Posts Tagged ‘event’

March 6, 2015

Munzee Player of the Week: Michael Bailey (TNT)

As Munzee has grown over the years, the game has evolved in so many more ways than any of the co-founders could have imagined. We’ve certainly had our fair share of growing pains, but in its essence Munzee has tried to stick to its core goal of getting people out into the world. No one knows this better than those players who have been with us since the beginning. This week’s Player of the Week is Michael Bailey (TNT) and he’s been playing long enough to get an early bird’s badge and then some. Although he may want to see some changes to the game (while maintaining its roots) he’s stuck around this long and doesn’t see an end in sight. At least not while there’s Clan Wars to be won! Read on to learn more about TNT!

Who are you?
My name is Michael Bailey. In the munzee world, I’m known as TNT.

Where in the world do you live?
I currently live in NW Arkansas – specifically, Bentonville — The home of Walmart.

How long have you played Munzee?
Practically from the beginning — July of 2011. At that time, there were less than 10 munzees in the entire state of Arkansas. When I joined, the founders were still at their full time jobs. I remember the first few versions of the Android app as developed by chrispix.

How did you find Munzee?
I read about it in a forum for that other game. It sounded interesting, so I signed up.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
In the beginning, it was the chance to get outdoors and “find” things without having to fight the ticks, along with the competition among players. The competition has diminished with the introduction of so many special types of munzees, but now I really enjoy the clan wars. My competition is with the requirements to make sure I can score enough points and do enough to achieve the level I’ve committed to.

What is on your wish list?
1) I would like to see the game go back more towards its roots (getting out and physically capping), which it has done the past few months with the emphasis on greenie requirements.

2) I’d like to see some of the features that were in the last beta version of the app put into the release version of the app.

3) I’d like to see some of the things that have been started brought to a completion. Things such as rovers with badges for mileage traveled etc., (also, the process could be streamlined) and finishing the fitbit integration with badges.

4) A reworking of the levels. In the beginning, achieving 10000 points was a major milestone and I don’t think it was ever anticipated that more that a few would ever achieve 100,000, so the levels were based on that assumption. Now, several people have gotten 100,000 in a single day and 25,000 is not very difficult at all. So, time to rework the levels.

Tell us about yourself!
Born and raised in the great state of Maine, I enlisted in the military at least partly to get away from the harsh winters (such as the one they’re currently experiencing). In 2003, I retired from the Air Force after 22 years. After living in San Antonio a few years, my wife (NanaB) and I moved here to NW Arkansas. We’re a few hours travel from our wonderful grandchildren in NW Louisiana and also only a days travel to either MHQ or Franklin TN.

Other hobbies include:
Who has time for other hobbies with Munzee? Seriously though, over the years, I’ve had many of them. I have a private pilots license, I’ve scuba dived, I’ve flown RC airplanes. I’ve been a license amateur radio operator for over 30 years. I woodwork and have a degree in computer science.

TNT included his Social so cap away!

February 19, 2015

Munzee Player of the Week: Mary Ellen Labrecque

This month Munzee has been supporting American Heart Month, from raising money via Candy Heart Virtuals to hosting a heart awareness week with Eventzee. Heart disease is the number one killer of both women and men in the US, so it has been important for us at Team MHQ to help promote healthy living. This week’s Player of the Week is Mary Ellen Labrecque who is currently battling heart disease. That hasn’t stopped her from Munzeeing though, as she uses it to keep active during her down time. Mary Ellen’s story inspired hope within us and we hope it does the same for our players.

Mary Ellen is currently in the hospital so her friend and fellow Munzee player Tracy Bergmann (MARTES) has helped transcribe Mary Ellen’s responses.

