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Post by NorthWes on Mar 11, 2013 14:50:28 GMT -9
Crazy guys! Crazy thinking! Crazy fun!
Good thinking so far.
Event committee exists to execute the major annual events, and to help others facilitate wild and crazy fun stuff like this. Don't expect too much planning from them; they're more the 'submit a support request and we'll get you covered' kind of committee for this sort of thing. That said, I'm sure it would easily get organizational support of some sort.
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Post by TheFirefly on Mar 11, 2013 20:37:58 GMT -9
Egads, late to the party am I!! Loving these ideas. Count me in for planning!
Karen Hornaday park has some nice camping, and the new playground has made a difference in the teen play in the area. (For the better, that is.) Seaside farm (out East End a couple miles) has a great grassy field for camping, with great rates and an exquisite view. Anchor Point State Rec area is nice, but that might be tougher for coordinating in-town Homer events.
For the Homer end, May 17-19 is better, because the town is flooded May 9-12 for the Shorebird festival. Better to wait and do a cleanup afterwards.
I'm going to be heading up to Fairbanks the following weekend, so if this gets off the ground, it will be a grand kickoff for the journey north. :-D
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Post by NeverSummer on Mar 12, 2013 1:41:03 GMT -9
May 10-12 won't work for me. However, there will be tons of people in Homer for the Shorebird Festival. I can start finding out about camping options around Homer that would work well. (Spit sites are always so windy...) Depending on some variables, I would bet that Kenai NWR would be receptive to our CITO help. I also can't see why they would object to us camping out and cleaning up! Refuges across the country are warming up to geocaching, but still only have Earthcaches, and multi/puzzles that have a container off Refuge and on administrative land--where they are currently allowed with permission from the Refuge Manager. I agree that a push to Cooper would be best for day 2. I always day tripped it up there, so I'm not familiar with our possible camping options. I know the outreach and education folks at Kenai NWR professionally (and a couple personally), and I think our efforts in Homer are starting to get the attention of other Refuges in terms of getting partnerships formed with GPS technology and outreach/education activities...meaning geocaching. That said, I like the idea of reaching out to them to help work on possible Earthcaches or allowed physical caches.
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Post by NeverSummer on Mar 12, 2013 1:45:50 GMT -9
Aaaand, is anyone savvy at soliciting local businesses for in-kind contributions?
I know that there are good odds we could get the Homer Chamber of Commerce thinking about it if we know we might see a bunch of people coming to town for an event like this.
Once we get the dates set, should we post CITO events for placeholders so that we can get a read on how many might show? That could help with possible door prize solicitation. I can work with my partner-in-crime The Firefly down here with possible folks that would be good to ask.
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Post by fuzzybelly on Mar 12, 2013 8:05:23 GMT -9
summer, JOAT, you all are rocking it over here. I just went through the whole thread here. At first I didn't think this was a good idea at all..........Then someone mentioned camping, and I thought, it'll never work.......finally someone said BEER........ NOW I'm sure we should be able to figure this out and make it work. I'm your guy for helping organize the Girdwood area CITO for this awesome HOBO CITO idea. I tell you I've been racking my brain trying to figure out a good theme for the Girdwood CITO and you two hit it outta the park. So it sounds like you're thinking May? I know the Portage valley area fairly well but can never remember dates. Needless to say I winter camp in that area a lot and I know we could find a spot. You all tell me what you need me to do and I'll start working on it straight away. I have been talking to the folks who manage the Portage area and Turnagain pass so let me know what I should ask from them. This is awesome. One issue I see is not getting a good idea of attendees because many post will attend so late, even when you ask to reply early.
