Prez Says...

by Dan Teich, MSDC President

It's been cold here in the District, but the MSDC Board of Directors and leadership team have been hot! At a recent meeting, we all came together and discussed our presenters for the near and distant future. This coming month, our long-time member, technology guru, mineral dealer, friend to all, and world traveler, Casper Voogt will take us on a tour of his more recent travels around the world. There will certainly be exotic locations, fantastic minerals, and most likely, some sticky situations! You cannot travel to remote corners and not have some adventure ... or mishap. 

We also discussed engaging members more through Geology-in-the-News (send Ken Rock interesting links for the newsletter), show-and-tell, and other discussions. More to come in the next few months. 

On a personal note, I am thankful to our last month's speaker, Gene Meieran, for walking us through his 80+ years of mineral and crystal collecting experience. It all began with sandstone and a few other small rocks. Through a career utilizing expertise in the physics and chemistry of crystals, his passion continued to develop, as did his collection. When holding up a tanzanite crystal, he did not use his fingers, Gene used his entire hand!

A tanzanite crystal, captured in a screenshot from Gene's presentation.

We all have our stories regarding our journey and evolution in mineralogy, and it was fascinating to have Gene walk us down his path. I'd be delighted to have members present their collections and journeys, too. You can find Gene's talk on our YouTube channel or by clicking here

If you missed a presentation, many of them are on the YouTube channel. If you have a friend interested in a topic, be sure to share it. And if that friend isn't a member, invite them to join us! Or better still, how about giving them a gift membership? Still only $20 for a full year of membership.

I'm hanging onto my hat awaiting the adventures of Casper. I'll see you there on the 5th of February.