In 2017, I went to my first event in northern Virginia, where I met some geocachers who are still my friends today. Since then, I’ve attended more than 230 events! I especially enjoy traditional caches, and I own about 40 of them, some of which I took over from previous owners. I also have a few lab caches and have hosted some events myself. You can join me for my yearly DNF Forgiveness Coffee on New Year’s Eve—this will be the seventh one in 2025!

From 2022 to 2024, I was on the NoVAGO board as the Public Relations Officer. It was a challenging job, but I found it very fulfilling. I’m excited and honored to be the president of NoVAGO in 2025. It’s a wonderful community of geocachers that I’m proud to be a part of.

For additional information, read Heather’s Welcome Letter from the President

Hi!  I’m CherokeeThree.  I started geocaching in August 2001.  I’m a proud Charter Member in the community.  My geocaching journey began after I purchased a yellow Garmin etrex GPS, and came across a newspaper article about this exciting outdoor adventure.  I have served as a director on the NoVAGO board for 4 years, and I am honored to now serve as Vice President for 2025.  I’m always available to discuss any aspect of geocaching.  Please reach out, if you want to “talk caching”. 

Attending, and hosting, events is a passion of mine.  Connecting with local cachers brings me great joy.  I host at least two events each month, with one of those at the Tony’s Pizza in Manassas.  I’ve attended over 900 events. 

Currently, I’m also an Ambassador for GeoWoodstock XXI, an incredible annual event, that’s being held in May, in Morgantown, WV.

I love seeking out challenge caches, especially as I travel to different states to cache.  Working on qualifying is as much fun as actually logging the completed challenge. 

Recently, I purchased my 5^th GPS.  I find myself using a GPS to mark the coordinates on my hides.  Also, sometimes when caching in areas with heavy tree cover.

Me and the rest of the Sedor18 crew (Michael, Dmitry) started geocaching in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking for creative ways to stay outdoors and on the trails, we learned about letterboxing as Dmitry was earning his Junior Ranger badge for the Prince William Forest Park. A ranger asked if we knew about geocaching, and a passion was unleashed.

We started out slowly, searching for traditional caches near our home in Alexandria, VA. We soon realized how vast the world of geocaching could be, got our premium membership, learned the lingo, and started challenging ourselves in all kinds of ways. It took us a while to get up the confidence to place our very first hide (GC91JDZ), and then the next one, and the next one….Little by little we realized we wanted to know more about the folks whose names we kept seeing on logs.

We owe our connection to NoVAGO to a chance encounter with the first geocacher we ever spotted in the wild: CherokeeThree in search of the same cache we were looking for (one of our first mysteries). As we carefully climbed down a steep, thorny slope, he told us about the organization and encouraged us to join. We soon attended our first event but didn’t really get to know more geocachers until Dmitry placed his devious mystery (GCA1XJ6) and folks wanted to know more.

Four years later, we’ve planned summer vacations and camping trips around geocaching, enjoyed amazing hikes and kayak paddles, found some of the oldest caches, completed 2 jasmers, a handful of fizzy loops, won a few NoVAGO awards, and had the pleasure of getting to know lots of fellow geocachers as friends.

 I was invited to join the NoVAGO board in the beginning of 2024 and served as a director for a year before taking on the role of Secretary in 2025. Any random spots in our geocaching map can be attributed to me and work travel but Michael and Dmitry typically put in the really hard work and I’m proud to represent team sedor18 on the NoVAGO board for another year.

I started geocaching in May of 2015 and immediately became a member of NoVAGO.

I have hidden nearly 40 caches and hosted a several events. I love lending out and hosting events at my home.

I have been the club treasurer since 2019, and I was a director in 2018. I serve because I love geocaching, the people of NoVAGO, and volunteering. Seriously, what do you need, I’ll help you.

I started caching in 2006 but didn’t break 100 annual finds until 2011. I have been a NoVAGO member since 2019. I volunteered as a director on the NoVAGO board in 2022, which allowed me to become familiar with the board.  I enjoyed helping with the events and other activities. I volunteered to be the Secretary in 2023 and continued through 2024. 

With my career winding down in 2025, I decided to volunteer to fill the Public Relations position when it opened up. It will give me the opportunity to do something completely different. I am not an expert but plan to use this as advantage. I hope to talk to cachers to understand what types of information and connections with the community are of interest. It is one area where individuals can contribute with actions in their specific area of interest. We have an active Facebook community, but it could possibly be more engaging and connect to in-person activities. Please feel free to reach out with suggestions!

I would like to extend appreciation of the NoVAGO board volunteers and the small group of cachers that support the effort to form a community. I am proud to have been associated with this organization. I am looking forward to continuing to give back to the geocaching community. I have many fond memories of my cache adventures, solo and in a group and am looking forward to many more in the coming year!