May 2018 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: May 14th, 2018
Intro:
Mother Nature tried to impede our meeting with hail, wind, and rain, but it didn’t work! The meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm by Mike Pabst, our president. There were 12 members and 2 guests present.
Thanks to Leonard Lantz who brought a plethora of snacks and drinks to enjoy!
Old Business:
Jack Glenn reminded everyone of the Mineral Show to be held Sept 22 – 24 at the Augusta Expo. He said that he and Scott Gregory are working on vendor contracts and advertising. He suggested we may run an ad at movie theaters.
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New Business:
- Charlie Rhoads said that Mike Herrick donated a slab/trim saw to the club’s lapidary shop. This saw has a 9” blade and Charlie fixed the switch on it.
- Michael is also donating an 18” double deck vibratory flat lap which could be used at our show or for educational purposes. To produce polished slabs, it will take several Saturday morning sessions to work through the grit progressions to a finished piece.
- Charlie and Scott Steele went on the Rose River field trip on Sat. May 12th. They had a good time and collected some good materials.
- Wayne Petersen told them he is thinking about doing a week-long trip to Arkansas in 2019 if there is enough interest.
Program Report:
President Mike Pabst presented 2 informative talks.
The first was on “Spear Phishing – Target Rock and Mineral Clubs” which was a summary of information published in our regional newsletter. (This is sent out by email to members.)
The article alerted everyone to be aware of phishing techniques that are becoming more of our daily lives. These are attempts to gain access to a person’s personal information and money.
The ploy is to send an email letter with reference to a friend or contact’s name asking for donations or requesting payments. The return might be to a fake web address such as using a #1 for the letter L or dropping the M from .com.
Other hackers use “drive-bys” which can collect all your private information or “time bombs” which are set to go off at a later date, perhaps after you have changed security sites, and which will totally delete all your information.
Mike warned us to just be aware, and that new hacks are being developed every day.
Mike’s main focus was to take us on a virtual field trip to the mineral show in Munich, Germany. (Delicious food and brewskies aside, the minerals were for sale if you wanted to trade your retirement for one!)
Mike showed a DVD called “What’s Hot in Munich!” There were vendors from all over the world – Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, and the US.
Most of the minerals were in locked cabinets or behind locked doors.
An interesting “Bouquet” of quartz crystals that was several feet wide came from Arkansas, USA.
Most of the specimens were one of a kind, with green fluorite, Faden quartz, vesuvianite, tourmaline, smithsonite, and pure gold chunks!
We were impressed with the clarity and beauty of the minerals, but were very interested in how they packed and delivered these tons of material safely to Munich!
Field Trip Info:
Please refer to “SVGMS Field Trips News” documents you receive from the club secretary for a description of the current status of field trips and details about upcoming trips.
If you are a club member with paid-up dues and you do not receive the “Field Trip News” document when they are emailed, please contact the secretary at loverocksandminerals@gmail.com or at a monthly meeting to correct this issue.
This will be the principle way information about field trips are distributed to members, so we want to insure everyone is correctly addressed.
Please email me at loverocksandminerals@gmail.com if you would be seriously interested in a trip to Arkansas sometime in 2019. The trip would be for several days and each club member would be responsible for transportation, lodging, and collecting fees and equipment. Wayne will work on this if there is enough interest. Thanks!
Looking ahead:
June meeting: Program will be finalized soon. The meeting will have a theme of "I Made It with My Own Hands". Katherine Phillips will be the featured presenter, showing us how to make Gem Trees.
Other members, please bring something you crafted for a Show-and-Tell.
Remember that the lapidary shop is open the Saturday following a regular meeting and on the second Saturday after that. Leo, Charlie & Jack can assist you. Open from 9 am to noon. There are several slab saws and trim saws. Keep in mind that safety is a priority, and wear closed toe shoes, safety glasses, with no loose hair or long sleeves. Children must be supervised and closely monitored to insure they are safely using the equipment.
If you’d like to present a program, please talk to an officer at a meeting or sign up at this link:
http://www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org/next_neeting_program/sign_up_to_present_program.php
Anyone can sign up to bring snacks for a monthly meeting by clicking this link:
http://www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org/next_meeting_info/sign_up_to_bring_refreshments.php
Be sure to keep up with our website www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org and our Facebook page Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society for updates and information.
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Volunteers for Refreshments, 2018:
February: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
March: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
April: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
May: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
June: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
July: N/A - Club Picnic
August: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
September: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
October: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
November: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
December: N/A - Club Christmas Dinner
Deborah Grimm, Secretary
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Club Officers and Staff 2016-2018
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Show Co-Chairs – Dean Hostetter/Scott Gregory
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinators - Wayne Petersen/Scott Duresky
Treasurer – Scott Gregory
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn
Club web site: www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com