Details

Written by Patricia Hutchison

Published: May 25 2017

Last Updated: September 19 2017

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SLAGA Board Meeting

May 11, 2017

6:00 PM, Chemical Interchange Building

Attendees – Kathy DeWitt, Tony Colter, Bill Lange, Laura MacLeod, Patricia Hutchison, Dave DeWitt, Nan Dabler

                The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm.

                Motion to approve the April minutes was made by Tony, seconded by Laura.  Minutes were unanimously approved.

                Treasurer’s report for April were presented.  Motion to approve the treasurer’s reports was made by Patricia, seconded by Bill.  Treasurer’s report was unanimously approved.

Old Business

• Newsletter went out April 6, 2017 at noon.
• E-mail blast went out April 19, 2017.

• Event Recap:
  • ¨ Training session – BSA Adventure at Bohrer Park, April 25, 2017.  The group showed up, Bill spoke for about 30 minutes on Geocaching basics, then took the students out to find the three caches in the park, using the SLAGA GPS units, which had been preloaded with the caches.  Bill received positive feedback from the leader at the end of the session.
  • ¨ Training session – Queeny Park class, April 30, 2017.  One person signed up and arrived late due to confusion as to where the class was meeting.  This needs to be addressed with future postings about the classes.  Because the attendee was a park official in charge of the O’Fallon (MO) geocaching account, the class dynamic was a little different and it allowed for more specific and technical training.  Field training using GPS units followed.  Laura will find out more information about spreading the word for the next class.

• Upcoming Events:

 .

• ¨ Spring Picnic – 5/6/17 – Nan Dabler (nan-d1955) will host.  Final details were worked out.
• ¨ Summer Picnic – 7/15/17 –Michael Rogers (ArtieD) is hosting at Rock Bridge just outside of Columbia, Missouri.  The facilities have been secured and paid for.  Attendees will provide their own food.  There is nothing new to add at this time.
• ¨ Eclipse – 8/21/17 – Jefferson Barracks Park.  Laura will be hosting a St. Louis County Parks event here for the eclipse.  There is no geocaching event set up as yet, however, Laura may consider posting a flash mob to coincide with the park’s event.  She is considering strongly recommending posting a selfie with the eclipse to log the event.  No new information.
• ¨ Fall Picnic – 9/16/17 – The Confluence at Hartford, Illinois.  Team_State will host, per David DeWitt.  The location has been reserved, fee-free.  There are no barbecue grills there; Food will need to be brought in, possibly fried chicken.  No new information.
• ¨ Grave Hop – 10/21/17 – Larson Park.  Date is confirmed, per Kathy.  No new information.
• ¨ Halloweenie Roast – 10/21/17 – Larson Park.  Terri Nealon (TerriBikes+) has offered to host.  Kathy DeWitt said she will contact Larson Park to verify the event date with them, which at last meeting was marked as 10/21/17.
• ¨ Holiday Party – Tabled.

• Classes
  • ¨ GSAK – Kathy will contact Pete Shaw and Jason Collier to find out about scheduling a class.
  • ¨ Cache Publication & Placement –May 20, 2017, 9:00 am-2:00 pm.  Tony Colter is hosting the event and teaching the class at the South Grand location of the St. Louis City Public Library.  No additional information at this time.
  • ¨ Queeny Park – Laura will place the proposed classes on the schedule for the Fall/Winter catalog.  Tony will contact the BSA and GSA to alert them to the class availability.  The fee for the classes is $6, but it is solely for St. Louis County Parks; SLAGA does not receive anything for the training.
    • Ø 7/29/17, 8:00 am, Queeny Park.  This is a set class.
    • Ø 10/14/17 – proposed class date.
    • Ø 3/24/18 – proposed class date. 

