President’s Message

Vice-President’s Message

Section News

Notes from Neal

Shop and Building News

Education

Rare Minerals of Myanmar

Bench Tips

Rare and Rare Earth Minerals 

Rare Asteroid!

Christmas Rocks

Minutes of the November 7th Board Meeting

Minutes of the November 28th General Meeting

Upcoming Shows

About Us

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Calendar

Officers and Contact Information

December 1, 2023

This is my last President’s message. I am honored to have served the eclectic and diverse members of this robust Gem and Mineral Society.

I joined HGMS in January of 2012. In November I agreed to be Secretary in 2013. I have been on the Board of Directors ever since. I was secretary for three presidents: Ray Kizer, Paul Brandes, and Sigrid Stewart –all dedicated to the goal of improving HGMS. I became President two years ago. How hard could it be? I was fortunate to work with seasoned Board members and officers.

For the 2013 Show, I volunteered to find a food truck and volunteers for the Show. Now, ten years later I am filling volunteer positions for all the events HGMS schedules. And still working to keep the patrons and volunteers fed at the Annual Show.

Oh, and a few years ago I asked, “Who answers the phone?” You guessed it. Me.

In 2023 the Board authorized the continuation of projects to upgrade our building to meet suggestions made by our Insurance Broker, Pathfinder in 2021. The umbrella committee for the whole project is called the Safety and Policy Committee. Although a comprehensive undertaking was cost-prohibitive an ad hoc group of five volunteers (me as chairman) formed The North Wall Rebuild Committee to oversee the replacement of the sagging north wall in the Lapidary Shop. We chose Wood and Stone Remodeling to tear out and replace the north wall; replumb both shops; rearrange the sink in the Lapidary Shop; install a new sink in the Jewelry Shop; enhance the electrical; and paint the walls, ceiling, and floors in the Lapidary Shop.

The committee took turns being at the Club when the contractors were there. But we did not just sit and watch. Some of the things the committee members worked on personally are:

Theo Glanton and his wife, Theresa Goodwin, stripped and refinished a rusted blue cabinet, turning it into the shiny red sign-in cabinet in the shop (in the 100-degree heat.)

Richard Good used his carpentry skills to rebuild tables, make platforms for equipment to sit in to control water, and refurbish grinders and saws.

Maggie Manley spent her time cleaning the shops and equipment, organizing, and keeping us as close as possible to Code. Her guidance was needed and not appreciated nearly enough.

Heidi Shelley worked closely with the contractors, making sure they followed the contracted agreements. She and her husband Richard enlisted a friend to help them install brand new lighting in the Lapidary Shops, saving the club over $2,000. Her organized vision of the projects to empty the Lapidary Shop and move everything back into it made the process a breeze for the 25 people who came for both events.

Throughout this adventure, I asked for volunteers to help assemble new tables. We needed people to sort through years of detritus to determine what to keep, how to store it, and what to toss. When I sent out a request for folks to clean the machines before they were returned to the shop, members showed up with rubber gloves, toothbrushes, cleaners, and elbow grease. We scrubbed years of grit, oil, and grime off of big and little saws and grinders. Some people were there every time the doors opened to help: Neal Immega, Beverly Mace, Clyde McMeans, and Fred Brueckner. Others who came multiple times are Foster Kneeland, Ginger Smith, Carmen Fratelli, David Janos, Dean Wix, Ray Kizer, Steve Blyskal, Sigrid Stewart, Debbie Kirkpatrick, Rick Rexroad, Boyd Shelley, June Liles, and Sharon Halton. We saw others the day we emptied the Lapidary Shop and for the Grand Opening: June Rodriguez, Jeni Menendez, Donnie Rhodes, Sarah Metsa, Daniel Rodriguez, William and Debbie Seid, and Matthew Sklar. Heaven knows I have probably forgotten someone. Forgive me if I did.

This was the biggest project the Club has tackled in years and a huge challenge for me. I never get tired of thanking the committee: Heidi (MVP), Maggie, Richard, and Theo; and all the others who made it possible. I know we as volunteers and members should be PROUD of what was accomplished.

And there is still more for the Safety and Policy Committee to do. Jeanean Slamen is facilitating the creation of the new Policy and Procedures manual with the key Shop Supervisors. Randy Carlson is getting a structural engineer to tell us the load capacity of the attic. In 2024 we need to investigate the cost of better ventilation in the shops.

In September, HGMS hired its first Bookkeeper to do all the daily, weekly, and monthly duties that volunteers have done in the past. Michele Marsal did a stellar job of organizing what Noor Lakhani needs to know to handle the details of our finances. We still needed a Treasurer to interface with the Bookkeeper and the Board of Directors. This is one of the few times no one stepped forward. So I became President/Treasurer. Noor is a smart woman who caught on fast. I am spending my time making certain requests for reimbursement are crystal clear before Noor gets them. Our new Treasurer will have a much easier job to manage than what previous volunteers have endured.

