Most Recent Meeting Minutes


Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: August 14th, 2017

Intro:
President Mike Pabst called the meeting to order. There were 21 members and 4 guests present.

Old Business:
Dean Hostetter reminded everyone of the upcoming show in September and to pick up a case to prepare at the September meeting.

There is information on our website on some
pointers about making a display.

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New Business:
1. Dean and Scott Gregory announced that due to work schedules, they can no longer be in charge of the annual mineral show.

There was some discussion about the fact that several of our usual vendors are no longer doing shows at all.

We have a few less vendors this year because of that information.

The club may decide to eliminate this show in the future, or there may be a chance of changing the date to June. More information will be forthcoming.

2. Club members were encouraged to take fliers to various businesses, post offices, etc. to announce the show.


Program Report:
Tommy LeBeau did a wonderful PowerPoint presentation about the Blanchard Mine in Socorro County, New Mexico.

He and his dad visited there a couple of years ago and were able to collect some very interesting specimens.

Mike Pabst assisted Tommy in making photos of some of the micros they discovered hidden in the samples.

The mine opened in 1916 as a galena mine, and was sold to the Blanchard’s in 1936. After being closed for a while, it re-opened to the public in the 1970s for collecting.

“Blanchard blue” flurorite, yellow beaverite, green brochantite, and deep blue linarite were some of the mineral specimens he brought to show us.

Thanks to Tommy for taking us on this intriguing field trip (and we were glad he didn’t see any rattlers that day!)

If you missed the meeting, you can get some more information at this site:
http://peaktopeak.com/blanchard/

Field Trip Info:
Please refer to “SVGMS Field Trips News” document you received from the club secretary 9/5/2017 for a description of the current status of field trips and details about upcoming trips.

If you are a club member with paid-up dues and you did not receive the “Field Trip News” document, please contact the secretary at loverocksandminerals@gmail.com or at a monthly meeting to correct this issue.

This will be the principle way information about field trips are distributed to members, so we want to insure everyone is correctly addressed.

  • There is a field trip to Willis Mountain on Sat. Sept 23rd. This is set up by another mineral club, and unfortunately it is the same day as our show.  
  • There will be a field Trip to Vesuvius VA - Unakite (private collecting opportunity). More info later.

Wayne will give an update from the Burnsville, VA trip in September.

Looking ahead:
Start planning on making a display case for the show in September at EXPO. Last year we had quite a few displays which the public thoroughly enjoyed, and we had a lot of help which made things go smoothly.

This is a lot of fun, and it is great to see our regular vendors at our Friday night dinner. (Sept 22, 23, 24) Mark your calendars and come help out!

If you’d like to present a program, please talk to an officer at a meeting or sign up at this link:
http://www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org/next_neeting_program/sign_up_to_present_program.php

Anyone can sign up to bring snacks for a monthly meeting by clicking this link:
http://www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org/next_meeting_info/sign_up_to_bring_refreshments.php

Be sure to keep up with our website
www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org and our Facebook page Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society for updates and information.

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Volunteers for Refreshments, 2017:
February: TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
March:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
April:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
May:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
June:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
July: N/A - Club Picnic
August:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
September:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
October:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
November:
TBD <<--NEED A VOLUNTEER!!
December: N/A - Club Christmas Dinner

Deborah Grimm, Secretary

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Club Officers and Staff 2016-2017
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Show Co-Chairs – Dean Hostetter/Scott Gregory
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinators - Wayne Petersen/Scott Duresky
Treasurer – Scott Gregory
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn

Club web site:
www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com


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