sikemever (Mike) - PA SM
Email: sikemever@gmail.com
I became interested in editing while using Waze in rural PA where the road names were not part of the map, rather the Township (T-xxx) was in Waze. I learned from a friend that Waze allowed users to edit the map and shortly after that, I was hooked. A PA SM noticed my edits and invited me to Google Hangouts. In 2016, Pennsylvania was a bastion of basemap with plenty of opportunity for an R1 editor. I worked my way to R3 editing in PA and VA and became a member of both NOR and MAR communities. I was mentored to R4 by VA SM Subs5 per a request from NOR RC OrbitC.
I'm retired after 35 years with the Federal Government and enjoy many hobbies, including the many aspects of the Waze editing community. I'm fortunate to be part of two well run regions, NOR and MAR.
Editing Milestones
- Began Editing: April 2016
- Promoted to Rank 2: June 2016
- Promoted to Rank 3: September 2016 (PA Area Manager with multiple expansions)
- MAR Area Manager – October 2016 (Virginia)
- NY Area Manager December 2016
- PA All State Area Manager Rank 3 – March 2017
- Promoted to Rank 4: May 2017
- Promoted to Pennsylvania State Manager: June 2017
- Promoted to Rank 5: September 2018
- Promoted to NOR Multi-State Manager (PA/NJ/NY/DE): February 2019
- MAR Large Area Manager – August 2021 (Virginia)
Major Milestones
- Conceived idea for Discord NOR Unlock channel to focus Unlock requests and provide more timely response to editors. Suggested creation of NOR Ad Pin channel to concentrate Ad Pin change requests for better response time
- Began the weekly UR Statistics report for Pennsylvania, collecting relevant data and posting it in a consolidated form for all PA editors to view via Discord.
- Waze Beta (Centercode) tester/contributor
- Assigned task of mentoring a long time editor by NOR RC, who was demoted multiple times for not following guidance and not working well within the community. Spent countless hours teaching, reviewing, and mentoring editor. Editor is now a productive member of our community mentoring others.
- Have mentored 4 R3 editors to R4 and all are still active.
- Worked with PA State Management team to quickly and efficiently complete Road Shields for all mH and above within the State using a coordinated list.
- Worked with PA State Managers and NOR CM to completely revamp the PA City Layer to reflect PA CDP and Incorporated Townships/Cities/Boro’s more accurately.
- Helped arrange PA BaseMap Map Raid to completely remove all remaining Basemap from Pennsylvania.
- Assisting MAR in VA 2024 project.
- Work directly with Virginia’s Loudoun County GIS to coordinate map changes and report discrepancies.
State Manager/Multi-State Manager
- Assist editors with implementing various new state-wide standards as they become official.
- Worked directly with editors and NOR RC/ARC to establish and conduct mini map raids within Pennsylvania to tackle longstanding issues in neglected areas within the Commonwealth significantly improving the map.
- Deal with various editor issues and coordinate between editors and RC/ARC.
Map Raids/Meetups
- WV Mapraid 4/2017
- PA Basemap Mapraid 9/2017
- Russia Mapraid 2/2018
- Bulleted list item
- Zambia Mapraid 11/2018
- Bulleted list item
- 2018 NOR Meetup attendee (New Jersey)
- NY UR Project 2020
- NY Basemap Raid
- Falcon Mapraid 01/2021
- IA/KS Mapraid 8/2021
- Luzerne Country PA Mini Map Raid 2021
- 2021 NE[O]R Meetup virtual attendee
- WME Mentor (multiple mentees)
Current Roles
- State Manager – PA
- Multi State Manager - NOR
- Large Area Manager – MAR (Virginia)
- Editor (MD/DC)