| Introduction: |
| With the rapidly growing popularity of geocaching, and the ever tightening restrictions being placed on our public lands nationwide, we recognize that the establishment of a cooperative relationship with our local and state park managers will be beneficial to the long term survival of our hobby. In order to facilitate such an endeavor, we feel that it is necessary to establish a means of communication and discussion, both among fellow geocachers, as well as with land management officials. |
| What we are: |
| GSMGC is a group of fun-loving, outdoor-minded people from all age groups and backgrounds who like to geocache and want to help others do the same. We want to share our interest in using modern technology (GPS and the Internet) to encourage and foster an appreciation of the outdoors, and to promote good stewardship of the land and environment that we all enjoy. GSMGC is run completely by volunteers who freely donate their time and talent. We welcome feedback and involvement by anyone geocaching in the Volunteer State - Tennessee. |
| What we are not: |
| GSMGC is not an official governing body of geocaching. We are not rule makers or enforcers. We are not the geocaching gurus of East Tennessee or the Smoky Mountain region. |
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| Purpose and Goals: |
| The primary purpose of GSMGC is to act as a forum for discussion and communication about geocaching in East Tennessee. GSMGC also exists to work with private, city and state land managers to provide education about the sport of geocaching. As a part of geocaching, we also coordinate CITO (Cache-In Trash-Out) events to pick up litter in area parks or along roads. |
| Strategy: |
In our efforts to advance the activity of geocaching we try to focus on education of both new geocachers and land managers. We feel that through helping others who are interested in geocaching to learn more about the activity, safety, experience, etc. that we will foster more fun and enjoyment for the activity in general. Also, by making an effort as a group to gain acceptance of geocaching in all areas we will make the activity more fun and accessible for everyone.
As a forum for communication and interaction, we welcome your input and involvement. If you have questions you'd like answered, or ideas or information you'd like to share, please feel free to contact us.
In order to maintain the confidence of land management authorities, and to alleviate any myths or concerns about our activity, it is important to understand and agree upon a few basic concepts and guidelines for geocaching in Tennessee. The following links provide recommendations for hiding and seeking caches.
Geocaching is an activity that has an appeal for a diverse group of participants… individuals and families, young and old, athletic and physically challenged, technological buffs and nature lovers…people from all walks of life. The activity can be done almost anywhere in the world, and requires a relatively small initial investment. The goal of GSMGC is to ensure that we will all be able to continue to enjoy this activity in our state for many years to come. |
| Finances: |
| It is not the goal of the club to make money for any purpose; however, as with any club, certain expenses will be incurred and we seek to share these costs across all our members as fairly and easily as possible. Our online store is operated at cost so there are never any profits. Money used to pay for educational materials and for reserving meeting rooms and pavilions is provided by members as the needs arise. To help offset costs related to our domain name, web site hosting, and programming, advertisements are placed on most pages and within the forums. These ads are auto generated based on the content of the pages. Hopefuly these ads are offering our site visitors services and products they are looking for. All money from these ads goes to GSMGC member TheStosh. This same member incures all costs of registering the domain name gsmgc.org and paying for a website hosting service for the site on the Internet. No other expectations are expressed or implied. As founder of the Great Smoky Mountains Geocaching Club, TheStosh retains ownership of the domain gsmgc.org. |
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