President’s Message

Vice-President’s Message

Section News

Shop and Building News

Tucson Reviews

Notes from Neal

Education

March Birthstones Aquamarine and Bloodstone

Devils Tower

Bench Tips

Minutes of the February 7th Board Meeting

Minutes of the February 28th General Meeting

Upcoming Shows

About Us

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Calendar

Officers and Contact Information

February was a busy month for the Board and the active committees. I am fortunate to have such ambitious, capable, committed Directors and Committees to work with. Luckily winter is over, the weather is balmy, and it is pleasant to get out and meet with contractors. The Board approved the 2023 Operations Budgets for HGMS and the Annual Show. Thanks to Michele Marsel and Scott Singleton for their timely submission of the HGMS Operations Budget and the Annual Show Budget, respectively.

1. HGMS will continue to offer three $2500 scholarships in 2023.
2. There will be an increase in Show ticket prices to $10.00 with a member discount still available with online purchases. Vendor table prices will be higher for the 2023 HGMS Annual Show which will be held on November10, 11, and 12.
3. Thanks to the Donations, Sales, Auction Committee, this year we had $9,100.00 in retained revenue. I am still looking for a new chairman for this committee. *

Scott West, our insurance broker representative from Pathfinder Group, joined the February 7, Board meeting to answer all our questions about Directors’ and Officers’ Insurance. That policy became effective on February 22, 2023. We still need a small group of people to finish up the equipment schedule for the HGMS policy. *

On Saturday, February 25, 2023, The Donations, Sales, Auction Committee (DSAC) hosted the last sale of the Helm’s donation. Michele Marsel told me it was successful. This sale was not as large as the previous pounder sale but there was better material available for purchase, including petrified wood, variscite, and turquoise. Thank you, to Michele and the volunteers who produced the sale. We still need a new chairman for this committee.*

The Safety and Policy Committee interviewed and received bids from three contractors to rebuild the north wall of the Lapidary Shop. Hopefully, work will begin in March.

1. We will need volunteers to move the equipment away from the wall to provide access to it. I will be asking the Board to reward those volunteers in some way. Any suggestions? *
Another aspect of this project is the amount of heavy stuff being stored in the attic. If your Section has been storing stuff up there indefinitely, it is time to sell it and get rid of it.
2. The Board voted to raise the hourly price to use the shops to $3.00 after the improvements in the lapidary shop are complete.
3. The next project is to relocate the settling tanks out of the closet and put them under the grinding and polishing machine tables.

Thanks to Heidi Shelley, starting in March a new “Game Corner” will have rock- related educational games available for members and visitors to use while at the club. Games available will rotate each month.

Dean Wix solicited bids for our HVAC maintenance. That decision will be made in March also. He also recertified the fire extinguishers.
Richard Good, Neal Immega, Logan Wilcox, and LT Wilcox continue to keep the Lapidary Shop running.
Maggie Manley posted another Tree of Life class for March 20 and Tony Lucci is deciding when to have his next Lost Wax Casting Class. If you know people who can teach any of the classes on the HGMS website wish list, contact Maggie at classes@hgms.org.
The Web site committee continues to update and maintain hgms.org. And the Publicity Committee brings you the Sunday e-blast and advertises our classes and meetings on Facebook and Instagram.

As always, I am grateful for the people who volunteer to make HGMS run as smoothly as it does. There are many opportunities to get involved. *

*Email me at volunteercoordinator@hgms.org or president@hgms.org.

Alright, people, time to step up! We need to develop a roster of talks for the next few months, and although I have submissions for April and May, I still don’t have one for THIS MONTH.

Email me at publicity@hgms.org with your ideas and plans to give a talk!

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.  

Twelve members of the Beading Section met on Saturday, February 18^th to make beaded Kumihimo bracelets taught by Ginger Smith.

We will meet again on Saturday, March 18^th when Doug Jones will teach us to make a flat Kumihimo Bracelet with hearts.  Kits will be available at a minimal cost.  RSVPs are required.  RVP to Beading@HGMS.org by Sunday, March 12^th if you wish to purchase a kit for this project.

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.

During the Gemstone and Faceting Section’s February meeting we voted on the design for our 2023 Competition Stone. With a number of submitted designs we chose two! Advanced Faceters will be attempting Pat’s Smithsonian Bar, and Beginner Faceters will be attempting Boyd’s custom designed Square Cyclone.

We also discussed how gems are faceted in a factory, what those factories are looking for in quality of material and cut, and how those stones are graded before being sent to buyers.

