President’s Message – December 2021

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From the Top of the Rock Pile . . . .

The Gem Faire in early November went very well. It was good to see some version of normalcy. I enjoyed all the people, visiting with the vendors, seeing the bright lights and sparkles. Our booth spinning wheel gave out a whole bucket + of polished rocks. It was more than I expected as this was an event that children don’t usually attend.

I suppose it’s because more families are attending as there are more and more rock and mineral vendors with each Gem Faire event.

Several vendors came to our booth and asked if we were having a Gem Show in 2022. I told them we sure are at the Greenriver College! It was very encouraging to see the vendors seeking us out and asking. I also was able to add two new prospective vendors to our list.

Once we have passed the holidays, it’s going to be crunch time. It will be showtime! We can’t put on a gem show with just the board volunteering. To produce the show, we will be looking for many volunteers. So please be prepared to help at some level.

I don’t know if the new November members found out about us at the Gem Faire or not, but we have had five (5) new families join our club.

I want to welcome each of you to our rock club. Please feel free to come up and say hello at the holiday dinner.

Kat Koch, President

Updated: February 7, 2022 — 1:27 pm

Presidents Message

  • From the Top of the Rock Pile Our annual club picnic went off great. The grass and Arboretum area was not wet or muddy, plus it didn’t rain while we were there. We had the usual club members attend, plus a few new faces. I forgot to count how many people attended, but I estimate around 40. Thank you, Angie and Brian, for shopping for the food and setting everything up. Thumbler’s Tumblers donated a tumbler for our picnic auction and another one for our holiday auction in December. The new double-barreled 15# tumbler sold for $120, approximately one-third the …

Meeting Announcements

  • We are going to show a video of the most unusual and amazing things found in Amber. It isn’t just insects. We are also going to have a recap of how our Gem Show did last month. Show ‘n Tell: An item that has something trapped inside or a picture rock, thunder egg, or geode that looks like it has an insect, animal, or face inside.

  • Maureen will speak on the geology and the movement of the Washington coastline over millions of years. Show ‘n Tell: Favorite rock or mineral from Washington

  • Glen Ripper is a leading authority on Obsidian. He is a walking encyclopedia which should make this an interesting and educational meeting. Show ‘n Tell: Obsidian – let’s see your colors.

  •   We start the day off with a potluck holiday meal. The club provides roasted turkey and ham. Members fill in with their favorite holiday potluck dish. We follow our meal with the election of officers for the coming year. Our final activity is our club auction. It is a great time to pick up great bargains on rough rocks, polished rocks, slabs, fossils, opal, etc. Our Young Tumblers can use their Rock Bucks to purchase auction items. This meeting is also our semi-annual food drive for the Kent Food Bank. Please remember to bring something. The Food Bank has informed us that they need feminine hygiene products and grape or strawberry jelly. People donate loads of peanut butter but never jelly. They also receive very few donations of feminine hygiene products.

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