/ Eric Schudiske /

November Geocacher of the Month Nominees – Add Your Comment

Geocacher-of-the-month-geocoin-sunflare
The earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (sun flare optional)

From the cold winter nights in the frigid north to the warm beaches of tropical paradise, the nominees for Geocacher of the Month share (at least) one thing in common: dedication.

Each nominee is being honored for their contributions to the geocaching community. Each will receive worldwide recognition and a prize package from Geocaching HQ in Seattle, but which will be named Geocacher of the Month?

This is your opportunity to  help decide who will take home the earned, never for sale, Geocacher of the Month geocoin (at left). Each featured Geocacher of the Month will receive the exclusive special edition Geocoin, a hat and a profile icon. They’ll also receive a certificate acknowledging their contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Mic68 - October Geocacher of the Month
Mic68 – October Geocacher of the Month

In October, Mic68 was named Geocacher of the Month.

One geocacher who commented wrote, “After visiting (Mic68’s)“Dragonheart” I kept referring to this cache as the best I’ve ever done. By now they have published another one which we have just finished a couple of weeks ago and I have to say that this cache definitely is a milestone in geocaching! Wow! In Germany people are willing to travel quite a bit if the cache is worth it and I see people flocking in. The mixture of storytelling, suspense, technical know-how and fun is hard to beat.  Also, this team is immensely nice and helpful! All in all they are very worthy candidates and I would be happy for them to win!”

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

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

 

Janizy

MMH_7543-4
Janizy – Geocacher of the Month Nominee

Milton Munoz writes, “Janizy has been one of most outstanding geocachers in the history of the hobby in Puerto Rico. She started 4 and half years ago, since then she is being a leader, creating events and inviting geocachers to the most beautiful places of the island. Her caches combine a wide variety of clever ideas and diabolic camouflages, which have become the most wanted (and frightful too) in the local arena. She has created one the most successful Multi-Cache in the south part of the island, inviting geocachers to do CITO in a beautiful coastal valley area.

Janizy has involved her entire family into the hobby: husband, 2 daughters, brother, sister, brother in law, niece and nephews. Janizy and her family are known as one the most successful FTF (First to Find) hunters of the island. Janizy has a great passion for the photography too and always is taking pictures and recording video of every geocaching adventure and produces excellent videos that she uploads in her YouTube and Vimeo channels. Janizy combines pretty well her profession as Special Education Teacher and her passion for the geocaching, recently she created the first Earth Cache published by a local geocacher on the island. For all the energy and interest that Janizy puts in to geocaching, she deserves to be honored as the geocacher of the month!”

 

BIGBROTHERBEAR

BIGBROTHERBEAR - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
BIGBROTHERBEAR – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month

Gary Goodyear writes, “I would like to submit BIGBROTHERBEAR as the Geocacher of the Month.  BBB (bigbrotherbear) and his series Quest For The Holy Grail (GC3WKNB) was an inspiration for us. Jim (bigbrotherbear) spent months planning and researching the series.  BBB has taken time out of his life for so many people to accompany them on this journey. If someone needs some help while out on the trail he is more than willing to do this for them, not just a nudge or hint, he will bring them water, food or whatever they need. BBB is involved with the Iowa Geocaching  Organization. He has hidden many caches to help make the events successful for them.

BigBrotherBear is more than the average cacher. He contributes countless hours to the community as well. His series Quest For The Hoiy Grail won the IGO peoples choice for outstanding series of 2013.

If you look at the entire series you will see that it has been awarded more than 650 favorite points in total. BBB has hiked this series with several of the teams. 8-12 miles of rough terrain, hills, river crossings and wild life. BBB is planning a new series that involves over 161 well placed caches. It has been placed submitted and is awaiting review.

BBB will take the time to get the permission to place the caches and he also maintains them. I found one of his bike trail geocaches that was in need of repair. I called BBB and told him about this. The next day he was at the site and had repaired it.”

