2008 Meeting Minutes

 

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 October 4th, 2008:

Atlanta, GA Emory's Math/Science Library

Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.

Thank you so much for a great turn out at our quarterly meeting. Lunch: We met at Everybody's Pizza at 11:30 a.m. By the time we were all reassembled at the Math/Science Library at Emory University across the street, it was 1:30 p.m. Guest Speaker: Dr. Mike Reynolds, who was kind enough to drive up with his wife, Debbie, from Jacksonville, Florida, was our guest speaker. He gave a talk and PowerPoint presentation on hunting meteorites in Antarctica. Besides seeing those lonely black meteorites on the white snow, my favorite part was the close-up of a snowflake on Mike's glove. Wow! I thought they only looked like that under magnification. (I may become a snowflake collector.) Mike also brought up a bunch of books and meteorites for sale. Though we were a little rushed, I think most people got to rummage through his offerings and come away with a new meteorite or two. Quarterly Meeting: After the presentation, I gave Mike a framed certificate and name badge, (courtesy of Sean Murray), designating Mike an "Honorary Member" of MAG. We are honored to have him counted among us. Our other honorary member, Hal Povenmire, was also in attendance. He, too, brought meteorite goodies for sale and many of us helped lighten his load back to Florida. I brought my 12g Georgiaite for Show and Tell and Hal was immediately able to identify where it was found, and by whom. That's a pretty tall order since there have been 2,000 Georgiaites found. Hal said it was free from inclusions and a very fine specimen with great color. (I let Sean, whom I have dubbed "Tektite Breath", touch it briefly). Hal has an article in the current issue of Meteorite magazine on the Georgia Astroblem. Jerry Armstrong brought in a new painting he did entitled "The Bruderheim Meteorite" as it streaked across the sky on March 1st, 1960. It had snowed the night before in Bruderheim, Alberta, Canada, and Jerry painted a beautiful snowy scene that looked prettier than a Hallmark Christmas card. This was a commissioned work for Patrick Herman in Canada. Jerry reported that his collection of SNC's is now complete. He has over 20 Martian meteorites, but got his final "snick" at our meeting. R.J. Philips brought in some meteorites he recently bought. We all admired the beauties as well as the wonderful wooden cigar box in which they were nestled. Tim and Bunty Cantwell arrived after lunch and searched high and low for our meeting place on Emory's campus. Many apologies to them and anyone else who couldn't find us. I never thought about putting up directional signs. We eventually connected and Tim got to enjoy a shortened version of Mike's presentation while Bunty babysat for some beautiful doggies in the van. Fortunately, they didn't drive from Tennessee to Georgia just for the meeting. They stopped by on their way to Florida. I hope by January 2009 Tim and Bunty will resume speaking to me! (Just kidding; both were very gracious considering my blunder.) MAG T-Shirts: Dave Gheesling brought in the MAG T-shirts his friend made. They are beautiful black shirts with our MAG logo on the left-hand side. Thanks to Dave for getting this together! This is just another way to advertise who we are whenever we're out and about. Those, along with our new membership badges should really get people talking. Don't forget to wear one or the other whenever you visit gem shows, mineral meetings, etc. We now have several Tennessee members and several Florida members. Let's see if we can get Alabama people on board. After all, their car tags say "Stars Fell on Alabama". (No connection with meteorites however...). Meteorite Magazine: Dave also had a great outreach article published in the current issue of "Meteorite" magazine. If you aren't a subscriber yet, you're missing half the fun. I find most of the articles fascinating and quite readable. Sure, there are a few that are "over my head" but what do you expect from meteors? Here's the information on how to start a subscription: Meteorite Magazine Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences 202 Old Museum Building, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 USA Phone: 479-575-7625 Fax: 479-575-7778 metpub@uark.edu Membership: Sean Murray has been working overtime: he has updated our membership list to include what "type" of membership a person holds, the dates we joined, what membership number we were assigned, as well as creating and printing our membership certificates and name badges. This is in addition to all the web work he continues to do for us. He has put up a new "Resources" page that is fantastic. Next time you see Sean, give him a good pat on the back for all his efforts, but make sure he's not holding a tektite at the time. Wayne Dodd not only serves as our Treasurer, but he has agreed to be in charge of Membership too. Wayne and I will be looking forward to your input and ideas on developing a "Membership Packet" for new members, sort of like a "Welcome Wagon." We'll want to include information about MAG, how and why we formed, etc. We'll also include the url to our awesome web site. Maybe toss in a NWA for their first of many new meteorite acquisitions. What else? Minutes from previous meetings? Fernbank "MarsQuest" Presentation: We did not have time for our usual "official business meeting". After Mike gave his talk, about half the members drove over to the Fernbank Science Center to see the presentation "MarsQuest". Some stayed behind to do more meteorite shopping and visit with Hal and Mike. Outreach: Please tell your friends, family and co-workers about MAG. It's not that people aren't interested in meteorites; it's that they don't know our association exists. As further outreach, I plan on putting in a meteorite display case at the Cobb County Gem and Mineral Show in November. I am also going to put a display case in the Math/Science Library reading room to coincide with Dr. Richard Williamon's Astronomy class on meteorites in a couple of weeks at Emory. In addition, I will ask for a couple of tables for a MAG booth at the December Show at the North Atlanta Trade Center like we did last year. That's how we met Sean Murray and what a gift he has been to MAG. If you would like to help in any of these endeavors, or have ideas of your own, tell me about it! Dues & membership Categories: Dues are due by the end of December 2007. Dues are set according to the type of membership you apply for: $25.00 - Regular annual individual $40.00 - Regular annual family $200.00 - Lifetime individual $320.00 - Lifetime family --- Send payment by check or money order to: Meteorite Association of Georgia 10495 Stonefield Landing Duluth, GA 30097 If we haven't received your membership dues by January 17, 2009, we will remove your name from our email and membership lists. Next Meeting: I think the meeting space was fine for the size of our current membership. I can use that space whenever we need it and it has a screen, computer and projector. The only problem with it is you have to park about three counties away. If you have any suggestions for a bigger, better place to meet in January, please let me know. Speaking of our January meeting, I've had a couple of requests to meet on Sundays (instead of Saturdays when a few members have to work). I will contact everyone to discuss an alternate meeting time in January for our next meeting.