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Post by fuzzybelly on Mar 12, 2013 8:40:26 GMT -9
Are we wanting the girdwood CITO be one of the 3 we do each year, which is at a specific location, or do we want it to be a separate CITO event where we clean up an area that the Ranger Station in girdwood wants, like Twenty mile river or Turnagain pass area? You can check out the cache page for the cache I have in the Ranger station at GC45K8H. It tells the areas that they manage. And JOAT, you'll be so proud of my cache page there too. I learned it all from you. Can I call you DAD
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Post by ladybugkids on Mar 12, 2013 10:33:34 GMT -9
Are we wanting the girdwood CITO be one of the 3 we do each year, which is at a specific location, or do we want it to be a separate CITO event where we clean up an area that the Ranger Station in girdwood wants, like Twenty mile river or Turnagain pass area? The Adopt-a-Highway CITOS must occur three times per year to comply with the Adopt-a-Highway requirements. A CITO for the USFS in the Girdwood area could be a stand-alone event or combined with an Adopt-a-Highway CITO, as long as the GeocacheAlaska! section of the highway gets cleaned.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 12, 2013 16:09:01 GMT -9
My thought in ending at the Girdwood site was to knock out the first of the 3 required CITOs for that site. The other 3 CITO sites south on the lead up are not related to the Adopt requirement. So, we're talking about completing 1 required highway cleanup immediately following 3 separate CITO events. Each CITO event would be published separately, and if you include the camping kick off in Homer, it is a series of 5 Events to be published (1 flash mob plus 4 CITO).
I'll gather up info from both Soldotna P&R and head over to the NWR HQ this week. Once we get some specific locations pinned down, we can start publishing caches. And I think we should template all the caches the same, but let's individually host them. GCAK hosts the Girdwood site for the highway, I'll host the Soldotna site, NS can host the Homer site, maybe FF can host the flash mob, and then we'll grab someone else for the Cooper Landing site (such as Fuzzy). Spread the love! Hobos and Hippies, oh my!
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Post by TheFirefly on Mar 12, 2013 19:58:21 GMT -9
I suck am not very good at soliciting donations. (Hence why I am on the education committee and not on the fundraising committee. ) But, I'd be willing to do it if necessary for the good of all involved. Homer CoC/VIC will take notice if we can get a group coming. And I can get an announcement put into their monthly newsletter at no cost. I'm an administrator for a couple Facebook pages about local goings-on, so I can advertise there, too, once we've got a plan in place. I'll happily put together the flash-mob-dinner-kick-off event. It may have to have "Hobos and Hippies" integrated somehow....
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Post by ladybugkids on Mar 12, 2013 21:05:51 GMT -9
No donations need to be solicited. Just submit the event underwriting form to Polgera and the GeocacheAlaska! Board will take things from there.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 12, 2013 22:18:00 GMT -9
While we'll certainly put in event requests to GCAK, it wouldn't be bad to try and secure a couple nice door prizes from other sources. And speaking of newsletters... a little publicity would be an awesome thing, so I'll look into that as well. We've had newspaper coverage of my last 2 picnics showing us having fun. Once we get things ironed out, I'll drop a line to the Redoubt Reporter. Coverage of the CITO aspect of the game would generate even more favorable publicity for geocaching.
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Post by ladybugkids on Mar 12, 2013 23:00:44 GMT -9
There's 501(c)(3) nonprofit documentation to aid with donation acquisitions lurking out there somewhere. I looked on the GeocacheAlaska! "Contact Us" page and didn't find it. Help?!?
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Post by fuzzybelly on Mar 13, 2013 7:32:59 GMT -9
This all sounds good. The Girdwood CITO will cover the 1st of our required and we'll do another CITO at another time for the Ranger Station. Sounds good.
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Post by TheFirefly on Mar 13, 2013 7:42:00 GMT -9
The City of Homer does an annual clean up day each year...beginning of May, maybe? (I don't see the date for this year listed on their website.) They give away brightly colored trash bags for folks to use. Maybe we could get some of the leftover bags?
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Post by ladybugkids on Mar 13, 2013 10:23:18 GMT -9
we'll do another CITO at another time for the Ranger Station. Sounds good. That's beeing discussed for the International CITO weekend of April 20-21, isn't it?
