March, he released more than 30 caches, with cartoon series and an Astrology series called the Zoodiak – because the theme of the event was animals.

With his events and his caches, we think that Olefant is a big inspiration for the other geocachers in Denmark, … besides that he is always taking his time to talk to all the persons he meets at events and when he is in the field geocaching.”

 MulderNScully

MulderNScully – Nominees for the Geocacher of the Month

Cristina Florez, “Mamabear Crew” writes, “My nomination for MulderNScully isn’t just because they’re “nice”… it’s because they take geocaching as a true sport. And their caches… ooooh their caches……. just like their username suggests, they are out of this world! Inventive, thought out, truly educational, and some of them hard as hell. They have been an inspiration to us and we will be trying to follow their lead in making this sport a true adventure!”

Jerry Lynn DellAmic writes, “They have helped me when I got stuck on puzzle caches, but they never gave me the solution.  They made me talk out loud. …MulderNScully take pride in their geocaches.  For them, it’s not about the numbers.  It’s about enjoying life.  Taking the opportunity to walk among nature.  Go to places that you may not ever get the chance to see. If it hadn’t been for this great hobby, I would never have had the opportunity to meet these life long friends.”

Onslow Fisherman

Onslow Fisherman – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month

Natalie Gray writes, “I would like to nominate Jim Greene, also known as Onslow Fisherman, as Geocacher of the Month. I met Jim by mail, when he very nicely answered some question I had about a puzzle cache he had. He invited me to meet him and his wife in NZ and I jumped at the chance. We became friends and he has helped me with computer questions,etc…We’ve even done an “International Cache” together, GC44F7A and GC42HKJ respectively. Jim is well respected in his native geocaching community, always giving back. He ran a GSAK seminar at NZ Mega in October, and also arranged a 4X4 event last year. His caches are great, and he’ll even lend you his GPS to find them. (GC2QAHK and GC2MF3T). He is helpful to newbies and experienced cachers alike, gets tons of favorite points on his caches, and makes our sport better every day. He also has over 1000 caches to his credit, which is hard to do in a relatively small island country. Jim Greene/Onslow Fisherman, epitomizes the best in geocaching and definitely deserves to be a Geocacher of the Month.”

WVTim – Featured Geocacher of the Month

All three nominees for the March Geocacher of the Month contribute to the global geocaching communityby creating quality geocaches and being an inspiration to geocachers.

Thank you to all those who supported the nominees. Those not chosen as the featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Geocaching HQ.

The choice was difficult. Ultimately, only one nominee can become the featured Geocacher of the Month based on a combination of community input, blog comments and voting. We all won seeing such examples of how the geocaching community works together.

After tallying the sentiment, WVTim is named the Featured Geocacher of the Month for March 2013.

WVTim is known for contributing one-on-one and through social media to improve geocaching for others. One geocacher who left a comment for WVTim wrote, “I  see “paragraphs” of supporting statements about WVTim and the many things he has accomplished for geocaching. I am familiar with WVTim due to his YouTube videos. His gadgetcaches channel, in only 3 months, has nearly 11K views. He does instructional videos on how to build his gadget caches. So, he not only has amazing caches, he is giving ideas and instructions to cachers everywhere on how to build them. Cachers everywhere are benefiting from this guy whose caches have over 2K favorite votes. Plus, he just doesn’t do great caches. I’ve learned from this blog he has seminars, educational events, he teaches geocaching in schools, and to the Boy Scouts. He assists his state and local government in placing geocaching trails.”

WVTim will receive a collector’s edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging his contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com. Every nomination must follow these requirements. Please include:

• 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 have submitted them for the award. Nominations for Featured Geocacher of the Month are accepted at any time.

Congratulations again to Uncle Louwtjie on being recognized at the Featured Geocacher of the Month for February.

louwtjievdw: Featured Geocacher of the Month for February

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

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 February, Uncle Louwtjie, aka louwtjievdw, was named the Featured Geocacher of the Month. He’s known in the South African geocaching community as a creative geocache hider. He’s built a reputation as a geocacher who’s as quick to maintain his geocache hides as he is to make friends with new geocachers. He’s also known for friendly advice, leaving great logs on geocaches he’s found and having a cup of coffee ready for geocachers at his home.