• SLAGA Geocoin
  • ¨ Geocoin – Tabled.  Tony and Dave are working on it.
  • ¨ Pathtags – Tabled.  Tony and Dave are working on it.
  • ¨ Eclipse Geocoin, SLAGA version – 50 were being ordered and presale will be available for SLAGA premium members at $10 per coin, with a limit of two coins per member.

• PayPal – Nothing new.

• Trailer – Looking for a new home.  Glenn Nash may take it.  Pending more information.

• Adopt a Park – Nothing new.

• Milestones – Three coins and two chairs are being presented at the spring picnic.

New Business

• ¨ Laura requested assistance teaching geocaching classes at a St. Louis County Park-sponsored event at Bellefontaine Neighbors.  The classes would be on a weekday between July 10-13 and July 17-20, and would consist of about 10-20 students in two age groups between 9-11 and 12-14.
• ¨ Life Outside Festival – June 10, 10am-4pm.  Bill advised the board of the opportunity to participate in this event at Creve Coeur Park.  Bill motioned we participate, Laura seconded.  Unanimously passed.  NOTE:  This was subsequently quashed via text messages when it was discovered that to participate, SLAGA would need to provide proof of insurance.  While this was not actually voted on by the board, it would appear that interest may have fizzled on this project at this time and is not actively being pursued.
• ¨ Kathy proposed purchasing a $40 gift card to Hacienda Mexican Restaurant to thank the owners of Chemical Interchange for allowing us their office as our meeting venue.  Motion was made by Bill and seconded by Tony to accept.  Unanimously passed.  Patricia will pick up the gift card and present it to Tom Moore for the board.

• Next meeting will be 6:00 pm, June 1, 2017 at Chemical Interchange.

• Adjournment
  • ¨ Patricia motioned for the meeting to be adjourned and it was seconded by Laura.  Motion passed unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 7:29 pm.

Details

Written by Patricia Hutchison

Published: April 10 2017

Last Updated: April 10 2017

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SLAGA Board Meeting

April 6, 2017

6:00 PM, Chemical Interchange Building

Attendees – Kathy DeWitt, Tony Colter, Bill Lange, Laura MacLeod, Patricia Hutchison, Dave DeWitt, John Elfrank

                The meeting was called to order at 6:25 pm.

                Motion to approve the February minutes was made by Tony, seconded by Bill.  Minutes were unanimously approved.

                Treasurer’s reports for January, February and March were presented.  Motion to approve the treasurer’s reports was made by Tony, seconded by Bill.  Treasurer’s reports were unanimously approved.

Old Business

• Newsletter went out April 6, 2017 at noon.
• E-mail blast is on hold for a few days and will go out around April 12.

• Event Recap:

                      ¨       CITO – Lena Dowers (brantole) hosted the CITO at Fort Belle Fontaine.  Water and snacks were provided by the host and per the board’s decision, Lena will be reimbursed for this expense.  She was pleased with the turnout and from the geocachers’ sign-in sheet, she used a number generator to select a winner for the CITO coin provided by SLAGA.  The winner was BaldEagle45 and the coin will be mailed to him by Kathy DeWitt.

• Upcoming Events:

                    ¨       CITO – Lena Dowers (brantole) - 4/8 (GC71EZ3).  SLAGA will reimburse her for the water and snacks (some of which were left over from the previous week’s CITO) and mail out a CITO coin to the winner of her drawing for the 4/8 CITO.

                    ¨       Spring Picnic – 5/6/17 – Nan Dabler (nan-d1955) will host.  Planning is going well.  Patricia texted Nan to remind her to request that Team_State make the meat purchase for the event.  (GC71G79)

                    ¨       Summer Picnic – 7/15/17 –Michael Rogers (ArtieD) is hosting at Rock Bridge just outside of Columbia, Missouri.  The facilities have been secured and paid for.  Attendees will provide their own food.  There is nothing new to add at this time.

