AGM and Committee Updates

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It’s that time of year again. On Wednesday 1 November, Geocaching Victoria held its Annual General Meeting. Here is an update.

Farewell heymissjo

It is with mixed emotions that we announce that heymissjo has made the decision to step down from the committee. As many of you will know, Jo, and partner Ross, have a large blended family of 5 children which would ordinarily leave most people with very little time to themselves. Not Jo however! Jo has managed to juggle a demanding full time job, and in addition, had accepted the challenge of leading Geocaching Victoria in her “spare” time.

Jo has been our President for the last two years and has made an incredible contribution to Geocaching Victoria. Jo is often working behind the scenes and has been integral in taking the organisation forward and leaves us in a much stronger position.

We are incredibly grateful for the tireless contribution Jo has made, and while we will miss her drive and energy, we know that the extra time in her day will be well spent with her family. A special thanks to Ross and the tribe for being so supportive over the last two years.

We look forward to seeing you out on the trail a bit more in future.

Welcome to the team

We are very excited to welcome our newest members of the Geocaching Victoria committee:

  • Jo – chooknchunk
  • Julie – letthemeatcache
  • Leah – cracknleelee

All three new additions to the committee are wonderful community members, and bring with them a range of skills that will further enhance the capabilities of Geocaching Victoria. As a volunteer position, we thank you for giving up your time to support the community, and help continue to grow Geocaching in Victoria. Please join us in welcoming them onboard.

We will take the opportunity to introduce each of our new committee members in more detail in coming weeks – stay tuned!

Officeholders

At each AGM, all positions are declared vacant. The following officeholders were elected for the coming year:

  • President – Andrew (RoamingHowie)
  • Vice President – TBA
  • Secretary – Adriaan (ahomburg)
  • Acting Treasurer – Bernie (bernieh)

We would particularly like to thank Bernie who has extended his tenure on a temporary basis to enable us to transition to a new treasurer. Importantly, if you would like to be considered for the Treasurer role, we encourage your to reach out to roaminghowie@geocachingvictoria.com.au. We are happy to assist with training and support as this is a role that must be filled on a permanent basis.

The road ahead

With big shoes to fill (and I’m already a size 15!), I am honoured to have been elected President of Geocaching Victoria and look forward to working with our very talented committee and the geocaching community to continue delivering on some exciting initiatives in the year ahead. Please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or any of the committee if you wish to pitch an idea, get involved, or share some feedback.

Enjoy the (long) weekend ahead and may your coordinates lead to endless discoveries.

Where did October go?

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Halloween is only days away and Christmas decorations are already up in retail stores. The end of the year is hurtling towards us at a rapid pace. Here are three things you can fill your spare time with should you be looking for an escape from all the hustle and bustle.

Voting closes in 3 days

Why not use the great weather this weekend to go out and explore one or more of the nominated caches in the 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards. List of Nominees

With only 3 days left, don’t forget to vote for your favourites by midnight, Monday 30 October. *VOTE HERE*

Winners will be announced at our Cache of the Year Award celebration on Saturday 25 November. GCAE5F9

TDOC23 – They have all been found!

With 69 physical caches and adventure labs in the TDOC23 cache series, there is one nearby no matter where you are in Victoria. To find them all however, requires a lot of exploring.

Congratulations to McLookers who is the first to have found every cache in the the series. Be on the lookout for your prize at the next event.

Well done to the top 5 finders who are well on the way to completing the series:

  1. McLookers – 69
  2. OzHockeyChick – 65
  3. Feathertop – 50
  4. Sol de lune – 46
  5. GJMMelb – 40

The events keep rolling in

It’s great to see so many events on the calendar including some new unique ones. From camping in hammocks, to kayaking around lakes, watching the sunset at 1700m above sea level and celebrating milestones. Throw in a couple of GIFF events, the Victorian Cache of the Year Awards, and with Christmas around the corner, the traditional Geelong and Christmas eve events.

Add to that list plenty of opportunities for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a CITO and you are bound to find something to suit your calendar. Keep up to date at the events listing page on our website HERE and don’t forget to log your “Will Attends” so that the COs can plan.

Geocaching Victoria turns 9

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Nine years ago today a group of passionate cachers got together with a crazy idea to host a mega. They formed a committee and incorporated a not for profit body (now known as Geocaching Victoria) and set about planning the first ever mega in Victoria – The Melbourne Event (GC5GCJ8).

Only twelve months later and with lots of tireless work, the event was a roaring success. Doubling down, they set about planning the next one.

Fast forward to today and Geocaching Victoria has now hosted 8 different megas! However, we are about so much more than that. Events and activities are now hosted all throughout the year. New experiences like the GPS Adventure Maze and the Ballarat Geo Tour have also been shared with the community.

