President’s Message – March 2023

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

Our February was another good meeting. Almost 40 members attended, most of which displayed what they make or collect. It was interesting to see everyone’s interests. Plus, I always enjoy these types of meetings as we have the opportunity to talk and visit one another.

We missed our three Young Tumblers, Mason, Bentley, and Jude. I hope we see you at our April meeting, where we have fluorescent rocks and minerals and anything else we can find that change color under black light. We scheduled this meeting as the kids are on a school break, and our young tumblers won’t have to worry about school the next day.

We encourage you to attend our meetings as our club is more than just the field trips. We always try to have an educational and entertaining topic. It’s also an excellent opportunity to visit with each other. Plus,

 get your questions answered if you have a problem cutting or polishing or need a rock or mineral identified. Everyone is welcome to bring guests of any age to our meetings.

So mark your calendars now – our meetings are always the 2nd Thursday of the month except for August and December. August is our annual picnic at Lake Wilderness, and in December, we have our Holiday Dinner and election of officers.

I also want to remind everyone that our show needs volunteers. If anyone is interested in helping, contact Chris Vitellaro. Her contact info is on page 2 of this issue of the Tumbler.

We continue to get new members weekly by registering online or in person at our monthly 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 March meeting.

Kat Koch, President

Updated: March 4, 2023 — 9:27 am

Presidents Message

  • Digging It Welcome to February 2026, the month when our Seahawks brought home a long-overdue second Super Bowl win! 🙂 I’m delighted to be starting my two-year term as the club’s new president. Thank you for electing me to this position, and thank you to Kat Koch for leading our club for the last decade. As we move into February and beyond, I hope to see more of YOU – at meetings, on field trips, in our rock shop, at our show, picnic, and holiday party. To me, the best part of this club – aside from the rocks, of

Meeting Announcements

  • Maureen Carlisle, Former Docent at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, will take us through A Day on a Dig: “Over the years I’ve been asked about what it is like to be on a dino dig, so I’d like to answer some of these questions. I’ll cover some of the practical aspects of both archaeology and paleontology, as I have had the pleasure of being involved in both.” Show and Tell: bring a fossil or artifact that you’ve found or collected.

  • Come one, come all and play ROCK BINGO! With schools out for many local school districts, we invite members, guests, and especially families and kids to come and enjoy one of our most fun nights of the year. Everyone is guaranteed to win at this FREE event! All you have to do is bring three wrapped presents – presents can be rocks, gems, minerals, crystals, fossils, cabochons, slabs, jewelry, tumbled stones – anything you think might be a nice gift for a rock enthusiast. 

  • Our own Mike Blanton will bring his expertise to this club meeting program – he will share the tools, tips and tricks he has developed to drill holes in stones and minerals so you can do more with the rocks you find. Show and Tell: bring a rock you’d like to make into something else.

Current News