2012 TriTrog Grotto Awards Revealed

Much like Hollywood's Oscars, February is the time to officially announce the awards for the previous year, at least for those who missed the Bodacious Red Carpet (worn as a Santa hat) affair known as the Annual Triangle Troglodytes Holiday Party.  

       At last night's meeting we finally got to give the final 2 awards in person to the esteemed victim, I mean honoree.     

     And so with further ado, and for anyone who missed them or wants to relive them, the 2012 TriTrog Grotto Awards ! !   :  

 

 

1)  Carlin, Jacob, Ava, and Ken were standing outside a gas station at midnight, almost to the Fall VAR.  The convenience store lights went out, but we were still a member short.  The front door was locked so we weren’t sure about our driver who was still in the bathroom.  A minute or two later the remaining TriTrog emerged, found an attendant, and escaped the building.  Because she remembered to carry her headlamp into the bathroom, we award Diana Gietl- for being prepared for any bathroom situation, the

 

 

 

 Most Well Equipped Caver Award

The Triangle Troglodytes, 

 A Distinguished and Official Grotto of the

National Speleological Society 

Do Hereby Present 

This Honorable and Facetious  

Actual Award to

Diana Gietl

 

For carrying a backup light into even the darkest of Convenience Store Bathrooms, above and beyond the call of Duty.   Or whatever she was doing in there. 

 

Presented this day, December 1, 2012, just before the Mayan World Ended.

Signed     ___________L. Gaga______________         

 

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 2) The next award goes to a sharp pair of individuals whose exploits go to Infiniti and beyond. 2 Guys who really held it together, with duct tape and super glue, and kept our first aid supplies from going stale, we honor Martin Groenewegen for slicing his finger while preparing dinner and Rob Harris for smashing his digit in his own car door.  To the pair, we give the [hold up right fists] Two Thumbs Off award.  Close the doors gently!  For skewering their hands we award

  

  Two Thumbs Off Award

 

The Triangle Troglodytes,

A Distinguished and Official Grotto of the 

National Speleological Society

Do Hereby Present

This Honorable and Facetious 

Actual Award to 

Martin Groenewegen and Rob Harris 

 

for attacking their own hands with ordinary everyday objects in the heretofore safe zones known as “camp.”  

Presented this day, December 1, 2012, just before the Mayan World Ended. 

Signed     ___________L. Jack Horner________________  

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 3)  Our local Brewme-aster, I mean webmaster, was implicated in our punniest award.  He smuggled beer bottles out of Germany and brought them expertly re-filled to western Virginia for us to imbibe.  To Mike Broome we raise our glasses in tribute to his Pint of No Return.  We hope that the next draught on tap is the map of Copenhaver’s. 

 

Pint of No Return Award 

Mike “Brew-man” Broome

 

 for expertly and bravely recycling beer bottles smuggled from East Germany and with improved contents to share among TriTrogs. 

 

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4) This next person is never Aiken to get out of the caves.  He’ll just drum and sing with a sub-lime voice while he’s waiting for Ken to sketch or Carlin to take photos.  Therefore, we honor Jacob Jackson with the American Cave Idol award.

 

American Cave Idol Award

 

Jacob Jackson 

for his sub-lime (stone) crooning.  He knows how to idle away the slow times.

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5)  Our Youth Group Leader award goes to an individual who would teach young people many phrases they’ve never heard before while traveling underground.  The award goes to Martin Groenewegen for his colorful language in tight spots.

 

Youth Group Leadership Award

 

Martin Groenewegen 

for his colorful, multi hued, spectrally enhanced language in the face of scary youth.   “Damn, we’re in a tight spot.”

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6)  Is a cave conservation trip about the laborers hauling buckets of gravel a half mile into the cave?  Apparently not.  At Grand Caverns, the reporters and photographers flock to Bithika Khargharia.  So for Bithika, we award the  

 

 Seeking the Lime(stone) Light Award

 

Bithika Khargharia 

for seeking the Lime(stone) Light and wowing the reporters at Grand Caverns Cave Conservation Weekend.   It was a rocking good time and buckets of fun.  

 

Presented this day, December 1, 2012, just before the Mayan World Ended.

Signed     ____SkeetsMiller       

                     

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7)  You may have thought that our little oompah loompah deserves a tribute to salamander obsession.  However, Ava Pope (in trailer park fashion) was responsible for organizing a unique event this past year.  We’d like to thank her for creating an opportunity for the TriTrogs to meet the world famous Roger Brucker...’s poodles...and his wife.  For this, we’re awarding Ava with the Dog and Pony Show award.

 

Dog and Pony Show

 

 Ava Pope

 

for arranging for the TriTrogs to meet Roger Brucker’s poodles.  And tour their fabulous home on wheels, packed with enough spare room to make Cold Sink crawls seem Spacious.  Where will the dogs ride?