At the March 9th Meeting:

We’ll also discuss having an Open Faceting Day/Weekend this summer where we will set up at the HGMS club house for 1+ days and answer any questions that pop up. All members will be welcome to join in or come by and see how gems are faceted. We may even include Amateur Gem Identification during this event so our members can practice using the equipment.

If any other Sections are interested in joining please let us know!

**These are the rules for the Facet Section 2023 Competition Stone.**
Email Faceting@HGMS.org if you’d like to participate and which tier you’ll be attempting.

We will pick out Judges at the March 9th meeting. (Judges and myself, ‘LT’, will not get to participate in this competition.)

Stones are due at our October 12th meeting and will be judged at the HGMS Annual Show in November. No specific stone material was decided on, so any material is acceptable. There are 2 Tiers which will be judged separately at the show (Beginner and Advanced). If you require a different IR than the one for Quartz let us know.

Beginner Tier – Square Cyclone
Boyd’s Design
10mm (+/- 2mm)

Advanced Tier – Smithsonian Bar
Pat’s Design
12mm Length (+/- 0.5mm)
Bars that run along the table of the stone must visually be as even along the width of the stone as possible. (C3, C4, C5 and Table)

 

Lapidary and Silversmithing – Third Monday, 7:00 PM

21 people attended the February 20th meeting and learned about soldering. Everyone got a piece of lace agate as stone of the month for cabochon practice. The group chose to cut a teardrop shape.

On March 20 starting at 7:00 pm we hope to have another big group and lots of fun. The March project is stone inlay. We will carve a design into a piece of obsidian (choice of black or mahogany) and fill it with crushed turquoise. This project will be finished at the start of the April meeting – the epoxy will need to set before the piece can be ground down to reveal the design.

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 February 1^st, we wire-wrapped the lepidolite cabochon made at the January meeting to be used in a piece of jewelry. We followed this video, to be reviewed before the meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUwMGEta1go&list=RDCMUCWiLw5UavBkxadmKKkPLCsQ&index=42

We had enough of the right gauge and type of copper wire so that there was no charge for the February session.

At the March 1^st meeting, Mary Ann and Charlie will continue helping those who did not finish their wire wrap.You may also bring your own cabochon to that meeting to wire wrap. In addition, Nancy Searle will be showing anyone who finishes their cabochon how to make a wire wrap ring. This is such an easy and quick ring to make you may end up making several. The section has all of the materials for this class so there is no charge for this session.

In addition, Mary Ann Mitcherling has begun clearing out some of her stuff and she is offering it to anyone who is attending the March 1st session of the Daylight Section.

Please register in advance to make sure we have enough materials for everyone. Register by sending an email to Nancy Searle at daylight@hgms.org.

 

Mineral – Third Wednesday, 7:30 PM

On February 15th Steve Steinke gave a talk on Southern California mineral localities.

On March 15th, Steve Blyskal will give a talk about mineral photography. You have seen a lot of it on the BBG!

The link for the Zoom meeting is:

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

 

Paleontology – Third Tuesday, 7:30 PM 

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 the February 16^th meeting, we gave out pieces of Wheeler shale from the U-dig-it business in Utah. This is an amazingly fossiliferous outcrop with trilobites. The 35 or so attendees used a flat bladed screwdriver or a butter knife and a small hammer to free the little critters from the matrix. Y

 

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

Mostly we will be working on cabochons.

Trim Saw – Why is the trim saw not back in operation? It was nearly impossible to get the top off the saw because the threads of the 4 hold down bolts were fouled by trim saw mud. I am going to try nylon bolts and wing nuts.  If anyone has a different idea, let me know. Maybe the stainless-steel bolts were not greased before they were reinserted, or maybe the bolts were not fully tightened?
In case someone wants to yell at me that I am not authorized to fix the trim saw – yes, I am.  Likewise, the fluorescent lights in the grinding shop and classroom.

For a few weeks every winter, Tucson briefly goes rock crazy. In 1955, local gem-and-mineral enthusiasts began hosting a get-together, an event that’s since become something much more commercial, and much more overwhelming. This year, there were forty shows throughout the city, each of them a mazelike complex of dozens or hundreds of venders, drawing tens of thousands of visitors in total. Browsing one afternoon, I saw available for purchase a bathtub made of quartz, a case of onyx obelisks, an uncut twenty-two-carat diamond, a pendant made from a meteorite, a fossilized dinosaur tooth, and a daunting number of beads. A ubiquitous ad on the radio had an even more tantalizing proposition: “Do you want to take a picture with a baby goat inside a giant geode?”