You and I are blessed with a New Board of Directors for 2024. They are all experienced members of HGMS.

• LT Wilcox is our new President. He is a Shop Supervisor and the Chairman of the Gemstone and Faceting Section.
• Jeanean Slamen is our new 1^st Vice President, tasked with finding programs for our General Meetings. She was on the Board when she belonged to the Club years ago. After rejoining, she worked with the Donations Committee and now attends the Paleo Section meetings. Jeanean has wonderful stories about HGMS field trips with her young family.
• Sarah Metsa will be the 2^nd Vice President in charge of “all thing’s membership.” She was 1^st Vice President in 2022 and 2023. She also belonged to the Club years ago and returned after her babies became young girls.
• Sharon Halton will be returning to the Board as our Treasurer. Sharon belonged to HGMS for a few years then moved east for a few years. She returned and became Shop Supervisor again, then Secretary in 2022.
• Daniel Rodriguez will be our Secretary. He joined HGMS during Covid. When the shop reopened, he was evoked to become a Shop Supervisor.

My title on the Board for 2024 is Past President. I will speak when spoken to and guide if needed. But my responsibilities will be to find Volunteers, answer the phone, and support the Show Committee projects. Sounds like a piece of cake.

Sincerely and Humbly,

Nancy English

HGMS President/Treasurer (until December 31, 2023)

Volunteer Coordinator

The 2023 Annual HGMS Holiday Party and Auction is Saturday December 9, 2023, at 6:00 PM

We meet at the Unitarian Fellowship of Houston Hall at 1504 Wirt Road, Houston, Tx 77055

The meat, sodas, water, tea, and coffee will be provided. You get to show off your favorite side dish or dessert. The food is always good. This year the Auction will be especially good due to some excellent donations. Bidding should be competitive!

We will also be honoring some members for their years of service.

We need volunteers to set up tables at 5:00 and decorate before the party and people to re-set the sanctuary for Sunday’s service.

Please RSVP to president@hgms.org

Beading – Second Saturday, 12:30 PM  

NOTICE: Do you have a bracelet or necklace that needs restringing?  The Beading Section will carefully restring your piece at an hourly rate of $15.00 + materials.  Contact Beading @HGMS.org to make arrangements.  All funds will go to the Beading Section.

Gemstones and Faceting – Second Thursday, 6:30 PM

Zoom meeting begins at 7:30 pm.

For our last meeting of the year, we’ll review what we’d like to learn over the next year.
We have some changes in Section positions, and we’ll be going over a few announcements.
A new section position will be available if anyone is interested in volunteering to help!

Lapidary and Silversmithing – Third Monday, 7:00 PM

October 16th, 2023 Presenting Soldering 101 – Beginners welcome to this free program. Tony will present a program on soldering. Learn the differences between paste, wire and sheet solder and when to use each type. Participants will get hands on experience learning to solder a bezel. This is a technique program and will help participants develop skills to move on to making finished jewelry pieces in future meetings.

Refreshments will be served and we will choose programs for March and April. Email Lapidary@hgms.org if you have questions.

Day Light – First Wednesday, 1:00 PM

The Daylight Section meets the first Wednesday of the month from 1 to 3 PM.

On December 6th from 1 to 3 the Daylight Section will hold its next meeting at the clubhouse.

We will have a Holiday Dinner: Everyone brings a side dish. The section will provide BBQ brisket, chicken, paper plates, napkins, and utensils. Bring whatever you would like: vegetables, salads, desserts, etc. We will need someone to bring iced tea also. It is very important to RSVP so we will know how much BBQ to buy. RSVP to Daylight@hgms.org

We will have a gift exchange: Bring a Christmas ornament to exchange. Feel free to not participate in this activity.

The most important thing we will do at this meeting is to make suggestions about topics for next year’s sessions. Please come with MANY ideas. Nancy Searle says that she had just about run out of ideas!!

Nancy is unable to attend this year, but Charlie Holden has agreed to substitute for her. Please contact her at cholden111@gmail.com  if you have questions. RSVP to Daylight@hgms.org

Mineral – Third Wednesday, 7:30 PM

Mineral will hold its Holiday Party Sunday December 10th beginning at 2:30. Contact mineral@hgms.org for details.

Paleontology – Third Tuesday, 7:30 PM 

Paelo will meet on December 19th. Regular meeting, not a party!

We’ve started hybrid Zoom meetings that include members attending remotely via Zoom; if you’re intrigued by dinosaurs, trilobites, field trips to collect Texas fossils and all other paleontology-related topics we’d love to have you attend a meeting in one way or another and see what we’ve got going on. If you’d like to join the Paleo Section email list, send an email to hgmspaleosection@gmail.com and ask to be added.

