AUGUST 2024                                                                                                                        VOLUME 64 ISSUE 8

Rockhound Roundup

Alabama Mineral and Lapidary Society Official Junior Rockhounds

The next official meeting of our Junior Rockhound club will be at 5:30, August 9, at the regular AMLS meeting place, Cahaba Heights UMC.  The Junior members will be building their mineral ID kits.

Meet the Junior Rockhounds

2025 Club Officers Needed!

At the October meeting in two months, the Nominating Committee will announce the candidates for 2025 Officer Positions. The new officers will be voted in and the 2025 Committee Chairs will be appointed.  

 Click here to see the Nominating Committee Status.

An Important Email Has Been Sent to Non-Current Club Members!

Check your email inbox and spam box. If you did not fill out a membership application or renewal application for the 2024 year, you were sent an email to verify that you wish to remain a member. This email was sent from:  thelapidaryclub@gmail.com     Click here to find out more.

Be a Workshop Assistant!

Your workshop is growing. Your assistance is needed to help with some shop maintenance.  Contact Levan Foster at the workshop.

Welcome Our Newest Members!

      Keith Upchurch
    Terry, Janna, and Victoria Smith

September DMC field trip announced

September 28 and 29, Senaca South Carolina.  COLLECTING: The owner of the property (and a very serious collector) has found epidote, garnet, quartz (in its various forms), quartz arrowheads, actinolite, hematite, magnetite, and other iron minerals.Those interested in joning this field trip can find more information on the Members-Only page of the AMLS website.

August Calendar of Events

  Meeting Minutes

AMLS Minutes of the July 12, 2024 Meeting

John Gaston blessed our meeting and we headed for the pot luck supper.

Reggie Bolton gaveled the meeting to order and asked for visitors to identify themselves. We met Dean Nakos, Michael Maniscotio, Ben Morgan, Rachel   Spence, and Jared & Erica Carlisle, and new members Fonde Taylor and Donald & Rebecca Jones.

Corrections to the June minutes were called for and there were none so Anthony Piazza moved that we accept them, Vivian Melof seconded and the motion passed.

John Gaston and Allison Reaves reported on the junior program that took place before our meeting. The kids are working on their first badge and made rocks out of starburst candies. Next month they will work on mineral ID.

Yvonne Foster announced that she will be teaching a wire wrapping class on the 20th of July and chainmaille on the 27th. Classes are held at the workshop 10 am-4pm and cost $10 plus $5-10 for supplies. Reggie Bolton talked about the Rockhound Roundup, the workshop, and other programs the club has to offer members.

After the program we broke into groups to discuss what needs to be done for the upcoming rock show.  Bonnie Gaston said she and John Gaston will take care of the food for the vendor meal on Thursday and members will need to bring cookies and drinks. Of course volunteers will be needed to set out the meal, make sure vendors are taken care of, and clean up.

Vicki Lais announced that there would be one more change to the bylaws to be voted on at the next meeting.

Anthony Piazza introduced Dr. Ron Buta, professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Alabama. He spoke about the trackway fossils found in Walker County, Al.

After the program, door prizes were awarded and we broke into groups for discussion about show duties.

--Respectfully yours, Bunny Bolton, Secretary

After reading through these minutes, if you have any corrections, email them to newsletter@lapidaryclub.com  prior to our meeting on Friday.

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  2024 Gem Show Update

This year, club members have stepped up to coordinate our 2024 Annual Gem & Mineral Show. You can show your appreciation and support by offering to help them plan and manage our annual event. Loads of  planning and logistics must take place to present our best AMLS Gem Show ever. Contact one of these coordinators and do your part as a member. There are only 4 weeks left to bring it all together.

Thank you:

                Rhea Proffitt - Show Chairman

                Ben Beadore – Venue Coordinator

                John Cook - Vendor Coordinator                 

                Casey Falkner - Show Volunteer Coordinator

                Reggie Bolton - Treasurer and Legal Coordinator

                Kristen Osborn and Rhonda Jordan - Publicity and Publications Coordinators

                John and Bonnie Gaston - Vendor/Volunteer Dinner and Refreshments

                Don and Jill Hill - Kids Corner and Club Demonstrations 

                Bunny Bolton - Club Display Coordinator

              Rhea Proffitt - Food Truck Coordinator

                Vacant - Club Sponsored Table Coordinator 

 You can email amlsgemshow@gmail.com for more details.

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2025 Nominating Committee

At October's meeting, the confirmed nominees you see below will be voted into office.

Who will be the future leaders of AMLS? Where will the club be in 2025?

It is important that every member serve in the club as an officer, committee chair or committee member.
When members choose not to serve, they are choosing not to have a club.

As you look at the schedule of nominees below, take note that there are 5 Officer positions and 9 Committee Chair positions vacant. You might want to ask what happens if no members step up to be leaders in the club.

To get information on a specific position, volunteer to serve or ask a question:
email thelapidaryclub@gmail.com with Nominate as the subject.

2025 Nominations

Club Membership

A Message from the Membership Committee Chairman

Hello, my name is John Cook and I became membership committee chairman in June of 2023. I am aware the club has been a little slow recovering from “The Covid.” Amongst all this we have been complacent about keeping our members current with dues. Our accurate membership records are an important part of a club charter. These records are verification for club insurance liability coverage as well as providing credentials for Southeastern and American Federation affiliation. Only current AMLS members can participate in club and federation sponsored events for these reasons.

If we do not have your renewal application for 2024 on file, you have been sent an email. This email is to determine who is interested in remaining a member of the club. This is not a request for your renewal dues at this time, only to clean up our membership records.

Please look for this email and reply if you wish to remain or choose to leave the club.

If you haven’t seen the email, or do not know if you are a current member, please email to thelapidaryclub@gmail.com with AMLS membership in the subject.

Thank you for your cooperation in this and feel free to email any questions, comments or concerns about your club.

Sincerely,
John Cook

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Jewelry Class in July