Anita D. Westlake, MAG President

 

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 July 20th, 2008:

Cartersville, GA Tellus Museum meeting room #2

Meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m.

Brief Meeting: As promised, we had a brief business meeting in July. We acknowledged our Web-Master Extraordinaire, Sean Murray for all the hours of work he's put in on our web site. If you haven't updated your membership listing yet, you'll be sorry! Wayne Dodd gave a Treasurer's report. (We need to come up with some fund-raising ideas! Jerry Armstrong said he would do a painting for us that we could auction off) I introduced a brand new Georgia "Hammer" but it went over like a lead balloon. Thanks go to Tellus for allowing us to have our meeting there. I sent them a card thanking them for their hospitality, for the tour, and for cooking those wonderful hamburgers and hotdogs! Lunch: What a feast! You guys were so generous with the food you brought and the homemade desserts! Good-bye diet. I told my doctor I went off my liquid diet just so I could enjoy the picnic and she said "Oh, was it one of those picnics where they hold you down and force food down your throat?" And I said, "Yes, and I hate it when that happens!" Next year, I'm going to bring a cake that looks like it was hit by a meteorite. (Come to think of it, all my cakes look like that.) Anyway, thanks again for your contributions. Tellus Tour: Next, Jose Santamaria, Director of the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum, and Julian Gray, Curator (and member of MAG), gave a tour of their incredible new facility. We lingered over the area where the meteorites will be displayed (of course) and had the best time traveling through space with David Dundee, Astronomer (and member of MAG) guiding us. Hal Povenmire: After we walked off the calories, we enjoyed a fine presentation by Hal Povenmire. He talked about the Georgia tektites, "Georgiaites" and the ever-widening strewn field where they are found below the "Fall Line" (Columbus to Macon to Augusta). He encouraged us to volunteer to make a field trip to south Georgia and see if we could find any tektites and broaden the field. Hal said in the beginning the strewn field was around 500 square miles. Now, with Hal's diligent research and hundreds of miles walked, it's over 8,550 square miles. Originally, the Georgiaites were found in only 2 Georgia counties; now it's 22 counties. Years ago, the number of Georgiaites found were only 200. Today, over 2,500 specimens have been found and identified. They are of Upper Eocene time period, around 35.5 million years old. Hal said these Georgia tektites are now linked to the Chesapeake Bay Crater. I awarded Hal an Honorary Membership Certificate designed and framed by Sean Murray. Hal can be reached in various ways: Snail mail: Hal Povenmire, 215 Osage Dr., Indian Harbour Beach, FL. 32937 Phone: Home(321) 777-1303 Cell (321) 794-0807 Email (thru his wife): katiehall@yahoo.com Hal also talked briefly about the Woodbury, GA crater and showed us on a topo map the outlines of the crater. A visitor, (and new member?), Scott Harris, a geologist, also talked about the Woodbury crater in some detail. Show/Tell/Trade: After the meeting, we enjoyed looking through the tektites, meteorites and books Hal brought with him. Many of us bought specimens and his books which Hal was kind enough to autograph for us. I bought a shatter-cone from Germany. We had a great time mingling, talking and shopping. Dave Gheesling brought a mountain of meteorites for us to drool over and purchase. Julian Gray finally kicked us out around 5pm. I told him we liked to linger! New Business: A couple of people mentioned during the meeting that it would nice if MAG members could have their own membership certificate. Once again, Sean has come to the rescue and created one. They will be available at the October meeting, along with membership cards for your wallets. We have decided to have several levels of membership: Founding Members: Those at the first meeting at Jerry Armstrong's house Charter Members: Those who joined during the first year (July 2007-July 2008) Lifetime Members: Pay $200.00 and never have to bother with renewals again! Honorary Members: People like Hal Povenmire who give talks and have given so much to the field of meteoritics I'd also like us to have membership badges. Sean thinks this is a little geeky... but I can just imagine how useful they'd be. Say you're at a rock and mineral show with your MAG name badge on. Someone comes up to you and sees "Meteorite Assn. of Ga." and says "Wow! I didn't even know there was such an organization. How do I join?" Next Meeting: Was tentatively scheduled for Oct 11, 2008 but since that announcement, several people have told me they can't attend. I'm trying to reach Dr. Mike Reynolds, our speaker for October and see if he can change the date. I'll send an email as soon as I know. Dr. Reynolds is the Associate Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Florida Community College at Jacksonville. He's also a really nice guy. He wrote the book Falling Stars. Our own member, Jerry Armstrong, illustrated the cover. Dr. Reynolds will give a talk on his Antarctica expedition and will also bring his book to autograph as well as some meteorites for those of us who can't get enough! Next Meeting Place: Undecided. If you know of a large place where we can meet, please let me know! Dr. Reynolds said "With gas prices approaching that of lunar meteorites, it might be cheaper to meet on the Moon." (That's an option.) As always, I look forward to seeing you all again. Let me know if you have any agenda items for October.