                    ¨       Eclipse – August 21, 2017 – Jefferson Barracks Park.  Laura will be hosting a St. Louis County Parks event here for the eclipse.  There is no geocaching event set up as yet, however, Laura may consider posting a flash mob to coincide with the park’s event.  She is considering strongly recommending posting a selfie with the eclipse to log the event.

                    ¨       Fall Picnic – The Confluence at Hartford, Illinois, September 16, 2017.  Team_State will host, per David DeWitt.  The location has been reserved, fee-free.  There are no barbecue grills there; Food will need to be brought in, possibly fried chicken.  No new information.

                    ¨       Grave Hop – Tabled, but John Elfrank said he would pick up the event if an alternative host is not found.

                    ¨       Halloweenie Roast – Larson Park is already paid for; we just need a date and a host.  Terri Nealon (TerriBikes+) has offered to host.  Kathy DeWitt said she will contact Larson Park to verify the event date with them, which at last meeting was marked as 10/21/17.

                    ¨       Holiday Party – Tabled.

• Classes

                    ¨       Recap:  AHG – Bill reported that the class experience went well, though there was room for improvement, most notably that “there can’t be too much communication” between SLAGA and those hosting the event at which we’re teaching.  The AHG coordinator made a trackable for their troop, but didn’t seem to have activated it by the time of the board meeting.  It was also indicated that another AHG troop might be interested in receiving the same training as we had done on March 25, and may be in touch, as well as the offer that we could use the same grounds to hold that event, if necessary.  He also said that prior to future events, any new volunteers should watch a YouTube video on how to use the SLAGA-owned GPS units.

                    ¨       Canoe – As there has been no update from Pete Shaw regarding this issue, it is being removed from future agendas until such time as interest is generated.

                    ¨       GSAK – Work in progress; class materials are available on the SLAGA website.

                    ¨       Cache Publication & Placement –May 13, 2017, 9:00 am-2:00 pm.  Tony Colter is hosting the event and teaching the class at the South Grand location of the St. Louis City Public Library.  No additional information at this time.

                    ¨       Queeny Park – Classes are being set up for 4/30/17, 1-3:30pm and 7/29/17, 9am-12pm.  Bill is in charge of the training.  Because neither of the classes made it into the Sping/Summer County Park Catalog, it is likely that they will be lightly attended.  Laura agreed to set up a cutoff date for signups two days prior to the class.  Class size is restricted to classroom capacity which, for two rooms, would be up to 100 participants.  Future class scheduling is tabled until the first class is held, to get a feel for how it will go.  Bill recommended providing a map of the caches to be used for the class, which could include published caches, but was cautioned against using any caches that are marked premium member only to ensure they are not compromised.  Per unanimous board vote, volunteers will be provided lunch after the training session. 

• SLAGA Geocoin

                    ¨       Geocoin – Tabled.

                    ¨       Pathtags – Susie Nelson requested progress on the Pathtag.  Tony will work on it.

• PayPal – SLAGA has been denied nonprofit status.  Options are to create a new PayPal account or leave it alone as is, with no new SSN.  Laura volunteered to have her SSN on the account, but the board is holding off making a change at this time.

• Milestone Awards

                   ¨       There are a few submissions for milestones for the Spring Picnic.  Kathy will collect the information and submit an order for the coins this week.

New Business

• John Elfrank brought two new pieces of business before the board.

                   ¨       His Festus property is being sold.  The SLAGA trailer currently resides there, but will need to find a new ‘home’.  As it has a permanent Missouri plate, there is no need to file for a change of address for future renewal notifications.

                   ¨       Robert Winter Park – John wants to approach the St. Louis County Parks to suggest SLAGA ‘adopt a park’, in this case, Robert Winter Park, which has been neglected and is more or less a dump.  His proposal would include having SLAGA members perform a massive, ongoing CITO, which may reinforce the goodwill relations between SLAGA and the St. Louis County Parks Department.  Laura recommended he write his suggestion letter to Tom Ott, who is a ranking official with the parks department.  Laura made a motion to proceed with John’s initiative to write a letter to the parks department and Patricia seconded.  Motion passed unanimously.

