Making a Difference During the Holidays - Christmas Bash '24

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: December 26 2024

Last Updated: December 26 2024

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The month of December started with a bang when geofriends gathered at the "Christmas Bash in SLAGA-Land" Event held on December 7 at Sugarfire Smokehouse in Arnold, MO. This merry event was hosted by Nan (nan-d1955) and accompanied by her jolly elves, Carolyn (MrsSpongy), Sandy (Swelgus), Susan (Treasure Isle); Sandy and Mike  (Breezy406); Lynette and Mark (Turtleladi1020nhubs).  Attendees enjoyed delicious food, fun and fellowship.  And one in attendence, Jan S. (JanS03), was presented with her 25,000 finds jacket to a rousing round of applause!  (Her friend Sandy happened to have worn hers that day too.)

Some of the event fun included the UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER CONTEST.  Several attendees wore their ugly Christmas sweaters to the event and had to mingle so people could admire their sweaters.  Everyone voted by ballot and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners were announced.  This year's Ugly Sweater winners were:  

1st place to “Hubs” (Mark R.) $25 Panera gift card

2nd place to “BAPrn" (Barbara P.) $10 Burger King gift card

3rd place to “NEgirl55" (Carol S.) $10 Taco Bell gift card

While cachers always have a great time socializing, they are also very generous and kind folks.  At this event non-perishable food items and toys were collected and given to Circle of Concern Food Pantry and Social Services Agency.  In total, 220 pounds of food for the pantry and 68 toys/gifts for children were donated this year.  These contributions really make a difference to families in need, not just during the holidays but year round.  In appreciation, Nan gave treat bags to those that contributed this year.

The event was a grand success and full of merriment! There were tales of your 2024 caching trips as well as some upcoming 2025 adventures.  Some traded travel bugs at the event.  Chuckles over ugly sweaters could be heard and good ole holiday cheer was shared by all in attendance.  "The food was tasty, converstation merry, and everyone really seemed to be in a festive mood," commented the hostess, Nan.  She thanks all who attended and donated charitable items, those who participated in the ugly sweater contest, all her elves, and those who helped box up the food and toys and load the cars.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CACHEMAS TO ALL!

Cache Odyssey Coming Soon to a State Near You

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Written by John Layman

Published: December 11 2024

Last Updated: December 11 2024

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Gas up your Cheverolet to see the USA! Coming soon to a US state near you, per Geocache Talk Network:

Cache Odyssey is an exciting project aimed at creating the nation’s first fully accessible set of GeoTours, where every geocache is thoughtfully designed to be handicap-accessible.

There will be one Cache Odyssey cache in each US state, similar to Cache Across America.  Each cache will be a Letterbox Hybrid with a unique stamp (collect all 50), will be a T1, and will be size Regular or larger. They say that "all are going to be amazing". For the statistically addicted there will be a leader board so you can follow the obsessed on their hunt or check your standings. Leaderboard Link

Each cache is also included in one of 6 GeoTours divided up by regions, so you can collect 6 new GeoTour souvenirs. There is a rumor that there will be a 7th souvenir for those who collect all 6 regional souvenirs.

All of the caches will publish on December 29th at 7pm CST, so start your engines

A Recipe for SLAGA Success

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Written by Terri Nealon

Published: December 10 2024

Last Updated: December 10 2024

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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..