Youth, First and Third Saturdays, 10:00am – 12:00pm

The annual youth section Holiday party will be Dec 2^nd at 10:00 to Noon. Please bring snacks, favorite dessert or whatever you wish.

Please RSVP to beverly_mace@att.net.

This is a great web site on rocks that look like faces – https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2016/11/the-japanese-museum-of-rocks-that-look-like-faces/

Recoating wheels – I got several wheels recoated including a really badly gouged Genie wheel. See picture below.

Please do not lean into wheels with sharp edges. Consult a shop manager about the right way to handle those sharp edges.

You are making work for me.

Classes will resume in January.

But there is more to the Mogok area than corundum, which includes both sapphires and rubies! Sapphire hunters exploring a stream bed near Mogok, Myanmar found a single transparent reddish-orange gemstone, and undoubtedly thought they had found a ruby. After study, it was recognized by the International Mineralogical Association in 2015 as a new mineral and is the only known example of Kyawthuite. The chemical formula is Bi³⁺Sb⁵⁺O₄, with traces of tantalum. Bismuth is very heavy, so the stone is very dense, 8 times denser than water, so that the faceted stone is small for its weight. This natural bismuth-antimony oxide was named after Dr Kyaw Thu, who was a geologist at Yangon University of Myanmar. It is currently stored in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

The mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic system, so a crystal would be shaped like a parallelogram. It has a luster like diamond, Mohs hardness of 5.5, and a white streak. Geologists use the “streak”, taken by scraping a specimen across an unglazed tile, to help identify minerals. A mineral could be many different colors, but the color of its streak would not change. You can see a beautiful picture of this stone at https://www.mindat.org/min-46909.html.

Painite is much harder than kyawthuite with a Mohs hardness of 7.5 to 8. It is transparent with a vitreous luster and red streak. Painite gemstones are pleochroic, meaning that they change hue depending on the angle from which they are viewed, and vary in color from brown to reddish-pink.

Besides painite and kyawthuite and rubies, Mogok is also famous for its sapphires and semi-precious gems such as garnet, peridot, moonstone, chrysoberyl, spinel, and possibly lapis lazuli (which is yet to be confirmed). The region is also known for pegmatites, source of large crystals and rare elements. Other rare minerals may turn up in these pegmatities.

In the break-up of Gondwanaland, a mini-continent that would one day be known as India spun off and then collided with the continent of Asia, leading to the formation of the Himalayas. Geologists believe that the intense heat, pressure, and subsequent migration of hot mineralized fluids accompanying this great collision, is responsible for the creation of the gemstones in the area of Mogok.

The gems are found by panning or digging in alluvial gravels, from the metamorphosed limestones marbles, of the Mogok metamorphic belt. Gemstones are sold in the markets of Mogok, but sorry, rockhound tourists, you must have special permits to visit, and you must purchase gems from government-licensed dealers.

Mogok is not the only source of gemstones in Myanmar. Check out these two.

Title picture: “Mushroom tourmaline”, Momeik Township, Kyaukme, Myanmar not far from Mogok.

Photo by Steve Blyskal. Cap of elbaite over schorl.

By James St. John – Mawsitsit (chromian jade) (Namshamaw Deposit, Hpakan-Tawmaw Jade Tract, Late Jurassic, 147 Ma; Maw Sit Sit, near Kansi, western Kachin State, Indo-Burma Range, northern Burma) 5, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40022868

References:

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/the-rarest-mineral-on-earth/

https://www.iflscience.com/there-is-only-one-specimen-of-the-rarest-mineral-on-earth-67276

https://www.mindat.org/min-46909.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogok

GIA Gemologists search for Reference Gemstones in Mogok:

https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research/blue-sapphire-lapis-lazuli-mogok-myanmar-field-expedition

And for a description of the field trip of a lifetime:

https://www.gemscene.com/mythical-mogok-and-its-mines.html

Attribution Painite:

Corundum var. ruby on a large painite crystal, Mogok, Burma. (size: 3.7×3.1×2.3 cm)

Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0  Ohngaing, Mogok, Sagaing District, Mandalay Division, Burma (Myanmar)

Attribution Mogok2 By JimmyWinMGK – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93598849

For the last few months, I’ve been unpacking from our move to the Eastern shores of Chesapeake Bay and slowly learning about the artistic community in this wonderful area. In addition to a lot of painting and wood carving, I’ve been happy to discover a few areas of metalworking and jewelry arts.

Plus I found a book store that is interested in carrying my Smart Solutions for Jewelry Making book series and will be featuring them and my Reluctant Farmer memoir at a signing event in early December.