North of downtown, mineral dealers from around the world have taken over a complex of storage units, storefronts, and showrooms. “We nicknamed it Mineral Mile,” Jolyon Ralph said. Ralph, a genial, well-connected Londoner, runs Mindat.org, a mineral-education Web site. The Mineral Mile dealers focus on rocks in their raw, or raw-ish state. (A gem is a mineral that’s been cut, polished, and faceted; not all minerals are suited to become gems—some are too opaque, or too soft—and many are more valuable in their uncut crystal form than if they’d been turned into gems.) Mineral collecting has gone through several eras…

Would you like to read more?

https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-southwest/the-search-for-the-perfect-stone

Library Subscriptions – Many of our most used publications have gone digital and I fear that no one is looking at them. For example, the replacement for Lapidary Journal has lots of great fabrication projects and I offered to send anyone info on how to connect to their web site and have not had a single request in more than a year. Let’s try again. Each section must request a subscription to what they are going to USE. Any request from a section to “continue the subscription we had last year” will not be honored. This is not the year to waste money with the shop rehab upcoming.

CABS 101 CLASS: Sharon Halton, Shop Manager will be teaching 3-separate classes from 6 PM to 9:30 PM on each of the following dates:

1. Wednesday, March 22nd
2. Wednesday, April 5th
3. Wednesday, April 19th

This class is highly recommended for those wishing to learn how to properly shape and polish a cabochon and use the equipment in the Lapidary Shop.  Students have given Sharon rave reviews.

 

TREE OF LIFE WIRE WRAPPING CLASS:  Maggie Manley will teach you to make a wire wrapped tree on a cabochon.  This is an intermediate level wire wrapping class.  Monday, March 20^th from 3 PM to 6:00 PM

This lovely blue stone is named for the Latin phrase “aqua marinus” or water-of-the-sea. In the metaphysical community, it is believed to promote feelings of peace, trust, happiness and of course, beauty. Traditionally, they were carried by sailors for protection while at sea, by the suspicious to guard against poisoning and litigation, and by soldiers to protect them in battle.

Today aquamarines have become popular as engagement rings.

 

To minerologists, aquamarines are a species of beryl, as is the May birthstone emerald. The chemical formula is Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈  but may also contain Fe²⁺. A rare deep blue variant is called maxixe and that color is due to NO₃ but may also be produced in lower-quality beryl by high-energy irradiation. Both stones are of hardness 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, harder than quartz but perhaps softer than topaz. Aquamarine occurs in a variety of blue green to light blue shades, (which may be enhanced by heat treatment), and the best quality stones are transparent.

 

The largest cut aquamarine is the Dom Pedro, exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum and weighing 10,363 carats (4.6 pounds). It is cut in an obelisk shape with negative cuts into the reverse faces of the magnificent gem to scatter light within the stone and is named for the first emperor of Brazil. Read more about the stone’s discovery in Minas Gerais, provenance and fabrication at http://smithsonianscience.org/2012/12/dom-pedro-aquamarine-to-go-on-view-at-the-smithsonians-natural-history-museum/.

 

Another stunning aquamarine from Minas Gerais is the Elanor Roosevelt gem exhibited in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Museum. It was a gift from the then-President of Brazil, President Getúlio Vargas, when FDR visited South America on a “Good Neighbor” cruise after his second election. See more on this history at https://fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2012/11/27/from-the-museum-45/.

 

Photographs of both of these fabulous gemstones can be seen at https://www.gemsociety.org/article/famous-aquamarines/.

Important sources of aquamarine are:

• The eastern half of Minas Gerais, a state of Brazil, where they may be found in igneous rock and weathered pegmatites.
• At high altitudes in Pakistan’s Karakorum foothills, especially the Shigar Valley. Gorgeous water-clear stones are mined there.
• The African countries of Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, and Zambia.
• China, Myanmar, Russia and Ukraine.
• Mount Antero, Colorado (where it is the state gemstone) and the California counties of Riverside and San Diego, where the Oceanview mine has a fee mining operation.