• Next meeting will be 6:00 pm, May 11, 2017 at Chemical Interchange.

• Adjournment

                     ¨       Patricia motioned for the meeting to be adjourned and it was seconded by Laura.  Motion passed unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 7:55 pm.

Details

Written by Patricia Hutchison

Published: March 15 2017

Last Updated: March 15 2017

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SLAGA Board Meeting

March 2, 2017

6:00 PM, Chemical Interchange Building

Attendees – Kathy DeWitt, Tony Colter, Bill Lange, Patricia Hutchison, Dave DeWitt

               The meeting was called to order at 5:58 pm, with Tony motioning and Bill seconding.

         Motion to approve the February minutes was made by Tony, seconded by Bill.  Attending board members unanimously approved the minutes.

         Treasurer’s report was not available as it is pending final numbers from January and February expenses, per Kathy.  Treasurer’s report is tabled until March.

Old Business

• Newsletter to be sent out by April 4.  Articles due by March 24.
• E-mail blast was distributed on 3/3/17.

• Upcoming Events:

¨       CITO – Lena Dowers (brantole) has requested water and snacks to be donated by SLAGA for participants.  Per Kathy, we also have a CITO geocoin for drawings for each of her CITOs, to be held on 4/1 (GC71DK9) and 4/8 (GC71EZ3).  Unanimously passed to provide water, snacks and coins.

¨       Spring Picnic – 5/6/17 – Nan Dabler (nan-d1955) will host.  The Kirkwood Park pavilions have been secured and paid for.  Dave spoke with Nan and confirmed there was nothing new to add.  Dave has created the cache page.  (GC71G79)

¨       Summer Picnic – 7/15/17 –Michael Rogers (ArtieD) is hosting at Rock Bridge just outside of Columbia, Missouri.  The facilities have been secured and paid for.  Attendees will provide their own food.  There is nothing new to add at this time.

¨       Eclipse – August 21, 2017 – Jefferson Barracks Park.  Laura MacLeod (korriaan) will be hosting a St. Louis County Parks event here for the eclipse.  There is no geocaching event set up as yet, however, someone may consider posting a flash mob.  No new information.

¨       Fall Picnic – The Confluence at Hartford, Illinois, September 16, 2017.  Team_State will host, per David DeWitt.  The location has been reserved, fee-free.  There are no barbecue grills there; Food will need to be brought in, possibly fried chicken.  No new information.

¨       Grave Hop – Tabled.

¨       Halloweenie Roast – Larson Park is already paid for; we just need a date and a host.  Kathy is reaching out to Michael Maryan to see if he will host, but Laura MacLeod will be backup.  The Board has chosen 10/21/17 as the date so that the facilities can be officially booked.

¨       Holiday Party – Tabled.

• Classes

¨       Canoe – Kathy will reach out to Pete Shaw about this.

¨       GSAK – Jason is working on a 201 class.

¨       Cache Publication & Placement –May 13, 2017, 9:00 am-2:00 pm.  Tony Colter is hosting the event and teaching the class at the South Grand location of the St. Louis City Public Library.  Event cannot be published before 3/13/17, due to Groundspeak publication rules.

¨       Queeny Park – Kathy spoke with a representative at Queeny.  While the spring/summer class catalog has already been published, geocaching can be added to the fall/winter catalog.  The parks will host the classes while SLAGA will teach them.  Classes will be limited to room capacity.  Proposed dates are:  April 29, 2017, 8-12; July 29, 2017, 8-12.  SLAGA declined to accept any fees from the park in exchange for teaching the classes.

¨       Scouts/Public training – With Queeny Park’s agreement to host the geocaching classes, SLAGA can direct any requests to Queeny for sign-up purposes.

• SLAGA Geocoin

¨       Geocoin – Tabled.

