June Business Meeting Summary

by Andy Thompson, MSDC Secretary

**From a display at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.**

Dan welcomed everyone to the “World’s Shortest Business Meeting” and thanked all members for their service, including the club’s past presidents who were in attendance. He thanked the club’s secretary for providing the business meeting report for May as published in the June newsletter. He asked for a motion to approve the minutes which was made, seconded, and unanimously approved.

Dan noted that MSDC’s current Secretary and former President, Andy Thompson, is looking for an assistant to help with his secretarial and writing duties. Even a small effort on your part to assist Andy would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Andy directly if you are interested in learning more: thompson01@starpower.net.

Reports from the Club Officers

Ken Reynolds, VP for Programs, asked Laura Dwyer to describe the club’s upcoming programs for the Fall months through to December.

Sept 2 – Les Presmyk, Arizona State Mine Inspector, will present on the minerals of the famous mining district of Bisbee, Arizona.

Oct 7– Dr. Jacob (Jake) Margolis will talk to us about “Siderite, Barite, and Millerite from the Mount Savage Clay, Frostburg, Allegany County, Maryland.”

Nov 4– Bob Farrar will speak about amethyst found in southern Brazil.

Dec 2– Dr. David Maue will present “The evolution of the USGS mapping technologies, including the USGS 3D Elevation Program, 3 DEP, LIDAR.” He was named the “Father of Lidar” by Lidar Magazine in 2018.

Andy Thompson, Secretary reported that the club’s Board of Directors met on May 9 to identify MSDC’s priorities for the coming months. The umbrella theme was what the BOD heard the club members wanted going forward, specifically:

· Hold more in-person social gatherings;

· Identify coordinators and/or committees to facilitate club activities such as more social gatherings, field trips, mineral identification sessions, and activities for young people. An attendee added that the Eastern Federation and American Federation of mineral clubs have also made programs for engaging youths a priority.

Ken Rock, Editor of the club’s newsletter, said that he and John Weidner have been working on reconciling the club’s membership lists of which there are two, due to the two methods of the annual dues payments, digital and checks. Ken also noted that:

· He currently sends the monthly newsletter to 279 individuals

· He is looking for one or more volunteers who wish to help with publishing our monthly newsletter. For the past four years he has worked with two excellent software programs and wants to share the knowledge to ensure continuity going forward. He'd be happy to share how to work with the programs by both online and in person meetings. All interested persons would need to do is let him know you are interested. Contact Ken at kennethnrock@gmail.com

· Several members asked Ken for clarifications about the two methods for payment, via Stripe and by mailing John Weidner a check. He referenced the information in the newsletter: “We invite you to pay your dues using Stripe, a leading secure online payment processing system. The membership cost is only $20 for an individual and $25 for a family membership for 12 months. Payment by check is fine too.” Anyone with questions about membership payments, he noted, can simply contact Ken and he will help resolve any questions or problems you have.

Dan concluded the club’s officers’ reports by encouraging any interested persons to be in touch with Ken to learn about the very cool software and enjoy the fun of seeing how this excellent newsletter is put together. He asked all club members to be sure to always click on the email which delivers the monthly newsletter: “It’s always awesome to read.”

This specimen, from the Galilea mine, Sapucaia pegmatite, Minas Gerais, Brazil, is sometimes called the "Pink Tutu" because of its rose quartz frill. The smoky quartz formed first, then the rose quartz. Geologists suspect the pink tint comes from traces of aluminum and phosphorus.

Old Business and New Business

Dan said there was no old business pending but there was new business in the form of a social event for all club members on June 20. He and Shawn will be hosting a gathering at their place on Capitol Hill in DC. John Weidner is emailing all members with the information about the time (2 to 6 pm), food (combo of catered and pot luck), activities (meeting/greeting everyone, show and tell your favorite minerals, seeing Dan’s mineral collection) and dropping off any mineral donations for the annual gem and mineral show at George Mason University in November.

With no further club business to conduct, Dan turned the mic over to Laura Dwyer to introduce the evening’s presenter, her college geology classmate, Dr. Mike Wise of the Smithsonian’s Department of Mineral Sciences.