A Recipe for SLAGA Success
Ingredients:
1 President
2 Vice Presidents
1 Treasurer
1 Secretary
As many geocaching members as possible
And a handful of each of these:
positive attitude, passion, confidence, motivation,
open-mindedness, vision, creativity, financial savvy,
innovative thinking, and networking skills
Now mix all these together in the St. Louis area to create an alluring organization worthy of active participation and pride, and led by conscientious, reliable officers.
What this looks like in reality for the St. Louis Area Geocachers Association (SLAGA) is a group of elected officers, a few appointed individuals who assist in managing its business side, and a high-membership organization of enthusiastic geocachers. But before the nitty-gritty of what the SLAGA board and organization does today, it's time to announce the board member voting results as revealed at the Fall Picnic 2024 event for those that missed the picnic.
Congratulations go out to the new SLAGA board, which happens to look a lot like our past with re-elected President Michael Smith (cootie_man) once again at the helm, assisted by our re-elected Vice President Robert Klemme (GeoKid12), as well as our ongoing term Vice President John Layman (vorlon40), our Treasurer Nan Dabler (nan-d1955), and Secretary Susan Adams (Treasure Isle). We bid farewell, with tremendous thanks, however, to our past Secretary Melissa Pierce (socibutte) for all her help with the secretarial duties this past transitional year. Enjoy 'board retirement,' Melissa!
While our SLAGA forbears, through tedious groundwork, paved the way for our current organization, some of the same activities take place today along with so many more as the membership has exponentially grown in the last 20+ years since SLAGA's inception. Today, our SLAGA board meets monthly exercising their best judgment as they make decisions on behalf of the organization. And since the SLAGA organization is ever growing and improving, the assistance and suggestions of the body of members are essential. Attendance at meetings has always been welcome to the membership, however if a SLAGA member wishes to attend a meeting, they should email their intention to the board. The board welcomes input, so if you have a suggestion or general interest in the organization's activities, arrange to attend a meeting. If you prefer, you may contact the board at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
To encourage a sense of community, the board promotes membership in a variety of ways. Planned SLAGA social events, like the three seasonal picnics and a potluck, entice new members to participate. Members gather together to enjoy each other's company while sharing caching stories and having a meal. This is a great opportunity for new and experienced cachers to find other people to cache with, learn more about the game and get hints on specific hides.
The board also organizes and conducts training classes for scouts and other groups wanting to learn this fun hobby. The board offers geocaching training as well as classes about other Geocaching tools. SLAGA participates at park festivals to promote geocaching, and also supports local activites like Cachemas held in December and Adventure Awaits Challenges throughout the year.
As in the past, the SLAGA board continues to develop, improve, and maintain relationships with land management personnel and regulating agencies. This ensures the membership can continue to hide and seek geocaches 'legally' placed in our St. Louis area. By also supporting local CITO cleanups, SLAGA is serving the community, helping the environment and keeping the areas used in geocaching clean and tidy.
The current board also keeps the SLAGA community informed by sending out e-blasts that remind members of upcoming events, trainings, elections, milestone submittals, and all the other interesting activities on the SLAGA calendar. There are usually two member e-blasts per month. PLEASE READ THE E-BLASTS; contact the board if you are not receiving them. BE SURE TO CHECK THE WEBSITE REGULARLY at SLAGA.ORG.
In addition to these board functions and organization activities, SLAGA also maintains a store where current organizational merchandise may be obtained. Often geocoins and pathtags are also sold at the picnics. With a new mascot representing SLAGA, the board plans to offer new promotional merchandise in the near future with "Louie the Lion" represented.
Hopefully SLAGA members now have a taste of the SLAGA Recipe for Success. With a better understanding of what the board and organization does, and how members can be involved, you might consider becoming more active in the organization while continuing to enjoy this awesome outdoor adventure of geocaching.