¨       Pathtags – Tabled.

• PayPal – The mission statement needs to be sent to PayPal in order for this issue to go forward.

• Liability discussion

¨       No movement at this time, per Bill.  This issue may be moot based on the new developments with Queeny Park.

• Mission Statement

¨       The St. Louis Area Geocachers Association (SLAGA) exists to promote and improve the family-oriented activity of geocaching.  It serves as a resource for those interested in the activity, through educational means such as leading classes and workshops, while encouraging responsible stewardship of public lands in cooperation with land managers.

¨       Bill motioned to adopt the above as SLAGA’s official mission statement.  Tony seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

• Milestone Awards

¨       The website now reflects people who have received their awards.  The list will be updated in a ‘rolling’ manner to limit the size of the list.

¨       Dave will look into the ability to show who has submitted requests for milestones so they don’t submit multiple requests.

New Business

• American Heritage Girls Training

¨       Bill met with the organizers and went over the grounds on February 27.  The event will be held on Saturday, March 25, 2017.  The volunteers should arrive at 11:00 am.  The event hours are from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

¨       Discussion of classroom and equipment availability.

¨       Smartphone app to use for slides on computer.

¨       Public hotspot is available at the facility, but is very slow.  A password-protected wifi is also at the facility, but it is unclear whether it’s available for use.

¨       Bill recommends at least 10 temporary caches, but needs assistance in creating them.

¨       Rather than a traditional log sheet, the caches are to have a two-digit code which participants will record on a sheet of paper, which they will then turn in to their leaders for SWAG at the end of the exercise.

¨       SWAG will be obtained and handled by the organizers, not SLAGA.

¨       Permission for a permanent cache has not been obtained.  (Subsequent information received indicates that permission will not be possible prior to the event due to the organizers’ meeting schedule, therefore, no permanent cache will be placed on the grounds.)

¨       Bill responded to the question of SLAGA charging for the class by saying that donations to SLAGA were welcome.

• Next meeting will be 6:00 pm, April 6, 2017 at Chemical Interchange.

• Adjournment

¨       Bill motioned for the meeting to be adjourned and it was seconded by Tony.  Motion passed unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 7:39 pm.

Details

Written by Patricia Hutchison

Published: February 08 2017

Last Updated: March 06 2017

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SLAGA Board Meeting

February 2, 2017

6:00 PM, Chemical Interchange Building

Attendees –Tony Colter, Bill Lange, Patricia Hutchison, Dave DeWitt

                The meeting was called to order at 6:15 pm, with Tony motioning and Bill seconding.

                Motion to approve the January minutes was made by Bill, seconded by Tony.  Attending board members unanimously approved the minutes.

                Treasurer’s report was not available as it is pending final numbers from January expenses, per Kathy, via phone.  Treasurer’s report is tabled until March.

Old Business

• Brochures – Issue briefly discussed and though tabled from previous month, attending board decided the issue was settled last time by accepting the brochures presented.
• E-mail blast was distributed on 2/2/17.
• Event Recap

¨       Winter Potluck

• About 150 people attended and had a great time.
• The raffle brought in over $300.
• Ray loved his milestone jacket.  Several other geocachers received their milestone awards as well.
• Two geocoins that were never claimed, despite repeated attempts to contact the achievers, were activated and released in random caches nearby.
• Upcoming Events: 

¨       Spring Picnic – 5/6/17 – Nan-D1955 will host.  The Kirkwood pavilions have been secured and paid for.  Dave spoke with Nan and confirmed there was nothing new to add.

¨       Summer Picnic – 7/15/17 –Michael Rogers of Arthur & Trillian is hosting at Rock Bridge just outside of Columbia, Missouri.  The facilities have been secured and paid for.  Attendees will provide their own food.  There is nothing new to add at this time.

