Contents
Visitors
Meetings
To Become a Member
Dues
Education
Information
Show Table
Library
Field Trips
Juniors
Newsletter
Board of Directors
Annual show
Visitors
Visitors are always welcome at our meetings. Every member was a visitor at one time
and we were all beginners at some point. All visitors are urged to sign the guest
book, be introduced, and will receive a copy of the next newsletter, The "ROCKHOUNDER".
Meetings
Meetings are held on the second Monday of each month, September to June, at the
Rockville Senior Center, 1150 Carnation Drive, Rockville, MD 20850. We start gathering
at 7:30 P.M. to chat,and admire the displays on the "Showtable". You may
order a book from the Club Library. In order to accommodate junior members we start
the meeting at 7:45 P.M. An educational program, dealing with some aspect of our
interests, runs for about an hour starting at 8:00 PM. After the presentation, juniors
may then, if they wish, leave. The business meeting, which we try to keep brief,
follows, ending no later than 10:00 P.M. when we must vacate the building. With
a curtailed business meeting, our December meeting is set aside for a Holiday party
with refreshments served. Periodically, swap sessions, sales or auctions are held.
To Become a Member
Come to a meeting. Obtain a membership application form from our Membership Chairperson.
Fill it in, and return it with the appropriate dues payment. Society members must
approve your application. No applicant will be denied for reason of race, color,
sex, creed, or national origin.
Dues
Dues are payable annually, on September 1st. Two adults and any children under 18
years of age living in the same household constitute a Family membership, at $20.00.
Single memberships are available at $15.00. For those paying after April 1st, the
amount is half. New members are expected to purchase engraved name badges for about
$6.00.
Education
Members of our society are available to speak to school groups, boy scouts, girl
scouts and other organizations about any of our interests.
Information
For more information, please email us at info@glmsmc.com.
Show Table
At each meeting members are encouraged to bring minerals, fossils, or lapidary items
for display. They may be gifts, purchased, swapped, self-collected, or self-made.
Often, members bring something pertaining to the topic of that nights program or
something collected on recent field trips. Perhaps they are simply something of
beauty to be shared with others. We have three drawings for prizes: One, simply
for attendance, another only for those members or guests with something on the Show
Table, and the last one for juniors only.
Library
The Society maintains a library of over 250 books, pamphlets, and videos dealing
with many aspects of our hobby. These may be made available by request to the club
Librarian, for perusal or reference. Items may be checked out by members until the
following meeting.
Field Trips
Field trips are open to members only, and planned for all but the hottest and coldest
months. Some quarries or mines do not allow visitors under age 18 but we try to
plan some trips where they may attend too. Recent trips have included the Medford,
Pinesburg, and Rockville quarries in MD, Codorus, and the Meckley quarries in PA.
Fossil collecting excursions have included the Lee Creek Mine at Aurora NC, and
the shores of Chesapeake Bay in MD. Access may be gained to some localities unavailable
to the public. The picnic and Rock Swap at Lake Anna VA is an annual event of the
Eastern Federation we enjoy.
Juniors
Juniors are encouraged to attend meetings and take part in Society activities. When
enough interest is shown, some activities are planned especially for them.
Newsletter
The "ROCKHOUNDER" is published monthly, except July/August, a combined
issue. It contains notices, regular and Board of Director's meeting minutes, educational
articles, and other items of interest concerning our hobby.
Board of Directors
Meetings are held as needed, usually the third Monday of the month at the home of
a member. We take care of as much business as possible at these meetings in order
to give more time to programs and fun at the general meetings.
Annual Show
Our one show per year, held since 1965, is customarily the third weekend of March,
at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. The show is organized and operated by an all-volunteer
committee of Society members. Members and others enter showcases to display minerals,
fossils, jewelry they have made, cabochons or faceted stones they have cut and polished,
and educational exhibits. In our workshop, guests polish a cabochon gemstone assisted
by club members. Demonstrations usually include fluorescent minerals, beading, jewelry
making, faceting gems, minerals under the microscope, fossil recovery, and flint
knapping. About 20 dealers from several states sell unique gifts, jewelry, findings,
beads, rough and cut gems, new age and crystal items, minerals, fossils, books,
carvings, slabs, and some equipment. Free specimens and a mini-mine are available
for juniors. Hourly door prizes and a raffle are featured. Lunch and snack foods
are available. All members are asked to help make the show a success by entering
a case and helping in some other way. Income from the show supports scholarships
for college students in earth sciences, awards to earth science winners at the Montgomery
Area Science Fair, the Eastern Federation Fund (endowment) and specimens for the
Gem and Mineral Hall at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian
Institution.