 

References:

https://www.zales.com/birthstone-jewelry/march-aquamarine-birthstone

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

https://www.gemsociety.org/article/famous-aquamarines/

http://smithsonianscience.org/2012/12/dom-pedro-aquamarine-to-go-on-view-at-the-smithsonians-natural-history-museum/

Mantiqueria Mountains photograph, Silvio serrano – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Shigar Valley photograph: By Raja Munawar – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40588484

The February 7, 2023 Board of Directors Zoom Meeting was called to order by President Nancy English at 7:34pm. A quorum was present and there was one non-voting member in attendance—Scott West from Pathfinder Insurance group.

President’s Comments:

• Insurance- In the beginning of the Board Meeting, President Nancy English introduced Scott West, the HGMS Insurance broker representative from Pathfinder Group. President English explained that Hanover is the HGMS insurance company and Pathfinder is the broker that finds insurance companies for HGMS.
  • Equipment Schedule – Scott West informed President English that HGMS can have an Equipment Schedule. That way if there is an accident, HGMS grinders, polishers, and saws are insured for business equipment just like printers would be in an office. President English stated that the Equipment Schedule was started in 2021 or in the first part of 2022, but due to circumstances at the time was not finished. She would like to get that going again. [Side-Note from Minutes: Typically, equipment coverage is subject to a “schedule of coverages,” which describes the property an organization would like the insurance company to insure. Most insurance companies require that inspectors provide property descriptions—including the make, model, and serial number—for any items worth more than a certain amount.—FYI from Secretary Heidi Shelley]
  • Adding a D&O Insurance Policy – (Note: This item was discussed at the beginning of the Board of Directors’ meeting so visitor Scott West could leave the meeting after the insurance discussion was completed.) Directors & Officers Insurance protects those running HGMS from personal financial liability should a lawsuit or judgements come against the club due to negligence. This insurance covers people of leadership, aka. Board members, Section Chairmen and the Committee Chairmen serving in the club. A list of positions and people serving in those positions will be given to the Insurance Broker and can be easily updated as those serving in positions change. For a non-profit organization such as HGMS, the cost for such a policy is $1200 a year, give or take a hundred. The Liability limit coverage for this D&O insurance was quoted at $1,000,000. This one million dollar limit includes both defense costs and any settlement that comes out of it. According to Scott West from Pathfinder Group, this D&O would have A and B side coverage only because C coverage is not applicable. This insurance policy would be effective March 1, 2023. There were no further questions from the Board for Scott West concerning this insurance so Scott West signed off the Board Meeting.
    • Maggie Manley joined the Zoom Meeting during the discussion with Scott West. President English recapped what was discussed for Maggie and Maggie confirmed that there was a quorum present in the meeting.
    • Motion: 1^st Vice President Sarah Metsa moved that HGMS get the A and B Insurance as was discussed for Directors & Officers Insurance for the club and its leadership paying [a premium] up to $1500 annually. Fred Brueckner seconded the motion. A vote was taken and was unanimous. The motion passed.

 

• President Nancy English announced to the Board that Randy Carlson, former board representative for the Gemstone and Faceting section, has resigned. The Faceting section will need to choose a new Board representative. In the meantime, HGMS Secretary, Heidi Shelley, will keep the group apprised of news from the Board as she is also a member of that section.
• President English thanked Secretary Heidi Shelley for the new letterhead she created to be used for the Board Minutes and other club communications.

Meeting Minutes Approved

• Board member Ray Kizer moved to approve the minutes for the January 3, 2023, Board meeting as emailed. Maggie Manley seconded the motion and it passed on February 7, 2023.
• President English reported that the November 28, 2022 General Meeting Minutes were approved during the January 31, 2023 General Meeting. James Eleckel moved to approve the minutes and Sarah Metsa seconded the motion. A vote of members present was taken and the motion passed with majority approval and one vote against approval.

Treasurer’s Report:

• 2022 HGMS Treasurer, Michele Marsel sent the financial report via email to Board members on February 6, 2023. The Board discussed the budget in 2022 and how it compares with the budget for 2023. Topics included revenue from donation, sales and classes taught, as well as money allocated for scholarships sponsored by HGMS. PayPal fees and insurance costs were also discussed, as well as the need for fundraising in the future.

Highlights from Budget Discussion:

• Rolling Rock was a group that attended a breakfast sponsored by HGMS as part of the Annual Show in November 2022. This same group made a donation to HGMS in the amount of $104.
• The retained revenue from 2022 was $9100.
• HGMS will be able to continue offering three $2500 scholarships in 2023.

