President’s Message and Shop Renovation

Section News

Notes from Neal

Education

Sad News

Red, White and Blue

Bench Tips

Copper Scorpion

Texas State Dinosaur

Red, White and Blue Mineral and Rock Word Find

Minutes of the June 6th Board Meeting

Minutes of the June 27th General Meeting

Upcoming Shows

About Us

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Calendar

Officers and Contact Information

Epic! That’s the only word for the beginning Saturday, June 24, 2023, of our clubhouse renovation! And I cannot describe it better.

The Houston Gem & Mineral Society is a volunteer organization, well-known for turning out enough volunteers to put on a successful annual show and run the operations of the shops and the Society. As President, Volunteer Coordinator, and Chairman of the Safety & Policy Committee (S&PC) I counted on my eBlast request to prompt the membership to volunteer their time to prepare the Club for contractors to begin demolition on June 26. And you did!

• On June 3 and 17, Beverly Mace coordinated moving the Annual Show supplies and the Sections’ materials away from the north wall in the attic.
• On June 23, volunteers disconnected the water and electric lines for the grinding machines and trim saws.
• On June 24, beginning at 9:30 am, people showed up in work clothes and gloves and closed-toe shoes. By 10:00 twenty-four people were clearing the walls and peg boards; moving grinders and trim saws; and removing lapidary materials and tools from cabinets. Thanks to Heidi Shelley’s plan for the actual move of equipment and material it was all accomplished safely and efficiently. They carried it all to designated tables in the middle classroom and meeting hall areas. Everyone cleaned as they worked too, as some equipment had not been moved in a long time, and grinding and sawing are not tidy activities.
• We broke for lunch at 11:30. Other volunteers put out sandwich makings, chips, potato salad, Beverly Mace’s homemade cookies, and Theresa Goodwin’s Bundt cake. Everyone relaxed, ate a bite, and cooled off after their labors. Nancy issued free shop coupons to the volunteers. A coupon buys an hour of shop time for every hour worked.
• Then back to work. The Silversmithing Shop cabinets were emptied. The garage was cleared out to make room for renovation supplies. By 1:00 p.m., everything had been moved, and Clyde McMeans was removing the marine plywood tops of the old grinding machine bench to save.
• On Sunday, June 25, two volunteers spent 3 hours scraping the oil buildup off of the floors with a putty knife and metal dustpan.  They mopped the whole shop and cleaned the sink. More cleaning will need to be done before we move all the stuff back.

In the words of Jeanean Slamen, “The only currency we have (for our volunteers) is Compliments and Respect.” Consistently I am overcome with gratitude for the volunteers who make HGMS available for over 400 members. HGMS operations, administration, and future depend on the generous members who dedicate their skills and expertise to the progress of our non-profit society. But for this project, we are giving coupons for one hour of free shop time for every hour volunteered towards the renovation. Please, let me know if you have worked on the project and have not gotten your coupons. There will be more opportunities when we prepare to reopen.

Of course, the planning part of the process began two years ago in 2021 with the creation of the Safety & Policy Committee (S&PC) and a walk-through by our insurance broker, Pathfinder. They made a list of the improvements needed. Volunteers fixed the easy urgent problems. A series of Board of Directors meetings and discussions with shop managers and users of shop equipment produced a healthy list of plumbing, electrical work, and ductwork projects. General Contractors were invited to bid on the work. A complete renovation proved cost prohibitive.

The S&PC regrouped to break the process down into smaller jobs. Some people from the original committee left to concentrate on their “real jobs”. New volunteers joined. Everyone had ideas for improvement, but most agreed that we could concentrate on the plumbing issues, clean up the shop, improve its appearance and function, and replace some old machinery. Many of these bold and appealing plans were dashed by the discovery of moisture damage to the wall studs on the north wall of the Lapidary shop. The ceiling was sagging as the rotted studs were sinking into the rotted baseboards.

