President’s Message – September 2019

Past Presidents Message

 

A Note from the President’s Desk . . .

We need a lot of volunteers. You can now sign-up online at our website under the tab Cascade Gem and Mineral Show. I suggest that you sign-up online before too much time passes so we know where we stand on covering all our bases. You can also text or call Mark and let him know when you can help out.

We had to take a larger venue in order to have our show on the 3rd weekend of September as the college made a mistake and the Student Union was not available. In having to cover costs for a much larger venue we went from 43 booths to 63 booths plus all our other activities. So we really need volunteers in order to run the show.

The success of our show directly benefits our club as the proceeds from the show goes towards getting a permanent indoor lapidary shop. We all know how great it would be to have a nice indoor lapidary shop again. So your volunteering to help at the show has a stated goal. So please volunteer to help. 10 or 12 members can not run a 2-day show by themselves.

We all enjoyed talking “rocks” at our annual picnic. They had predicted rain for the day but the weather was good until we were packed up and gone. I know I hit a huge downpour halfway home. It was good though seeing everyone and visiting with one another and picking up some great bargains at our auction.

We had a good turnout for our gold panning field trip. I know I had fun. I did find 2 very small gold flakes. The trip completed a bucket list item for me.

If anyone is going to the Puyallup Fair they have moved the Hobby Hall to the 2nd floor of the pavilion building just as you enter the Gold Gate. They have all new display cases with a completely different floor layout. They had eliminated several competition categories and demonstrators but found out they have more room than expected. Right now they plan on restoring some of the displays and demonstrators next year. The lapidary categories are still there this year. I saw some awesome entries, so if you go to the Fair be sure to check them out.

Kat Koch, President

Updated: December 17, 2019 — 4:52 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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