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8)  Only one TriTrog took enough risks at Convention to earn the next award.  In fact, his entire tent blew away and is still missing so we’re honoring Rob Harris with the High Stakes Award. 

 

High Stakes Award 

Rob Harris

 

for his tent which was (and still is for all we know) Flying High at the 2012 NSS Convention.  There’s no place like home (left) for your ruby red cave boots. 

 

Presented this day, December 1, 2012, just before the Mayan World Ended.

Signed     ___________Guy Weyer______Dorothy Gale__________   

 

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9) Our next award is for the Animal Lover.  You may think we picked him for such a great presentation on cave biology, but that’s not it.  You may think it’s because he talked the TriTrogs into working at BugFest, but that’s not it.  You may think it’s because he’ll sit for an hour observing cave flies, but that’s not it.  We’re giving Pete Hertl the Animal Lover award because he invites TriTrogs over to his place every night at dusk to feed his pets...the mosquitoes. 

 

Animal Lover Award

 

Peter Hertl

 

for bringing TriTrogs home to feed his pet mosquitoes.  All 18,379,932,437,741 of them. 

 

Presented this day, December 1, 2012, just before the Mayan World Ended.

Signed     _____K. T_.Didd________________

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10)  After a caving trip, other party members look at me and say "I've got to clean my face." I know what that means. Another grotto member seems to elicit the same comments. The face is marked by a stripe across the forehead creating a sort of unibrow. Hence the moniker Oompah Loompah has been shared with her to denote the menacing look she takes on. From the TriTrogs, we'd like to award German-speaking Ava 'the Cava' Pope with

 

The Burrowed Frau Award 

Ava 'the Cava' Pope

for her muddy unibrow.  Gotta hand it to her- a baby wipe that is.

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11) We do joke about the single-minded determination of one grotto member and the fact that he drags other people into his obsession. Drag is the appropriate word, but I think that everyone here recognizes that it’s an accomplishment to lead up a major cave survey effort.  In a cave where most of the survey stations are less than two feet from the floor, we really are impressed that Carlin Kartchner has convinced so many people to survey more than 4300 feet of passage in Cold Sink Cave in less than a year.  For his accomplishment, we offer the : 

 

Motivational Speaker Award

 

Carlin Kartchner

 

for leading the 2011-2012 major cave survey into Cold Sink Cave.  It’s a dirty job, but everybody's got to do it.   How about this weekend? 

 

Presented this day, December 1, 2012, just before the Mayan World Ended.

Signed     ________Sir Faye Statience

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12) And Finally, a true honor, which sets the joking aside.  

        One morning at Fall VAR Tanya McLaughlin wandered bleary-eyed up to the TriTrog camp, complaining of someone yelling drunkenly outside her tent all night long.  Four weeks later Carlin rounded up Cold Sink victims, and the shouter joined the surveyors.  Tanya recognized the voice but still graciously offered up her home as a place to sleep on a cold night.  They got along well when all were sober.  This is just one recent example of the generosity that Tanya has shown in the caving community.

       Tanya joined the TriTrogs back in 1990. She was the first person to say “I’ll run for office if you pay my dues” and get a free membership paid for by Nadi Findikli.  For years she served as a TriTrog officer. 

     When she was nearing retirement, the VSS was looking for a county director for Smyth County in Virginia.  The files contained just a few cave maps back then, but Tanya has added more than two dozen maps to the files.  When Tanya moved to Marion in 2002, she actively began seeking out new landowners and became known as the "Cave Lady of Smyth County."  She has also played a key role in planning many of our conservation trips.  The TriTrogs have never been short of new cave to explore since Tanya started her role as the county director for the VSS, and she has always offered us a place to stay.

      For these and so many other things, the TriTrog officers bestowed upon Tanya McLaughlin a very unique and completely serious award.  Tanya was granted Lifetime membership for her lifetime achievement in making the TriTrogs a successful grotto.

 

Lifetime Achievement Award 

 

The Triangle Troglodytes,

A Distinguished and Official Grotto of the  

National Speleological Society 

Do Hereby Award 

 

Tanya McLaughlin

 

For  Initiative, Hospitality, Generosity, Inquisitiveness, Leadership and Immeasurable Contributions to the Grotto and to Caving in Smyth County, Virginia .

 

This award by unanimous approval of the officers here signed, confers Lifetime Membership in the Grotto, paid in full in good standing.   

 

Presented this day, December 1, 2012

Signed     _____Carlin Kartchner (Chair), Ken Walsh (Vice Chair), Mark Little (Treasurer), Mike Broome (Webmaster), Mark Daughtridge (Secretary)