Below are some tips for December. See Other Tips in my Smart Solutions for Jewelry Making Problems
http://amazon.com/dp/B0BQ8YVLTJ

Happy hammering,

    – Brad Smith
BradSmithJewelry@gmail.com

Around 4.5 billion years ago, a supernova explosion assisted in the creation of the solar system and all of the elements heavier than iron found on Earth, up to plutonium on the periodic table. The periodic table, as you may remember from high school science, organizes elements by their atomic number and groups them with others with similar characteristics.

Dmitri Mendeleev created the periodic table in 1869. He knew of 63 elements but hypothesized that there were more, so he left gaps for future discoveries and predicted their properties. Today, known elements number 118. Elements 93, Neptunium, and 94, Plutonium, were once thought to be synthetic, but have now been found in nature. That’s news to me since I first studied chemistry! Elements with atomic number 95 to 118 have not been found in nature but have been produced in particle accelerators or nuclear reactors. Who knows? In the future, the number might increase again.

The lanthanide series consists of 17 rare earth elements, depending on how they are defined; the 15 elements with atomic numbers from 59 to 69, which are lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium. Sometimes yttrium and scandium are included and sometimes they are classified as “transition metals”.

Rare earth elements are not necessarily rare. They exist in low concentrations in carbonatites, igneous rocks containing at least 50% carbonite minerals, monazites (phosphate minerals) and pegmatites. China produces more than 80% of rare earth elements, and Australia mines some. Rare earth elements are important in industry and electronics.

In 2015, the last rare earth element mine in the U.S., California’s Mountain Pass Quarry, closed. New deposits have been found but are not yet operational. Rare earth elements are difficult to separate, so obtaining the pure elements is expensive. Recycling rare elements from devices is also difficult, making them even more expensive.

A List of Rare Elements by Atomic Number.

Rhodium (Rh: Atomic Number 45)

Rhodium is a silver-white metal more valuable than gold, and the rarest of the non-radioactive metallic elements. It is used in catalytic convertors, in jewelry, and alloys to prevent corrosion and rusting of high-tech components. It is a member of the platinum group of the periodic table.

Lanthanum (La: Atomic Number 57)

Lanthanum, a soft, silvery-white metal that rapidly tarnishes, is the first in the rare earth element series. cerium. It is used in projectors, glass for camera lenses, storing hydrogen gas in electric cars and nickel-metal batteries for hybrid cars.

Praseodymium (Pr: Atomic Number 59)

Praseodymium is a soft, yellowy-silver metal that is highly reactive with water. It is used for yellow tints in glass and ceramics, in magnetic alloys and cell phone microphones and speakers.

Neodymium (Nd: Atomic Number 60)

Neodymium is silvery-yellow and very reactive with air, water, or acids. It is used today in magnets, welder’s glasses, electric cars, cell phone and television screens, and rechargeable batteries.

Europium (Eu: Atomic Number 63)

Europium is silvery, soft, and reacts quickly with air, water and acids. in a similar way to calcium. It is responsible for the red shades in screens and is also used in nuclear control rods because it absorbs neutrons.

Terbium (Tb: Atomic Number 65)

Terbium is gray-silver and can be cut with a knife. This rare element reacts quickly with water and acids.  It is responsible for the green shades in cell phone and television screens. It is also used in semiconductors, low-energy lightbulbs, and lasers.

Dysprosium (Dy: Atomic Number 66)

Dysprosium means “hard to obtain” in Greek – “unobtainium”, anyone? It is a bright silver metal also soft enough to cut with a knife. It is used in wind turbines, electric car engines, and cell phones.

Thulium (Tm: Atomic Number 69)

Thulium is the rarest of the rare earth elements, and is a silvery-gray metal, again, soft enough to cut with a knife.  One use is industrial radiography to test welds in pipes and tanks.

Osmium (Os: Atomic Number 76)

Osmium is a blue-gray metal and is the densest element. It is unaffected by water, air, or acids and is used to make super-hard alloys for high-stress applications. It is also a component of pacemakers.

Iridium (Ir: Atomic Number 77)

Iridium is a yellow-white metallic element, of the second highest-density element after osmium. Because it is also the most corrosion-resistant metal, iridium is used for standard weights and measures. It hardens platinum and is used in high-strength alloys capable of withstanding high temperatures. It is very rare on Earth – about 2 parts per billion – but more common in asteroids and meteorites, so much so that it is acknowledged as a marker for the Cretaceous–Paleogene or K–Pg Boundary (formerly known as the K/T Boundary – thanks, whoever renames these things), an ash layer from the huge asteroid impact probably responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs.

