Thoughts/Ideas

1. More ArkGeo events. These can be as simple as MnG's in different areas of Arkansas. Take volunteers from the group who wants to host each month. This will keep it moving around the state monthly. Some people may want to CITO some may want MnG. Let them "run" with it. The financing of the event is on the host or group of hosts. This gets the rest of us feeling like part of the organization and costs the organization no money.

2. New ArkGeo merchandise. We have such a small market. The few people who buy the goods already own what the organization sells.

3. More people that sell the goods. It's hard for one person to make every event but if we had a "salesman" in all the"pockets" of cachers around the states we could financially reach a larger audience. One person would need to oversee the inventory and money collected. Almost every area of cachers has a monthly MnG... Imagine the profitability!

4. Removal of by laws. They hold back the fun things about getting together to cache!

5. Standardized video of Geocaching 101. This allows us to all give the same message to new cachers (boyscouts, churches, etc). Keep us all on the right track. For example I did a class 2 hours long and I was so focused on the find. After the class my scouts wanted to know how to hide one. I was like Doh! I didn't even bring different containers to show them. This would also help new cachers that want to place caches. Better coords and better difficulty/terrain.

Jon, I will have to check into the by-law thing, but the rest sounds like wonderful ideas. The video would be a great tool in teaching groups that we go before to explain or educated about geocaching. We have an upcoming meeting with a troop of boy scouts and would find it helpful. We love to meet with the county youth and share our hobby with them. We would be willing to host a local Ark-Geo Meet and Greet in our little neck of the woods and we bet that there are a number of cachers that would do the same. We love our monthly Meet and Greets with S.W.A.G... Do you have any ideas on new merchandise the board could sell? What would you be inclined to purchase if it was available? I am wandering here - guess you could say I am on a rabbit hunt, but sometimes these hunts turn up a meaty rabbit or two. LOL Do like the idea of having more folks selling merchandise. There are a number of "local" geocaching groups... S.W.A.G.., GLAD, ect. Possibly have a representative in each group that we could go to in order to purchase items. Just an opinion here from the peanut gallery.

Some good ideas are presented here. Many have been discussed before, but have been difficult to implement.

As far as getting rid of by laws....no. It can not be done. We have to have organizational rules to remain a 501c3 non profit according to the IRS. If we lost that, the Money from fund raising would be taxed. I think we all know that would be bad. Without the bylaws, the organization would have to dissolve, which is a actually written in the bylaw. Any time there is money involved, the IRS requires rules for how to handle that money.

Tax on an organization as small as this? It would be worth paying the tax. That's just my two cents. I speak from the heart. In a vote that could be done at the annual meeting... I bet that most would agree by laws are no good. However unless the vote is free of identification not many will rock the boat. Also... On the Geocaching 101... Could we not upload a youtube account and put a link to the video on this site so we can all view our piece and use it for presentations? We all have, laptops, iPads, smartphones. This could be done pretty easy. The webmaster might not like the additional work but I don't see a cheaper way. The above has been difficult to implement for two reasons. 1. By laws. 2. Nobody runs with the ideas.

I will add the fund raising committee had nothing to report on the last minutes posted. Tax on $0.00 is $0.00. :)

We need to keep the by-laws...organization...that's just the facts of the world...every organization has to have some kind of rules...the tax free status is a good thing to not mess up...I have hosted several events myself (and with co-hosts) and will continue to host events. The problem is that there are several cachers who have not hosted 1 event. That part amazes me, they are great to get a FTF or solve some convoluted puzzle, or put out many caches, but hosting an event to benefit fellow geocachers...uh no way! That is the problem...we need more events by as many different cachers as possible...CITO...MNG...Flash mobs (and not just on a certain date) I had one in Hot Springs in February....have one after work in your hometown. They are just 15 minutes...see who shows up! Invite people by emailing them, text them, just a short invitation and tell them to invite somebody. Finally,I hardly ever log on this Arkgeo website, I did today to vote! FB is just too convenient...in fact everytime I log on here I have to get a new password....rant completed! Coon&Bud

Perm74, this goes along with another thread that is similar, but I have to bite. What in the bylaws make it harder to have fun? as that part we should be able to change. My guess is there are too many people needed to make a decision about pretty much anything. I hope to fix that with some simple solutions and a bit of a "flatter" approach to the events planning committee.

As for a youtube account, we should just have to ask for Kevin to set it up and how to get it to him to upload it, but until then feel free to make a video or work in making a video and just post it on your own youtube account with link. I think more than a video, but a documented approach to presentations about geocaching and how arkgeo fits in there should be distributed. So anyone who wants to use it can do so with pretty little guess work or missing information. As we all present this, we can go back and add in spots to the actual presentation notes, etc so we can continually improve it or update it as needed.

I find this would be very useful in a potential issue I am seeing with the Forest Service and education on which I will start another thread about.