• President English informed the Board of Directors that Michele Marsel, who has been working as bookkeeper, would like to be done serving in that capacity by the end of August, 2023. This depends upon if the club can find a replacement in time to receive training from Michele. President English said she will be contacting members of the club to ask if someone is willing to serve as bookkeeper when Michele officially steps down.
• 1^st Vice President Sarah Metsa moved to accept the budget as presented for 2023. Maggie Manly seconded it. A vote was taken and the motion passed.

Committee Reports

• BBG Notice – Beverly Mace notified members on Sunday, February 5, 2023 that the online version of the February Back Bender’s Gazette (BBG) is available on the HGMS Website.
• Donations, Sales, Auction Committee (DSAC):
  • Michele Marsel will host one last Donation Sale and Auction on Saturday, February 25, 2023 before she resigns from the Donations, Sales, and Auction Committee. Board member Fred Brueckner reported that this auction will not be as large as the previous auction but there will be better material available for purchase. There will be piles of rocks for sale at $3, $5, and $10 per pound. A person will be at each pile location to weigh selected rocks and label with price. This way, attendees can select what they want at each location then go the Purchase table when they are ready to checkout. Rock types in this sale/auction include petrified wood, variscite, and turquoise. Fred reported that many people volunteered to help Michele with this auction and Secretary Heidi Shelley offered to donate plastic bags for the sale if useful.
  • President English reported that someone called the club and wanted to donate rocks and geological books and texts to the club from his cousin’s estate. He estimated the value of the rocks to be $1000. Neal Immega contacted the gentleman and said HGMS will take the donations.
  • President English reported that another individual contact Neal offering to donate a broken piece of equipment for the club to fix up and sell as well as “wheel barrows of other rocks” that were picked-over slabs. Neal turned down the donation.
• Education Committee:
  • Board member Maggie Manley reported that two classes that have been posted on the HGMS website for two weeks have had no takers yet (no one signed up for the class). 1^st Vice President Sarah Metsa offered to advertise the classes on the HGMS Facebook and Instagram accounts to help spread the word about the classes.
  • Maggie Manley also reported that there is difficulty in getting dates for the casting class as well as getting other teachers to commit to teaching a class. Jeanean Slamen is planning to teach some enameling classes, but no dates have been pinned down yet.
  • President English thanked Maggie Manley for the work she is doing for HGMS Education.
• Safety/Policy Committee:

President English reported that the water damage in the Lapidary Room north wall has been assessed and a Bid Requirements document was completed. Richard Good did a deep-dive into the lapidary room and took sheetrock off the wall to assess any water damage done to the studs. He found out that the sole plate on the bottom of the studs was rotting. And some of the studs attached at that location on the wall are also rotting. Richard Good offered to get bids from three different reputable contractors. When those bids for cost and timing are gathered, they will then be presented to the Board for approval and final award decision.

• Board member Ray Kizer asked how much of that north wall we were planning to replace. Heidi Shelley explained HGMS plans to replace the whole wall. Ray Kizer agreed that putting in more studs and thicker studs along that wall is a good idea.
• The wall will be replaced with 2×6 inch studs at 12 inches on center (meaning a foot apart). The wall studs and ceiling joists (floor of the loft) will be attached together using metal Simpson Ties (aka hurricane straps). These will add structure and stability to the wall as well as the loft floor above. The plan is to make that whole wall waterproof and move the benches holding the grinding tables away from the wall to avoid future water leaks from dripping down the wall.
• Secretary Heidi Shelley reported that Richard Good spoke with Neal Immega who offered to move the water settling tanks from the closet with the electrical breaker box to the shop floor under the grinding machines. Richard Good took him up on that offer. The water lines to the grinding machines as well as electrical conduit for those machines will also be reassessed as needed.
• President Nancy English said she wanted to discuss replacing the tables holding the grinding machines with stainless steel tables during the next Safety/Policy Committee meeting. Heidi Shelley suggested that with the precautions of addressing the water lines to the grinders as well as moving the grinding tables from the wall, we could continue using the existing tables and save our financial resources to address other items. During the discussion of the wall and grinding benches, Board member Ray Kizer also suggested either tilting the table so water runs off the front of the table or putting a lip on the back of the table to keep water from falling against the wall.
• Board member Maggie Manley told the board she was really pleased with the write-up Secretary Heidi Shelley [and Richard Good] presented to the board and thought it was “right on point.” She feels like the board has had a huge move forward in a positive direction. The Board was grateful that Richard Good suggested we bring the construction project back down to something we can handle in small pieces.