This is my dear friend and fellow Munzeer, Mary Ellen Labrecque. She just came home from the hospital, this week, after having a heart transplant in September 2014. She hasn’t been home in over 5 months! Mary Ellen has a blood clotting disorder which clotted off her heart (heart attack) in March 2013. She was in a coma for weeks, until they implanted 2 heart pumps internally in her chest, called a Bi-VAD. This pump came out of her abdomen with 4 hoses which attached to a 40 pound pump on a wheeled cart. This kept her heart pumping and kept her alive for 18 months while she awaited a heart transplant. During that waiting time, she was advised to decrease her weight/BMI index, so I introduced her to Munzee, as a way to make our walks fun. I started deploying in areas where we could walk with her “heart on a cart”. This is how she got hooked on Munzee. As complication would arise and I would drive her the 3 hours to the hospital, she would be sitting in the passenger seat checking her phone and capping any virtuals on our route. Our mid way stretch break at the rest areas, truck stops and Dunkin Donuts had to have Munzees or I would deploy one for her. I even noticed she capped 2 virtuals we placed for her on her way home 3 days ago. She hadn’t been home in 5 months, but detoured for her “heart donor” Munzees! She is just amazing and has survived amazing odds, obstacles and complications to survive this transplant and live for her 4 adopted special needs children. She gets the biggest smile when she hears that “ding”. MHQ, I thank you for contributing donations to The American Heart Association. Also, please consider being an organ donor so that people like my very dear friend, Mary Ellen, can survive and wait times for organ transplants can decrease.

My wish is that someday there will be an artificial heart pump which is able to replace a damaged heart. This artificial pump would be mechanical and therefore not carry all the risks of rejection. You see, once a person has a heart transplant, life doesn’t just return to normal. There is the constant daily battle with rejection of the heart because it is “foreign” and the body tries to attack it. This requires large doses of steroids to be used to fight this rejection. These steroids cause our immune systems to be suppressed, thereby making infection a huge threat. A heart transplant is an absolute second chance gift of life, but does have complications and side effects for life. I hope with more research, there will be major advancements made in transplants, heart pumps and aftercare.

Who are you?

Mary Ellen Labrecque

Where in the world do you live?

I live in Lewiston, Maine. My heart hospital is in Brigham & Womens in Boston, Mass.

What do you like about Munzee and how did this help you during your whole experience with heart disease?

I really like that Munzee got me out of the house and kept me from having to sit in front of the TV all the time. It allowed me to exercise and lose weight. I am not in it for the points or badges, I just like to look for them to hear that “ding”. I just love that! I tell everyone I ride with about Munzee because I can only cap virtuals right now. I can tell you that I am constantly looking at the map while I am riding, looking for virtuals. Oh, and you can’t cap them in the Life Flight helicopter. I have even tried from the ambulance! My goal is to be strong enough to be independent by this spring, so I can drive myself to find and cap all the Munzees around here. There are so many now and it will be good exercise for me.

How do you feel about Munzee donating a portion of money from the sale of virtual hearts to the AHA?

That is so wonderful and just so amazing. What a wonderful donation that would be. Thank you Munzee. I feel so blessed as an individual that people would think so much of others. They have no idea how much encouragement and empowerment that provides for men, women, children and healthcare professionals’ education. There is so much education that goes into the level of care I received. A whole team has to be trained on the heart pumps and then a whole nursing unit of staff and then the care givers who have to be your back-up for the pump when you go home. For me, I had to travel three hours away to a hospital which was trained on my pumps. Even the ambulances aren’t trained. My trained staff at home had to provide emergency care during times of complications and teach the local staff. When I was in the local hospitals, my own 3 trained family and friend RN’s had to staff me until I could be transported to the hospital 3 hours away. So much more education is needed.

If you know a player that should be nominated for Munzee Player of the Week, shoot us a message at iLoveYou@Munzee.com and let us know just why this person is outstanding in the global Munzee community!

-Please note, this is a super active campaign. We may not be able to get back to everyone, but you’re helping to grow the list of amazing people in the Munzee community!

February 16, 2015

Munzee Videocast Episode 13: All You Need Is Love

Our 13th videocast has been converted to audio, so click the link and listen on!

http://munzeepush.munzee.netdna-cdn.com/Munzee%20Videocast%2013.mp3

You can also re-watch the videocast HERE.

This week we talked about:

Eventzee Heart Week
New Munzee badges
Munzee Valentines

Remember to join us Fridays at 3 pm (MHQ Time) for the live videocast where you can interact with us, ask questions and see us stumble over our words! To learn more follow us on Google + and if you missed last week’s videocast click HERE.