Anita D. Westlake, MAG President

 

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 April 26th, 2008:

Marietta, GA Main Board Room

Meeting was called to order at 11:20 a.m.

MAG Officers: Anita asked for volunteers to fill the following positions: VP (no volunteers), Treasurer (Wayne Dodd), Recording Secretary (Anita will continue for now), Membership Secretary (Richard Graveline), Webmaster (Sean Murray). Term of Office: for President and other positions was not determined at this meeting. Cobb County Civic Center Mother's Day Show: Anita will put in a display on meteorites for MAG. Anita (and others) will staff a table at the show and talk about meteorites, bring hand samples, have membership applications available, etc. We will also have applications at the front desk where grab bags are sold. Jerry Armstrong donated a meteorite for the Saturday afternoon auction. Anita will make a card saying who donated it, and add "Meteorite Association of Ga" on it. Dave Gheesling said he has some meteorites to donate as door prizes. Other Publicity Opportunities: Harlan suggested we put in a display case at one or more local libraries. This venue is more likely to be seen by younger adults and students. Security has not been an issue in the past as the display cases are lockable. Speakers: Since the last meeting, David Hardy spoke to 75-80 5th graders at Eagle's Landing Christian Academy. Dave Gheesling spoke to 400 East Cobb Middle School children and about 150 Kennesaw Mountain high school kids. Dave has a small display of meteorites at the Elachee Nature Center. Jerry Armstrong announced one of his paintings will be on the cover of a new book on impact craters. Anita Westlake spoke to the Montgomery Gem and Mineral Society in Alabama on meteorites, and will speak to the Cotton Indian Gem and Mineral Society in May on the same topic. Anita is working on an article to be published in Meteorite magazine in the fall. Website: Sean Murray has done an incredible job on our web site. He has jumped in with both feet and has created different types of maps to display Georgia falls, finds and tektite locations. He has updated our membership page with member's interests, removed our email addresses (to avoid spam) and has in general enjoying tweaking the site. Sean is also working on a mini-meteorite list where members can write in to this private listserv. He is eligible for at least two •gold stars• to be affixed to his forehead at the next MAG meeting. Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum: MAG member, and Curator of the new Tellus museum, Julian Gray reported on construction progress. Tellus, located in Cartersville, GA. is hoping to open in the fall of 2008. They have designed a space for their meteorite collection, and are in the process of creating written panels describing their specimens. Dave and Anita have agreed to review the text for errors and omissions. MAG hopes to maintain a good working relationship with Tellus. We are currently in the process of planning our July (1st anniversary!) meeting there. Treasury: Wayne Dodd has agreed to serve as our Treasurer. Anita will remove the funds from her "Escrow" account and transfer them to Wayne to monitor. Trim Saw: Harlan brought his trim saw in case someone wanted to make big meteorites into little meteorites, but no one took advantage of this opportunity. He might not schlep it to the next meeting. New Books, Journals on Meteorites: Anita brought in a couple of articles on tektites to share. Martha Brown brought in a book on the moon. The impact book that Jerry's artwork appears on is called "The Sedimentary Record of Meteorite Impacts" ed. By Kevin R. Evans, etc. It is Special Paper no. 437 of the Geological Society of America. It has 213 pages and is in press now. Contact www.geosociety.org/bookstore to order. Announcements: Several members asked if we could change our meeting day from Saturdays to Sundays since many people have to work on Saturday. A tentative date of July 20th (a Sunday) is scheduled for our next meeting, possibly at the Tellus Museum in Cartersville. Lunch: Dave G. provided a wonderful barbeque lunch. Show/Tell/Trade: Dave G. and others brought lots of material for trading. A good time was had by all. Anita sold a duplicate Robert Haag Catalog. A couple of members got their very first meteorite at this meeting. (Warning: there's no turning back now!) After Meeting Discussions: Richard Graveline (Membership) and Anita are discussing ways to welcome new members. If you have any thoughts, please share them with us.