At that point, it became clear that repair would have to come first. New contractors bid on replacing the north wall. The Board approved the S&PC choice of Wood and Stone Remodeling, Alex Hinojosa. When we started talking about redesigning the Shop after the wall repair, we realized we still needed plumbers and electricians. Alex brought the plumber and electrician he has worked with for decades to hear our plans and come up with estimates.

The Board approved the new add-on bids. The plumber will move and replumb the large sink to the north wall and put the settling tanks under it. He will mount the grinding machine water system to the north wall. The Silversmithing Shop will get a new and better plumbed sink. The electrician will add a quad outlet to the west wall where the trim saws will be located. He will mount the electrical outlets for the grinding machines on the north wall. New retractable quad outlets will run down the center of the Shop. Two more will be installed in the middle classroom. The add-on bids include all the carpentry for those changes and painting the whole Lapidary Shop.

I signed the final quotes for five projects on May 15. That confirmed a start date of July 3. Since then Alex’s team became available on June 26 and that became the new start date. One of the S&PC members will be at the club every day during the renovation: Nancy English, Theo Glanton, Richard Good, Maggie Manley, and Heidi Shelley.

• On Monday morning, June 26th, Heidi was there when the dumpster was delivered. Alex and his crew showed up just after the electricity went out in the whole business park. Not to be slowed down they started demolition in the heat using flashlights provided by Clyde McMeans. The electricity came back on at 10:30. Heidi started gathering all safety supplies, four or more first aid kits, gloves, goggles, earplugs, and hair ties to plan their final resting place in the Shop.
• On Tuesday, June 27th, Theo Glanton began work on refurbishing a rusted cabinet, He started by scraping and sanding the rust off. Then he applied a rust inhibitor. When he returns on Monday, July 1 he will sand and paint it. He also bought foam insulation to seal the tilt wall seam in the north wall.
• Alex is working Saturday this week and the 4^th of July next week.

Be sure to watch the Sunday E-blasts for more volunteer opportunities and the Grand Opening Celebration.

Again, I am proud of what the Safety & Policy Committee has accomplished in 2023. I am confident that Alex and his crew will finish on or ahead of time. But mostly I am grateful to all the volunteers at all levels that support HGMS. Thank you all so much!

Beading – Third Saturday, 12:30 PM  

 Always bring beading mat, scissors, wire, wire cutter, round nose and needle nose pliers, thread, and beading needles if you have them.  

The July 15th meeting will be a field trip to a couple of bead stores.

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. Subject to be announced.

Lapidary and Silversmithing – Third Monday, 7:00 PM

No meeting in July due to construction.

Day Light – First Wednesday, 1:00 PM

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

No meeting in July due to construction.

Please register in advance to make sure we have enough materials for everyone. A $5.00 fee is necessary for each class to pay for materials. Register by sending an email to Nancy Searle at daylight@hgms.org. All programs are $5.00 and the fee is paid at the meeting.

Mineral – Third Wednesday, 7:30 PM

On July 19th the Section will meet via Zoom; the topic will be Interesting Namibia Localities other than Tsumeb.

The link for the Zoom meeting is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4517997588?pwd=SnZjckZBTnRMbHRxZitScE9WU3RWUT09

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

No meeting in July due to construction.

Paleontology – Third Tuesday, 7:30 PM 

No meeting in July due to construction.

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.

At our June meeting, we had a marvelous presentation (with refreshments) on fossil whales by an old member, Bob Wagner, who is currently hiding out on the east coast. He has found numerous whale fossils in Virginia. This was not a Zoom meeting. Slamen is still on sick leave with a broken arm. She told me some far fetched story about the doctors having to make a synthetic ball for it to attach to her shoulder. If I had done this, you all would think I am just making it up to get out of work. I am going to have to examine her time sheet!

Non Skid Surface: The grinding room is truly empty now that construction has begun. Now I can see what I forgot to put on the repair list – non skid floor. About 20 years ago I was concerned about people slipping on the wet floor in front of the grinders and put in a epoxy and sand finish there. It has only worn off is a few places. I have tried latex and sand at home on concrete and it peeled off within a year. If someone has experience with this, please contact me:
nealimmega@gmail.com

Working on your home lapidary set-up?

