President’s Message – October 2023

Presidents Message

From the Top of the Rock Pile .  .  .  . 

Our Cascade Gem Show was a huge success! A huge thank you, Chris, for putting together a fantastic show. All your hard work is much appreciated.

This year, we tried a couple of new things to bring in additional revenue, such as the club sales table and the sifting bag activity. The silent auction and raffle ticket sales also went very well. Thank you, Rich, Noelle, Paul, and Peggy, for being there the entire show and doing a great job.

Once the final show accounting is completed, I am confident it will be our most profitable show to date.

I am working on getting our Young Tumbler’s Club up and going. Our four young members earned their first badge by doing a display case at our show. I will be handing out their badge at the October meeting.

I am seeking an assistant to help me at the Young Tumbler’s Club meetings. I need to know if the present members would like to meet at 6:10 pm before the monthly meeting or once a month on a Saturday morning. If we meet on a Saturday morning, for 40 minutes, we can do so at the most convenient library. Please let me know your opinions and if you would like to help.

I would also like to thank Jim Cerenzie for volunteering as Club Historian. I hope everyone saw the excellent club history display case he did for our gen show. I have been concerned about our club losing its memorabilia, pictures, etc. It is now in great hands. If you have any photos, old Tumbler issues, show flyers, etc., please forward or give them to Jim.

We need someone to run for the position of Vice President. We need someone to run for the position of Vice President. They must be willing to run the monthly general meetings when the President can’t. Attend the online video board meetings. Help oversee all the club functions and volunteers. Essentially, they help the President make sure everything is running smoothly.

It is important to find someone to fill the Vice President position, as I am not going to run for reelection after this upcoming election. If reelected for the next two years, that will be my final term. So seriously, think about volunteering for the Vice Presidency. The elections will be held at our Holiday Party on December 3rd.

We continue to get new members online or in person at our monthly meetings. Our membership is presently at 140 families! 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 October meeting. Look for further details elsewhere in this issue of the Tumbler.

Kat Koch, President

Updated: October 8, 2023 — 1:07 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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