We’ve also created a NEW WEBPAGE strictly for the Videocast. Here you can watch the past and present podcasts anytime and it also allows downloads to iTunes! If you’d like to subscribe to the Munzee Podcast on iTunes go to File > Subscribe to Podcast > enter http://www.munzeepodcast.com/feed/podcast/. If you want to interact live with the Videocasts and ask questions, you will still need to join us on our Google+ page,

February 11, 2015

From Corporations to Crops: A Story of #HeartHealth

Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States, so as we celebrate American Heart Month it’s important to listen to the stories of those around us. The following story is from Kevin Becker, owner of Shutt’er Down Ranch- a partner of the Munzee Marketplace. Although Kevin may work in the fields all day raising chickens, building greenhouses and maintaining the ranch, it wasn’t always this way.

“I spent my entire adult life in the middle of corporate America. Each week was two or three new cities with no sleep, no exercise and a room service diet,” Kevin said. “All this changed on one of those trips in 2010 when my 49-year-old heart decided that enough was enough.”

Two days later Kevin’s three children watched as their father headed into open heart surgery. The surgeon explain that there was a 25 percent chance that Kevin wouldn’t survive.

“I decided right then and there that I was going to take control of my health,” Kevin said.

He kept that promise and a year later Kevin, Seth Thomas, and Cory Sparks started Shutt’er Down Ranch in Farmersville, TX. It’s been five years since that wake up call and Kevin is 50 pounds lighter and his heart is as healthy as ever. Kevin attributes his success to changing the way he eats. He altered his diet to all natural or organic foods whenever possible, and now runs a business producing the very same food he eats.

“I had no idea that it would be so difficult to find all natural foods, not to mention the outrageous costs,” Kevin said. “I’m so excited to be a part of Shutt’er Down Ranch and helping change the way people eat organically.”

The Munzee Marketplace is proud to partner with Shutt’er Down Ranch and bring healthy, cost-effective food to the people of North Texas. The Marketplace already has a hard time keeping SD Ranch’s cage-free, organic chicken eggs in stock and there are plans in place to expand this partnership even further. One of the first steps in living healthy is looking at the food you eat, so take Kevin’s story to heart and take care of yours.

January 12, 2015

Be a part of the Second Official Munzee Virtual Garden!

In connection with Munzee President Rob Vardeman’s trip to Australia, we’re proud to announce the formation of the Second Official Munzee Virtual Garden in Melbourne, Australia. Just like the garden outside of MHQ, we want our players to help us build this monument Down Under. Munzee is offering a limited amount of pins in the store until supplies last.

CLICK HERE

For $10 you can be a part of this virtual garden, which will be in the shape of Australia on the map. No work is necessary on your part to deploy this virtual pin, it will be assigned coordinates and deployed at the time of purchase. You may edit the name and notes if you choose. LIMITED TO ONE PER PLAYER ACCOUNT.

GemVirtEmerald128 When you purchase the Munzee Emerald Virtual Pin you get:

Limited Edition badge, only available to those who have purchased a pin for any official garden.
Points: 20 to owner on deploy. 20 to owner as residual on each cap. 20 to capper.
A limited edition emerald pin permanently deployed automatically by Munzee on your account.

These pins will be very popular, especially since Rob is attending an event very near the location, so we expect them to sell fast and high traffic will slow the store down. Please note that even if the online store says the item is sold out, keep trying. Until the page has been pulled completely there will still be pins left- just practice patience.

Update: All pins have been sold. Stay tuned for another garden in the future.

December 31, 2014

Top 14 of ’14: The Overall, Best of the Best for this year.

As the year comes to a close we can’t help but look back on how big 2014 was! From special icons and big events, to huge announcements, 2014 is going to be a tough act to follow. Here we have the 14 best things about 2014, ranging all things Munzee. In no particular order Team MHQ has decided on what they think made the year so special.

MHQ Gets an Office!

