Thoughts/Ideas

[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.

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.

[likestocanoe]

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.

[Cpdenton]

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.

[perm74]

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.

[perm74]

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

[Coon&Bud]

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