President’s Message – February 2023 (Click Here For More Info)

Presidents Message

From the Top of the Rock Pile …. by Kat Koch

We have a Show Coordinator! Chris Vitellaro. If she should ask you to volunteer for some aspect of the show, please show your support by saying “Yes!” It takes a lot of hands to put our show together.

Chris is going to need a volunteer for the following areas:

1. The directional signs need to be reviewed to ensure they are in good shape. Then, if required, order additional signs. Then place them around the area the week before the show and pick them up after the show.

2 . Keep track of the members that volunteer to help out at the show. Then make up the volunteer schedule for the various club tables for the duration of the setup and actual show.

We had good attendance at our January meeting on thunder eggs. Forty members attended and showed us their thunder eggs and a few outstanding geodes. I felt it was a fantastic meeting. It’s always lovely when we visit one another and engage in some “rock talk.”

Our three Young Tumblers, Mason, Bentley, and Jude, showed us their thunder eggs. In addition, Jude showed me his beautiful collection of sliced colorful rocks. Seeing our Young Tumblers participate in our meetings is really enjoyable! I hope we continue to see them at all our meetings.

Remember, our February meeting is on Fluorescent Rocks! The club will have a selection of fluorescent rocks, but I am also asking everyone to bring in some rocks or minerals of their own so we can see what colors they fluoresce.

We planned the February meeting on Fluorescent Rocks when our Young Tumblers are out of school so they can attend. Looking at fluorescent rocks is always a fun meeting for everyone.

Everyone is welcome to bring guests to any of our meetings.

I encourage you to attend our meetings as our club is more than just the field trips. We always try to have an educational topic, and it’s also an excellent opportunity to visit with each other and get your questions answered if you are having a problem cutting or polishing or need a rock or mineral identified.

So mark your calendars now – our meetings are always the 2nd Thursday of the month except for August and December.

We continue to get new members weekly by registering online. We have also had new members join at our meetings. We welcome each of you to our great rock and gem club. When you attend our monthly meeting, please introduce yourself to me, as I look forward to meeting everyone.

I also appreciate all the members that renewed their membership!

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the February meeting.

Kat Koch, President

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Updated: February 9, 2023 — 2:40 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  I hope you’ve all had a chance to get out and look for rocks during the lovely weather we enjoyed in July – it’s been mostly perfect rockhounding weather. And for those of you who were able to come on the field trips led by our fearless wagon master Roger Danneman, I hope you found some good material. Big thanks to Roger for getting us all out there and helping us find beautiful rocks! August is a bit of a break from the usual club meeting cadence – instead of having our club meeting on the second Thursday …

Meeting Announcements

  • Our August meeting will not be happening at the American Legion – instead, this month’s meeting is our annual club potluck and picnic on Saturday, August 15. Join us from 12-4 at Gene Coulon Park, South Shelter 2 – setup begins at 10:30am. Bring something you want to share and/or donate to the club auction, also happening during the picnic. 

  • September’s program is coming soon. We will update this page as soon as we know more.

  • Noelle Barnes will present Using Gaia for Rockhounding, an overview of the features and tricks associated with the app Gaia and how you can use it for GPS, saving waypoints, navigation, photo tagging, trail recording and more. Show and Tell: Bring the rock(s) that have the best “story” – and tell everyone how you found them and where!

  • Club board member Paul Ahnberg will talk to us about the impact of wildfires on our lives – from protecting your home to staying safe while out rockhounding – and what we can do today to help mitigate our risk. Paul will combine his knowledge gained from learning at both the WSU Green School (Master Gardener) and WSU Climate Steward programs. Show and Tell: Bring something you found, from a place that you know has since been impacted by floods or wildfires – or was impacted shortly before you arrived. Tell your story!

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