Georgia Geocachers Association
September, 2004 Meeting Minutes


The September 2004 meeting was held September 18, 2004, at Little Ridge Park on Lake Lanier. It was a two-part meeting. First was a CITO event in conjunction with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The CITO coincided with National Public Lands Day. The second part was the official GGA meeting. There were eight new members and 23 prior members present at the regular meeting. Some members helped with the CITO, but could not stay for the regular meeting. Conversely, some members made the regular meeting, but could not help with the CITO. Good attendance overall, without a trace of hurricane Ivan (except for a very high lake water level).

Much of the CITO activity involved cutting brush back from the trails and clearing a route for a new handicap accessible trail through the park. Yes, Andymand and KennethPruett, et al, found two “white whales” – large Styrofoam flotation blocks that had washed up on shore. Special thanks go to the Corps of Engineers for the free lunch, free one-day park pass, the sew-on volunteer patch and the personalized certificates given to each CITO volunteer.

After the lunch break, Trez003 kicked off the regular GGA meeting in the shade of his Geobus’ awning. The new members introduced themselves to the group and Trez welcomed them all and explained a little about the GGA. He also pointed out the ongoing effort to collect money for the Elatchee Nature Center to buy GPS units for the Center’s ongoing education and trail programs.

Next, there was a short question and answer period. Some good questions that were probably on a lot of minds were asked and answered.

Trailerman summarized the status of the US Forest Service proposed ban on regular geocaches on Forest Service land in Georgia. Essentially, the ban has been put on hold pending further discussion with the GGA. Additionally, Trailerman outlined the new Steering Committee selection process just adopted.

Trez and Trailerman provided a summary of upcoming activities. Highlights include the 2004 GGA Challenge Event and meeting on October 9, 2004 at Elatchee Nature Center Aquatic Center in Gwinnett County. This event cache is posted on geocaching.com and there is a thread in the GGA forums about it. Volunteers are needed to help with setup, cleanup, cache placement/retrieval, food preparation, prizes, etc.

The known details of the November and December GGA meetings were provided, and Trailerman outlined the upcoming plans for Steering Committee elections, the annual Calendar photograph submissions and voting and the 2004 Outstanding Cache awards.

There were many good Travel Bugs in the corral, and people who could help them along toward their respective goals claimed them all.

Trez adjourned the meeting and the general socializing and cache hunting resumed.