• Membership Committee:
  • 2^nd Vice President Beverly Mace reported that there were 9 single adult new memberships and 9 couple new memberships added during the month of January 2023.
  • President Nancy English informed the Board she would like to raise the Club Annual Dues according to the following and asked the Board to think about it. This item will be discussed further at a later time.

Current Annual Dues:	Proposed Annual Dues:
Single Adult:   $40	Single Adult:   $50
Couple:    $60	Couple:   $70
Youth:   $25	Youth:   $30
Family:   $75	Family:   $85
Individual Adult Lifetime:   $500	Individual Adult Lifetime:   $750 – $1000

 

• Board member Beverly Mace asked the Board to starting planning ahead if HGMS is to raise the dues for the club. She informed the Board that should club fees change, those changes cannot go into effect until the beginning of the next calendar year. Any club fee changes will also need to be approved by members during a General Meeting and will need to be updated in the HGMS By-Laws. The Board will need to allow time for the approval procedures before any annual due changes may take place. [Side Note from Minutes:   Based upon membership records from Beverly Mace reported after the February Board Meeting, the last time that HGMS Annual fees were changed was in 2009. In 2008 dues were:  Single-$20, Couple-$40, Family-$50, Individual Youth-$8, and Lifetime $200.]

• Scholarship Committee :

President English reported on the scholarships offered by HGMS. This year, HGMS will offer three $2500 scholarships (one of which includes $1000 from an anonymous donor). There is an account set up to receive proceeds from LuLu Press for the sale of a book written by Art Smith. Proceeds equal about $90 a year. The Board had decided in the past to wait until that account reached $2500 before presenting that money as a scholarship in memory of Art Smith’s wife. The account is still a year or two away from that $2500 benchmark.

• Show Committee:

President English reminded the Board that we discussed the budget for the show during the January 2023 board meeting. She told the Board that the Show Committee has since met and raised the price of regular tickets to $10 as well as increased the cost per table for vendors. A ticket discount will still be available to members. This price increase is to help cover the increased costs to sponsor the show.

Section Reports

Meeting topics and times for section meetings is advertised on the HGMS Website and in the weekly e-blasts sent to members. There were no other items reported for discussion from the Section representatives.

Old Business

• Facebook/Instagram E-Blast Class Adverting – During the January 2023 Board meeting, Secretary Heidi Shelley had suggested using social media to help advertise classes. President English informed the Board she had emailed Sarah Metsa to put this in the e-blast asking for any club members who wanted to help in this capacity. Sarah responded to President English that this type of thing falls under her duties as 1^st Vice President and she would take care of it. President English told Maggie to be sure to give Sarah Metsa the information as far in advance as possible. She also thanked Sarah for volunteering to help Maggie and the Education Committee in this capacity.
• Measurements/AutoCAD Drawings – President English informed the Board that there have been no further updates on the project to measure the HGMS building and get overall layout drawings in AutoCAD.
• Replace Stolen Display Cases – There has been an old item on the Board lists of tasks to replace the display cases that were stolen with the trailer in 2021. President English asked the Show Committee if the Board can stop tracking this item. Sigrid Stewart agreed to let go of the item. Should the Show Committee decide new display cases are needed, they will be presented to the Board as a new discussion item in the future. The Board members also discussed the fact that having a large number of display cases at a show are no longer needed since competitions seem to be a thing of the past. Only the Youth Section has had competition pieces displayed during the last show. Board member Ray Kizer asked President Nancy English what HGMS recovered from insurance for the lost trailer and its contents. President English replied it was $12,000 as she remembered. Ray Kizer and other members of the Board said they had heard $1200. President said they had designated $750 of that money to make a prototype for a new display case, but that has never happened. This money for the lost trailer may be another reason why there was an extra $12,000 that was carried over in the budget from 2021. [Side Note from Minutes: After the Board Meeting, President English reviewed the 2021 budget and clarified that the actual payout amount was $10,359.]
• New Fee Structure for Shop Use – During the January 2023 Board meeting, Richard Good asked the Board members to think about raising the shop use fees from $2 an hour to $3 an hour. President English asked the Board to entertain a motion to raise the fees to use the shop from $2.00 to $3.00 effective March 1^st. Secretary Heidi Shelley shook her head “no.” President English said those fees haven’t been raised in twenty years. She emailed all shop foremen and they responded, “why has the club not done this before?” Michele Marsel and Sharon Halton asked members who came to work at the shop about the raised fee and they seemed to agree. Board member Mike Dawkins said that either $2 or $3 per hour is a bargain. Secretary Shelley said that often her whole family comes to work at the shop. If the Board were to raise the price too much, it might not be as worth it to come at all. Secretary Shelley said that the Board needs to weigh that in the scheme of things to see if the club will get enough members coming to make the increase worth it. The Board discussed the price per square inch for use of the large saws as well as the fact that the use of trim saws is charged at the hourly shop rate, not at the per inch rate. Motion – Sarah Metsa moved that HGMS raise the shop fees to $3.00 an hour as discussed when the shop is re-opened after the rebuild of the lapidary room wall is complete. Ray Kizer seconded the motion. The motion passed with 7 in favor and 1 opposed.

