2014 Officer Elections

The elections for NoVAGO’s 2014 Officers are open. Votes may be cast from December 1st through December 31st.  Please take a few minutes and cast your ballot. Email your vote to 2014vote @ novago.org Please put “NoVAGO Vote” in the subject line so they can be collected and tallied by our vote counters. Reminders: – Only one name per office – You do NOT have to vote for EVERY office to have your vote counted. – All NoVAGO members regardless of where they live are eligible to vote. – Please include your caching name with your vote. The Nominees are: President – Awesnap, WVKiwi Vice President – ChaseClan2.3 Secretary – Nothereeither, Derektiffany Treasurer – KanukGirl Public Relations – Schwandt … Continue reading →

Nominations are Now Open

November sees opening of the nomination process for the 2014 Officers. During the month, anyone interested in running for an office is welcome to post their intent in the NoVAGO forums. Once December 1st rolls around, we will begin the election process based on our nominees. January 1st the winners will be announced. If you have ever thought about running for an office, please consider tossing your name into the ring. If you have any questions about what is required for any of the positions, please drop a line or contact one of the current officers or directors. New leadership is a vital part of growing an organization and that new leadership starts with you .. Hope to see a bunch of new names on the nomination lists and am looking forward to a banner year in 2014. … Continue reading →

Fall Fling Festivities

The countdown is underway … 5 Days until NoVAGO’s Fall Fling Event. We will be gathering at Lake Fairfax for friendship, food and festivities. PLEASE let us know how many will be attending as NoVAGO will be supplying burgers and dogs. We will also supply the buns, plates and utensils and charcoal for cooking. In your will attend note, please list the pot luck item you are bringing so we can judge what might be needed and not end up with a table full of one item. We are all looking forward to a good time … Weather should be awesome and the location can’t be beat. The event starts around 10ish with a meet and greet and ice breaker followed by caching in the park and lunch … We are planning a couple games and side events to add to the festivities and as usual will have a few … Continue reading →

Introducing NoVAGO Meet-Greet-and-Chats!

Come one and all! Starting this Thursday, September 26, NoVAGO will begin hosting regular online meet-and-greets. When? Thursday evenings (beginning September 26th). The first week we’ll schedule the chat from 7 to 8 pm, and then adjust things earlier/later as needed. Where? Our venue for the gathering is the mini-chat on the forum front page. Who can participate? Anyone! Regular posters, quiet lurkers, newbies, oldbies…all are welcome to stop by and say hello. We look forward to “seeing” you on Thursdays! … Continue reading →

DNF versus Needs Maintenance

So what do you do when you are out in the field and cannot find a cache ?? Well, if you are out on your own or with others who have not found the cache, you should be logging the attempt as a DNF (Did not Find). The DNF is a tool that is used by the cache owner (CO) to help them to maintain their caches. Several DNFs in a row are a strong indicator that there is something amiss with a cache. Of course, the other possibility is that the cache is very well hidden and is just not being found. In either case, it is the cache owner’s responsibility to check on it and verify it is in place or fix it if it is not. So how does a Needs Maintenance Log fit into the picture ?? The requirement for a Needs Maintenance log comes in … Continue reading →

Summer Soirée Schedule Updates

It looks like a full day shaping up for the Summer Soiree. Bike rides, caching games, a GPS Track Art Contest, socializing, caches in the park, and an Ice Cream Social to cool off at the end of the day. Please go to the event web pages for specific details; a summary of the festivities is included below. Start your day off at 9AM with a morning bike ride along the WO&D Trail. A leisurely ride from Purcellville to Clarke’s Gap, the highest point on the bike trail. GC4H526 – End of the Line to Top of the Line – Sunrise Around 10AM, we will begin gathering at Franklin Park for some mingling, chatting and kicking off the icebreaker. After a brief welcome and some introductions, the real socializing begins 😉 We will start the Silent Auction, hand out coordinates for the new caches in the park and start the caching … Continue reading →

2013 Summer Soiree is almost here

Less than three weeks to the summer event. Looking forward to caches in the park, visiting with old friends and making new ones. Lots of stories to tell, awesome caches to add to the to do lists and maybe even some puzzle solutions along the way. Plans are in the works for 8-10 new caches and maybe a puzzle or two … not to mention some of those Munzee things for those who partake 😉 We have a large pavilion reserved and sounds like some tasty ribs in addition to the burgers and dogs. Always good eats with the pot luck specialties. Make sure your calendar is marked, bring your caching shoes and appetite … look forward to a great summer day in the park. And of course there are loads of other caches in the local vicinity just waiting to be found. See you there … … Continue reading →

2013 Summer Soiree Silent Auction and Donations

– Willing to offer up a cache hint or puzzle solution? – Willing to give a guided tour of one of your caches? – Do you specialize in crafting some unique item? – Have cache containers or geocoins laying around? – Have something that might be great swag to a cacher? If you answered, yes, to any of the above, NoVAGO encourages you to consider donating to the Summer Auction… As most of you know, NoVAGO does not charge dues, but instead holds several fund raisers throughout the year.  Our main fundraiser is the summer silent auction. Please see the forum post for a description of what a silent auction is and how it is run, I will not go into that here. If you have an item or items that you’d like to donate, please contact me (dave — rufnredy) or any officer off-line either via e-mail, or PM … Continue reading →

Upcoming Geocaching 101 Class Dates …

Here is the list of the upcoming Geocaching Class Dates. NoVAGO is hosting these classes at the various libraries and has developed a powerpoint presentation that is easy to follow and provides the basic information needed to let new comers be a part of our caching community. What we need is you … If you can help out either as a presenter … just talking about geocaching or as a helper following students around with NoVAGO provided GPS units let us know … KanukGirl, Schwandt, HokieCachers and ItMustBeJames have already presented the classes and if you have any questions or concerns about your ability to do it, please contact them They had a blast and highly recommend the experience to everyone … The classes and locations are: Thursday, June 27, 2013       Walter Reed Senior Center 1:00 PM Saturday, June 29, 2013         Sterling Library 2:00 PM Saturday, … Continue reading →