President’s Message – March 2021

Past Presidents Message
From the Top of the Rock Pile . . . .
Our first Zoom general meeting was held on February 11th and it went very well for a first attempt. We had 12 sign-ons with 19 people in attendance. 2 of our them signed on incognito and watched and listened to the entire meeting. It was nice to see that several new members attended.
March’s general meeting will be held Thursday, March 11th at 7 pm. You will get an email the first week of March giving you the link for joining the meeting.
If some of you feel shy attending a Zoom meeting because you are camera shy, you can always attend a meeting without video but with audio on, or both video and audio off (incognito).
In order to attend a Zoom meeting you need to download the app no matter what type of device you are on. Then setup an account for yourself.
Now here is where the good part comes in where you can make yourself look awesome!
There are filters that make you look better on camera. Here is how you access them:

  1. Sign into your Zoom account.

  2. Click on your profile picture.

  3. Click the Background & Filters tab.

  4. Click the Video Filters tab.

  5. Select the desired beauty filter. The filters can smooth out your complexion, adjust your lighting, give you a background of your choosing, etc. You can try several of them and keep the one you like best. Zoom will now keep this setting for all Zoom sessions. You can always go back into the settings at any time and change the filter. 

  6. Now let’s all jump in with both feet and attend our March general meeting!

The Board meeting will be held Monday before the 2nd Thursday of each month. March’s Zoom Board meeting will be on Monday, March 8th at 7 pm. We will continue with all meetings being held on Zoom until we can once again meet in-person.
I encourage everyone to join us in a Board meeting as you will learn everything that goes on behind the scenes in running our club. You will also have to opportunity to ask questions of the Board members. If you would like to join a Board meeting please send me an email message to president@cascademineralogicslsociety.org and I will send you the the meeting link.
We continue to get new members via our website. I want to welcome each of you to our great rock club. I hope we get to meet each other in a Zoom meetings.
Anyone that joined our club from September 11, 2020 thru December 31, 2020 (last year) your membership is good for all of 2021.
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 — 3:37 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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