Most Recent Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: January 13, 2025
In spite of the snow ❄️ and ice 🥶, we had a wonderful program last Monday night and enjoyed getting some fossils to take home.
There were 21 members, with 2 new folks joining us. Thanks to Pam B. for bringing us some delicious homemade ginger cookies to eat.
A big THANK YOU to Marcia M. for donating 3 tables full of fossils that she has collected from VA and around the US from her years of traveling. (She will have another group of fossils to donate next month as well.)
We enjoyed looking at several "J" minerals that members brought to show. Various jaspers, jaspite, jadeite and others were shown.
- Charlie Rhoads thanked the club for honoring him with the donation of a mineral that will be displayed at the JMU Mineral Museum in the spring. He was pleasantly surprised. He and Cindy also visited Leo Cloutier to give him the certificate which also announced our donation of a mineral to JMU in his name. Leo, at 98, is our sole charter member of the club and they enjoyed conversations about our club's history.
- Kelly Lane offered appreciation for the donation the club made to the Baptist Church for allowing us to use the social hall for our monthly meetings.
- Debbie reported that Ed Stuart, our field trip coordinator, has been in touch with Cedar Mountain Stone of Culpeper, and is waiting to hear from Frazier Quarry about possible visits.
- Jack G mentioned that visitors to the shop in Waynesboro should park in the general lot. If items need to be carried in or out, vehicles may park temporarily at the side door around back. Oftentimes, church members need access to this door. The shop is open on the Saturday following our meeting, from 9 am to noon. Jack also mentioned that there are several bags of sand to give away at the shop. There are bags of both coarse-grained and fine-grained sand.
-Marcia M announced that she will be setting up an educational display at the Staunton library for the months of August and September. The display will include the geology of Oman, such as black smoker and white smoker with examples of minerals, explain the ophiolite and the MOHO discontinuity, shallow water carbonate reefs and atolls thrust over the foreland basin and syncline associated with the ophiolite, Haffit Beehive tombs, Neolithic engravings, an example of Bronze age copper slag, pillow basalts and columnar basalts, carbonatite, Batain Nappe, Permian metamorphosed schist, sand sea. She will also display posters and fliers announcing our September show at EXPO.
Your annual $10 dues for an individual or a family may be brought to any meeting or send a check written to SVGMS and mailed to: SVGMS Box 324 Waynesboro, VA 22980. {Most clubs charge by person and can be as high as $25; we are a bargain!}
Club Officers and Staff 2016-2025
President – Michael Pabst
President-Elect: Cynthia Schroer
Vice President Emeritus– Leo Cloutier
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinator - Ed Stuart
Co-Treasurers – Scott Gregory/Deborah Grimm
Show Team Leaders – Scott Gregory/Jack Glenn
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn
Club web site: shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com