President’s Message – November 2023

Presidents Message

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

Our club election is coming up in December. As I write this article, our membership stands at 145 families. We will most likely reach 150 family memberships by the end of the year. I point this out because we need some of our members to volunteer to run for board positions.

Some volunteers have been board members for decades and are getting older. We really need younger members to step up for our club’s continuing success, which will be our younger members taking over the reins of our great club. We also need our younger members to be active and give us new ideas and input for our club.

Being a board member doesn’t take a lot of time. We have an online board meeting on the Monday before our monthly meeting at 7 pm. We need two positions filled in the upcoming election: a Vice President and Director of Programs. If you are still unsure about volunteering, plenty of board members are willing to show you the ropes or help you fulfill a position.

As you are reading this, please consider volunteering for a position. Our club needs you!

We continue to get new members 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 each of you.

I want to welcome the new families that joined our club at our gem show.

I look forward to seeing everyone at our November meeting. Look for further meeting details elsewhere in this issue of the Tumbler.

Kat Koch, President

Updated: November 9, 2023 — 11:02 am

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  Thanks to everyone who came out for our February club meeting – it was a fun one, with our own Roger Danneman presenting the highlights of our field trips to come for 2026. Several club members brought their impressive best finds from 2025 for show and tell. Speaking of field trips – our first field trip of the year is in the books, with a mildly snowy day at the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River up by Ol’ One Lane Bridge outside of Acme, Washington. The variety of rocks this year was excellent, thanks in part to …

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.

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