Holiday Sale at Cabking:
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This company makes a better product than Diamond Pacific

NO Classes this month due to construction.

John Anderson, longtime HGMS member and dealer, passed away June 14th in Alba, Texas. Comments can be shared on the Houston Gem & Mineral Society (HGMS) Discussion Group. If any one knows of a site to referencde for an obituary, please send that information to editor@hgms.org. John was a great rockhound, a very interesting man, and good freiend to many members of HGMS.

Joe Fontaine of Cypress, Texas passed away on June 19, 2023, at the age of 82 with his beloved wife, Joyce Lane Martin Fontaine by his side. After his career brought him to the Gulf Coast, Joe and Joyce met and fell in love in her home state of Louisiana where they lived together before relocating to Texas in 1995. Together they built J & J Collectables and traveled the country selling gemstones and minerals, along with handmade jewelry designed by Joe himself. He was a dealer at HGMS’ Annual Show for years.

https://www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com/obituaries/joseph-fontaine

July 4th is a celebration of our country. Parades, flags, booths with bunting, and fireworks were everywhere. When I was a child, my family would spend most of the day at the town’s elementary school. In the morning the town hosted a small parade down the main street with bands, colorful floats, and cars from the size of go-carts to the newest road cars, with flags in almost every group. After the parade, the schoolyard had food vendors, carnival booths and rides, and just a ton of things to do and see. Hot dogs were the lunch of choice. As the day progressed, the crowds grew larger and larger. We had a late picnic dinner on a blanket spread out on the ground, and as the sun set, the fireworks erupted.

At first, it was kids waving sparklers, older kids shooting off firecrackers and bottle rockets, and finally, the town’s firework display started. For what seemed like forever, the fireworks would be launched from the home-plate area of the baseball field. The fireworks were launched individually from reloadable tubes buried in the ground. You could see them light the fuse, the glow of the fuse as it burned down to the rocket, and then off it went. Arching high in the sky, it would erupt into a flower or spray of individual colors, almost always accompanied by a loud BANG, but every once in a while, they would shoot one that just created a really bright flash and a HUGE BANG. Flags, banners, and fireworks with color everywhere, but Red, White, and Blue were the most common. Have a Great, Happy, Red, White, and Blue 4th of July.

I want to share my favorite Red, White, and Blue stones and minerals for July. For Reds, there are numerous choices from Rhodochrosite, Vanadinite, Ruby, Agates, Jaspers, and a host more, but for me, a nice red jasper is the stone of choice. Although some red jaspers are nice enough to be display items, most are tumbled or cut and polished. A nicely finished red tumbled Jasper is one of my favorites.

Blue also has a ton of choices. Blue minerals include Aquamarine, Tanzanite, Sapphire, Blue Topaz (the Texas state gemstone), Zircon, Lazurite, Cavansite, Shattuckite, Blue Diamonds, plus Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Blue Agate, and others. In the Blue category, my favorite is Shattuckite.

White minerals include Aragonite, some Calcites, White Quartz, Scolecite, Halite (salt), Albite, Cleavelandite, Barite, Moonstone (Feldspar), Limestone, Agate, Jasper, Chalk, and Gypsum. Of the white stones, my favorite is Scolecite.

Pictures:

Red Jasper from Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/, Used by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

White Scolecite from Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/, Used by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Shattuckite picture by Don Shurtz of a specimen displayed at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.

Editor’s note: There is a lot of controversy about this scorpion. Some believe it to be fake.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, the Dallas Gem and Mineral Society and the Pleasant Oaks Gem and Mineral Club had joint ownership of a club rock shop. In those long-ago days, I was one of the shop supervisors. One day as I was cleaning up just before closing, I came across a Certificate presented to the Dallas Gem and Mineral Society from the State of Texas acknowledging their help in introducing and passing a state resolution proclaiming Pleurocoelus as the official state dinosaur of Texas. The resolution was passed in 1997.

