President’s Message – May 2020 (Click Here for More Info)

Past Presidents Message

From the Top of the Rock Pile . . . . . . .

Mike and I had a great road trip to the Tucson Gem Show, San Antonio – Texas, Buckhorn – New Mexico and an unexpected stop in Quartzsite. There were still many vendors there until the end of April.

During our trip I found out my sister had a stroke so Mike dropped me off near Palm Springs to be with my sister and he then headed home.

Shortly after Mike returned home my car was stolen and our house broken into. All our treasures from our road trip were still inside my car. Luckily they didn’t steal much from inside our house. Mike was home and once they entered our kitchen and dining area they must heard someone was inside the house and awake. They must have been spooked and immediately left with my car.

I have been home since April 11th. Ever since returning home I have been dealing with my car and home owners claims with my insurance company.

I am sad to say there will be no Thursday general club meeting or Board meeting in May. I am very hopeful that we will see everyone in June.

The Board has been discussing what to do regarding our gem show. If we do proceed forward with it what changes do we need to make? Do we need to provide hand sanitizer and masks for all visitors? Are people going to want to come out to a show where there are a large group of people? Should we have fewer booth space and/or lower the price of booth space? This would substantially affect our bottom line. Are we going to have enough volunteers to run the show? If we proceed with our show, we must do everything to make sure our vendors make money. Are people going to have discretionary money to spend on rocks and minerals? If we do cancel it we will have to absorb the expenses already incurred. Such a big decision.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in June. We all need some “rock talk” with our club friends!

Kat Koch

Updated: August 19, 2020 — 7:50 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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