The 2012 WGA coin contest is officially open! The WGA will be producing a 2012 WGA Geocoin for sale to all members and the general public. The sale of this coin will help raise funds to operate the WGA.

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PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DATES

Spring has sprung a little bit early in Wisconsin! Trees are budding, flowers are blooming and geocachers are coming out of hibernation. Be sure to grab your camera before hitting the trails and you could win!

Show us your original geocaching related photo that you think best illustrates what Spring is. Enter the WGA Spring Photo Contest. You could win a $40 gas card or a 2011 WGA Geocoin.

Submit up to three of your favorite Spring photos to photos@wi-geocaching.com by June 10th. Member voting will be open from June 11th to June 25th. The two winning photos will be announced shortly after that and will be displayed on the front page on the WGA website.

If you would like to see some previous WGA photo contest entries, go to the photo gallery and click on Past Photo Contests.

Hello WGA!

As I sit at my desk, glancing at the snow flakes floating down, I'm reminiscing about the first 2 WGA Events that were held in February at the Visitors Center in Horicon. Two different Events, planned by different members, supported by the WGA. This is the strength of the organization...our volunteers! It takes many hours of planning to pull off a successful Event, and our membership has a great deal of diversity in the many talents needed to plan these gatherings. WELL DONE!

Your new Board of Directors met on Sunday the 25th of February for 5 hours of WGA business. This is our required BOD meeting according to the WGA By-laws. We assigned our Committee heads and the roster is open for team mates to plan another year of development of this young organization. Please let us know if you would like to serve on any of the committees!

Soon there will be the smell of spring flowers and rotting winter trash! That means it's CITO TIME!! Watch the Events list for WGA sponsored and locally sponsored CITO Events near you. This is our way of "giving back" to the state of Wisconsin!

This is also the 10th anniversary of the WGA, so the Board has decided to "go retro"! The WGA Campout will be held at the same place the first Campout was held...Governor Dodge State Park. The Fall Picnic will be held at Pike Lake State Park, the starting point for the first picnic in '02. Watch for some very special things to happen at these Events!

Lastly, it was never my goal to serve as the President of the WGA, but it was my goal to give back to the organization that has provided many opportunities over the last 4 years to explore the secret and magical places that this great state has to offer. I thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President. Just as you should leave a cache better than you found it, I hope I receive a passing grade from the members during my term on the BOD

Jim Bliefnick

WGA President

The 555 votes from 114 members that were cast in the 2012 WGA Board of Directors election, which ended on Monday (February 13), have been counted and certified. The following individuals have been elected to the Board:

2 YEAR TERMS (Ends February 2014)

• Peter Quella (labrat_wr)
• James Bliefnick (JimandLinda)
• Brian Kling (Team Black-Cat)
• Rob England (Averith)
• Lisa Daniels (Curly Girls)

1 YEAR TERM (Ends February 2013)

•  Brian McKay (uws22)

Congratulations!

Full details can be read here.

Voting in the the 2012 WGA Board of Directors election has begun! To vote Click here.

WGA members may vote for up to 6 of the candidates before voting closes on Monday, February 13th at 11:59pm. Here are some general notes about this phase of the Board of Directors election process.

•  Since there are 6 open Board positions, members may vote for up to 6 of the candidates.
•  If you try to vote for more than 6 candidates, all your votes will be thrown out and you'll be given a chance to vote again.
• Once you vote, you cannot vote again. Therefore, if you vote for fewer than 6 candidates, you can't come back and vote for more. Also, you can't change your votes (so get them right the first time!).
• Voting will end at precisely 11:59pm on Monday, February 13, 2012.

The 6 candidates with the highest vote totals at the end of voting will fill the open Board positions. If you have any general questions about this phase of the election process, feel free to post them in the Candidates Corner 2012 forum. If you experience technical problems with the voting system or trouble with your WGA member account, you can contact Brian (Team Black-Cat).

The two election monitors this year are Barry Butrymowicz and Dave Secondino. At the end of the election they need to tally the votes and "certify" the election. Because of this, the official results may not be announced for a day or two after voting closes.

The WGA is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Board of Directors election. Click here to go to the elections page and nominate the WGA member(s) you would like to have serve on the Board.

Six positions on the Board of Directors are up for election this year. These positions are currently held by the following individuals:

• Peter Quella (labrat_wr)
• Shane Heule (-cheeto-)
• Brian Kling (Team Black-Cat)
• Justin Korpal (KORPL)
• David Secondino (Team DeeJay)
• Jay Sampson (TyeDyeSkyGuy)

Due to a recent resignation, the sixth place winner will serve a one year term, which is the remainder of the vacated position.

Barry Butrymowicz and Dave Secondino (who will not be seeking reelection) will be assisting with the administration/execution of the election. Some general notes about this phase of the Board of Directors election process:

• Individuals must receive two nominations to appear on the ballot when voting for the Board begins.
• Individuals receiving one nomination will be contacted via email to determine if they are interested in serving on the Board. If they are, their name will be placed on the elections page in a list of individuals who have one nomination and are looking for a second.
• Please do not nominate individuals who are not eligible.
• To serve on the Board, individuals must be WGA members and meet other eligibility requirements (including being at least 21 years of age) outlined in the WGA bylaws.
• You are not allowed to nominate yourself.
• Nominations will be accepted until January 31, 2012 at 11:59pm. At this time, voting for the Board of Directors positions will begin and continue until 11:59pm on February 13th.

If you have any questions about this phase of the Board of Directors election process, post them inthis forum topic.