 

 

NorthWes

NorthWes - Nominee for Geocacher of the Month
NorthWes – Nominee for Geocacher of the Month

Darlene Fortin writes, “I would like to nominate NorthWes of Anchorage, Alaska for geocacher of the month. NorthWes is the president of Geocache Alaska. NorthWes is a man of knowledge on his state and on Geocaching. Northwes took time out of busy life to help me organize Events and Geocaching tours for 72 geocachers who were cruising from Vancouver to Alaska. Northwes organized a Meet and Greet for the Cruisers and the locals to meet each other and supplied some awesome prizes for the Event. Northwes is a very respected cacher in his area and has many caches throughout Anchorage and works hard to keep his and other caches in the area maintained. He also guided many of us on private geocaching tours through many of the parks in Anchorage. His knowledge of Alaska was amazing to help us with the many earthcaches through out Alaska.

NorthWes also helped me with all the paperwork to make Bermuda Island Geocachers a non-profit organization. His organization is well established and has members all over the world.

He is for sure one of the best ambassador for Geocaching and is well respected by his local cachers and now all the cachers that were cruising from all over the states and Bermuda. This man surely deserves to be recognized for all his hard work he has put into geocaching for Alaska!”

 

 

 

Comment below to tell us who you think should be the November Geocacher of the Month. We will be accepting comments through December 30.

If your nominee wasn’t recognized here, please submit your nominations again next month. We’re always looking for the next Geocacher of the Month. To nominate a geocacher, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@geocaching.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 have submitted them for the award. Nominations for the next Geocacher of the Month should be received by January 3. Once Geocaching HQ has received 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 that we might learn from each other.

Eric Schudiske

  1. Janizy has organized many events to very extreme and beautiful places of the island and her only request to the geocachers is to be ready to have a great day or weekend. Her caches are very inspiring and very well prepared. Janizy is not only a good geocacher, she is very aware that successful of geocaching depends of good motivation and love to nature. That is why I vote for Janizy.

  5. I pick Big Brother Bear
    His stats are perfect in all ways, his caches are all maintenance free and he has done greater good for all.

  6. Great Guy! Meet Jim or Bear at a event last summer.
    What great cacher, his idea’s to his caches and his passion are bare none truly inspirational and groundbreaking.
    Trying to fill his foot steps is like trying to fill the Grand Canyon.
    All my votes go to Bear

  7. Nice picture Bear I see that they got your good side, Just kidding.
    All kidding aside, he has single handed changed geocaching in Dubuque and the surrounding area’s.
    His insights and knowledge plus his passion are nothing short of incredible. A true asset and the Geocachers around the world.
    BBB gets my vote

  14. I would like to vote Big Brother Bear
    I have in great awe of Big Brother Bear professionalism, he has done so much to advance this great sport of ours. He has placed and maintained his caches so they are always in pristine condition. His love of the outdoors exceeds what you might expect from an outdoor enthusiast. Bear loves to meet new people and always extends his hand in friendship with a great big smile. when you first meet him he makes you feel as if you known him all his life. When talking to him his mind never wonders far from geocaching because he is always bouncing idea’s off you. He also has these geoeyes that can find the most difficult of caches as it is plainly evident in his fizzy grid.After he has found it he will always take the time to explain how he found it, which has honed my skills 10 fold.
    Bear doesn’t believe in P&G’s, He always says “its a game of hide seek not hide assured find” his hides known to be hard he thinks outside the box. and is a master at hiding them. there is a log that always stands out as what it is like to hunt Bear caches, by cc8c4
    Wow.
    Holy crap.
    Oh my goodness.
    4 1/2 stars? This is a bit of an understatement.
    We ended up doing this the old fashioned way. We groveled.
    To those of you reading old logs you have my sympathy. You are in for a protracted search. This is out of the box and you have 412,304 different places to look. I hope it isn’t Summer when you are looking for this!
    Good luck.
    He takes great pride in his caches and they are some of the best bar none! He takes you on journeys that your mind will get immersed into, the story he has laid out for you and then he will guide through it. These journeys are intense work outs mentally and physically.Than he will reward you with life time memory that you will feel for weeks. I think this what its all about, the adventure thats takes you to far of lands and transforms you into a knight all in a day. to me thats the stuff Geocacher of the month is made of..
    Jim is also great steward to the parks and trails of Dubuque, he has worked tirelessly promoting geocaching so that his community, parks bike trials are benefactors of this great sport.

