SOUTHWEST GEM AND MINERAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Volume 58, No.2 February, 2016 P.O. Box 173231 San Antonio, Texas 78217-0323 Our Website: www.swgemandmineral.org NEXT GENERAL MEETING THURSDAY, February 11, 2016 TIME: 6:15 PM 8:00 PM USUAL MEETING PLACE: ST. PAUL S EPISCOPAL CHURCH 1018 E. GRAYSON STREET SAN ANTONIO, TX DIRECTIONS: (Traveling SOUTH on Interstate 35) Exit#159A, turn right at N. New Braunfels Ave., Continue on to E Grayson St. and turn left. Address will be on the left. Entrance will be through the door marked OFFICE DIRECTIONS: (Traveling NORTH on Interstate 35) Exit#159A, turn left at N. New Braunfels Ave., Continue on to E Grayson St. and turn left. Address will be on the left. Entrance will be through the door marked OFFICE. REFRESHMENT COMMITTEE Pons, Daniel Proulx, Gary & Putman, Lilly Charlotte Rankin, Philip Robbins, Tim & Cherri Roberts, Daniel
PRESIDENT S MESSAGE We had a great turnout for January s club meeting. Rod Towers [one of our new members] gave us a most interesting presentation on his fossil collecting from the Nueces River gravel beds and his experiences working with the people that recover fossils from the la Brea tar pits in Inglewood California. Rod also had a number of fossils he had collected for members to view. The success of our show is directly participation we get from our members!! Also, if you have some lapidary work or some minerals you would like to show members, we will have a short showand-tell time. Bob Bowie MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING President Bob Bowie opened the meeting at 7:00 PM by leading the members in The Pledge of Allegiance. Announcements: Discussed trip to the Gravel Pit. Early Business regarding the upcoming : joe noonan, 2016 Our February meeting will be very important as it is the last club meeting before our show March 12-13 at the San Antonio Event Center. We are hoping to finalize all of our volunteer lists for the front door sales, silent auction, lucky wheel, and club booth and importantly the set up day on Friday, March 11, and our tear down after the show is over on Sunday at 4p.m. 1. Professional Announcements and Flyers have been provided for distribution by Curtis Threat. 2. Don Kolle will advertise on Facebook. 3. Joe Noonan is the point for vendors. 4. Susan Noonan is in charge for taking money at the door. 5. Debbie Krause is in charge of Silent Auctions 6. Brenda Shultz is in charge of the Spinning Wheel for children prizes.
7. Security arrangements. Connect with Sgt Brady Wise, bwise@san Antonio.gov, 210-273-6472 (thanx, Bobby, for the info) 8. Insurance is taken care of.beverly Usell 9. Setup early Friday: Jim, Sam, and Keith 10. Funds for venues provided by Lon French, treasurer. 11. Fire Marshall has approved the map drawn by Susan Noonan. 12. Bob Bowie has placed announcements, in Rock and Gem, TCR, Texas Highways 13. Flasher Equipment has been taken care of. 14. Wayne Sturdevant has placed the News ad with San Antonio Express News is scheduled and paid for. Free computer banner is provided on My SA. 15. Only two Board Members will have credit cards: Lon French and Bob Bowie. PROGRAM Troy Railsback passed away on January 16, 2016. He has been a longstanding member of SWGMS. He attended meetings regularly and often brought in interesting stones he had been working. His real passion was opals and he was an expert polisher. He could be counted on to be at the annual show where he could often be found either at the club booth or the silent auction. Troy was interred at the Ft. Sam Houston cemetery. Auman Burnett passed away on January 27, 2016. Auman was another long-time member of the club and served as a past president. He was an ardent rockhound and skilled lapidary. He was always at the monthly meetings and brought with him something to show that he d been working on. Services for Auman will be held on Saturday, February 6 th at 1pm at the Sunset Funeral Home, 1701 Austin Highway. A copy of his obituary is available on the Sunset Funeral Home web site. For the February, 2016 meeting we will be discussing preparations for our March Fiesta of Gems. Please attend this meeting as it will be the last meeting before the show. There are still a number of items to review and discuss. All members are needed for the show. IN MEMORIUM We have lost two of our oldest members within the month of January. Auman Burnet (center) joe noonan, 2016
OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST You who help on set-up day will be rewarded with a GIFT CARD to one our fine local restaurants. Organizing the show works best if the activity chairpersons know who is coming and who will work in a particular booth and when. Walk-in help is always welcome if you are unable to make plans at this time. Be sure to close the lid on your slab saw before you start the motor. This issue contains the first meeting minutes in many, many months. A special thank-you to Wayne Sturdevant for filling in as Club Secretary and getting the minutes recorded and prepared. It is an essential part of conducting the business of our club, and for maintaining accurate club records. February 27, 2016, Llano, Texas: Friends of the Llano Red Top Jail, Llano County Community Center, 2249 Ranch Road 152. Free Admission March 5-6, 2016, Robstown, Texas: Annual show. Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society; Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds, 1213 Terry Shamsie Blvd. Building A. US Hwy 77 and Hwy 44. FIELD TRIPS /ROCK HUNTS Top Secret location, possibly soon. Sam Rodgers Hunt Area Club Show Dates February 20-20, 2016, Georgetown, Texas: Annual Show; Williamson County Gem and Mineral Society, Community Center-San Gabriel Park, 445 East Morrow Street. wcgms.org February 20-21, 2016, Plainview, Texas: Annual Show; Hi Plains Gem and Mineral Society, Ollie Liner Center, Business I-27 South. agate specimen, Germany. joe noonan 2016
Contact Information President Bob Bowie krbotx@gvtc.com (830) 935-3373 Vice President and Program Secretary Don Kolle donkolle@yahoo.com (210) 848-2088 Wayne Sturdevant wayne@lonestargemstones.com (210) 573-6307 Treasurer Lonnie French lonfrench@gmail.com (210) 414-6227 Newsletter Editor Show Vendor Education Hunt Bob Bowie krbotx@gvtc.net (830) 935-3373 Debbie Peterson Texredneck83@yahoo.com (830) 627-8200 Debbie Krause dkrause@ schertz.com (210) 619-1752 Sam Rodgers buckrodgers000@yahoo.com (210) 240-7721 Director Jim Meloche jim.meloche@att.net (210) 658-8920 Director Keith King None (210) 867-9984