President’s Message – February 2021

Past Presidents Message
From the Top of the Rock Pile .  .  .  . 
Let’s all hope 2021 is a better year.
The Board has agreed to try and have an online general meeting. I don’t know  the topic or speaker we may have as the meeting is presently in the planning stage. I am working on putting together a meeting for February 11, Thursday at 7 pm. Check the website for more information and your emails for the link to join us. Make sure emails from the club are not going to your junk email.
If all goes well, we will have monthly online meetings until we are able to return in person meetings.
Last year we welcomed 15 new members and their families. I am looking forward to meeting each of you either online or in person. I also want to thank our Field Trip Guide Roger Danneman for all his hard work in planning these monthly field trips. It takes a lot of planning on his part, as he always goes out before hand and checks the location before we go. He makes sure the roads and hiking paths are accessible and everything is clear and okay for our rockhounding trips. Thank you Roger you are doing an amazing job!
Dues for 2021 is only $15 per family or individual. The Board approved this reduction in dues for 2021 only. Even though we are not presently holding meetings, our club still has to cover our annual dues to NFMS, AFMS, ALAA, WA State Mineral Council, website hosting and the cost of liability insurance for 2021. I am sure by spring or summer we will be back to holding our meetings again. When this does happen we will once again have the cost of the monthly rental for the meeting room.
So please go to our website and renew your membership now!
Renewals
New Membership
Anyone that joined our club from September 11, 2020 thru December 31, 2020 (last year) your membership is good for all of 2021. If you are an existing member use the Manage my account/Renew link on the menu under membership.  Use the email address you used when you joined CMS
I personally thought we were going to make it through 2020 and 2021 without the virus touching our family. I am sad to say my family has not dodge the virus. On December 28th a close family member was taken to ER and on January 3rd they passed away. All my kids came in from around the US and we met in Southern California to say our goodbyes. It was sad a occasion but so nice having all the family together in one place. We made a promise with one another to get together more often and not wait for funerals.
Now another two very close friends have caught the virus. One is going to be okay and the other is in very serious condition. This is a very mean virus.
Stay home, always wear a mask if you have to go out, and be sure to sanitize your hands constantly. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy as we all want to see each other this year.
Kat Koch, President
Updated: January 9, 2022 — 3:35 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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