August 2022 Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Meeting of Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society
Meeting date: August 8, 2022
Intro:
We had a great meeting last night at our new location in Bridgewater. THANK YOU so much Kelly Lane, for offering us the church social hall for our meetings; this will probably be our new location for a while. There were 21 members present.
New Business
LONG minutes, but important info!!!
Topic 1: Mike Papst, our president, introduced Elizabeth Johnson, a professor at JMU to share information about the mineral museum. She has done studies of Mole Hill, worked with a geologist at CALTech, and even got to study the Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian! She and Eric Pyle, another JMU geology professor, are now in charge of the museum. They are working on cataloging & storing the vast amount of minerals there, and overseeing visits to the museum. Here are new hours for public visitation - Mon, Wed, & Fri from 1-4 pm and the 2nd Saturday of the month 1-4 pm. If you have never been, it is actually one of the premier mineral museums in the USA. Go to the website for pics and more information: https://www.jmu.edu/mineralmuseum. Thanks, Elizabeth (and your husband, Steve), for taking the time to visit with us.
Topic 2: Mike has been representing our club at the annual EFMLS convention. I sent out an email about the convention on Sunday, Aug. 7th. The convention is in Harrisburg, PA, September 23-25. He is inviting any club member to go and represent us. (You can be reimbursed for your expenses by the club). If you would like to go, and have any questions, please contact Mike at michaeljpabst@yahoo.com. The EFMLS covers our insurance and allows us to use their ZOOM platform. We pay annual dues to them.
Topic 3: Thomas Hale of the Friends of Mineralogy VA Chapter and the Virginia Mineral Project has finally completed part one of the book on Northern Virginia Trap Rock Quarries. He will be at our show with lots of educational materials, and will be selling his book as well. Please see Mike at the show if you would like a copy.
Topic 4: Scott gave us an update on the show. He has confirmed 35 vendors and 230 tables!!!! [Updated 8/28/22 - Ed.] We've come a long way since the first show with 8 tables at a middle school in Waynesboro!) We will have TV ads on Channel 29 and Channel 3 the week of the show, with spots on the Today Show, Wheel of Fortune and the nightly news. We also have ads on MeTV and WHSV.com, as well as the Community Calendar. Rock and Gem magazine has published our notice as well. Jack has shared info on FaceBook and we are asking everyone to share that.
We always provide a meal for our vendors on Friday night. Scott has ordered chicken, but needs a volunteer to pick it up in Waynesboro around 5:30 to bring it to EXPO. Club members are asked to bring an entree, dessert and drinks. A Boy Scout troop will be offering drinks and snacks to the public this year. The club is buying the items; the Scouts will reimburse us the cost, and they can keep the profits. Scott no longer has a truck, and will need someone to take the drinks and snacks to the show. We need club members to loan coolers to keep the drinks cold - there is ice for us to use in the building.
Jack also talked about promoting the show. Please put out your yard signs & use the car magnets from now to the show. Fliers/show pads can be placed in beauty salons, car dealerships, breweries, wineries, gift shops..... any place that the public gathers. He reminded us to pick up a display case at the shop this Saturday 9 am to noon. Please replace any glass tops with thin Plexiglass - the club will reimburse you.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!! We are using both the large and small rooms at EXPO this year. Only a few members have signed up to help. We will need at least 50 people at various times to ensure that this will be the best and biggest show ever!! Please consider helping, even if only a couple of hours on one of the days. Thursday is setting up the tables in both rooms - we'll begin around 9 am and hopefully will be done by 1 pm. The vendors set up as early as 7 am on Friday morning, and some of them need help - we even have one vendor from Nebraska! Sunday evening is a very busy time - we need helpers to assist the vendors closing down & loading up. We also need to put away all the tables, and clean the floors.
During the show, we need people to collect money for tickets ($4 adults/ $3 students & senior citizens - CASH only). Volunteers will wear a lanyard to identify them as helpers - if you have yours from last year, please bring it. Some of our vendors work alone, and will need bathroom breaks, or time to get some food. We are asking all volunteers to be watch dogs, but not to confront anyone. If you see something unusual, please speak discreetly to the vendor. We need help with the sluice & the sandbox for the youth. Charlie & Michelle will be busy doing demos the entire show, Jack, Jilly, & Larry will be vendors. These folks will need breaks as well.
I will send out another sign up sheet later this week. I encourage you to help - this is your club and your show & we only ask for your assistance once a year. Thanks in advance for considering to be a volunteer at the show. It's actually a lot of fun!!!
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Program Report:
The program consisted largely around discussion of the above topics.
Next meeting:
Our next meeting is September 12th at Bridgewater Baptist Church in Dayton VA.
FYI - If Waynesboro City Schools are closed due to inclement weather on a meeting day, our meeting will be canceled. The club secretary will try to send out an email ASAP that day, and an announcement will be posted on the club’s Facebook page and web site.
Thanks for your understanding; we want everyone to be safe!
Field Trips: We are not planning any field trips any time soon, but if anyone knows of places to collect in small groups, let the club secretary know and they can send out the info.
Looking ahead:
With pandemic concerns diminishing, the lapidary shop will be open the Saturday following a regular meeting. (See Events At A Glance for a calendar view). Leo, Charlie & Jack can assist you. Open from 9 am to noon. This is a small enclosed space; please follow whatever COVID protective guidelines you think appropriate.
There are several slab saws and trim saws. Keep in mind that safety is a priority, and wear closed toe shoes, safety glasses, with no loose hair or long sleeves. Children must be supervised and closely monitored to insure they are safely using the equipment. Check this page to see what you can learn to do!
If you’d like to present a program, please talk to an officer at a meeting.
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.
Deborah Grimm, Secretary
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Club Officers and Staff 2016-2022
President – Michael Pabst
Vice President – Leo Cloutier
Educational Outreach -- Deborah Grimm
Secretary/Newsletter -- Deborah Grimm
Field Trip Coordinators - TBD
Co-Treasurers – Scott Gregory/Deborah Grimm
Show Team Leaders – Scott Gregory/Jack Glenn
Web Site Coordinator – Jack Glenn
Club web site: shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org
Club Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ShenandoahValleyGemMineralSociety
Club email: svgem-min-club@live.com