Meeting notes: September 22, 2001
We had another great turnout on Saturday, with a strong showing of geocachers from previous meetings plus 17 people who have not attended before. These notes will be sent to the new attendees shortly, along with some key information links.
STEERING COMMITTEE PROPOSAL
The proposal to establish a Steering Committee for GGA had been forwarded to the membership approximately one week ago for review and comment. In addition, it was reviewed briefly for the benefit of the new attendees.
The proposal was passed unanimously. The six Steering Committee members are:
LoCache - George Beecher
tjbowers - T. Jess Bowers
mtn-man - Greg Lampton
BigDog - Lewis Moseley
erik88l-r - Erik van Dyck
gpsfun - Brad Webb
We appreciate your support, and will endeavor to keep GGA on track to promote responsible geocaching in Georgia. Please let us know your comments, concerns, suggestions for future meeting agenda topics, etc.
COBB COUNTY PARKS, RECREATION, AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS
Velvet Burdett was introduced to the meeting attendees and thanked for her organization's hospitality and the use of their shelter for our meeting. Velvet presented an overview of her organization and the 105-acre park they maintain, and provided information about the Silver Comet Trail that runs nearby.
Geocaching is permitted in the park, and park personnel would like to be consulted during cache placement so they may offer consulting and be aware of the presence of the cache. Also, they would like to know where to put it back if a non-geocacher brings it to them saying "Look what we found!"
Velvet also asked that we consider making a couple of presentations for them on the topic of geocaching.
Contacts at Cobb County Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs include:
Rusty Simpson, Outdoor Coordinator 770-528-8840
Velvet Burdett, Outdoor Specialist 770-528-8818
Geocachers Sharon and Kent Raymond, plus Andrew and Julie Knies get a big thank you for coordinating this meeting with Cobb County Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs. THANK YOU!
GEORGIA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY
The presentation by Stephanie Palmer of the Georgia Herpetological Society was arguably the hit of the meeting. For each of the snakes shown, Stephanie provided insight into their habitat, feeding behavior and reproduction. Two venomous snakes, the Timber Rattlesnake and the Northern Copperhead, were shown in their cages. Stephanie then handled several non-venomous snakes so we could see their markings and other characteristics. The non-venomous snakes included the Black Racer, Corn Snake, Pine Snake, Eastern Milksnake, Black Ratsnake, Eastern Hognose, Eastern Kingsnake, and the Scarlet Kingsnake. (Ed. Note - this is not the order in which they were presented; I was too preoccupied to take notes.)
For the most part, snakes perform a valuable role in controlling the population of rodents and other pests. Encounters in the wild are rare, but when we see a snake, we need not fear one of them chasing us - we're way too big for them to eat. Wait for them to move out of your way, or go around them.
Stephanie did an outstanding job presenting the specimens she brought and in answering individual questions. We thank her, as well as geocacher Erik van Dyck, who extended the invitation and coordinated her appearance. THANK YOU!
CAFEPRESS LOGO ITEM SHOW AND TELL
Greg Lampton showed a mug with the GGA logo on one side and the four-box Geocaching.com logo on the other, a GGA T-shirt, and pages of other items which may be purchased for personal use. A portion of the sale price of each item, two dollars, will go to the GGA to defray the cost of web site registration, EZ Board fees to limit advertising, rental fees for meeting facilities, etc. The CafePress items can be seen at:
www.cafepress.com/_GGA
Thank you, Mountain Man, for your work to make these items available to the members.
FIRST AID TRAINING
David Peluso (justdrivin) and Janet Peluso (navigirl) work in the medical profession and shared their knowledge with us at the meeting. They provided good advice on things to do in the event of snakebites, insect bites, and dealing appropriately with ticks. They also demonstrated the use of some first aid items which can be carried for general use, and a subset of items which can be carried when geocaching. Of particular note was a recommendation against an item which can do more harm than good - the old fashioned snakebite kit with the scalpel that could be used to cut into a snakebite wound before sucking out the poison. That procedure is no longer considered appropriate, and can introduce infection which may compound the problems associated with the bite wound.
A handout was provided of first aid items; if you didn't get one, see the Kent-Moore Company's catalog. (Ed. Note - I tried a quick web search and could not come up with the catalog there - sorry.)
Thanks, David and Janet!
TOPOGRAPHIC MAP READING AND USE
This was one of those times when we had more really good agenda items than could be fitted into a two-hour meeting. As a result, Greg Lampton's presentation on topographic map reading and utilization was pushed into next month's agenda.
However, since Greg already had materials prepared which were relevant to the meeting area, he brought them along and informally presented a lot of good information both before and after the formal meeting period. We're sure those who were able to talk with Greg found the information interesting and will be back next month for the real thing. We thank Greg for his preparation work, the information he was able to pass along on Saturday, and for his willingness to hold the major portion of his presentation for the October meeting.
Speaking of maps, Lewis Moseley prepared and brought a map showing the location of geocaches in the greater Atlanta area. It's hard to believe there are 60 caches for new geocachers to choose from, and more are being placed all the time.
The meeting was adjourned slightly after 5:00 p.m. Thanks to everyone for their attendance, contributions, and attention.