So since 1997, Pleurocoelus has been the state dinosaur, right? Maybe not. Pleurocoelus (gigantic reptile) received its name from Othniel C. Marsh in 1888 based on bones found near Muirkirk, MD. In 1903, an argument was put forward that Pleurocoelus really was Astrodon (star tooth) which had been originally identified from teeth in 1858 from the Arundel Formation at Swampoodle MD. (near Muirkirk) As with many arguments in paleontology, the results remained ambiguous. However, it was agreed that both Pleurocoelus and Astrodon were members of the Brachiosauridae (arm lizards) clade (family).

In 2007, Peter Rose of SMU analysis of bones (rear leg and neck vertebrae indicated that the bones from Jones Ranch near Glen rose were not correctly identified as Pleurocoelus, and were not even of the Brachiosauridae clade. He proposed that they were a new species which he named Paluxysaurus jonesi (Paluxy River lizard) of the Somphospondylan clade. In 2007 a resolution changing the name of the state dinosaur to Paluxysaurus jonesi was introduced and passed in 2009 by the State of Texas Legislature.

So, since 2009, we have the same state dinosaur but now named Paluxysaurus jonesi, right? Well, kind of. In 2012, Paleontologists from SMU, based on their continued analysis of bones from the Jones Ranch near Glen Rose, TX

decided that Paluxysaurus was really of the clade Somphospondyli, genus Sauroposeidon, and hence should be named Sauroposeidon proteles (reptile of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea and earthquakes). An official state resolution to change the state dinosaur name to Sauroposeidon proteles has never been introduced or passed by the State of Texas, but if you look up the state dinosaurs on Wikipedia or other online reference sources, you will find the Texas State dinosaur as Sauroposeidon proteles (originally Paluxysaurus jonesi). On other sites, you may find either Paluxysuarus or Sauroposeidon listed.

The Don Shurtz article Red, White and Blue was about Don’s favorite red, white, and blue rocks or minerals and the Fourth of July. He hopes that he has successfully incorporated all those named items into this Word Find. The names can be forward or backward, can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.  Have Fun!

The answer is on the last page.

Meeting Minutes–June 6, 2023

Meeting Statistics:

The Zoom Meeting was called to order by President Nancy English at 7:39 p.m. A quorum was present and there were no non-voting members in attendance.

Treasurer’s Report:

The financial tracker report has been updated through May 31, 2023 and was received by the Board of Directors June 5, 2023 via email. A new offsetting revenue expense line was added for the clubhouse repair and renovation costs. President English reported to the Board that she would speak with the current HGMS bookkeeper (Michelle Marsel) to see if a line should be added to the expense report with the approved expected cost of $42,000 for the shop wall rebuild project.

President English mentioned to the Board that PayPal offers the option to donate a $1 to a non-profit organization each time a personal purchase is made using their system. She has been using this feature to donate to HGMS and has seen $1 added to her purchase price for this donation. The small donations have been received by HGMS. President English offered to make an announcement about this option in the weekly e-blast and the BBG. This way if other members wanted to donate to HGMS in this fashion, they would know about this PayPal option.

FYI – Approval of Minutes:

• On May 15, 2023, Secretary Heidi Shelley moved via email to approve the minutes of the May 2, 2023, Board of Directors’ Meeting and the May 9, 2023, Emergency Board of Director’s Meeting. Board Member Fred Brueckner seconded it. The motion passed with a majority vote via email on May 18, 2023.

