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walker clan
19th November 2012, 12:29 PM
Ok I have read all the questions as best I can over the last few days and frankly It put me off the whole thing ...
Let me say to start with anything written here is my personal oppinion and not ment to be an attack on anyone particular or anything but if you think the cap fits then by all means wear it , I spent the last 12 months biting my lip listening to people have a pop at this years annual mega event because of there own agenda with other events and a like, in fact my first official task for this years mega was to work with the reviewers to lock the event page so we could stop its Needs Achieve logs from a certain individual....
Now where shall I start ...
As for the disabled caching question I hold my hands up and say I am not good at this and should do better and I'm sure Pete ( microdot ) can give me some pointers with this , more advertisement and endorsement of it with maybe something like a reviewer did a while back with an incentive scheme..I appreciate in this modern world we should be doing more and with the success of the Paralympics this year would be a good start.

As for how the GAGB is seen around the country ,I'm not sure how it was so eloquently asked but I for one did see it as a somewhat southern based operation and remember the elation and euphoria when Terry ( Country Matters ) was elected to the committee from the North west ... and I would like to applaud him on his fine work with the seeker magazine and hope he can keep this up if re-elected, now to take this broader Liverpool and Manchester fans will never like each other but what they do have in common is they love the game...so when someone was shot down in flames as to the mention of people being elected on regional location ...why not have regional representatives for the GAGB and I hope at least one of the Scottish candidates makes it onto the committee to maybe address what seems to be a long standing rift...to drag this back to my point, people do have differing opinions and issues with reviewers, Garmin and Groundspeak to name a few but let's not HATE the Game...

As to the question of what I can bring to the committee well frankly I don't know,
I play the game and I enjoy it , I have made friends from all over the world who I keep in contact with via social networking and forums , I attend as many events as I can around the country to catch up with friends and meet new ones ..I think caching in this country has had an absolute fabulous year in terms of the social aspect of caching with 4 Mega events of which I managed to attend 3 all completely different in there own right..
I appreciate that like it has been said some people are not as social ,but that does not mean that they cannot gain anything from the GAGB if they realized it existed as its amazing how many people don't...but with some less obvious promotion at smaller events rather than the Mega events, I'm sure the members would grow and this would lead to a new breed of member who is not so old school and maybe just caches with a phone....heaven forbide it ...
Leading to a whole new world ..please don't think I'm having a go at the well established cachers here but let's face it you don't have to drive 20 miles to your nearest cache and not every other one is an ammo can, I'm afraid like everything things have changed and nothing the current prospective committee do will change this that is down to you and your choice of where and how you play the game.

Now I'm one of 14 people prepared to give up some of my time for free to help with something that might just make the game we all play a little bit better for all ...it might not but we are prepared to give it a try.

I don't posses to be the most articulate and my grammar and spelling is not the best but I think you can see where I'm coming from ,
While I continue to ponder my decision I shall continue to play the game because I love it...
And wait to be burnt at the stake...

Team Microdot
19th November 2012, 01:17 PM
Good to see you posting here Andy :cool:

Your love of the game could be just the tonic that's needed here so let's hope that the positives can outweigh the negatives and you can bring some of your drive and enthusiasm to the GAGB eh? :)

The magna defender
19th November 2012, 01:21 PM
The gagb needs someone like you. Not obsesed with rules and ruining fun for others and not obsessed about climbing Ben Nevis in your underwear for one cache.

Jacaru
19th November 2012, 10:47 PM
Well said Andy, and that's the reason why I nominated you, I know how much you love the game and how much it means to you that everyone should get the same amount of pleasure out of it without it turning in to a political bun fight all the time.

bobo frett
21st November 2012, 09:20 AM
Well said Andy.

I'm guessing that not everyone nominated has a big gob on them but they can create change in other ways and that is important.

The more diverse the committee the better.

countrymatters
21st November 2012, 09:46 AM
Well said, Andy:applause:, but I'm now worrying that our last conversation, in the toilets of a local pub, counts as discussing things behind closed doors.:confused:

Jacaru
21st November 2012, 09:53 AM
Thank god the doors were shut:o

Team Microdot
21st November 2012, 09:57 AM
Thank god the doors were shut:o

:applause:

walker clan
21st November 2012, 10:28 AM
While there is a call for openness within the committee I will be open and honest right now ...
Last night after catching up on the days posts at about 3am I drafted my email to the chair to retract my nomination ...
I refuse to have my enthusiasm for this game brought into question and will not be drawn into a mud slinging match to gain votes.
I have said all along I'm not sure what I can bring to the committee but it sure as dam isn't an attitude like that.
After getting home from work this morning I have caught up again and see that maybe im not the only person who feels this way .....
I shall leave my email as draft and for the present time stick with it as I have faith in what maybe a turning point in this process.
Please don't think this is a threat or a ploy for votes I'm giving my honest opinion and being open.

And will leave it with this Read Me! (http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0091906814) might help ...

countrymatters
21st November 2012, 10:36 AM
Hang on in there, Andy...YANA!

I may be naive, but I'm confident that the wider geocaching community, many of whom we count among our friends, can see who is for real.:cheers:

northking
21st November 2012, 10:37 AM
(This was going to be a PM, but I am embracing the 'openness')

I'm in complete agreement Andy. I was shocked and disappointed, then infuriated.

I got my head down and answered the best way that I could. This is the type of negativity that needs to stop. I didn't think that this was about minor politics, it's about trying to help like-minded people get the most out of the game/obsession/hobby.

I know that there are others who are thinking the same way as you (us), let's hope that common sense prevails and the GAGB gets a unified committee of people who want to raise it's profile and keep it moving forward.

Jacaru
21st November 2012, 11:09 AM
I nominated three people for the committee. Lilian, because I have seen first hand the hard work that she has put in to supporting the committee during her first year in office.

The other two people that I nominated were Jeff (Northking) and Andy (Walker clan)

Why?

Because I know them both personally and see their committment to not only the game in their local areas, but in promoting the game in a positive light, locally and nationally.

I have also been impressed, in the past, by the way that both Andy and Jeff have managed to stay out of nasty side of the game which is, as with all groups, stirred up by a minority. There are times when both guys could easily have become embroiled but have been able to see the complete picture and see both sides of the coin.

I personally feel ashamed that I have nominated these two and thus opened them up to abuse that neither deserve.

northking
21st November 2012, 11:23 AM
Don't worry Daryl, let's not dwell on that, (or use emotive language). Let's move onwards and upwards

bobo frett
21st November 2012, 11:24 AM
Well, I am feeling a whole load better about this. Have just spent the morning debating whether to throw the towel in myself after reading all these posts.

I will not be a member of an association which bitches and snipes.

How is that ever going to be productive?

No wonder the GAGB has a bad rep when people see some of the threads contained in this forum.

lebowsk1
21st November 2012, 02:17 PM
I feel that this thread is now no longer beneficial to the image of the GAGB and is probably doing more harm than good.
<SNIP>
We have lost one candidate and I would hate to see any others drop out and leave it as an automatic 8 in with no election process.

Looks like somebody else has had the same worries.
At least it is narrowing down my field of view for when voting starts.