President’s Message – January 2020

News

From the Top of the Rock Pile . . .

I want to thank everyone that attended our Holiday Dinner. We had the best turnout since the club struck out on it’s own. 40 members, family and friends attended. We had a great selection of food. Best ever. Thank you to each one of you for making the dinner such a great success.

I found out at our Holiday Dinner that some of our members are artistically talented beyond collecting rocks. If you have another talent besides collecting rocks please let me know. I found out John Cornell does beaded wall hanging and art pieces (he currently has a showing at an art gallery in Greenwood), Terri Gerard does watercolor and oil painting (she currently has a showing at an art gallery in Greenwood too), I do stipple art (pen & ink using small dots) and ceramics besides my wire wrapping. Your other talent can also include lapidary arts, faceting, wire work, cabochons, opals, metal working, knapping, intarsia, etc. What do you do? Let me know by mailing me at president@cascademineralogicalsociety.org

We are fast coming up on a decision for our 2020 Rock & Gem Show. I have not been able to confirm we have the venue or the dates with the college. So I won’t be asking for volunteer sign up at our January club meeting. Just be aware that we will need sufficient volunteers to commit to covering the open slots before proceeding with the show.

If I am going to be Show Chair I can’t carry a heavy physical load. I have to back off the long show hours as my legs and feet can no longer handle 10 to 13 hour days. I will need everyone’s help to accomplish the 2020 show. Every little bit someone can do will be a help. So be prepared to sign up for something (hopefully) at the February meeting.

Side note: I am already getting requests to book our 2020 show. Mark has given our club a running start on doing a very successful show.

With 2019 now behind us, I want to thank each and every one of you that have volunteered all year long to help our club grow and run successfully. A special thanks to Jennifer Russell, Rich’s wife, for baking goodies for our monthly meetings. She doesn’t even attend our meetings!

Our club went into 2020 with 87 family memberships on our roster. Thank you to everyone for helping to make 2019 a very good year for our club!

Kat Koch, President

 

Updated: November 1, 2022 — 12:49 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.

  • This meeting will cover the “Geologic History of Washington State.” The meeting will be an interactive program designed to tell the story of the complex geologic history of our state. It works for kids as well as adults, with families working together to assemble the state.   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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