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

moenk

moenk – nominee for Featured Geocacher of the Month

@mic nominated moenk who’s been geocaching since 2003. @mic says, “He (moenk) is the inventor of the very popular “Dönerstag“, an event which is celebrated in more than hundred locations worldwide on the same day. Furthermore, he created the biggest geocaching forum in Germany, Geoclub.de. And last but not least, he was producing a very famous podcast about geocaching called, “Cachetalk.” Another nominee wrote, “Moenk fosters the community towards a healthy growth, a responsible handling of nature and preserving the meaning and fun of geocaching. The Geocacher of the Month is a worthy reward for the energy, the
impetus and the style with which he supports the geocaching community.”

WVTim

WVTim – nominee for Featured Geocacher of the Month

wallmeister22601 writes, “Tim is an outstanding geocacher who has inspired many a person with his unique and unusual geocaches. His caches are what inspired me to start hiding caches of my own and to continue geocaching.  His caches draw people from other states that come to his home state of West Virginia specifically to search for the wonderful and creative WVTim caches. He has the number one favorite physical traditional cache in the state of Virginia as well.

Tim is one of the most responsible geocache owners that I know. If any of his caches are in need of attention he will make it a point to repair them or replace them as quickly as he can. In short Tim in my opinion is a pillar of the geocaching community that inspires, encourages, educates and gives back so much.”

Chrismaxx

Christmaxx – nominated as Featured Geocacher of the Month

MallorcaClaudia writes, “They have placed a lot of geocaches in Majorca [including one featured as the Geocache of the Week with more than 350 favorite Points] and all of them are fantastic ones with special places, great views and nice trips. When I met them one year ago on a geocaching event I found out that they are also very friendly and nice people. They have given me a lot of advice on how to place geocaches and how to do the maintenance. For me they have become very good friends and for me the chrismaxx team is an idol.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the February featured  Geocacher of the Month. A panel of folks from Geocaching HQ 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. We will be accepting comments for March’s award through Sunday, April 7.

If your nominee wasn’t recognized here, please submit your nominations again next month. We’re always looking for the next featured Geocacher of the Month. To nominate someone, 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 next Geocacher of the Month should be received by Monday, April 8. 

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.

louwtjievdw: Featured Geocacher of the Month for February

All three nominees for the February Geocacher of the Month show us the meaning of geocaching ambassadors. They welcome new community members, hide and maintain clever geocaches, and are rewarded with  hundreds of Favorite Points.

Thank you to all those who supported the nominees. Those not chosen as featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Geocaching HQ.

After counting the votes and registering the sentiment a man known as  Uncle Louwtjie, louwtjievdw, is named the Featured Geocacher of the Month for February 2013.  

Louwtjievdw is known in the South African geocaching community as a creative geocache hider. He’s built a reputation as a geocacher who’s as quick to maintain his geocache hides as he is to make friends with new geocachers. He’s also known for friendly advice, leaving great logs on geocaches he’s found and having a cup of coffee ready for geocachers at his home.

One voter writes, “Oom Louwtjie, also called the “Flame of Bloemfontein”, gets our vote. His contribution towards geocaching can not go unnoticed. He accelerated this hobby and made it extremely pleasurable and challenging. His unique cache hides and above all his comments, his friendly nature, made him a legend in our country. He has the ability to find caches even in the toughest places with no complaints and he will always look for that something good in every cache hide…”

Uncle Louwtjievdw will receive a collector’s edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging his contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com. Every nomination must follow these requirements. Please include:

• 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 have submitted them for the award. Nominations for Featured Geocacher of the Month are accepted at any time.

Congratulations again to Uncle Louwtjie on being recognized at the Featured Geocacher of the Month for February.

January 2013 Featured Geocachers of the Month

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

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 January, Tim a.k.a. The Weasel, was recognized for organizing Cache In Trash Out (CITO) events, helping guide local geocachers as a board member of the Iowa Geocacher Organization and spreading the word about proper geocaching etiquette by conducting and assisting with over 50 geocaching classes throughout the State of Iowa and abroad.

