Author: Club Secretary

7:00 pm – Ferndale Pioneer Pavilion. Meeting called to order by president Candi Gerard. Approximately 20-25 members in attendance, we enjoyed a successful potluck.

7:42 pm – new board members sworn in

7:55 pm – gift exchange

8:00 pm – meeting adjourned, cleaned up and appreciate the leftovers.

Thank you to all who were able to attend. Looking forward to seeing you again in the new year.

Minutes submitted by Trevor Duncan

Other Club Information:
Club Web Address:  www.mtbakerrockclub.org
Visit us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/mtbakerrockclub
For Questions, Club Email:  admin@mtbakerrockclub.org

Club Retail Store, Bellis Fair Mall, Space 424 (JC Penny’s Wing) Hours:
Closed Mondays, Tuesday-Saturday 11 am to 7, Sunday Noon to 6 pm

6:13 pm Meeting called to order by President Candi Gerard at Portal Creek Park Clubhouse.  Attending: Candi, Deb, Wes, Dick, Gordy, Ralph, Sharon, Michael, Todd, Bonnie, Trevor

Secretary Report (Trevor): emails to respond to, will forward appropriately. (up to date as of 12/6)

Treasurer Report (Deb): Grit was purchased, price of step 1 and 2 adjusted (+$1) to $4 to compensate for price increase to club. P.O. Box renewal occurs this month.

Membership Report (Wes): 14 new families in November, 3 new this week. ~ 100 non-renewing families in October, will remind members at the 12/19 meeting. Distribution lists will be updated accordingly in 2023.

Federation / Mineral Council Report (Michael): Big show dates confirmed – 8/3-8/6 in Billings, MT.

Lapidary Committee (Gordy): Struggling to find low cost oil, either mineral or bio diesel varieties. ~ $24/ gallon, need 1.5-3 gallons per saw for lap room. Discussed swapping 1000 grit belts for 800 which was discussed; club prefers to have 1000 grit available as they are the same cost as 800. Treasurer approved proceeding with purchase of oil + belts.

Education (Todd): Sent email to WWU admin RE: scholarship/show. Received a link to check weekend availability for a potential rainy day field trip in January. A new page has been added to the club website with store info and pics. (http://mtbakerrockclub.org/?page_id=887)  Small discussion about a separate FB/ email account for the mall store. Trevor is willing to assist with a FB page.

Show Updates (Wes): Table rentals are $10/day or ($30/ table). Discussion about tables and storage. Can move 4’ x 8’ tables from storage to accommodate more 2’ x 8’ tables.  We also need to print many more ¼ page flyers for the show, which will be placed in the store in Jan.

Store Updates (Ralph): Multiple weeks with $2000+ in revenue, every vendor has successfully made a sale in the last month. Gift Certificate sales are up; would be useful to train all vendors on G.C. procedures.

Holiday Meeting 12/19 & Potluck discussion. Reminders: gift exchange requires that each person participating brings a gift. Sharon offers to handle the gift table and “ticket” system. Ralph will bring a cooked Ham. New board will be installed at the meeting.

Old Business: Hold harmless waiver for lap room – Candi presented draft ideas. Each person taking the class would sign the form to be kept on file in the mall. 

Badges; quoted at $1.67/each for 50 with magnet, $.36/each with pin.

New Business: Discussed possibility/ need for a dedicated store phone to field incoming inquiries. Interest in T-shirts, discussed pre-order/ gauge interest before placing order. Trevor will research phone cost/ options.

7:07 pm Meeting Adjourned

November 21, 2022 Mt. Baker Rock & Gem Club general meeting minutes and potluck info/sign-up.

7:04 PM – meeting called to order by club President Candi Gerard.

Secretary Report: Minutes from 11/07 Board Meeting approved

Treasurer Report: Deb went over income and expenses for flyers, rubber stamp, rent, website, books, mileage, tumblers, and Halloween candy.

Membership: 7+ new members. (Welcome Jessica and Edgar who joined at the meeting!)

Mineral Council report: Blanchard Mt. was the last event of the season. Things pick up again in 2023. Upcoming American Federation and Northwest Federation Gem & Mineral Show August 3–6, 2023, Billings, MT. (Dates confirmed via https://billingsgemclub.com/rock-shows/2023-show)

Lapidary Report: things have been steady. 

2023 Show: March 25 & 26. Current focus is advertising; thanks for helping us spread the word!

Vote for 2023 Board – went over volunteers,does the club accept?

President: Candi Gerard

Vice President: Ralph Sisco 

Secretary: Trevor Duncan

Treasurer: Deb Gannaway

Federation Director: Michael Langley

Director-at-large (3): Dick Carr, Sharon Geleynse, Bonnie Keel

Chairs: Kevin & Kathy Mayock (kitchen)

The club unanimously voted yes to the above, and the new board will be installed in December for the 2023 term. 

Our next meeting is Monday, December 19, 2022. This will be our holiday gathering, as a club we voted to have a gift exchange and potluck. Attire: Wear whatever you are comfortable in. If you want to participate in the gift exchange, bring a gift, if not, don’t.