MHQ may have hit the ground running in 2014, but at the end of 2013 they still didn’t even have an office! So when the 3 (at the time) full time members of the team moved into their new office in McKinney, TX they knew it was a start to a big year. Having a home base (that wasn’t Rob’s living room) solidified their full time role with Munzee and paved the way for the company’s growth. Little did they know that growth would come quicker than expected…

New Hires

While the first office in McKinney was a huge step for Munzee, the 350 square foot space filled up quickly. After hiring Intern+ Matt and a month later UI Designer Peter and Master of Media Dylan, it was time to look at expansion. Even in the final months of the year our team began to grow more with development on both technical and business sides. Munzee will only grow from here- especially considering the growth of the company’s business ventures.

The Munzee Marketplace

What started as a convenience store to provide the downtown McKinney workers with an affordable snack option has grown into something much bigger than anyone at MHQ could have imagined. The Munzee Marketplace is now McKinney’s premier option for local, organic, fresh foods. The Marketplace has partnered with various local vendors and has big plans on the horizon that make Munzee proud.

MHQ Bash

All the extra space from the Marketplace was handy for MHQ’s first official event. In connection with Downtown McKinney’s Oktoberfest Celebration, MHQ Bash featured three days of activities that nearly 200 people joined us for. After seeing some of the great events our players have thrown over the year, we knew we had to go big. We learned a lot about how to plan and execute events (a learning experience to say the least) and we know next year’s Bash will be even bigger.

Official Virtual Garden

Speaking of learning experiences, there’s still a lot the players have to teach us. Much like MHQ Bash, players have made their own virtual gardens for a while and needless to say we have been super impressed with what our players have created. So in connection with the emerald family jewel we made our first official virtual garden outside of McKinney and our players helped us fill it in. It took a little maneuvering and some help from our players with our design, but we’re proud of the new garden and excited to release more official gardens around the world.

The Traveling President

President Rob Vardeman may have done a bit of Virtual Garden scouting during his world travels this year as well. CoachV started his presidency with an oath to expand the player connection and he has not wavered on that promise. For as busy as we keep Rob in the office he still made as many trips to as many events as possible this year. From Germany to California to Canada and everywhere in between, the President racked up the frequent flyer miles, sometimes squeezing trips into a 24 hour span- and enjoyed every minute of it.

Copa Do Munzo

It’s hard not to enjoy world travels, especially when you’re in Germany days after they won the World Cup. Rob got to experience just this during his trip to Cologne, Germany. To celebrate the world’s favorite sport, Munzee blasted the world with football special icons and held a competition where players could vote on who they thought would win in the Copa Do Munzo competition. As many guessed, Germany won the cup and Rob was on hand to reward the faithful football fans.

Special Icons

Much like the footballs that bounced across the map, this year featured a lot of special icons. From 8-bit ghostzees to non-exploding London dynamite, the unique and eclectic assortment of specials got players out at odd hours and in new places hunting for munzees. This year’s specials not only took the game to different levels, but also gave us an opportunity to do good for others as well…

Charity Fundraising

The benefit of special icons is that they are constantly interchangeable and can be used in unique ways, like helping raise money for charity in a fun way. Our players came out in full force multiple times this year to use Munzee for good. The Autism Puzzle Hearts brought in $5000 for the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation, The RMH Virtuals garnered $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald House of Spokane, and the ALS Ice cubes raised $54,000 for Project A.L.S.. Needless to say 2014 was a big year in many ways!

3rd Birthday Celebrations

July 2014 also marked Munzee’s official 3rd Birthday Celebration, or #FiestaThree as we called it. We kicked off the month-long celebration by introducing Ruby Munzees, held various events every third day of the month and even had Pinata special icons that players could smash open. The whole month was a huge celebration and our players even sent in special Happy Birthday pictures and videos for Munzee. Players also took advantage of Rovers in order to get the Birthday Barker badge. Speaking of Rovers…

Rovers

During one of his many trips this year, Rob and other members of Team MHQ announced the arrival of Rovers at Munzee Madness 3 in California. Rover is a supplemental piece to the game, and in fact a game within the game of Munzee. Rover is an extremely unique part of Munzee because although it is not a munzee type it encourages players to travel and expand their personal maps. Since its announcement in March, all the active Rovers in the world have traveled a whopping 61 million miles!

