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Seven communities in Montgomery County will join 71 communities statewide in a Geocache Trail organized by the Maryland Municipal League.

Poolesville, Gaithersburg, Kensington, Rockville, Somerset, Takoma Park and Washington Grove are participating.

The Maryland Municipal League Geo Trail is a partnership with the Maryland Geocaching Society. The municipalities will put caches on public property to promote tourism.

Geocachers can obtain passports from designated visitors centers. Each participating municipality will have a rubber stamp and a code word in its cache, as well as coupons for restaurants and other items. The first 500 Geocachers to find 22 caches will receive a "GeoCoin," a trackable item coveted by Geocachers.

In Gaithersburg, the treasure will be a Labor Day Parade coin. A Gaithersburg history book is for the first person to find the cache.

"Geocaching harkens back to childhood memories of treasure hunts and hide-and-go-seek," said Gaithersburg Mayor and MML President Sidney A. Katz in a statement. "But this is definitely not a child's game. Using the latest in satellite technology, geocachers of all ages will enjoy the thrill of the hunt while at the same time exploring the state and learning about the wonderful and diverse features of our many communities."

Among the items in the Poolesville geocache are town pins, playing cards, matchbox toys, compasses and rain gear, according to a statement from the town.

For more information, visit www.mdmunicipal.org.

Hitting their stride

Gunnar Tokar, the 11-year-old Laytonsville boy who showed his American water spaniel at the National Dog Show in November, and his dog Strider won high honors at the 8th annual Eukanuba National Championship.

Strider, one of seven American water spaniels in the American Kennel Club-sponsored competition, narrowly lost Best of Breed but won Best of Opposite Sex, according to Gunnar's mother Theresa Tokar.

"The judge had a hard time picking between the two teams," Theresa Tokar wrote in an e-mail to The Gazette. "…He had them go around together, then back and forth and around again."

Gunnar and Strider, 1, were also invited to the Westminster Kennel Club 133rd Annual Dog Show in New York City in February, one of the most prestigious dog shows in the world. The family initially thought the high cost of Westminster — including entry fees, travel and lodging — would prevent them from attending. But they have received sponsorship offers and plan to compete, Tokar said.

Send donations to Gunnar Tokar C/O Damascus United Methodist Church, 9700 Church St., Damascus, MD 20872 or contact Theresa Tokar at tokarhomeschool@yahoo.com.

Eukanuba National Championship, held Dec. 13-14 in Long Beach, Calif., will air on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel on Jan. 31 from 8-11 p.m.

Upcounty native debuts off-Broadway

Janice Mays, a Montgomery Village native, made her off-Broadway debut in November playing the lead role of Edwina in Dear Edwina at the DR2 Theatre in New York.

The musical tells the story of 13-year-old Edwina Spoonapple, who wishes with all her heart to join the Kalamazoo Advice-a-palooza Festival so she can show her accomplished older siblings she amounts to something, according to a description of the show by Music Theatre International. In hopes of reaching the spotlight, Edwina gives musical advice from her garage in Paw Paw, Mich., when talent scouts come to town. She doles out guidance on issues from birthday party etiquette and proper table-setting.

Mays, who graduated in May from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., with a bachelor's degree in drama, made her professional acting debut at 13, when she starred as Brigitta in The Sound of Music at Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia, according to her publicist, Elizabeth Waldman Frazier of Gaithersburg.

Mays, who declined to give her age, continued to perform in school and church productions throughout her high school years studying at Covenant Life School in Gaithersburg and home schooling.

Mays has played the Seven Deadly Sins in The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, Irma in The Madwoman of Chaillot, Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, Maud in The Perfect Game and Fifi in the Belle of New York, according to Waldman. She has experience as a music director, assistant director and choreographer for high school productions and has appeared in "Sunday to Sunday" a video bible study series produced by Paulist Media Works and sent to military around the world.

O Negative and B Negative nearly in the red

The holidays may be over, but it's always better to give than receive. For instance, the Greater Chesapeake and Potomac Region of The American Red Cross has reported a decline in area blood donations overall, causing both B Negative and O Negative stores to dwindle to less than a one-day supply. A healthy supply for the area would require three to seven days blood, according to the organization.

Dr. Joan Gibble, Medical Director for the GC&P Region, said the area supply needs to be replenished on a daily basis. The GC &P Region provides more than 1,100 units of donated blood daily to area hospitals.

"When donation rates drop, the community blood supply diminishes quickly," Gibble said. "We need the community to prevent a critical shortage by donating as soon as possible."

Lately, scheduled appointments to give blood have declined, probably due to the holidays, the Red Cross reports. Meanwhile, holiday travel increases the potential for accidents that could lead to more patients needing blood.

In general, a good donor candidate would weigh at least 110 pounds, be in good health and at least 17 years old, or 16 with parental consent. The person also should not have received a tattoo in the past year, or donated whole blood within the past 56 days.

To schedule an appointment to donate, call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. A list of blood donor centers and blood drive locations and times is available at www.my-redcross.org.

Pull up a chair

Stories from lifelong Boyds resident Arthur Virts and others from the community are compiled in the book "Boyds: A Character Study" being sold for $10 by the Boyds Historical Society. Once printing costs are covered, money will go towards a scholarship for a Boyds resident. To buy a book, write to Steve Gibson, Boyds Historical Society, P.O. Box 161, Boyds, MD 20841 or call Virts at 301-972-0161.

Bet on fun

Try your luck at a Texas Hold ‘em Tournament to benefit the Poolesville Relay for Life.

The tournament begins at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 at St. Mary's Pavilion, 18230 Barnesville Road, Barnesville. Check-in begins at 6 p.m.

Buy-in is $100 for $2,000 in chips ($75 goes into prize pool) and includes pizza, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. Beer will be on sale. Top ten places will be paid for 71 entries up to 100. First place wins $3,400, second place nets $1,700 and third place takes $800 (prize amounts are based on 100 entries and may vary).

To register, contact BettingOn

ACurePville@gmail.com or 301-349-2142. For more information, visit www.poolesvillerelay.org.

Campus Congratulations

Indigo Mathews, a 2004 graduate of Seneca Valley High School, received a bachelor's degree in writing, literature and publishing from Emerson College in Boston.

ÔPatrick Drengwitz, son of Karen and Bill Drengwitz of Gaithersburg, recently performed in Salisbury University's production of Much Ado About Nothing. Drengwitz graduated from Northwest High School in 2008 and is a freshman at SU majoring in communications.

ÔVlad Raina, son of Livius Raina of Germantown, participated in the Nantahala Whitewater Rafting, a New Student Experience offered to incoming freshman last summer at Salisbury University. Students traveled to the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina and learned Cherokee traditions, hiked a portion of the Appalachian Trail and went whitewater rafting. Raina graduated from Northwest High School in 2008 and is a freshman at SU majoring in finance. He is a member of SU's Volley Ball Club, International Club and the Financial Management Association.

ÔEdward Tang Qian, a chemical engineering student from Germantown, won the 1743 Distinguished Scholars award at the University of Delaware. Qian is a graduate of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring. The 1743 Scholars are named in honor of the University's traditions and history.

 Share your good news! Send submissions to Melissa A. Chadwick via e-mail at mchadwick@gazette.net, fax at 301-670-7183 or mail to The Germantown-Boyds-Poolesville Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. Photos will be considered.