Committee Reports

• BBG Notice – Beverly Mace notified members on June 2, 2023, that the online version of the June BBG is available on the HGMS Website.
• Donations, Sales, Auction Committee (DSAC): HGMS is still looking for a chairman for this committee
• Education Committee (Maggie Manley): Classes posted: Carmen Fraticelli will be teaching a class called “Textured Stacked Rings” on June 17, 2023. No other classes will be scheduled until the renovations are complete and the reopening date is confirmed.
• Safety/Policy Committee (Nancy English):
  • The down payment has been received by Wood& Stone. Construction is scheduled to begin July 3, 2023. Volunteers will start to move equipment on Saturday, June 24, 2023. President English told the Board about a plan for moving equipment that Secretary Heidi Shelley was working on. This may allow HGMS to still hold a General Meeting in June even though the Lapidary Shop cleanout will begin June 24^th. President English also informed the Board that Neal Immega plans to rebuild the air filter box for the Lapidary room during the construction project. Space will be left available for Neal to work on this at HGMS while the contractors are still working.
  • President English told the Dunn SW Quarterly Board members that we are doing some remodeling and there will be a dumpster in the drive way. The dumpster is fine for a week or two. They do not need to approve any changes we make inside the building. President English was relieved to know that Dunn SW does not need to know what happens inside the building.
  • Lending Equipment Offsite during Construction: Neal Immega asked the Board to reconsider letting him take home the Tig Welder during the shop closure. He offered via email to take full financial responsibility of the machine should something happen to it. The Board of Directors expressed their opinions on the topic. There was a concern that if one person is lent equipment, then others should be allowed too. The Faceting Section has considered the option of creating a contract and lending out machines, but that is not currently happening. The board discussion ended in a decision NOT to let any equipment leave the building during the renovation. However, there may be some members working on assembling new tables during the demolition process so things can be moved back into the shop more easily.
  • Beverly Mace is coordinating the move of the Show supplies and equipment in the attic away from the north wall. She has asked for volunteers to help on the Youth Section meeting Saturdays.
  • Board member Maggie Manley suggested HGMS take a video record of the building outside and inside before the construction project begins. She offered to do that.
  • HGMS Policies and Procedures: Jeanean Slamen has agreed to be the facilitator of baseline discussions and is working to create a draft of Shop Rules for the Clubhouse team and the Board to review, discuss and approve. She is also working to create specific liability release forms for shop use, class participation, and field trips.
• Membership Committee (Beverly Mace):
  • Statistics Report for May: For new memberships, there were five single adult members, one couple and one youth membership added during the month of May. For renewal memberships, two youth memberships were added.
• Second Vice President Beverly Mace, who is also Membership Chairman, said she has already reduced the membership fees to half price for the rest of 2023 since HGMS will be closed in July.
• Scholarship Committee (Mike Sommers): Entries for the three scholarships offered by HGMS were due May 5, 2023. There were 5 applicants. If you are willing to assist in reviewing and choosing the winner this year, please let Mike know via email at Scholarships@hgms.org. Mike is compiling the applications and will send them to those HGMS Members who volunteered to help review the applications to determine the winners.
• Show Committee/Homeschool Convention May 26 & 27: (Scott Singleton): Randy Carlson reported about the Home School Convention held in The Woodlands. Clyde McMeans took the supplies on Thursday, May 25 for set-up. Randy volunteered Thursday and Friday, May 26, at the HGMS Booth. Randy reported that the Convention Hall is larger than the Humble Civic Association and it was packed. The HGMS table was well attended, had a lot of interest, and people signed up for the Kids Day events at the HGMS Annual Show.

Section News/Problems to Report: President English asked that the Sections make their plans for July meetings known soon for posting in the Sunday e-blasts.

• Beading Section (Maggie Manley): The Beading Section is taking a Field Trip to beading shops in the Harwin St. area and having lunch for the July meeting. Also, the Houston Bead Society contacted Board Member Maggie Manley with an idea of doing an activity combining both organizations. The Houston Bead Society is having a sale and Maggie will inform the Beading Group about the sale. Maggie wanted to make sure the Board did not have any concerns with combining activities between the two societies.
• Day Light Section (Fred Brueckner): The Day Light Section is taking June, July, and August off.
• Gemstones/Faceting (Randy Carlson): The Faceting Section will not meet in July. Randy Carlson informed the Board that Faceting section member James Brittenham, who was also a member of the Clear Lake Society, passed away from leukemia. He will be greatly missed. His wife contacted Randy to say she has a 10” slab saw from James’ equipment that she wants to sell. Randy will send Vice President Sarah Metsa the information about the saw for sell to include in the eblast.
• Lapidary/Silversmithing (Richard Good): No report was given.
• Mineral (Ray Kizer): All the Mineral meetings are done by Zoom.
• Paleo (Mike Dawkins): Scott Singleton planned a field trip to a petrified wood house for June 17. The Paleo Section will skip the July meeting.
• Youth (Beverly Mace): The Youth Section will not meet in July.

