My name is Brenda Hopkins, my caching name is “brendah”. I have been a geocaching.com member since February 2008 and most often can be found searching for treasures with my husband, Andrew, in my Jeep. I love to spend the day with Andrew and my caching friends, whether it is one or two of them or a whole big group! The socializing that comes along with the thrill of the hunt and find is, in my opinion, an enjoyable way to spend the day! I have made some great friends while doing this! Over the past year Andrew and I have found caches doing things that I never thought I would do. This would include using a rope to slide down the Niagara Escarpment, travelling 14km by canoe, crawling through caves in the dark, or four-wheeling into lands not seen by many all to find caches. After these experiences, I have come realize, that for me, it is not only about the numbers! Along with caching, I am an amateur photographer, birdwatcher and love to camp, hike, canoe and play in my Jeep. It is great how geocaching can be done along with all of my other interests!
I am the kind of person that jumps in with both feet when I get involved in something. A lot of my volunteer experience was gained while my daughters were enrolled in elementary and secondary school. I volunteered many of my free time on their school’s school council, the majority of the years as chairperson. During that time, I also became the first District School Council chairperson for the school board, a position I held for 6 years. This led to my participation on many committees for the Ministry of Education and other provincial education organizations.
A year after I started geocaching I thought it would be wonderful to have a more regional organization in the area where I live. There were many very successful similar organizations in Ontario so with the help of some caching friends we launched the South Western Ontario Geocachers (SWOG) on November 1, 2009. I will continue to share my time with SWOG along with the OGA.
This is not my first time on the OGA Executive. Prior to becoming President, I was an Executive Officer (South Western) but I resigned from the position in spring 2010 for reasons that did not allow me the free time to provide to the OGA. This has passed and I am able to commit to continuing the great work of the OGA with the new executive, and to add in some new ideas.
I believe that it is not only those that lead an organization that make the organization; it is also the members. Without the members there would be nothing to work for! So I hope to involve you, if you are interested, more in the OGA. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and opinions. If you have something to say, negative or positive, I want to hear it. I would like to know more about you! If you have something that you would like to help with please let me know! If you have an idea that you would like to contribute, I want you to share it with me. If you have a skill that you would like to use to help the OGA, please feel free to volunteer it! I am looking forward to getting to know all of you! And looking forward to hearing from you. I am excited about what the next two years will bring for the OGA!