Coffee duties will be taken care of by volunteer Harold while Kathy & Kevin are away. Thanks for stepping in to help Harold!

Friendly reminder: intro classes, wire-wrapping classes, lap room time must be paid for in advance (at the Mall Store) to participate. If unpaid, a spot may be forfeited in the event of too many people signed up. Please provide receipts and make sure to get phone numbers!

Todd installed a new link on the website for DIY field trips. (If you have photos or info to contribute, please forward them to Todd to be included.) http://mtbakerrockclub.org/?page_id=742.  To navigate from the homepage > Field Trips > DIY Field Trips

7:20 PM – break for coffee and treats.

7:32-7:52 PM – Todd’s presentation about the Grand Coulee Dam and Steamboat Rock geology. It has seen been added as a PDF to our website here: http://mtbakerrockclub.org/?page_id=235

Homepage > Learn More > Links and Resources > Instructional/Educational/Suppliers > Geology of Steamboat Rock State Park (PDF Version)

Mall Store hours: 11-7 including Mondays through the holidays, 11-6 Sundays.

A sign-up sheet went around for the potluck at our December meeting. The following people agreed to bring…

Vegetable Platter, Dinner Rolls: Robin

Potato Salad: Michael

Turkey Meatballs: Jackie

Cookies / Dip: Ralph

Chicken Soup: Jessica 

Deviled Eggs: Trevor

Carrot Bars: Harold

8:00 – Meeting adjourned

Distributed by Secretary Trevor Duncan

6:02 pm Meeting called to order by President Candi Gerard at Portal Creek Park Clubhouse. Attending: Michael, Sharon, Ralph, Bonnie, Gordy, Candi, Wes, Deb, Todd, Trevor

Secretary Report: N/A

Treasurer’s Report (Deb): Supplies were purchased; books, lightbulbs, frame for store. Books were recently audited and passed with flying colors. Covered dues, donations, lap room, club sales, rent.

Membership (Wes): 1 new member, lots of renewals in October. Welcome packages for new members were mentioned, what to include – tumbled stones, etc? Inquiry – do we have business cards for the club? No, but we provide brochures. Speaking of which, a new box of 1000 brochures needs folding. Thanks for volunteers!

Mineral Council / Federation (Michael): Last mineral field trip of the year, Blanchard Mt. cancelled due to weather. Olivine dig is also unable to be rescheduled due to weather. Season has ended. Overall lapidary club membership across the US is down due to COVID and lack of funds. Kalispell, MT club cannot find tumblers or parts. Main show for Pac NW in Billings, MT 8/1-8/3 in 2023.

Discussion about the expense of the printed publication most of us received – is there a way to go paperless? Who gets the mailer – all club members, or only board? Will inquire at next general meeting.

Lap Room (Gordy): Walt has been helping out (thanks Walt!) need some grit & belts for the equipment. Thank you everyone for the consistency with collecting payments, documenting names & numbers in corresponding composition books. Oil was discussed – bio oil vs. mineral oil, cost and wear/tear. Oil needs to be changed in saws after the holidays. In favor of bio if it passes the “smell check.”

Discussion about new vendors, scheduling, busy season. Could use help on weekends, and evenings. Flexibility is key.

2023 SHOW (Wes): dates are set, confirmed for March 25 & 26, 2023.

Mall Report (Ralph): Celebrated 2 year anniversary 11/3/22. We are seeing success with new memberships, classes, use of lap room. Canadians are returning to the mall. Anticipating holiday rush. No big news about status of “the mall” in general, but there was recently a security meeting for all tenants.

Deb (Treasurer): mentioned letter from Brookefield RE: proof of insurance. Discussed “key holder” report.

Rock Rendezvous date 2023: October 21, 2023

Todd – WWU scholarship deadline in February. Discussion about a possible weekend field trip. 

UPCOMING: club will take vote at next general meeting for new board members. Facilities: Kevin & Kathy will be gone in AZ, will need assistance with coffee set up, tear down, and storage. 

Vice President Bonnie proposed a sweater theme for the next meeting. 

President Candi brought up a suggestion from Walt about a hold-harmless / liability waiver for use of lap room. Board agrees we should move forward with the form.
New Business: Critters / painted rocks… time to get started for March show. Painted rocks are needed. Volunteers are welcome! (Deb): Need to update names on the WECI bank account. Discussed mileage rate of $.625/ mile. President motioned for a vote, vote passed to reimburse at IRS rate of $.625.

Library (Todd): Books have not been getting checked out, how should we deal with them? Silent auction/ sales discussed. 

6:54 pm – Meeting adjourned

Minutes submitted by Trevor Duncan
Other Club Information: 
Club Web Address:  www.mtbakerrockclub.org
Visit us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/mtbakerrockclub
For Questions, Club Email:  admin@mtbakerrockclub.org

Club Retail Store, Bellis Fair Mall, Space 424 (JC Penny’s Wing) Hours:
Closed Mondays, Tuesday-Saturday 11 am to 7, Sunday Noon to 6 pm