September 2023 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: September 11, 2023
There were 21 members at the meeting last night, with 3 new members. The shop will be open Sat Sep 16th from 9 am to noon. (It's located at Waynesboro Church of the Brethren) Some display cases are still available.
1- Jack gave an update on the show publicity - 10 days until blast off! (9 as of this morning!!)
- FaceBook has reached 55,000 hits, wth 5000 responses & 2324 interested in coming. Woohoo!
- Jack sent 29 media packages out to various places
- Channel 3 & Channel 29 are running TV ads
- Hundreds of notepads & flyers have been distributed - if you have any, try to get them out this week
- Yard signs should be put out on Monday Sep 18th and taken down Mon Sep 25th. Please get permission before putting them up. (Or put at end of your own driveway)
- Billboard on I-64 will be up this week at EXPO
- Car signs should be returned after the show
- 191 tables need to be set up/taken down with 37 vendors
- Wear a club lanyard/hat at the show. (If you still have your lanyard from last year, please bring it back, even if you aren't volunteering this time)
- MEAL AT 6:30 FRIDAY NIGHT. We are planning on serving 100 people (vendors + club). The club is providing chicken, baked beans, potato salad, & macaroni salad. We will also provide drinks & all the paper goods. We are asking for entrees, side dishes & desserts. (Please bring your labeled serving utensils.) Some of our folks have allergies so please label for nuts, dairy, gluten free, vegan, etc. We will need some folks to do tablecloths, set out food & chairs, etc. for the meal. We will also need some people to help clean up.
- There will be 9 tables for our display cases. One of our purposes is education, so please try to create one of these.
- We will have a micro-mineral display & a fluorescent display. Michelle is doing wire-wrapping, Charlie is doing cabbing, & Kelly will do some faceting.
- On Saturday & Sunday only - John & Joyce will have the children's sandbox & Larry will have the sluice.
- I need a few people to man the tables inside where people fill out the ticket info - names, email, & how they heard about the show.
- We need lots of help on Sunday evening to help fold & put away tables, as well as sweep. Consider coming around 5 pm when the vendors will be working hard to pack up. They appreciate our help as well.
- On Friday, I will send the list of volunteers that have been confirmed. As little as 2 hours would be an immense help.
- Michael Herrick was a dedicated club member who made spheres. He passed away in March, and requested that his equipment & materials be offered to the club at an auction. (The family receives one-half of the proceeds.)
- An auction was held on Aug 19th, where 14 members bid on items. Afterward, there were hundreds of items that remained to be sold.
- We are planning a second silent auction in October. It will be held in Broadway at Michael's shed. There will be milk crates full of mixed rough materials, smaller boxes of materials, & many individual pieces that are large & of good quality. Some equipment will be offered, such as several sphere-making machines.
- As we get final details from the family, I will send out information as to where & when. This is for club members only - not for the public. We are considering inviting some of the members of nearby mineral clubs to join us.
Mike & Karen went to Shenandoah Caverns, near Mt. Jackson. Isn't it funny how people from far away go to these local sites, but we just ride past without stopping?
Mike had some awesome photos he took of the sparkling calcite crystals in the flowstone. There are so real-you-can-taste-it cave bacon strips.
Effective lighting made some of the stalagmites and stalactites really stand out. This cavern is a treasure to behold, and if you've never been, it is highly recommended.
And, you'll get to go upstairs and see some fantastic, detailed store window displays from days of old. Many of them have animated characters, such as acrobats swinging through the air. Check it out. Thanks for sharing!
Field Trips: We are not planning any field trips any time soon, but if anyone knows of places to collect in small groups, let the club secretary know and they can send out the info.
Looking ahead:
Our next meeting will be on Monday, October 9th at 6:30 pm at the Bridgewater Baptist Church.
The lapidary shop will be open the Saturday following a regular meeting. (See Events At A Glance for a calendar view). Charlie & Jack can assist you. Open from 9 am to noon. This is a small enclosed space; please follow whatever COVID protective guidelines you think appropriate.
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.
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.
Deborah Grimm, Secretary
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Club Officers and Staff 2016-2023
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinators - TBD
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