Astatine (At: Atomic Number 85)

Astatine may be the rarest element on Earth, but it is a gas, and not in wide use. The most important rare elements incorporated in modern technology are metals.

References:

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/the-top-10-rarest-elements-in-the-world/?from=exit_intent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Thulium

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1727-how-elements-are-formed

A team at the University of Arizona in Tucson has been studying the superdense main belt asteroid 33 Polyhymnia. This asteroid, which was named for Greek muse of hymns, is so dense that researchers theorize that it may be made up of elements off the charts of the current periodic table. Johann Rafelski, a University of Arizona physics professor, and co-author with graduate students of a newly published study on Polyhymnia, have classified the asteroid as a compact ultradense object or CUDO and expects that this will make the asteroid a target for exploration.

In a study published recently in The European Physical Journal Plus, researchers reached the conclusion that Polyhymnia’s density may be higher than that of any elements known on Earth. They predict that this asteroid has a density of around 75 g/cm³. Some combination of superheavy elements would be required to achieve that.

Theoretical physicists have long predicted the possibility of an island of stability for elements around atomic number 164, past the radioactive elements such as uranium and plutonium known on Earth.

Such elements would have greater density than that of Osmium, the densest known earthly stable element with 76 protons and a density of 22.59 g/cm³. The lab-created element with the highest atomic number, 118, is oganesson (density 7.2 g/cm³.) In Rafelski’s study, they predicted that a stable element with atomic number 164 would have a density between 36.0 and 68.4 g/cm³.

If some asteroids in the asteroid belt really do contain elements that are not found on Earth, they could be a future target for mining missions. Speculation by miners and in science fiction such as the Prime Video series “The Expanse” have suggested mining the asteroids for rare minerals, metals and elements, including gold. Other asteroids have been studied that suggest rich deposits.

References:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/10/19/asteroid-polyhymnia-superheavy-elements-periodic-table-study/71238565007/

https://www.iflscience.com/asteroid-33-polyhymnia-may-contain-elements-outside-the-periodic-table-71076

In the December 2018 Chips and Chatter, I nominated Watermelon tourmaline as the Christmas Mineral. I also nominated Bloodstone as the Christmas Rock. In the December 2019 Chips and Chatter, I added the Calcite and Wilmanite specimens from Franklin County, New Jersey to the Christmas mineral list. Last year I added a link to an article on mindat.com titled Minerals Reminiscent of Christmas (https://www.mindat.org/mesg-278215.html). I implored everyone to read that article – it had a wealth of ideas about Christmas Minerals. I again ask, if you have not yet done so, take a look at the article. Last year I added a Christmas Rock – but a rock for those on Santa’s “Naughty List”, a lump of black coal.

This year I wanted to add some red and green stones (other than bloodstone) to the Christmas Rock list. The first is Unakite. Most Unakite is Green and Pink, but with a little effort, you can also find Green and Red Unakite. Unakite is a granite composed of orthoclase feldspar (pink to red), epidote (green), and clear to milky quartz. It has a Mohs hardness of 6 to 7. Unakite was originally found in North Carolina in the Unaka mountains. The most productive mines are in Virginia. It can be found in many places in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has also been found in Africa, Brazil, China, and Australia.

I also want to add Anyolite, also called Ruby in Zoisite, Ruby-Zoisite, and Tanganyika Artstone. Anyolite was originally found in the Tanganyika Territory which later became part of Tanzania. Anyolite is composed of green zoisite and ruby. The hardness of Anyolite is classified as 6.5 which is the hardness of the green zoisite, the predominant mineral in the stone. The ruby crystals, which are not gem quality, have a hardness of 9. Predominately found in Tanzania, it has also been found in Australia.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Reference:

• Unakite, Zoisite and Clinozoisite, Geology.com, https://geology.com/gemstones/
• Wikipedia, Unakite, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unakite Pictures • Tumbled Unakite, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/ used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 • Anyolite, Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/ used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Meeting Statistics:

The Zoom Meeting was called to order by President Nancy English at 7:35 p.m. Because there were only 6 members present, there was not a quorum. There were no non-voting members in attendance. By 7:40 p.m. another Board member entered the meeting and a Quorum was present from then on.

President’s Comments:

President English recognized Dean Wix for offering to handle money at the annual HGMS Rock, Gem, and Mineral Show. President English and Dean Wix will go to the bank and count the cash required for use during the show. Other business was discussed as to who was volunteering where at the HGMS rock show.

Treasurer’s Report:

September Financial Report Discussion: President English received the QuickBooks information from Noor Lakhani. Noor created the same Financial Tracker that the Board is accustomed to. The financials were emailed to Board members prior to the Board of Directors meeting. President English did not see any issues with the financials. However, Board member Fred Brueckner had a question. He wondered about the column headers for comparing the Show budget and actuals. What years do the data represent – 2021 as written or 2022 (which is missing a column)? President English did not have an answer and offered to find out for the Board members.