    I ask that you select Big Brother Bear as Geocaher of the November because it has been well earned

  15. I vote for Janizy! as a family I am very proud that has been nominated as Geocacher of the month, I know a long time and I am witness to the passion she feels for this game, it was she who invited us to participate in this adventure hunts, I had the opportunity to explore our island, and meet new friends. It is an excellent event organizer with good ideas. very competitive and professional. that is why and for many other reasons and that my vote is for her.

  19. I vote for Janizy. She truly embodies the spirit of geocaching in the island and her events are always fun.

  20. Janizy has my support and my vote to be the geocacher of the month. I think that this is a minimal retribution for all you have done to the geocaching in Puerto Rico. I hope to read soon the news that you have received officially this honor!

  21. My vote is for Janizy. I love her caches is hard for me to decide which one is my favorite but I think that Charca El Mangó GC4FG4 and Las Chorreras del Real GC@FWHP are awesome geocaching adventures. All the candidates are amazing geocachers but I choose Janizy for what she has done to gather geocachers and offer them quality experiences in fantastic geotrips and for promote geocaching in different ways. I hope Janizy wins.

  22. Mi voto es para Janizy. Me gusta la manera como promueve y organiza eventos llenos de aventuras, con la mejor planificación y siempre teniendo en mente que los geocachers se lleven la mejor experiencia. Ella saca tiempo de todas sus actividades personales y familiares y ha invertido de su dinero para dar como premio en diferentes eventos organizados por ella y su familia de geocachers a los que cariñosamente conocemos como el Janizy Crew. Por toda su dedicación y esfuerzo Janizy debe ser elegida la geocacher del mes de Noviembre de 2013.

  23. Northwes was one of the people who helped to keep me in the game when I was in AK. He has such a passion and some of the best bear stories ever. He is a great ambassador for the game.

  24. While it sounds like each of the nominees is deserving of the geocacher of the month award, this month my backing goes to NorthWes. He has taken the spark of interest that was lit in himself and fanned it so that it has spread in ever widening circles from his immediate family to his grandsons to the Alaskan community to national organizations and to the international community. He is a well-rounded cacher who has shared stories of geocaching adventures from cruising to hiking to benchmarking to earthcaching; he has led several educational events, he maintains his caches and has quality hides, and he works to increase the quality and quantity of geocaching opportunities wherever he goes. Most recently, as President of GeocacheAlaska geocaching organization, he pushed for the development of a recognition program for the membership that would honor those who have given back to the game through advocacy, CITO, hides, events, and Board work.

  26. I vote for Janizy. One of the best experiences of my life was when I participated of “Fear of Dark 2”, a night time Halloween Event hosted by Janizy’s team. The level of detail and planning was very impressive. Everybody had a good time and I was truly scared by the end. This is only one of the many of Janizy’s contributions to Geocaching in Puerto Rico. The geochaching community here would not be as strong as it is without her.

  27. Big Brother Bear a true ambassador, but he remains humble and friendly and a true friend. He’s selfless acts are well known throughout Iowa and bordering states. His achievements are many but remains down to earth and focused on making Geocaching positive force in his community. He’s drive to improve the game we play is evident in everything he does.
    Bear has worked so diligently on his partnerships with the Dubuque DNR, Dubuque Conservation Board and Dubuque Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau to make Iowa Geocache destination.