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

louwjtievdw

louwtjievdw nominee for featured Geocacher of the Month

louise_gerhard and Henzz write, “ Uncle Louwtjie van der Watt AKA louwtjievdw… is a legend and cachers are travelling vast distances to find his unique and challenging caches. Uncle Louwtjie has at the time of writing 1178 finds. He also has 269 caches that he maintains vigorously. If a cache is gone then it will be replaced as quickly as possible. More important is his techniques of hiding caches. He does not use the normal conventional Tupperware or other commercial containers as a rule, but rather manufacture caches from household items found in the home. This technique is unique in South Africa and it creates a different feel for geocaches. His caches are high quality and it will challenge even the hardiest cache finder. Due to his unconventional technique of hiding these customised items cachers from all over the country at one stage or another does a sort of a pilgrimage trip to Bloemfontein. His logs, friendly advice, the cup of coffee at his home to anyone that wants to share some time with him and the willingness to contribute his time towards all of us is something that must be recognized.”

CAMOURA and ankhesenamon

CAMOURA and ankhesenamon nominees for the featured Geocachers of the Month

VICTOREMM writes, “I would like to suggest Mr. Carlos (CAMOURA) and his wife Carla Moura (ankhesenamon) to the Geocachers of the month. They are the greater ambassadors of Geocaching in Brazil. They hid together about 196 caches, about 23% of the caches in our state SAO PAULO, and 18% in all Brazil. In addition to several meetings and interviews that they gave to magazines and newspapers. CAMOURA’s last work was to create a Power Trail to help everyone from leaving Sao Paulo  to Intervales Park, where you will find the Project APE. They hide caches in a separate to be possible to one get the cache of the other because of few geocachers in Brazil. We have a very different reality here in Brazil, geocaching is not very popular, and their effort is enormous to keep this great adventure alive.

de duintoppers

du duintoppers nominees for featured Geocachers of the Month

Team Bever.vw says, “In the Netherlands we have ‘De Duintoppers’ who are making very nice caches with for everybody, easy traditional geocaches, walking, biking and even boating Multi-Caches, mysteries and so on and so on. All this caches are in perfect condition. They are always helpful as well as for beginning Geocachers as long with experienced Geocachers. This team De Duintoppers adopted a lot of Geocachers and it always feels like coming home when we met Dick eand Ineke the De Duintoppers. They are the best promoters of Geocaching in The Netherlands. They have very good contacts with authorities in the area to place the Geocaches and it happens that they contacting them with the question to place something in a new nature part. They are an alternative tourist-information due to the good description in each Geocache.

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the February featured  Geocacher of the Month. A panel of folks from Geocaching HQ 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. We will be accepting comments for February’s award through Sunday, March 3rd.

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 March Geocacher of the Month must be received by Friday, February 22nd. 

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.

Congratulations to the Featured Geocacher of the Month, The Weasel

The decibel level from the global geocaching community rose to new heights during voting in January. Hundreds of geocachers commented to support of outstanding nominees from the United States and the United Kingdom. More than 800 comments were tallied for all the nominees.

Each geocacher nominated offers the global geocaching community a unique example of a caring geocacher. All are truly winners, as we learned about these three gracious and giving geocachers. Thank you to all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Geocaching.

After tallying the comments and careful consideration, 2013 begins with The Weasel being named January’s Featured Geocacher of the Month!

The Weasel is recognized for organizing Cache In Trash Out (CITO) events, helping guide local geocaching as a board member of the Iowa Geocacher Organization, and spreading the word about proper geocaching etiquette through conducting and assisting in over 50 geocaching 101, 201 and 301 classes and workshops throughout the State of Iowa and abroad.

A geocacher who voted for The Weasel writes, “I heard my parents speak over and over again about caches put out by The Weasel, so I had to see for myself what was so good about them. On a few visits to see my parents we headed out to get a little caching in. Inevitably nearly every cache that I liked turned out to be placed by The Weasel. His caches are fun, unique, well placed, and well maintained. You can’t help but get excited about geocaching when you are working on one of his caches! And to know how much he cares about his community, the environment, and the awareness and promotion of geocaching through friendships and education”

Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon

The Weasel will receive a collector’s edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging his contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com. Every nomination must meet the following requirements:

• 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 Featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Friday, February 8, 2013.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose three candidates and post them on the Geocaching 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.

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.

December Featured Geocacher of the Month, Moneydork

Moneydork is recognized for establishing himself as one of Australasian’s most prolific geocachers. His efforts to support the community as a Geocaching.com 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.

