Chris Fuchs is pictured with HoCo Pirate Adventures items. Fuchs has been honored by the Maryland state comptroller for his efforts creating scavenger hunts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Submitted photo

Chris Fuchs, a Jamestown native, has been recognized by Peter Franchot, Maryland state comptroller, for his “HoCo Pirate Adventures” non-profit organization.

Fuchs now lives in Ellicott City, Md., and started creating pirate treasure hunts for his daughter, Genevieve, in 2017. They would take their hand-drawn map and go around nearby neighborhoods to find clues that would lead them to a hidden treasure — plastic coins and jewels, books, small toys, etc.

During the pandemic, some of Fuchs’ neighbors asked him to set up a hunt for the neighborhood. They shared that hunt with friends, who shared it with friends and it became clear this was something people would like to do. Chris started a Facebook page called “HoCo Pirate Adventures” and began setting up monthly treasure hunts for families to do together as a safe, fun activity during COVID.

In June 2022, the Facebook page has almost 4,000 members and close to 500 families take part in the hunts every month.

Fuchs and HoCo Pirate Adventures were presented with the “Governor William Donald Schaefer Helping People Award” which recognizes an individual or organization that improves their community, directly aids the most vulnerable among us, swiftly solves a citizen problem through effective government intervention, or creates a public/private partnership to improve the lives of Marylanders.