How can anything so simple be so hard?? After being in education for over 40 years and after being involved in groups, decision making, and organizational regulations for most of my life, I see some unique characteristics that make our organization complicated. Perhaps the most unique and difficult consideration is that we are making rules, regulations, and policies for a creative hobby. Folks are attracted to hobbies they enjoy and in many cases there is room within the hobby to personalize the activities according to their preferences. Geocaching is certainly that kind of hobby.
We all know what is more fun for us. We all have ideas about how we "want to play the game." Many of us also have ideas about improving our organization. Like others have mentioned, I don't feel we can have a viable organization without bylaws nor can we have success without communication and compromise. I am hopeful that having a structured organization and one that listens are both possible.

Here are my thoughts on each...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by perm74

1. More ArkGeo events. These can be as simple as MnG's in different areas of Arkansas. Take volunteers from the group who wants to host each month. This will keep it moving around the state monthly. Some people may want to CITO some may want MnG. Let them "run" with it. The financing of the event is on the host or group of hosts. This gets the rest of us feeling like part of the organization and costs the organization no money.

---

If I recall correctly there are "Board Goals" that places Board members responsible for an ArkGeo Meet and Greet in different regions of Arkansas, NW, SW, Central, NE, and SE. I host events in Paris every year and not one time have I asked ArkGeo to "Co-host", and probably won't. I am glad to be a part of ArkGeo, but I don't think having ArkGeo "Co-host" the event is going to cause there to be any more or any less attendees and as far as volunteers we always have a ton of volunteers from the geocaching community to help us. I myself believe that if the organization is going to have their name on an event then ArkGeo has to be allowed in the planning on the front end not in the middle or at the end. There was an event in Oklahoma a few years ago that a man made lots of promises that he was unable to keep. I know several ArkGeo members came away from that event unhappy. I would hate to just let someone run with it and it and the organization not have had any say in the planning of the event. Anyone can host an event. It may be just a small Meet and Greet or it could be an all day affair. I encourage anyone to host their own event and would be glad to help when I can. I also believe that the ArkGeo events should always be tied to the ArkGeo geocaching.com account and have some uniformity to them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by perm74

2. New ArkGeo merchandise. We have such a small market. The few people who buy the goods already own what the organization sells.

---

3. More people that sell the goods. It's hard for one person to make every event but if we had a "salesman" in all the"pockets" of cachers around the states we could financially reach a larger audience. One person would need to oversee the inventory and money collected. Almost every area of cachers has a monthly MnG... Imagine the profitability![/QUOTE]

I too like to buy geocaching merchandise and support ArkGeo. Merchandise has come a long way since ArkGeo began and I feel it will continue. More items is always good and I think an online store would be great, but who is going to take care of all that? Who is going to store the merchandise? Who is going to pack and ship it? ArkGeo is all volunteers and I feel that it is only limited by the number that will step up and volunteer. One person has the merchandise how do they get it to the NW to be sold there if they are in the SE? It is a tough issue with no real answer I believe. I feel the fundraising committee and the treasurer have been doing a great job and being good stewards of the product and funds.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by perm74

4. Removal of by laws. They hold back the fun things about getting together to cache!

---

Don't think it can or should be done. By-laws do allow ArkGeo to be a non-profit organization that I don't think that a "tax break" was ever the reason for it. Even if there were no by-laws there would have to be some rules in place. Even geocaching.com has "guidelines" and they are there for a reason whether I agree with them or not. I can geocache regardless if I am a member of any geocaching organization or if I use geocaching.com. Even Dave Ulmer hid the first geoache and it was found without either. However I think the By-Laws put the "Organize" in Organization and the "guidelines" are needed for geocaching.com.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by perm74

5. Standardized video of Geocaching 101. This allows us to all give the same message to new cachers (boyscouts, churches, etc). Keep us all on the right track. For example I did a class 2 hours long and I was so focused on the find. After the class my scouts wanted to know how to hide one. I was like Doh! I didn't even bring different containers to show them. This would also help new cachers that want to place caches. Better coords and better difficulty/terrain.

---

Geocaching.com has what I feel is a great geocaching presentation that I have used for multiple groups including 4-H and Scouts. Here is a link to it: http://www.geocaching.com/tools/intro.aspx

Just my two cents, but not probably not worth that.

1. Agreed on the MnG David but somehow arkgeo has to be attached to these things. New cachers will recognize us as 1 group in Arkansas that enjoy the hobby. There are enough members on the events committee that they should be able to stay in touch with the host...

2. Merchandise... It's easier than we make it. Currently one guy gets to do everything. Don't we have a committee for that? Can't we have each salesman have an inventory and quarterly get together to cash in and restock merchandise?

3. By laws... I'm beating my head against the wall. Everyone feels they are necessary but I can't see any benefit. However since there is such a strong "not changing" attitude I've given up on that battle.

4. The geocaching.com video is great. However a video that relates to Arkansas (bugs, weeds, snakes, heat, weather) would be more personable, makes us look presentable, gives us a shout out for more members to join. Don't we have a committee for that?

What do our committes do for us and do those committee members even feel a part of the committee??? It's not a question to be answered in forums... I hope someone that heads these committees takes an interest in the thoughts and ideas!

I'm not asking for defense of what we currently do. That's called insanity.