A geocacher who voted for Moneydork writes, “My first ever event was Moneydork’s third Massive Easter Egg Hunt, which he held every year until he moved to Australia – that were seven events in total. I was the last to find a nearby Multi-Cache at one of the events, and he was walking the opposite direction as I walked towards GZ (ground zero). He promptly turned around to make sure I found it. I didn’t know who he was, but even in just three months of geocaching, I knew of his geocaching handle. When I first started geocaching, my town had a few active geocaches then for a while there was no activity. Moneydork came and placed a cache just out of town to try and get things moving again. He is always unassuming, quiet, and willing to help anyone with geocaching. He won’t tell you where it is but he will make sure you have to work it out yourself and find it. He has always been a bit of a legend down here and insists he’s no different from anyone else. I’m just surprised he hasn’t been nominated before now. Only shame is I can only vote once, but I’ll just have to make sure every other New Zealand geocacher votes for him too.”

Moneydork will receive a collector’s edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging his contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon

Thank you to the fellow December nominees and all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Geocaching. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com. Every nomination must meet the following requirements:

• 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 January Featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose three candidates and post them on the Geocaching 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.

November Featured Geocacher of the Month, balkamper13

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

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 November, Ted, a.k.a. balkamper13 was recognized for introducing and helping countless novice geocachers become caching addicts. Balkamper13 is known for donating quality homemade swag, time, and money to geocaching events. He spends numerous hours teaching his secrets and always invites new geocachers on geocaching  outings and events. Ted also shares his geocaching adventures and tips on his blog, LiveLoveCache.com.

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

ekitt10

ekitt10

Nominated by jo.b, Nik, a.k.a. ekitt10, “has been caching since August 2001, making him one of the oldest cachers in New Jersey. Since then, he has always been working to improve the geocaching community in the state. Nik is the the founder of the Central Jersey Geocaching group and co-founder of CentralJerseyGeocaching.net. He also organizes our big monthly meetup called, ‘Third Tuesday Beer and Burgers.’ Nik’s favorite phrase is ‘take pride in your hide.’ His view is that every cache owner should put the creativity and effort into their caches to make them truly worth finding. He is also an avid puzzle cache creator. Some of his puzzles are famous and  notorious. Nik has held puzzle solving classes and will always help a cacher out with one of his puzzles, especially if it’s one of their first forays into the sometimes intimidating world of the ‘scary blue question mark’. For over a decade, Nik has been a pillar of the New Jersey geocaching community, but beyond tenure, he has truly made a mark on the game and helped shape it into what it is today. He works hard to make the game more accessible and to make the community larger.”

Team GatorOKC

Team GatorOKC

Team Gilo writes, “Michael and Bonnie, a.k.a. Team GatorOKC has been a great asset and participant in the COG (Central Oklahoma Geocachers) group since 2007. They are instrumental in organizing COG meetings and generally participating in all the social events concerning geocaching in the OKC area. They invest a lot of time and energy in placing and finding caches here in Oklahoma. They are very friendly people who have made many friends from out of state and have influenced them to become addicted to this sport that so many of us have come to love. I believe they would represent geocaching well and would fly the banner of the geocaching community high.”

Moneydork

Moneydork

Kjwx and Cumbyrocks write, “His surname says it all really … Wayne Champion is a champion – of and for geocaching. Such is his dedication to this hobby and its community. The veteran New Zealand player has multiple names to prove it: Moneydork, camocrab, and Wayne. Whichever handle you know him by, Champion has been a major player in the Australasian geocaching scene for many years. As Moneydork, he has established himself as one of our most prolific cachers, most recently celebrating his 15,000th find. As camocrab, volunteer reviewer for Geocaching.com, he has examined and evaluated New Zealand and Australian cache listings since 2006. And as Wayne, he was involved in the recovery efforts for both the Christchurch earthquakes and the Pike River coalmine tragedy. Last year Champion relocated to Australia for a job, but that didn’t stop him from returning frequently to oversee his dream of hosting the country’s first Mega-Event, GC35TTR. Champion initiated the idea while president of the New Zealand Recreational GPS Society and oversaw its planning from more than 3500km away. His efforts as chairman before and after the four-day event helped ensure glowing logs from all 501 attendees. More importantly, Champion himself is respected by his peers, fellow reviewers and leader board rivals. His own hides and events  are legendary Down Under and he never hesitates to give his all to this sport.”

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the featured December 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. This month only, the recognized nominees will also receive a special edition John Grisham THE RACKETEER Geocoin. We will be accepting comments for December’s award through Monday, December 17th.

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 January Geocacher of the Month must be received by Tuesday, January 8, 2013. 

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.