¨       Eclipse – August 21, 2017, 1:15-1:19 pm – Jefferson Barracks Park.  Laura will be hosting a St. Louis County Parks event here for the eclipse.  There is no geocaching event set up as yet, however, someone may consider posting a flash mob.

¨       Fall Picnic – The Confluence at Hartford, Illinois, September 16, 2017.  Team_State will host, per David DeWitt.  The location has been reserved, fee-free.  There are no barbecue grills there; Food will need to be brought in, possibly fried chicken.

¨       Grave Hop – The board has not heard from The Grif.  L Frank may volunteer to host.  The topic is tabled.  No updates from last month.

¨       Halloweenie Roast – Larson Park is already paid for; we just need a date and a host.  Kathy is reaching out to Michael Maryan to see if he will host, but Laura MacLeod will be backup.  No updates from last month.

¨       Holiday Party – This event is too far in the future to plan at this time.  The topic is tabled.  No updates from last month.

¨       Spring Picnic, 2018 – (From previous discussion) Queeny Park has been suggested with the further recommendation that caches currently in play be replaced with new ones, excepting the oldest ones, for those players who need ‘dated’ caches.  This picnic is currently tabled.  No updates from last month.

• Classes

¨       Canoe – Tabled.

¨       GSAK – Tabled.

¨       Cache Publication & Placement –May 13, 2017, 9:00 am-2:00 pm.  Tony Colter is hosting the event and teaching the class at the South Grand location of the St. Louis City Public Library.

¨       Queeny Park – The facility manager has declined to respond to Bill’s calls and e-mails.

¨       Scouts/Public training – For the class on 2/4/17, volunteers are scheduled to arrive at 9:00 am while the students are to arrive at 9:50 am at the Grand Glaize Library.  Classroom activity will go until 11:00, then participants will go to Queeny Park for geocaching in the field.  Training is scheduled to end about 1:30.

• SLAGA Geocoin

¨       Geocoin – The obverse needs to be redesigned as the coin is no longer coming out for the 15th Anniversary.  David offered to assist.

¨       Pathtags – Like the coin, this is in an ongoing process with a new design.  It was noted that the Pathtag is a general profitable item.

• BLR – Some attendees at the Winter Potluck who have completed the trail picked up their BLR coins at that event.  Bill moved for the item to be removed from future agendas.  Patricia seconded.  Motion passed unanimously. 

• PayPal – Dave DeWitt is still working on this issue with PayPal.  See Mission Statement section of the minutes for more information. 

• Website Training for New Officers

¨       David trained Patricia on MailChimp prior to the board meeting.

• Liability discussion

¨       There is still no movement on a liability waiver at this time.  Sylvia Titgemeyer agreed to review and ask other colleagues to possibly review on a pro bono basis.

• Scouts/Other Requests for Classes

¨       Cub Scout Pack 499 class on 2/4/17.

¨       Homeschool Group

• Request received for a possible class for 5-11 year olds, around the end of February, but there has been no further movement on this request.

¨       American Heritage Girls

• Request received for a father-daughter event in Dardenne Prairie on March 25 for approximately 90 girls (and their fathers).  Due to logistics, it may be recommended (or required) that participants download the app to their smartphones prior to the event.

¨       Patricia inquired whether there should be a published set of class guidelines on the SLAGA website, outlining expectations for the participants (ie., parents attend with and be responsible for their children, for example).  Some discussion resulted, but Bill recommended seeing how the 2/4/17 training session went before writing up any guidelines.

¨       Recommendation for the setup of a scheduled 101 class for geocaching, with about three events per year, with one or two unscheduled (‘by request’) classes.

¨       Smartphone classes also need to be developed for geocaching, as most new participants are more apt to start out with technology they already own (smartphone) rather than run out a purchase an expensive GPS unit.

• Bill recommended Groundspeak’s app because it is free and is official.
• Classes would be enhanced by PowerPoint presentation of screen shots for both Apple and Android devices, as there are differences in the platform apps.