We celebrate the community in many ways including through the annual Cache of the Year Awards as well as hosting many community engagement activities. These include support tools and activities for new cachers, growing awareness for prospective cachers through media and community groups, as well as helping to share knowledge with existing cachers.

Since its humble beginnings, Geocaching Victoria has hosted over 150 events and CITOs and hidden over 600 physical caches (with community support).

There is plenty more planned for the future and we are always excited to hear your ideas for how we can continue to support and grow geocaching in Victoria.

So to all of the past and present committee members, thank you for your tireless contribution to geocaching in Victoria and for volunteering your time.

To everyone that has supported, volunteered or participated in our activities or found our caches, Thank You.

Finally, to everyone geocaching around this great state of ours today, Happy Birthday! We are excited about what lies ahead for our 10th year.

Sad News

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It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news that Jeff (from hercs&pinky) passed away last week.

Jeff was doing what he loved, out traveling with his brother in South Australia, when he sadly passed away. Jeff was loved by all that knew him and we send our deepest condolences to his wife Sheryl and his children Dwayne, Simone and Travis.

Jeff grew up in the Swan Hill area initially as a dairy farmer. He loved to tinker and build things long before he started geocaching, so when Barry (baby&Mrs gopher) introduced him to caching in 2011, he was naturally drawn to gadget caches, and set about publishing many great hides throughout the area.

Many of you may have met Jeff at Gadget Alley during the Whittlesea Mega, where he spent most of the event proudly helping people with his gadget cache, and the others on display. He was also excited to have placed a new gadget cache for the recent Cachemas series to help encourage more people to visit the Swan Hill area.

There will be a private ceremony for his close family and friends in early October.

GIFF, Victorian Cache of the Year Awards and More!

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The sun is shining, daylight savings is around the corner and there is a lot of activity happening, so lets dive right in to our latest update!

Lights, Camera, Action, GIFF!

The Geocaching International Film Festival has returned in 2023 after a brief hiatus, and we are very excited to have a finalist from Victoria in this years festival. “Geocare – Home for the Aged Geocacher” by local director chooknchunk is one of 18 international finalists for 2023.

You’ll be able to watch all the of this years GIFF action on the big screen, in cinema style seating at the Knox Community Arts Centre on 11 November 2023. A social gathering will begin at 12pm, with the screening to commence at 1pm. Popcorn, slushies and more will be available to purchase to enhance your viewing experience. Be sure to log your Will Attend (with number of people) on GCAE5EM. More details will be available closer to the event.

That’s not the only GIFF event! If you plan to be in the Ballarat/Creswick area on Thursday 9 November, be sure to log your will attend for GCAD8CY. Dinner at the American Hotel starts at 5:30pm, with the screening starting at 7:00pm.

2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards Event – GCAE5F9

A date has been set and all of the amazing winners will be announced on 25 November 2023 (GCAE5F9). Come and join us to celebrate all of the nominated caches and owners, hear the winners announcements, and join in a little trivia along the way.

The event will be held at the Hampton RSL where meals and drinks will be available to purchase. More details will be available closer to the event.

Voting has also been extended and will close on 30 October 2023. There is still plenty of time to find the nominated caches and VOTE for your favourites.

The full list of nominees and a link to the geocaching list is available HERE.

Sponsor a 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Award Category

Members of the geocaching community often generously sponsor the prizes for Cache of the Year Award categories (even anonymously if prefered).

If you would like to sponsor one of the categories for the 2022 awards you can:

1/ Donate a prize, OR

2/ Donation the value of a gift voucher via our website. Click the “Sponsor an award” option.

If you would like to be an Award sponsor, and nominate the category for your prize (subject to availability), simply drop Andrew an email at roaminghowie@geocachingvictoria.com

Support Future Events

We love to be able to put on free and low cost events to help enable the geocaching community to come together and connect. Whilst many of these events may be free to attend, they are definitely not without cost. Hiring theatres and halls, purchasing equipment, paying for insurances and more, all costs cold hard cash. And that’s all before the generous volunteer time from community members that help us to run these events.

Geocaching Victoria conducts fundraising initiatives to collect funds to help cover some of these costs, however we always need the support of our community to keep delivering.

If you enjoy these events, and you are financially able to, why not make a contribution to support these and future activities. Visit our website to see how you can make a contribution of as little as $5. Your donations help us to continue to host events like Cachemas, Cache of the Year Awards, GIFFs, BBQ’s and more.

Your help will support keeping the fun and community connection thriving.

That’s all for this update. We look forward to seeing you at one of the many upcoming events around the state.