October 2018 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: October 8th, 2018
Intro:
President Mike Pabst opened the meeting at 7:30. There were 20 members and 7 guests present.
Mike also provided door prizes for all who attended from a show he attended recently. Thanks for the goodies, Mike!
Old Business:
First of all, THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED MAKE THIS SHOW A SUCCESS!
Jack Glenn had a prepared slide show about the results of our 51st annual show, and Scott Gregory gave some additional information.
Some of the highlights:
• 1568 attendees + minimum 25 club member helpers (not counting those visitors who came 2 or 3 days as repeats) Last year we had only 584 attendees
• Net profit $3381 (expenses $4965 of which $1100 was for billboard, banners, etc that can be used again for a few years) (last year’s profit was $1730)
• 78 vendor tables w/ profit of $43 per table (last year 71 tables w/ $24 profit per table)
• Face Book (we had 21,500+ views here and wasn’t posted until August 25) & word of mouth were listed as the main reasons people heard about show
• 700 flyers and 95 notepads were placed in locations in 6 counties
• 19 wonderful displays by our members
• Vendors loved our Friday night meal. All but one have promised to come back next year!
• Next year’s tentative dates – Sep 20, 21, 22 - 2019
❖ ❖ ❖
New Business:
1. Debbie announced that our December meeting (Christmas meal) will be held at Wood Grill in Harrisonburg on Monday, Dec. 10th at 6:30 pm. Each person pays for his/her own meal. We will do the gift exchange (up to $10).
2. Scott Steele is planning a field trip to Amelia County in the next few weeks. Debbie will send out details.
3. Marcia Morris is planning a trip to Morocco in November and will do a virtual field trip for our meeting in Jan or Feb for us. What a treat!
Program Report:
We had a unique visitor tonight – Kathy Hrechka, who is a volunteer in the mineral section of the Natural History Museum which is part of the Smithsonian in D.C.
She lives near there and loves her position as she has access to thousands of priceless, beautiful mineral specimens from all over the world.
Kathy is the award winning editor of the newsletter for the DC Microminerals club www.dcmicrominerals.org. She showed us many photographs of some of these items, and we were in awe! There is also a research center at the museum and specimens can be sent there for analysis.
Kathy had information and photos of several famous meteorite landings on earth – from Antarctica to Chiuahua, Mexico. In 1992 a 26 pounder fell on a lady’s car in Peekskill, NY! Some of the research on meteorites is proving the link between earth and the moon and Mars, as well as evidence for the extinction of the dinosaurs based on the mineral iridium, which is rare on earth, but is common in meteorites.
The Hope Diamond of course, is one of the most popular attractions at the museum and has an intriquing past. The blue is due to the presence of boron. The rough 112 3/16 carat diamond was found in India. Louis XIV had it cut to 67 1/8 carats. After going through several owners, it was donated to the Smithsonian by Harry Winston, Inc in 1958. Scientists believe when it was cut in two parts during the French Revolution that one of them is still missing – so check out blue minerals carefully!
Kathy showed us photos of the “Blue Room”, including new specimens not yet put on exhibit. She also showed photos of some of the hundreds of drawers that are in cases in the Blue Room and elsewhere (she’s unsure of origin of that name, except the carpet is blue). She also showed us some of the public display cases that are popular – the “rainbow” of minerals, the many varieties of calcite, quartz and fluorite, the “gold” display and “objects of wonder”.
Kathy also loves her “job” because she gets to interact with some of the renowned scientists that work in the research lab. She says to come on up to DC and see if she is working the floor during your visit – she’ll point out some of the fantastic displays you wouldn’t want to miss!
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.
I previously sent an email about the field trip to Willis Mt. which will be Sept 29th. You must have carefully read the instructions, safety notes, and should have contacted Scott Steele if you are going. DO NOT contact the Lynchburg club directly. The participants must have one designated field trip coordinator. If you no longer have the email, please contact me & I will resend.
Next meeting:
Monday, November 12th at 7:30 pm at Waynesboro Church of the Brethren.
Our presenter will be Richard Wise who wrote Secrets of the Gem Trade (www.secretsofthegemtrade.com).
This book has been rewritten and updated in 2016.
He has written and continues to write for many gem/jewelry publications.
He has traveled extensively all over the world – to Burma, Austrailia, Tanzania, Tahiti, and Columbia to name a few.
Mr. Wise has also written a historical novel called The French Blue, which gives the back story of the Hope Diamond. It won the 2011 International book award. (A good follow up for the talk we had in October.) Hope you can attend this unique meeting!
Looking ahead:
November meeting - topic to be announced
December meeting - annual Christmas Dinner
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. Check this page to see what you can learn to do!
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.
❖ ❖ ❖
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
❖ ❖ ❖
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