New Business

v  Mission Statement

• In order to work with PayPal on our account, they require a mission statement that shows an educational aspect of our organization.  David requested Patricia write up a mission statement, which follows.
  • The St. Louis Area Geocachers Association exists to promote and improve the family-oriented activity of geocaching.  It serves as a resource for those interested in the activity, through educational means such as leading classes and workshops, while encouraging responsible stewardship of public lands in cooperation with land managers.
• The attending board members agreed to review the statement and table for further discussion at the next meeting.

v  Milestone awards

• Bill requested that a feature be added to the website showing qualifying members awarded milestones have actually received their pins/coins/chairs/etc. 

v  Trailer inventory

• Patricia provided an updated spreadsheet detailing the trailer inventory as noted at the Winter Potluck on 1/28/17.  This included recommendations on items that needed to be replaced.  (See inventory list.)
• The canopy tent in the trailer may need to be replaced but as it was not taken out and checked at the last event, it is to be pulled out at the next event and reviewed.  At that time, it will be determined whether funds should be spent to replace it. 

v  Purchases

• Patricia donated several items, including napkins, plastic wrap, aluminum foil and trash bags, to be placed in the trailer for use at future SLAGA events.
• Bill motioned that Patricia be reimbursed $30 for the donated items and Tony seconded.  Motion passed unanimously. 

v  Next meeting will be 6:00 pm, March 2, 2017 at Chemical Interchange.

v  Adjournment

• Tony motioned for the meeting to be adjourned and it was seconded by Bill.  Motion passed unanimously.  The meeting adjourned at 7:37 pm.

Details

Written by Patricia Hutchison

Published: January 30 2017

Last Updated: July 26 2018

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SLAGA Board Meeting

January 5, 2017

6:00 PM, Chemical Interchange Building

Attendees – Kathy DeWitt, Tony Colter, Bill Lange, Laura MacLeod, Patricia Hutchison, Dave DeWitt

Guest Attendee – John Elfrank

                The meeting was called to order at 5:57 pm, with Bill motioning and Laura seconding.

               Motion to approve the December minutes was made by Tony, seconded by Laura.  Board unanimously approved the minutes.

               Treasurer’s report was provided by Laura.  Motion to accept treasurer’s report was made by Bill and seconded by Tony.  Board unanimously approved the treasurer’s report.

Old Business

• Brochures – Kathy provided some customizable, generic forms from the Internet, to be utilized for classes and events.  SLAGA’s forms were outdated.  Tabled for consideration.
• Newsletter is postponed until right before the spring picnic.
• Event Recap
• ¨       New Year’s Day Brunch and Hike
• Dave said that people had fun.  We had an excellent turnout for both events.  The bonfire was not held due to most of the hike attendees needing to be elsewhere by the time the hike was completed.