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 13, 2013 11:01:05 GMT -9
The ranger station stuff is a different ordeal. We don't want to try and fit more than the 4 CITO events that were suggested previously. We're borderline on overload at the current level. Our 501 docs were in the Sandbox. I can post them to the website for quick linkability and tie them into the new events page (still under construction). In the meantime, I've attached them here. GeocacheAlaska State Certificate of Inc.pdf (177.05 KB) GeocacheAlaska IRS W9 Form.pdf (63.47 KB)
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Post by ladybugkids on Mar 13, 2013 11:18:56 GMT -9
The ranger station stuff is a different ordeal. We don't want to try and fit more than the 4 CITO events that were suggested previously. We're borderline on overload at the current level. That's what I was trying to point out. I believe the USFS CITO is being scheduled for International CITO Weekend, April 20-21. To earn the Groundspeak souvenir, a CITO needs to be held that weekend. I believe Fuzzybelly is working that with the Event Committee. The HOBO CITO is in May, several weeks later. So, yes, two different efforts. Thanks, Scott. I hate to admit it, but between the website and the Sandbox, I've lost track of where to find things. It will be nice to have everything Event-related consolidated in a single place.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 13, 2013 11:26:49 GMT -9
It's a good point, I'll go ahead and put up some links on the existing site to hold us over.
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Post by TheFirefly on Mar 13, 2013 12:46:38 GMT -9
What is the Sandbox?
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Post by ladybugkids on Mar 13, 2013 13:02:07 GMT -9
A section of these Forums that only Board Members have access to where business is discussed and conducted in between Board Meetings.
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Post by NeverSummer on Mar 13, 2013 13:02:50 GMT -9
It's a box filled with sand, where children often play...but that's not important right now. I kill me! Someone must get the reference...
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Post by NeverSummer on Mar 13, 2013 13:06:58 GMT -9
I know the dates were posted on the HOWL site, Cathy, so I had them written down somewhere here... But we can work with them on some separate Homer-focused ideas, like what I mentioned in the original post.
We can start another thread for non-"Alaska's Great Hobo CITO Extravaganza" events. I was hoping to have a Homer CITO event for the Earth Day weekend/Geocaching.com International CITO. Firefly and I can work on planning that in the other thread, soon to be created...
That way, we can keep this thread on the Hobo CITO campout planning?
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 13, 2013 14:21:36 GMT -9
To help with tracking, I've renamed this thread to stay in tune with the thread drift it encountered.
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Post by ladybugkids on Mar 13, 2013 14:54:46 GMT -9
To help with tracking, I've renamed this thread to stay in tune with the thread drift it encountered. What this forum needs is a Moderator or two to keep things on topic.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 13, 2013 15:13:09 GMT -9
I'd call this one a natural thread drift. It started out with the Homer CITO and naturally expanded into the HOBO idea. So there really wasn't anything to "moderate". Of course, the 3 of us "moderators" did get "moderated" by fuzzy in the sandbox the other day...
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Post by NeverSummer on Mar 13, 2013 19:50:37 GMT -9
Hey, you two! Keep it on topic!! >
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 13, 2013 19:56:24 GMT -9
Hey, you two! Keep it on topic!! > Ooops, my bad! Hey wait, that was LBK's bad. (I just helped) (popcorn)
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Post by TheFirefly on Mar 13, 2013 20:07:32 GMT -9
Hey, JOAT's got popcorn and he isn't sharing!!
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Post by SSO JOAT on Mar 13, 2013 20:10:41 GMT -9
Actually, haven't got to the popcorn yet, but I have pizza in the oven and a beer in hand!
(giggle)
Shucks... off topic again.... (poke)
When I'm done, I'm going to pick up my trash! (whew, that was close!)
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Post by TheFirefly on Mar 13, 2013 20:13:42 GMT -9
NS - I see on HOWL's website that they have their annual week-long clean up ending May 4th, but I don't see the Homer Day listed. May 4th is a Saturday, though, so maybe it culminates on the City Clean-Up day? If you don't figure it out before then, I'll be at the chamber early next week and will talk to them about it.
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