Old Business

• President English needs help finding a treasurer/bookkeeper. She is wondering if Board members who are not involved in the Lapidary Shop North Wall Rebuild project can help call members to see if anyone would be interested and willing to serve in this capacity for HGMS.
• Equipment Schedule for insurance – There has been no update on this. President English suggested that when the equipment is in the main hall for the rebuilt, it may be a good time to ID it.
• New Annual Dues Fee Schedule –A motion was voted on during the May 23, 2023, General Meeting. Club Member James Eleckel moved to approve the increase in HGMS Annual dues as described during the meeting. Member Sandy Cline seconded the motion. 19 members in-house approved and one opposed. Three members participating online approved and two abstained. The motion passed with a majority vote. *Note: The new fee schedule will apply to memberships starting January 1, 2024, year.
• Facebook/Instagram E-Blast Class Advertising: Sarah Metsa has been advertising via Facebook. Still looking for someone to help post to Instagram.

Report Back on Items from the May Meeting – for your Information

• Nancy English texted Steve Blyskal on June 5, to ask him to reserve the December 9, 2023, at the Unitarian Fellowship Hall. Steve Blyskal has contacted the hall and will follow up with President English when he hears back from them.
• New Kiln with Lock – This equipment is still being donated. It will appear after the renovation work is completed, and when Jeanean’s shoulder and arm are healed enough for her to work with it.

New Business

• Science Olympiad– Neal Immega posted pictures in the Sunday May 21, e-blast of the Zang brothers who won the Texas competition for Rocks and Minerals. Next, they will compete at the national level. They did three sessions at the clubhouse with Neal. He said they are really smart kids.
• John Mitscherling is living in an assisted living facility. He is not expected to return home. Mary Ann, his sister, is liquidating his possessions and selling his house. Watch for the dates of his Estate sale in the Sunday e-blasts. She will provide pictures as well. John’s cell phone number is in the HGMS Roster for anyone who wants to visit with him. Mary Ann Mitscherling is posting a list of many items in the E-blast Sunday. She will donate book shelves to the club if we want them. Nancy attached pictures of them.
• July Board of Directors Meeting? – The first Tuesday is the holiday (July 4^th) and the shop is closed. The Board scheduled the July Zoom meeting for July 11.
• Eblast-Only Membership Level? Steve Blyskal and Sigrid Stewart asked if the Board would consider creating a membership level for eblasts and fields trips only. This would be for people from other rock clubs outside of Houston who want to be included in news and field trips but would never use the club facilities due to distance. Sarah asked how that affects members in Houston who never use the shops or come to the Club? What do out of towners want that cannot be found on HGMS.org. She further pointed out that HGMS.org is available to anyone. Eblast information about classes and field trips is on the Website. The Board decided not to offer this option.
• Dunn Southwest Quarterly Meeting: President English attended the Dunn SW Quarterly Board meeting. They hired an attorney to rewrite their “Restrictive Covenants,” aka By-Laws. She has copies of the old and new documents and needs to vote yay or nay by May 26. Owners have written detailed objections to some of it. According to an email dated June 5, 2023, from Coir Property, the Dunn Southwest management company, the owners voted YAY. The tally for the new RC is as follows: (23) Yes, (9) of which did not vote, (10) Not in favor. Members of Dunn SW are invited to attend the annual meeting and discuss rewording some sections to make it clearer and less restrictive.
• New Volunteer to answer the phone: Nancy English has answered the HGMS phone line for six years. She will be resigning that position effective January 1, 2024. Someone will need to take over answering phone calls as of that date.

Dates of Note

Adjourn

Randy Carlson moved to adjourn the Board of Directors Meeting. Richard Good seconded the motion and it passed. The meeting adjourned at 8:57 p.m.

