President’s Favorite Points ❤️ 

Your NoVAGO, Your Choice, Your Chance to Nominate, Vote and be part of the action.

Right now you could be thinking: What in the world are you talking about, Gina?  

Don’t worry…I’ll tell you…sit back for just a moment. This month’s message will be
shorter…For real.  If you are still reading this, you care about or are curious about
NoVAGO and its goings-on. Here we go…

How the NoVAGO Board Gets It Done

NoVAGO has a group of dedicated officers, elected each fall by your geocaching peers,
and directors, confirmed by the officers, who have volunteered to go above and beyond
to keep our operations going, big and small.  Each month the NoVAGO board comes
together to make decisions and take actions on ideas to make geocaching fun in our area
for all cachers – both local and visiting. Working on your behalf, we decide on events
and activities, find ways to raise and save money to do fun stuff across northern
Virginia, keep everyone informed via the website, Facebook, track finances and even
more.

But it doesn’t stop there.  The board as a whole is working behind the scenes to keep
these dreams growing and moving, engaging other volunteers to help, doing hands-on
work for events, and gathering ideas to bring to the table to be discussed and voted on. 
The officers also provide assistance and guidance to the committees selected to help
with special projects.  It takes time and dedication to make it all happen, although it’s
also a very exciting and rewarding experience. 

How Officers Get Elected

To keep things fresh and exciting for all, each year brings opportunities for a new
volunteer and the selection of officers and directors.  Potentially, there could be the
same crew in office or a whole new board could be elected.  Any or all of the officers can
express their interest to continue for the following year, throwing their hiking sticks
back in.

In regard to selecting new officers, this is where you come in – by nominating and
voting.  Since NoVAGO officers are here to serve fellow geocachers, you have a voice and
this is the time of year to express your thoughts for 2024. If you know someone who has
been active with NoVAGO in the geocaching community and you think would be great in
one of the positions; President, Vice President, Secretary, Public Relations, Treasurer,
please take the opportunity to nominate them (perhaps after talking to the person first.)
You could nominate current officers or new candidates, including yourself in the coming
weeks. Whether or not you participate in the nominations, please cast your vote when
the elections are conducted in November.

How You Can Get Actively Involved

Obviously there are some things to think about when considering someone or yourself to move towards or into a leadership position.  

  • A VOLUNTEER is anyone who volunteers to do anything at all for NoVAGO. No need to be voted or nominated for this, anyone can do it. Just reach out to usand let us know how you would like to participate.
  • An OFFICER is elected by other NoVAGO members each year and are the core decision makers of the board.  It’s important to have all positions filled by dedicated volunteers for a successful year.
  • A DIRECTOR is a volunteer who is nominated and selected by the current year’s officer’s to serve on the board and meet monthly and help make future plans for NoVAGO. (2024 Directors will be selected by the new officers in January.) 

So if you are thinking: “Where do I stand? What can I do?” think about this: you do not
have to want to be a director or officer to volunteer…we need lots of folks like you for
small tasks so reach out to offer your help.

  • If you have not recently volunteered or served as director or officer, please – PLEASE – volunteer to be part of a project, or help out some other way to test out the NoVAGO waters and determine if you are interested in doing more.  
  • If you have volunteered more recently, but never served as an officer or director, consider finding out more about becoming a director.  
  • If you have been an officer or director before, you are most likely familiar with NoVAGO and are a great candidate to become an Officer! Reach out to our Nominations Committee or a current board member to express your interest.

If you think YOU would like to be an active participant in the NoVAGO volunteer group,
reach out to Michael Schwandt or Jesse Chou (our amazing Nominations/Elections Committee) or let a current Officer or Director know your interests and they will guide you onto a path of volunteering and leadership.

Ok – so it wasn’t as short as I intended it to be, but hopefully it was informative.  Keep an
eye on FB and the NoVAGO website for more information on when to nominate, vote or
volunteer!  


Keep on caching peeps.
Gina Thompson (thompsonkickers)
2023 NoVAGO President

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