President’s Message – May 2020 (Click Here for More Info)

From the Top of the Rock Pile . . . . . . .

Mike and I had a great road trip to the Tucson Gem Show, San Antonio – Texas, Buckhorn – New Mexico and an unexpected stop in Quartzsite. There were still many vendors there until the end of April.

During our trip I found out my sister had a stroke so Mike dropped me off near Palm Springs to be with my sister and he then headed home.

Shortly after Mike returned home my car was stolen and our house broken into. All our treasures from our road trip were still inside my car. Luckily they didn’t steal much from inside our house. Mike was home and once they entered our kitchen and dining area they must heard someone was inside the house and awake. They must have been spooked and immediately left with my car.

I have been home since April 11th. Ever since returning home I have been dealing with my car and home owners claims with my insurance company.

I am sad to say there will be no Thursday general club meeting or Board meeting in May. I am very hopeful that we will see everyone in June.

The Board has been discussing what to do regarding our gem show. If we do proceed forward with it what changes do we need to make? Do we need to provide hand sanitizer and masks for all visitors? Are people going to want to come out to a show where there are a large group of people? Should we have fewer booth space and/or lower the price of booth space? This would substantially affect our bottom line. Are we going to have enough volunteers to run the show? If we proceed with our show, we must do everything to make sure our vendors make money. Are people going to have discretionary money to spend on rocks and minerals? If we do cancel it we will have to absorb the expenses already incurred. Such a big decision.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in June. We all need some “rock talk” with our club friends!

Kat Koch

Updated: August 19, 2020 — 7:50 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  Thanks to everyone who joined us in March for Maureen Carlisle’s fascinating look at the world of professional paleontology digs. Our next meeting on April 9 is a great club tradition: Rock Bingo! Whether you’ve been a member for decades or you just joined last month, Bingo is the ultimate fun night for everyone kids included. All you have to do is bring three rock-related gifts (rocks themselves are just fine!), wrapped so that they are hidden, and then show up at 7pm on the 9th. Everyone is a winner – win a new treasure for your shelf and

Meeting Announcements

  • 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.

  • Club Wagonmaster and rock shop creator Roger Danneman will present an overview of the new club shop – including equipment, scheduling, stewards, and what you can expect from this exciting new resource.  Show and Tell: bring a rock you want to polish or make into a cabochon (or something you’ve already polished or made)

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