Meeting Statistics:

The meeting was called to order by President Nancy English at 7:35 pm. There were 8 online participants and 0 guests in attendance. The meeting was held solely on Zoom

President’s Comments:

President English thanked all 25 people who participated in the clear out of the Shop on Saturday. She then gave a report on the cleanout project over the weekend for the Lapidary Shop. The Lapidary room north wall rebuild project started Monday, June 26, 2023.

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes for the May 23, 2023, General Meeting was published in the June edition of the Back Bender’s Gazette on HGMS.org.  Members were notified via email that the June BBG was available online.

Motion Club Member Phyllis George moved to approve the May 23, 2023, General Meeting Minutes as published in the June Back Bender’s Gazette. Maggie Manley seconded the motion and it passed.

Committee Reports/Section Reports

• Donations, Sales, Auction Committee (DSAC): Still looking for a chairman for this committee.
• Education Committee: No Classes will be scheduled until the renovation is complete.
• Safety/Policy Committee:
  • Volunteers: President Nancy English thanked all of the volunteers that helped in preparation for the renovation project. They were as follows:
  • Beverly Mace, for coordinating the plan to move Show supplies and equipment from the north wall in the attic. Some of the Youth Section dads helped on June 3. Sigrid Stewart worked with Beverly and her husband Eddie Mace helped as well on June 18 to finish up the Info Booth stuff. it.
  • On Thursday, June 23, LT Wilcox, David Hawkins, Neal Immega and others at the shop that day helped in preparations for the move as well as disconnected all the grinding machines from the water lines and power sources to make it easier for the Saturday folks move them on Saturday.
  • On Saturday, June 24, twenty-five people showed up to clear out the Lapidary Shop. By following Heidi Shelley’s ingenious plan, we knew what to move and where to put it. Some people arrived at 9:30 and the whole room was emptied by 11:30. The Jewelry Shop sink cabinets were emptied after lunch. The garage was cleared out and it was all done by 1:00.
  • On Sunday, Rick Rexroad and Nancy English went back to clean the years of oil stuck to the floor on the east wall. President English reported that the caked residue was as thick as her finger. They worked on hands and knees to scrape the floor, they swept and mopped. Hard work. There is still more cleanup work to be done on the floor as this part of the project was bigger than expected.
  • Note: Volunteers that have worked for this North wall Rebuild project have received shop time “coupons” to be used at their discretion when the renovation project has completed. One hour of volunteer time equals one coupon for a free hour of shop usage time.
  • Secretary Heidi Shelley interjected her thanks for all those who were working on Saturday. Many volunteers asked her “What can I do to help” or “I’ll take care of this for you, you go direct the cleanout”. She was very appreciative for everyone who chipped in and volunteered that day. Everyone made the project go quickly and successfully.
  • President English reported that the dumpster was delivered Monday morning before 8:30 a.m. Heidi Shelley was at the Clubhouse for the delivery and to meet Alex and his team who arrived about 8:45. The electricity went out in the neighborhood. That did not slow the demolition crew down. They worked by in the heat by flashlights that Clyde McMeans provided. Center Point had it back on by 10:30. Heidi was able to answer all questions from the contractors and took pictures of the day’s progress. We will share those pictures in the Sunday eblast and in the BBG.
  • Theo Glanton represented HGMS on Tuesday. He began refurbishing one of the rusted cabinets from the Shop. He bought some foam insulation to apply to the tilt wall seam to provide a water barrier from the outside weather to the inside sheetrock. He and Secretary Heidi Shelley also discussed with the contractor the placement of wall studs directly below the floor joists in the attic as was requested in the Bid Requirements document provided by HGMS as part of the work contract. The missing studs were added in the agreed positions.
  • The Clubhouse closed for member use on June 24 until tentatively August 3. Watch the Sunday e-blasts for July Sections meetings and cancelations.
  • HGMS Policies and Procedures: Jeanean Slamen is working on the release forms and policies during her recovery from shoulder replacement surgery.
  • Access Codes: President English gave a reminder that only the North Wall Rebuild committee access codes are active. All others have been blocked access to the building until the contractors are finished and the Shops have been reassembled in August. This decision was made to protect the safety of members and to avoid disturbing the progress of the contractor’s workers.
• Membership Committee: During May 2023, there were 5 adult single memberships, 1 youth, and 1 couple new memberships. Two youth memberships renewed.
• Scholarship Committee: Via email, Mike Sommers announced the winners of 2023 HGMS Scholarships. Sophia Layman, Caroline Mackin, and Virginia Williams.
• Show Committee: Clyde McMeans, Scott Singleton, and Randy Carlson worked the HGMS table at the Homeschool Convention in the Woodlands over Memorial Day weekend, May 26 and 2. Elsa Kapitan-White, Tony Dincau and other volunteers worked with Scott on Saturday. Clyde came back to pack it all up. President English thanked all volunteers who helped.