Report Back on Items from January Meeting – for your Information President English reported back on the following items completed since the January 2023 Board of Directors meeting:

• The Semi-Annual Member Conduct Policy Reminder was sent to members via email on January 8^th, 2023.
• The Administrator of Accounts was updated as requested during the January 2023 Board of Directors’ Meeting for both the Prosperity Bank and Chase Bank HGMS accounts. President English told the Board that she gets a notice from Chase Bank with the account balance every day. Each month-end for the past two years, President English has reviewed the debits and credits to both accounts and expenditures out of the operating account. She reported that she is comfortable with the way that money is being moved around.
• Sigrid Stewart completed the re quested update to the By-Laws on the website on January 26^th, 2023.
• Debbie Seid, the New Social Chair attended the club General Meeting on January 31, 2023. She was presented to the club members in attendance as the new Social Chair. Debbie said if members have special eating preferences to let her know and she will try to accommodate.
• Re-Caulking Seams – President Nancy English reported that she met with Dean about the seams of the building needing to be re-caulked. Dean called the Roofing Company and they came out with a quoted cost of $800 to have all three of the seams fixed. They also fixed the flashing on the roof. Michele Marsel told President English that the roofers have not charged HGMS for last year’s roof inspection. It’s possible they may not charge for this fix either. President English said the reason this was not budgeted before is because Neal has always done this. “And that’s just one more thing that he’s been so gracious to do for us over the years that now we hire somebody to do. We put that as part of our regular budget maintenance and not on the safety and Policy Committee because it is something that happens regularly.”
• Late Taxes – President Nancy English informed the Board that it recently came to her attention that Michele Marsel, the current HGMS bookkeeper, was filing the 2021 taxes and has not completed them yet. She had planned to have the taxes completed by end of January 2023, but had used that time instead to complete the HGMS budgets. Michele Marsel told Nancy English she will personally cover whatever the fees are for not doing taxes by October 15^th of last year. Michele also said she is going to have everything to the HGMS Accountant, Rodney, for this year’s taxes by the 15^th of April, 2023.
• Zoom Equipment Access and Charging Procedures – President English announced that Jeanean Slamen wrote a document with instructions for charging the Zoom equipment and that document has been given to the Section Chairs. The zoom speakers are supposed to be plugged in to charge in the office after each use.
• The next General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. The program will be an interview with a rock goddess, artist Kierstan Mia Red. Sarah Metsa will interview Kiersten live via Zoom.
• The next Board of Directors’ Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 7^th 2023 at 7:30 pm via Zoom.

