[Az-Geocaching] REI employee

[Julie Andersen]

Hello all, 
I'm new to AZ geocaching, but far from new to the sport. I think Crystal makes a very good point that most people do not understand the difference between all of the different public lands and different agencies that manage those lands. It might be useful for this group to put a link such as "where can I geocache?" on the main AZ geocaching web page. This sort of disconnect illustrates the point that most geocachers do not maliciously place a cache where it doesn't belong. 
However, as with anything, there are a few bad apples which affect the whole bunch. This is also the case for REI. One employee made a poor choice of words to the wrong person. He is entitled to his/her opinion, but when on the job he/she is responsible to act professionally. REI does support geocaching, so this employee needs to set his/her own beliefs aside and do his/her job. This said, I agree with the comments here that notifying the manager is an appropriate action to take. The point is not to get the employee in trouble, but to foster a better alliance with the local store and hope to build a better rapport with the store management as well as educate some of the employees on the proper ethics and conduct of a sport that their employer supports. 
Geocaching is still a relatively new sport and we cannot convert everyone, but doing our part to represent the geocaching community in an adult and professional manner will do wonders to ensure the sport has recognition, merit and esteem within the overall larger community.
Just my two cents. 
elifish -a recent CA transplant to your fine state. :)