Tax Withholding on HGMS Bank Account: Sarah Metsa agreed to contact Live Oak Bank and inquire about the withholding tax that has been debited from the HGMS savings account since November 30, 2022.

FYI – Approval of Minutes:

• On October 19, 2023, Secretary Heidi Shelley moved via email to approve the minutes of the October 3, 2023, Board of Directors’ Meeting. Board Member Randy Carlson seconded it. There were 9 approvals and 1 non-response. The motion passed with a majority vote.

Committee Reports

• BBG Notice – Beverly Mace notified members on November 6, 2023, via email that the online version of the November BBG is available on the HGMS Website.
• Donations, Sales, Auction Committee (DSAC): Richard Good is working on obtaining more rocks from a recent donation client located in Dallas. When he receives a schedule from the donor, he will ask for help and pick up more of the donation.
• Education Committee (Maggie Manley): There are no new classes posted.
• Safety/Policy Committee (Nancy English):
  • Pathfinder Insurance, the insurance broker for HGMS, did a walkthrough of the clubhouse with President English. She said it was successful. They liked our progress.
  • The $9,105 new premium was mailed to the club in October. President English did not receive it. Nancy paid the premium via phone on November 1, 2023This is an 18% increase, less than the 20% Hanover is handing out to most customers.
  • We still have more to do before we ask for a reduction based on safety. Smoke and CO2 detectors need to be installed. Floor lighting to exits needs to be installed. Filtration for shops needs to be installed. The board also discussed the need for regress lighting on the floors and options to fulfill the insurance broker’s request.
  • Load Limit of Loft: Randy Carlson was scheduled to meet with an engineer to give a bid on what needs to happen get calculate the load limit. Because of the amount of items stored in the attic, he was not able to access much of the floor in the attic. He has two other companies to call.
• Membership Committee (Beverly Mace):  Statistics Report for October: During October, there were the following new memberships added: six single adult memberships, four couple memberships, one youth membership, two family memberships, and one Individual Adult Lifetime membership.
• Scholarship Committee (Mike Sommers): President English reported that HGMS received another $1,000 donation to use towards scholarships for 2024.

Show Committee (NJE):  Volunteers are still needed for the show.

• Come to the Volunteer Appreciation party on 11-18-23 at Scott Singleton’s house.
• The FF Movers are coming to the shop Thursday at 5:00 p.m. to pick up the Show Supplies from the clubhouse and haul them to the Humble Civic Center.
• President English is working on printing badges for the show, both for the vendors and for the volunteers helping HGMS.
• Demonstrations given by volunteers during the show were discussed.
• Setup requirements, police and firefighters, and logistics for the show were also discussed.

Section News/Problems to Report:

• Beading Section (Maggie Manley):
• Day Light Section (Fred Brueckner):
• Gemstones/Faceting (__):
• Lapidary/Silversmithing (Richard Good):
• Mineral (Ray Kizer):
• Paleo (Mike Dawkins):
• Youth (Beverly Mace):

Old Business

• Bookkeeper/Treasurer: Noor Lakhani has started with her work and sending reimbursements for club expenses in a timely manner.
• School Class Collaboration: Vice President Sarah Metsa has emailed the school three times and has not heard back yet. This will be put on hold until after the HGMS show in November.
• Homeschooling classes: Secretary Heidi Shelley is moving out of state and will no longer be available to follow through with this idea.
• Equipment Schedule for insurance – During the August Board meeting, Richard Good offered to engrave an equipment number on then grinders and make a list for the Insurance Schedule. No updates on this item.
• Changes in Board for 2024 –President English reminded the Board of Directors that the following positions need to be filled for the 2024 year: President, Vice President over programs, Secretary and a Treasurer. Because HGMS was first established a corporation and then as a non-profit, the society needs to have a Board of Directors. If club members do not volunteer for these positions in 2024, then HGMS will close as of January 1, 2024, until which time that these Board positions may be filled. President English will create a write-up for the eblast to club members stating this information.
• Annual Party – Scheduled for December 9, 2023 at the Unitarian Fellowship Hall. President English reported that usually HGMS can gain access to the building around 5:00 p.m. for setting up.

New Business

• Awards of thanks for longtime members: Beverly Mace and Michele Marsel. The Board discussed what type of thanks would be meaningful for the years of service to HGMS by these individuals.
• Key Codes for Door: Board members Fred Brueckner offered to look into loading the required software onto his spare laptop. Once completed, he can receive training from Michele Marsel on maintaining door access to the HGMS building.

Dates of Note

Adjourn

Board member Fred Brueckner moved to adjourn the Board of Directors Meeting. Board member Ray Kizer seconded the motion and it passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.

Meeting Statistics:

The meeting was called to order by President Nancy English at 7:30 p.m. There were thirteen online participants and twenty-five people attending in person.

President’s Comments:

President Nancy English invited Beverly Mace to come up to the front of the room. Nancy honored Beverly for 33 years as Youth Section Chairman, 29 years as Membership Chairman and 2^nd Vice President of the HGMS Board of Directors. As Membership Chairman she keeps the membership records and makes the records available for mailings and weekly e-blasts. Beverly’s commitment to HGMS has been demonstrated by years of work on the Show Committee. Before the Show she spends hours labeling everything in the attic to be certain it all gets on the moving truck and delivered to the Show correctly. After the Show she directs the unloading of the truck and directs putting everything back where it belongs. She hosts the Youth Area at the Show entertaining hundreds of children over the 3 days of the Show. She volunteers every year at the Clear Lake Show to advertise the HGMS Show. She spent days…weeks at the club during the renovation. She made sure everything in the attic was moved away from the wall that would be torn down underneath it, then moved it all back. During the renovation she sorted the tables full of stuff to determine what to keep and what to pitch. She scrubbed dirty tables and machines for days. She attends every General Meeting setting up the door prizes, sometimes the room, and making sure everyone is signed up for the door prize drawing. She organized the Xmas parties for years. Nancy invited other members to list Beverly’s contributions. Ray Kizer reminded us of the hundreds of cookies she bakes every year for the Show volunteers. David Hawkins said there used to be a Member of the Year award. Beverly was voted Member of the Year for Most Active Member … Nancy Fischer told us that for years she and Beverly mailed ten Show tickets to hundreds of members. Beverly organized the Post Card mailing parties for years making sure thousands of Show postcards were labelled and sorted in zip code order for bulk mailing. She sent the Home School list Show invitations. 2023 is her last year as 2^nd Vice President and Membership Chairman. Gratefully on behalf of the Houston Gem and Mineral Society Nancy presented her with a gift of Arizona petrified wood bookends. Beverly will continue as Chairman of the Youth Section and participate in the Annual Show Youth Area. Beverly thanked HGMS for the gift and said she has enjoyed doing this all these years. We applauded her.

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes of the October 24, 2023, General Meeting were published in the November edition of the Back Bender’s Gazette on HGMS.org.

Motion Club Member Sarah Metsa moved to approve the October 2023; General Meeting Minutes as published in the November Back Bender’s Gazette. Ray Kizer seconded the motion and it passed.

Committee Reports/Section Reports

• Donations, Sales, Auction Committee (DSAC): Ray Kizer picked out 56 stellar items for the Holiday Auction. These are high end items so bring your credit cards and checkbooks.
• Education Committee: Maggie Manley announced two upcoming classes she will be teaching in December: a beaded bezel and tree of life. Watch the Website and weekly eblasts for details.
• Safety/Policy Committee:
  • HGMS Policies and Procedures: Jeanean is working on the new Shop policies and procedures.
• Membership Committee: Statistics Report for October: Beverly Mace reported that during October, the following new memberships were added: six single adult memberships, four couple memberships, one youth membership, two family memberships, and one Individual Adult Lifetime membership. If a person joins the Club now the membership dues will be the new prices and last from now until December 31, 2024.
• Show Committee: President English reported more paid participation at the Annual Show than before the pandemic. The chairmen of the different areas of the Show told Nancy English this was the best group of volunteers in recent history: 134 volunteers filled 271 shifts. The Dino Dig hosted 466 diggers in 3 days, most of them on Friday The Apprecition Party at Scott Singleton’s home was terrific. Debbie Seid organized the food to be catered by Niko Niko’s. And she augmented it with gluten free appetizers, homemade baklava, and gluten free cupcakes. Sigrid Stewart brought apple pie. Everyone took home a door prize, thanks to Sigrid Stewart, Steve Blyskal, Sarah Metsa, and Scott Singleton. Do not miss this party next year. Please return the magnetic signs.

Old Business:

• Annual Holiday Party – Nancy English reminded everyone that the Holiday Party is Scheduled for December 9, 2023, at the Unitarian Fellowship Hall. We eat at 6:00 p.m. Barbeque form the Hickory Barn will be provided. Bring your favorite side dish or a dessert. BYOB. Volunteers may start set up at 5:00 p.m. We need volunteers to take down the tables and chairs and clean up afterwards. The church needs to be ready for services on Sunday.

• Vote on Bylaws changes:

The Bylaws need to be changed to raise the lifetime membership to $750.00 from $500.00. Now the Membership section reads

Section 2 – Membership Designations

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP: this membership can be purchased for $500.00 and has all rights and privileges of Senior membership including the right to make motions, vote, and hold office. Lifetime Members pay no further membership dues after the initial $500.00 payment.

If approved, the Bylaws will read:

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP: this membership can be purchased for $750.00 and has all rights and privileges of Senior membership including the right to make motions, vote, and hold office. Lifetime Members pay no further membership dues after the initial $750.00 payment.

MOTION: Ray Kizer moved to approve the change in the bylaws to raise the lifetime membership to $750 from $500. Sarah Metsa seconded the motion and it passed.

Vote on Officers: President English introduced the 2024 slate of elected officers. All of them have been with the Club for years and are eager to lead HGMS in 2024.

• President:
  • Logan Wilcox
• 1^st Vice President:
  • Jeanean Slamen
• 2nd Vice President:
  • Sarah Metsa
• Secretary:
  • Daniel Rodriguez
• Treasurer:
  • Sharon Halton

MOTION Nancy Fischer moved to elect the above mentioned slate of officers for 2024. Joy Lester seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Sarah took the online votes. Nancy English thanked the New Elected Board Members. The room applauded them.

• SCFMS announced the awards for best newsletter, best article, best poem, and more at the October 14, 2023, Zoom meeting. Sigrid Stewart will announce them at the January 23, 2024, General Meeting.

Section Announcements

Please look for reports of future Section meetings and programs in the BBG calendar, on the Website https://hgms.org/events, or by reading the weekly Sunday, e-blast from Houston Gem and Mineral Society.

Any additional announcements There were no additional announcements.

• Beading Section (Maggie Manley):
• Day Light Section (Fred Brueckner):
• Gemstones/Faceting: (Randy Carlson)
• Lapidary/Silversmithing (Richard Good):
• Mineral (Ray Kizer):
• Paleo (Mike Dawkins):
• Youth (Beverly Mace):

New Business

Paul Brandes introduced his latest book. Michigan Rocks! A Guide to Geologic Sites in the Great Lakes State in Paperback. He said he will bring the Michigan Rocks! book to sell at the Holiday party. Nathalie Brandes got invited to speak at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society, likely in January right before the Tucson Show in February.

The next Board of Directors meeting is on

• Tuesday, December 5, 2023
• Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Both meetings start at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. If you would like to attend, please send an email to President@HGMS.org. The Board always meets via Zoom.

The next General Hybrid Meeting (Zoom and In-person) will be held on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.

Show and Tell There was no Show and Tell. Steve Blyskal and Sigrid Stewart are collecting in Alpine. They will have rocks to show in January.

Door Prize

James Eleckel won the picture jasper slab on a stand.

Final Comments

President English said this is the last General Meeting she will preside over. She is honored to represent the Houston Gem and Mineral Society as President for the last two years. She thanked everyone for their support over the last two years and for the last eleven years while she was secretary. This has been a wonderful experience. One I will cherish forever. She once again thanked the volunteers who made tonight’s meeting possible and all volunteers who make HGMS possible. Looking around the room, everyone except the new members were volunteers for HGMS.

Debbie Seid brought the refreshments. Please feed the Kitty It goes to offset the cost of the refreshments. Members thanked Nancy for her time as president. Nancy said she will introduce the program after the break: Sarah Metsa spoke about precious metals; buying and selling, jewelry and bullion, spot, premiums, discounts, and more!

Adjourn

James Eleckel moved to adjourn the General Meeting. Sarah Metsa seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed. The General Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Thank Heidi Shelley:  Unfortunately, after the recording was stopped President English remembered that she had planned to surprise Heidi Shelley by thanking her at the meeting. She thanked Heidi Shelley for her outstanding work with the North Wall Rebuild Committee. Heidi was our MVP: organizing the removal of everything in the Lapidary Shop, working with the contractors to keep them on point, installing new light fixtures, and organizing the move back into the new Shop. Heidi, her husband Richard, and son Boyd are moving to Boston. Nancy wanted to thank her for all she has done with the remodel and as Secretary for 2023.

Fredericksburg Rockhounds

01/20/2024 – 01/21/2024

Saturday 9:00am – 6:00pm; Sunday 10:am – 45:00pm
Ladybird Johnson Park (Pioneer Pavilion)

Hwy 16 South, Fredericksburg TX

Contact: Frank Rowell (325) 248-1067

hcgms20@gmail.com;

fredericksburgrockhounds.org

East Texas Gem & Mineral Society

01/26/2024 – 01/28/2024

Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm, Saturday 10:00am – 6:00pm, Sunday 10:00am – 5:00pm

Tyler Rose Garden Center, 420 Rose Park Drive, Tyler TX

Contact Jerry Suddeth, (903) 787-2088

suddethjerry13@gmail.com

www.ETGMS.org