Old Business:

• Dunn SW: The new “Restrictive Covenants,” aka By Laws passed. According to an email dated June 5, 2023, from Coir Property, the Dunn Southwest management company, the owners voted YAY. The tally for the new RC is as follows: (23) Yes, (9) of which did not vote, (10) Not in favor. Members of Dunn SW are invited to attend the annual meeting and discuss rewording some sections to make it clearer and less restrictive.
• Volunteers still needed for critical positions:
  • Post classes and events on Instagram
  • Treasurer/Bookkeeper
  • Donations Chairman

New Business

• Current officers are considering their commitments for positions in 2024. President English will be discussing next year’s slate of officers and the need for a nominating committee.
• President English announced that the Paleo Section sponsored a Field Trip on June 17, 2023, to the home of Debbie Damon. [Side Note from Minutes: Debbie’s father, Allen Kerr, and a Texas mason named Mr. Treater built the home using petrified wood as the exterior material and to cover the fireplace. They gathered the wood and used only whole pieces as they found it—aka no piece of petrified wood was cut for this project.] There was a lot of left-over petrified wood strewn around the property. Debbie Damon allowed HGMS members to take whatever they wanted from specified piles in return for any monetary donations attendees wished to give towards upkeep of the house and property. Beverly Mace said they found a lot to bring home. Debbie was a gracious hostess.
• Q & A Time: President English opened up the discussion for meeting attendees to ask any questions they had about the renovation project. Phyllis George had asked what was happening at the shop since she has not been onsite for a while. President English gave a synopsis of the need for the renovations and what has happened or changed recently as part of that project and discussions.

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?

• Beading Section (Maggie Manley): The Beading Section is taking a Field Trip to beading shops in the Harwin area and having lunch.
• Day Light Section (Fred Brueckner): The Day Light Section is taking June, July, and August off.
• Gemstones/Faceting: Faceting Section will not meet in July. Their next in-person meeting will be August 10 Hybrid meeting.
• Lapidary/Silversmithing (Richard Good): There will be no meeting in July, but the section plans to have a meeting in August, if possible.
• Mineral (Ray Kizer): The Mineral Section always meets on Zoom.
• Paleo (Mike Dawkins):
• Youth (Beverly Mace): No July meetings.

Upcoming Dates

The next Board of Directors meeting is on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at 7:30pm 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 Zoom Meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 25, at 7:30 pm.

Show and Tell

There were no show-and-tell items.

Door Prize

There was no door prize given.

Final Comments

President English once again thanked the volunteers who made the renovation possible and all volunteers that make HGMS possible.

Adjourn

Phyllis George moved to end the General Meeting. Secretary Heidi Shelley seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed. The General Meeting was adjourned at 8:18 pm.

July 2023

Body Mind and Spirit Expo

07/29/2023 – 07/30/2023

Lubbock Gem and Mineral Society Show

Remember to verify times before traveling.

Check https://www.rockandmineralshows.com/location/mineral-shows/texas

https://www.rockngem.com/ShowDatesFiles/ShowDatesDisplayAll.php?ShowState=TX