Clan Wars

Another huge part of this year was the Munzee Clan Wars. Players battled it out month after month, fighting for that number one spot and the ever-glorious Super Chuck. This aspect of the game has shown MHQ how dedicated our players really are and the lengths they are willing to go in the name of Munzee. As we head into the new year we’re sure our players will take the battles to an even higher level and the Clan count will only grow from there!

Podcast/ Videocast

In case you couldn’t tell from our world-traveling President, Munzee is all about transparency and our player relations are extremely important to us. So what better way to interact with our players on a weekly basis than with a podcast? Our weekly update on all things Munzee has evolved a lot over the year. We’ve recently turned our podcast into an interactive videocast that players can now ask us questions each week, which has furthered the connection we get to make with our players. Be sure to join us Tuesdays at 1 pm (MHQ Time) for the live videocast where you can interact with us, ask questions and see us stumble over our words!

Eventzee

As big as 2014 was, 2015 is going to be even bigger. Perhaps the biggest announcement of the year was the development of our new app Eventzee! The private events-based app will not only expand the Munzee events system, but will help our business grow to new reaches and in turn grow the Munzee map as well. We’re currently beta-testing the app and fixing any final kinks, but Eventzee will be a huge part of the new year.

Thank you to all of our players for a great 2014. We can’t wait to see what happens next!

December 18, 2014

Munzee Player of the Week: Frank Broughton (FrankBroughton)

Much like our map, Munzee the game is always growing. We’ve evolved in our three years and continue to do so every day. That being said, we’ve had growing pains and some times that loses the interest of players, but we pride ourselves on fixing our errors and earning back respect. This week’s Player of the Week wasn’t impressed with Munzee his first go around, but he’s happy he gave the game a second chance. Frank Broughton went from deleting the app to running a unique system of clans in the Western New York area and hasn’t looked back since. It’s this dedication that proves to us that our game means something and we take pride in knowing players will always give us another chance. Read on to learn more about FrankBroughton!

Who are you?
Hmmmm… I do not know, sometimes I ask myself that same question. The answer varies… from simple man, to complex man, to father, to dad, to husband, to grandpa, to friend, to leader, to follower, to loner. My Munzee player name is my real name, “FrankBroughton”.

Where in the world do you live?
I live in Western New York. In small country town, south of the City of Buffalo. Munzee has grown immensely in Western NY. Niagara Falls is 45 minutes away from Team Broughton HQ.

How long have you played Munzee?
I joined the Munzee website on October 1st of 2012.

How did you find Munzee?
I run a forum for other GPS based location games and hobbies. One of my good friends asked this question on a thread he started “Dare I use the “M” word?” GOF Munzee introduced me to Munzee that day. I was skeptical of the game at first, I even deleted the APP shortly after (it crashed too many times on my phone). Some time had passed and another friend of mine talked me into giving the game another attempt. He mentioned how the APP had improved, he encouraged me download it again, I did. He even walked me through a park finding some Munzees. Something clicked, Rayman, thank you for that day. You reintroduced me to Munzee and I have never turned back from that point.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
Easily first, I love the clan aspect of the game. I love running the NY & Friends Munzee Hunter Group of Clans and our Facebook group. We currently have 6 clans, each one has different goals allowing players to jump from clan to clan depending on the effort they feel they can dedicate to the game on a given month. I could write a small book on this aspect of the game. Secondly, I love the freshness of the game. I love how Team Munzee is always coming up with something new. From the various types of clan requirements, to new Munzee types, to specials on the map, the weekly Google hangout, the up and coming Munzee event APP, and more. There is something always fresh and new about the game of Munzee. Third, I love the competition aspect of the game. It pushes me to get to the top of the score boards, to earn more badges, and to have my clan’s streak of superchucking continue on. Yes, I enjoy many aspects of the game of Munzee. Last but hardly least, I enjoy getting out with some of my family playing the game together. Two of my sons, GoldenEagle and EagleClaw, and my wife SunShower, are active in the game. (Shout out to Katzrule712, my faithful clan teammate.)

What is on your wish list?
Glad you asked. I think it would be very neat to see the creation of the Munzee Missile! It would work just like a standard blast, but the different being one picks a virtual Munzee any place in the world as a target. The Munzee missile lands at that location and captures the nearest 100 virtual Munzees within the blast zone. Let’s face it, many players will never have the chance to travel the world to get to the many awesome Virtual Gardens on planet earth. The missile Munzee would be a neat tool. Make it so it would have to be earned, and rare. Perhaps the ability to earn one for say each 1,000 deploys and 1,000 captures of Greenies. Something along that line. It really could work and be a fun part of the game. It covers the virtual world and the ground game. Again, it would have to be earned.

Tell us about yourself!
I have been through some bumps and bruises in my 55 years so far of life. From my dad passing when I was 13, to my first born son passing at age 26. I have to say though, I also have been very blessed. I have a wonderful wife and 7 other kids. I have 5 wonderful grand children. I have had the great privilege of working for my church full time for 23 years now. I am someone who puts his all in most everything I attempt to do. I love this Jack Dempsey quote, “A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can’t.” I know that feeling.

Other hobbies include:
I have a passion for Fireworks. I put on a huge show on America’s Independence Day each year at a summer camp I help run. I use the Cobra Electronic Firing system to create a pyromusical (fireworks synced to music). I am an administrator on a very popular Fireworks forum. I enjoy scenic photography, hiking, and simple things such as watching sunsets with my wife.

FrankBroughton was kind enough to share his social, so cap away!

-Please note, this is a super active campaign. We may not be able to get back to everyone, but you’re helping to grow the list of amazing people in the Munzee community!

December 16, 2014

Munzee Videocast Episode 7: Not-Rob and The Case of The Missing President

Our seventh videocast has been converted to audio, so click the link and listen on!

http://munzeepush.munzee.netdna-cdn.com/Munzee%20Videocast%207.mp3

You can also re-watch the videocast HERE.

This week we talked about:

Rob is MIA. Well, actually, he’s at Disney World growing the Mickey Map. Co-Founder Scott Foster filled in, in his absence.
We’ve hired a new IOS guy. Happy to have ya Nick!
Trail Packs are currently in Beta and more news should come at the start of the year.
The Eventzee social pages have gone live, the app is still coming soon.
Scott looks back on what a big year 2014 was.
2015 Theme voting will start tomorrow.

Remember to join us Tuesdays at 1 pm (MHQ Time) for the live videocast where you can interact with us, ask questions and see us stumble over our words! To learn more follow us on Google + and if you missed last week’s videocast click HERE.

December 9, 2014

Munzee Videocast Episode 6: Near the Year’s end

Our sixth videocast has been converted to audio, so click the link and listen on!

http://munzeepush.munzee.netdna-cdn.com/Munzee Videocast 6.mp3

You can also re-watch the videocast HERE.

This week we talked about:

We announce the winner of the 2014 Munzee Photo Contest! Check out a profile on winner fotoluca HERE.
We need our player’s help coming up with the theme for 2015, so send your theme phrases to us! For more info click HERE.
You may have noticed gifts on the map too, so be sure to cap one before the end of the year! Check out more info HERE.

December 9, 2014

Munzee Gift Specials are on the map NOW!

Uh oh- looks like Santazee lost a few presents on his test flight across the world! As some of our more attentive players have noticed, specials gift icons have started to pop up across the map and it’s up to you to cap them before the winter holidays are over. There are 500 gift specials around the map which bounce if not capped after 6 hours. Once captured, 25 points will be split between owner and capper, with a minimum of 5 points each. If you cap a gift you’ll even get to open it and get yourself a nifty Snow Globe Badge!

These presents will be on the map throughout the month, so be sure to capture them while you can! Check out www.munzee.com/gifts for a map showing where the nearest gift is to you. Santa also has a few more test flights before the big day, so keep your eye out for any other drops. Expect the unexpected and Happy holidays!