• E-mail blasts – Separate e-mails will go out for Save the Date and Winter Potluck.
• Upcoming Events: 
• ¨       Milestones
• Bill requested that Dave set up a page on the SLAGA website for people to verify that SLAGA received their submissions for milestones.
• Kathy mentioned to Bill that he needs to remember to ask for the discount when he places his order for the milestone coins.
• ¨       Winter Potluck – 1/28/17 – John Elfrank is hosting.  Ray Bernecki will receive his 25,000 milestone award.  Discussed positioning of food between kitchen and meeting room.  Kitchen should be used for storage only; crockpots should be placed on the sink area.  Volunteers should show up at 9:00 to help set up.  Both Patricia and Bill volunteered for Registration.  Kathy will handle Geobingo, the raffle and 50/50.  She will also pick up the gift cards to be awarded as contest prizes.  John will handle the photo scavenger hunt.  Bill will also be the photographer and bring the PA system.  Food will be served between 11:45-1:30.  Raffle ends at 1:30.  Speeches, milestones, jokes, contest/drawing winners will follow.  John will set out a couple of new geocaches in the park prior to the potluck.
• ¨       Spring Picnic – 5/6/17 – Nan-D1955 will host.  The Kirkwood pavilions have been secured and paid for.
• ¨       Summer Picnic – 7/15/17 –Michael Rogers of Arthur & Trillian is hosting at Rock Bridge just outside of Columbia, Missouri.  The facilities have been secured and paid for.  Attendees will provide their own food.
• ¨       Eclipse – August 21, 2017, 1:15-1:19 pm – Jefferson Barracks Park.  Laura will be hosting a St. Louis County Parks event here for the eclipse.  There is no geocaching event set up as yet, however, someone may consider posting a flash mob.
• ¨       Fall Picnic – The Confluence at Hartford, Illinois, September 16, 2017.  No host has been found for this event yet.  There are no barbecue grills there; Food will need to be brought in, possibly fried chicken.
• ¨       Grave Hop – The board has not heard from The Grif.  L Frank may volunteer to host.  The topic is tabled.
• ¨       Halloweenie Roast – Larson Park is already paid for; we just need a date and a host.  Kathy is reaching out to Michael Maryan to see if he will host, but Laura MacLeod will be backup.
• ¨       Holiday Party – This event is too far in the future to plan at this time.  The topic is tabled.
• ¨       Spring Picnic, 2018 – (From previous discussion) Queeny Park has been suggested with the further recommendation that caches currently in play be replaced with new ones, excepting the oldest ones, for those players who need ‘dated’ caches.  This picnic is currently tabled.

• Classes
• ¨       Canoe – Tabled.
• ¨       GSAK – Tabled.
• ¨       Cache Publication & Placement – Date changed to May 13, 2017, 9:00 am-2:00 pm, as it conflicted with the Spring Picnic.  Tony is still hosting the event and teaching the class.
• ¨       Queeny Park – Bill contacted Queeny Park to inquire if SLAGA can hold classes in their facilities, however, they did not get back to him.  Suggestion to obtain a meeting room at a library was met with positive response.  Big Bend branch and Grant’s Trail branch were among those recommended.

• SLAGA Geocoin
• ¨       Geocoin – This issue is tabled, per Tony.
• ¨       Pathtags – This issue is tabled, per Tony.

• BLR – Trail activity has slowed down due to winter.

• PayPal – Dave DeWitt contacted them and will try to work something out with the SLAGA account status.  They still require a social security number, but we still have Square as a backup for accepting payments.  We will give PayPal a little more time to work out the issue.

• Website Training for New Officers

¨       Laura needs to know how to update memberships; Dave is to meet up with her sometime before the picnic for training.

¨       Patricia still needs to learn how to do e-mail blasts.

• Liability discussion
  • Boy Scouts – Dave spoke to BSA about liability.
    • If they call us and ask for instruction, liability is on them.
    • If we call them and offer instruction, liability is on us.
    • Troops that request instruction in geocaching should be asked to provide a copy of the insurance contract from the BSA.  All scouts are insured up to $1m for activities sponsored by the BSA, according to information Dave acquired from his contact.
    • Bill presented several documents, but they may not actually provide a safety net for our group.  John suggested contacting a lawyer.  Sylvia Titgemeyer’s name came up for this.  It was also recommended that SLAGA discuss our needs with an insurance company for more information.  Coverage would also need to be investigated for both states. 
•  

• Doodle.com – Discussed again, despite being quashed last meeting.  It was determined that this service was not needed.
• Location of SLAGA Trailer – Bill requested the physical address of the SLAGA trailer’s location so that it was documented.  It is at John Elfrank’s Festus property.  The fee for the permanent license plate this year is about $56.  John will take care of filing for it.

New Business

• No new business was raised.

•       Next meeting will be 6:00 pm, February 5, 2017 at Chemical Interchange.

Adjournment

• Patricia motioned for the meeting to be adjourned and it was seconded by Laura.  The meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm.