January 2018 – President’s Message

Presidents Message

A Note from the President’s Desk . . .

We had 30 members and their families attend our holiday dinner this year. This was the largest turnout we have had in several years. It was so nice to visit with everyone and to enjoy the good food everyone brought.

Thank you for reelecting me to the Presidency and to the other Board members that are continuing to serve another term on the Board. I also want to welcome our newbie Roger Danneman (Director) to the Board.

I have been passing out show fliers and club fliers at various functions: Kitsap Holiday Dinner and craft shows Mike and I have done this season. While at Kitsap Club dinner I found out at their November rock show they enrolled 60+ new memberships. I sure hope we do as well at our show.

Everyone that is interested in volunteering to help at our Cascade Rock and Gem Show, now is the time to talk to Mark and commit to a spot. We need a PR person (you can do this from home via email and phone) and someone to work with the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts and Campfire in order to get them to attend and use our event to earn their badges (other than possibly initial contact, this can be coordinated from home via email and phone). We have a huge project ahead of us and we need all hands-on-deck in order to accomplish it. We can not leave the burden to put our show together to 8 or 10 members. Don’t procrastinate call or email Mark now!

Our auction at the holiday dinner was a success. We made a deposit to our checking account of $855. In case you have ever wondered where our money goes. Our rock auction income plus membership fees go towards the monthly meeting room rental, our annual dues to the Northwest Federation, American Federation, WA Mineral Council and misc expenses throughout the year. Thanks to Rich and Mark’s hard work we have been able to get rid of our storage unit as of the end of this past December. The storage unit was a huge drain on our annual budget. With the income from our Gem Show in 2018 and no storage unit fees we should once again be in very good physical shape. After 2018 rock show, I am hoping we can once again resume an annual scholarship award to a couple of deserving college students studying geology and related sciences.

Kat Koch

CMS President

Updated: March 22, 2018 — 9:39 pm

Presidents Message

  • From the Top of the Rock Pile 2024 is in our rearview mirror. It was a very successful year for our club. We moved our Cascade Gem Show to June at Kent Commons. It has been an excellent decision for our club. We had the largest attendance since resuming our shows in 2018, with approximately 3,200 visitors! The proceeds from our two club auctions in 2024 brought in around $1,800. These funds help to cover our club’s largest expense, the liability insurance policy. I expect the premium for 2025 will be near $3,000. Our booth at the Puyallup Gem Faire …

Meeting Announcements

  • February 13th – Jim Cerenzie – Finding New (Old) Rockhounding Sites Our club member, Jim Cerenzie, is going to speak on how he finds long forgotten sites to hunt for rocks and crystals. He has a YouTube channel called the “Vug Meister” where he and his son go rockhounding to these places. If you watch YouTube please support him by subscribing to his channel. Show ‘n Tell: Your favorite rockhounding find. It can be a find from a field trip, your yard, the beach, or a riverbed.

  • March 13th – Field Trip Preview by Roger Danneman Where will we go this year? Join our wagonmaster Roger Danneman as he gives us a preview of all of the places the Club will explore this year on field trips – and what kinds of materials you might find there. Show ‘n Tell: Something you’ve found on a prior field trip (with a club or on your own!).

  • April 10th – Rock BINGO Kent schools on spring break. So all you members, junior members and their friends, your grandkids, guests it is time for our Rock Bingo night.  Everyone is guaranteed to be a winner. Rock Bingo is free tonight – bring 3 wrapped presents (see below). Maximum 3 game cards per player. Each player is to bring 3 wrapped presents. Rocks, minerals, fossils, cabachons, slabs, jewelry, or anything that you think would be a nice gift.  Guests do not need to bring any wrapped items.

  • May 8th – Glaciers by Paul Ahnberg What are the benefits of glaciers? Glaciers, slow-moving rivers of ice, have sculpted mountains and carved valleys throughout Earth’s history. They continue to flow and shape the landscape in many places today. But glaciers affect much more than the landscape. Show ‘n Tell: A white or clear mineral or crystal.

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