    Big Brother Bear as a geocacher all you have to do is look at his stats. He is the second most favorited geocacher in Iowa 956 points that is impressive. He’s geocaches are always well maintained. His geocaches have won an impressive 3 awards with his series The Quest For The holy Grail 743 favorite points in a year Thats amazing! Not only does he maintain the series that is 11 miles of hiking and does it 4 time a year. Then he also leads groups on this hike many times thats true dedication. Now with he’s new series The “G” Men people from 3 states have traveled to Dubuque and just been out a month. Bear’s caches are always highly anticipated and well loved throughout the midwest and people travel great distances to experience them.

    I believe Big Brother Bear has all of the attributes that you would expect that Geocacher of The Month would have and more.
    This is why I submit to you that Big Brother Bear should be Geocacher of The Month.

  28. Northwes definitely deserves the title. He is a great representative of the sport up here in the frozen north. Couldn’t ask for a better president of our local organization.

  38. I would like to vote for Wes Skinner for cacher of the
    month.

    Wes is always helpful and very personable. He is very knowledgeable
    about all aspects of caching and is always willing to share a story or fact. He
    explained the importance of working with land managers to us one afternoon
    during an event and it was very enlightening. His stories about caching are
    always fun.

    I have really enjoyed his Earthcaches. They have taken us
    places we had been but knew nothing about. It is hard enough to complete some
    of them little alone the time and research it must take to write one.

    Wes always takes the time to visit with everyone and he is
    very inviting to new and visiting cachers in the community. We have enjoyed his
    Eduvents and look forward to more in the up coming year.

  39. BIGBROTHERBEAR will be getting my vote, as he is from my area and I know
    that he has some pretty cool caches out. He has ones that use some
    ingenuity in creating as well as a cacher needing to do some brain work
    at times or a physical challenge. Challenges is what caching is about as
    far as I am concerned and his caches have themes and challenges. He is
    active in the IGO also, as far as I know. He is helpful to other cachers
    as he will go out with cachers to join them in the search for his
    caches to give hints or help. My vote is for BBB.Thanks.

  40. Jim or Bear as we call him, He’s list of accomplishments are nothing but short of stellar. Jim has an awesome attitude and very light hearted demeanor, he is absolutely a hoot to cache with. But the real truth is he is very involved and intense when it comes to our public resources and his community in which we live and has championed geocaching through them venues that he supports. Jim is a very kind and thoughtful man, always comes to the aid of another when you ask no exception. He has been a leader in or community although he would never consider himself as a leader. Jim has also touch so many with his contagious attitude and has sparked great change in this area and geocaching in our county. Jim is well known around the Midwest as one of the finest cache placers. Whether it be a physical challenge or mental challenge you’re in for a good time.
    The qualities of Geocacher of the Month are:
    Stewardship ……………….Check
    Civic responsibility……….Check
    Leadership…………………Check
    Ownership………………….Check
    Fellowship………………….Check
    Creativity ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Check
    Mentors……………………..Check
    Sense of Humor………….Check
    Commitment……………….Check
    Positive attitude…………..Check
    Inspire……………………….Check
    All the things that we want in our Geocacher of the Month to have, Big Brother Bear has and does them to perfection.
    Big Brother Bear you get my endorsement Geocacher of the Month November

  42. I vote for Northwes… He is a great liaison person between geocache Alaska and local land managers!!

    Cavyguy

  44. NorthWes has taught me and my family so much about geocaching. He has been an inspiration, always ready and willing to answer questions, give guidance and encouragement. He is an excellent example of what a geocacher of the month should be.

  49. My vote is for Janizy. She represents the great spirit of geocaching in PR, being a leader and always thinking to improve the geocaching experience for everybody local and visitors! She must be the geocacher of the month.

  50. I want Janizy to be geocacher of the month and I give her my vote. Janizy, Janizy, Janizy she is a great example of an inspiring geocacher.

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