New Business

• Educational Game Table – Secretary Heidi Shelley presented an idea of setting up a Game table or Game basket at the club. She reported to the Board that she spends quite a bit of time at the club during the day and notices a lot of people will sit and visit rather than just come to the club to work. Secretary Shelley thought it could be fun to have educational games and activities available that touch on topics covered by the various club Sections. She told the Board that many people have taken her son aside and taught him all sorts of things about rocks and minerals. She thought it could be fun to create similar educational opportunities and give members another reason to come to the clubhouse. They could hang out and play games rather than just work. Secretary Shelley said she would like to try it for a few months and see how it goes. She will setup a basket with a couple games, related educational fact sheet, books with similar topics from the HGMS library and other activities, like stickers for the kids. Educational material and games will be updated monthly. Fred Brueckner suggested putting the games in a box and placing it in the alcove near the restrooms. Other board members agreed to allow Secretary Shelley to spear-head this project.
• Board of Director Meeting Minutes Approval Process questions – Secretary Heidi Shelley apologized to the Board saying she did not realize Board of Director Meeting Minutes were supposed to be approved via email rather than during the following month’s Board meeting. She expressed concerns and frustrations she has already had with getting approval responses as well as with the number of changes and revisions given her to make. She presented two ideas to the Board to resolve some of these issues 1) change BBG release date to after the Board of Directors’ Meeting that month so that there was time for Minutes approval during the meeting and time to write and approve the General Meeting Minutes each month before the BBG was published. 2) Email the minutes with a specified voting time range and if not enough approvals were given in return via email, then the approval for the minutes would become an agenda item at the next month’s Board of Directors’ Meeting. Board members expressed their desire to have one version of minutes to approve. It was confusing to have multiple versions of the minutes sent because it was hard to know what was changed and which version to approve. The Board agreed to have one version emailed for changes (Not grammar or minor changes but things missed or content that needed clarified) and one version for final approval. Secretary Heidi Shelley told the Board she would send the emails as blind carbon copies (bcc) so that any replies for changes came only to her. A final version of the minutes will be emailed asking for approvals within a period of one week. If not enough responses are given, the approval for minutes will wait until the next Board of Directors’ meeting. If a quorum of approvals is reached for the minutes via email, then Secretary Heidi Shelley will email the approved minutes to Sigrid Stewart to be posted on the HGMS Website in the BBG.
• Fire Extinguishers Recertified – President Nancy English informed the Board that Dean Wix has had the fire extinguishers at the shop looked at this year. He took them all to a company and got them all recertified.
• Box of Goggles Donation – President English mentioned that an individual called and offered to donate a box of roughly 300 new goggles. These are the kind that covers the face. President English and Sharon Halton, who both saw the goggles, thought they would be great to replace some of the scratched goggles we have at the shop. President English also suggested that HGMS could also sell some goggles to members for a minimal price.
• HGMS Phone – President Nancy English told the Board of Directors that the club receives 6 to 8 calls a week. Currently, the HGMS phone is forwarded to President English’s personal cell phone after three rings. She said if any of the shop foremen or Board members would like to help answer phone calls while at the shop, to simply place the phone in a pocket while working and answer the call before the third ring. After the third ring, the phone call will be automatically forwarded to President English.

Motion to Adjourn

President Nancy English asked if there was a motion to adjourn. Multiple Board members moved to adjourn at the same time. Sarah Metsa said everyone moves to second it. A vote was taken and was unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 9:31 pm.

 

Dates of Note

Description	February	March	April
Board of Directors Meeting via Zoom (1st Tues)	7th @ 7:30pm	7th @ 7:30pm	4th @ 7:30pm
General Club Meeting (4th Tues) Hybrid	28th @ 7:30pm	28th @ 7:30pm	25th @ 7:30pm
Section Monthly Meetings
Description	February	March	April
Beading (3rd Sat)	18th @ 12:30pm	18th @ 12:30pm	15th @ 12:30pm
Day Light (1st Wed)	1st @ 1:00pm	1st @ 1:00pm	5th @ 1:00pm
Gems/Faceting (2nd Thurs ) Hybrid	9th@ 6:30pm or Join Zoom at 7:30pm	9th@ 6:30pm or Join Zoom at 7:30pm	13th @ 6:30pm or Join Zoom at 7:30pm
Lapidary/Silver (3rd Mon)	20th @ 7:00pm	20th @ 7:00pm	17th @ 7:00pm
Mineral (3rd Wed)	15th @ 7:30pm	15th @ 7:30pm	19th @ 7:30pm
Paleo (3rd Tues) Hybrid	21st @ 7:30pm	21st @ 7:30pm	18th @ 7:30pm
Youth (1st and 3rd Sat)	4th @ 10a – Noon 18th @ 10 – Noon	4th @ 10a – Noon 18th @ 10 – Noon	1st @ 10 – Noon 15th @ 10-Noon

Minutes of the February 28th General meeting will be posted when available.

Gulf Coast Gem & Mineral Show

60th Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show

03/04/2023 – 03/05/202

Richard M Borchard Regional Fairgrounds,

Exhibit Hall A, 1213 Terry Shamsie Blvd.,

Robstown, Texas 78380

 

Big Spring Prospectors Club

03/05/2023 – 03/06/2023

Sat.  9:00am – 5:00pm Sun. 10:am – 5:00pm

Rodeo Grounds of Howard County Fair Barn

2900 Old State Hwy 80

Big Spring TX 79720

https://www.facebook.com/bigspringprospectorsclub/

 

Clear Lake Gem & Mineral Show

03/18/2023 – 03/19/2023

Sat. 10:00am – 6:00pm Sun. 10:00am – 5:00pm

Pasadena Convention Center

7902 Fairmont Parkway

Pasadena TX 77507

https://www.clgms.org/