Anita D. Westlake, MAG President

 

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 January 12th, 2008:

East Point, GA Anita Westlake residence

Meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.

I hope everyone had a good time and enjoyed seeing my collections. I haven't heard about anyone dying from eating my chili, so I'd say it was a smashing success! Membership Status: I received about 6 memberships dues at the meeting, which I will deposit today. As far as I can tell, only 1 of you hasn't paid up yet. Don't make me come down to the Keys to get you! We'll have $400.00 in the bank after today's deposits. That's still not quite enough to pay for the web site, but we're getting there. We had a new member drive all the way down from Knoxville, TN! Thanks, Travis for your interest and your membership. We have 16 paid members, with about that many coming to our quarterly meetings. Speaking of which, my living room could barely contain all our members. At least one person had to lean against the wall (David Hardy) and Dave Gheesling ended up on the floor playing with his Erg Chech trade specimens. So, Dave has offered the board room in his office in Marietta for our next (and future?) meetings. There's room for all of us at the table and we can act like CEO's for a day. MAG Logo: We now have an official logo. Check it out on our web site at: www.meteoriteassociationofgeorgia.org. North Atlanta Trace Center Show: We then discussed how successful our booth was at the North Atlanta Trade Center gem and mineral show in December. I'll send a "Thank You" card to Richard Hightower, the show producer, for allowing us to have a free booth at the show. We were able to show off some meteorites, educate the public, give away samples and membership applications, and get the kids excited about our treasures from outer space. We even got a couple of new members out of it! Upcoming Talks: Along those same lines, I'll be giving a talk to the Morningside Elementary School in February on meteorites, as well as the Rome, GA gem and mineral club in March and the Montgomery, AL gem and mineral club in March. Let me know what you've been doing lately. Membership Outreach: Members brainstormed other outreach opportunities like: putting in a meteorite display in a library case, having stickers made with our logo, contacting the Atlanta Astronomy Club and Fernbank, etc. We're leaving 100 membership applications at the Georgia Mineral Society's table at the Georgia Science Teachers Association convention next week in Athens, GA. Thanks go to Carl Ziglin for jazzing up the application and making the copies. Cataloging Discussion: Dave stressed the importance of cataloging your meteorite collection, even if it is just to number the piece and/or the box that holds it. We cannot to afford to rely on our memory (especially those of us who are no longer Spring Chickens) because one day we'll forget or pass on and no one will know what we had or how much it was worth. Don't let your meteorites succumb to this disgraceful fate. Georgia Tektite Field Trip: I still haven't been able to contact Hal Povenmire for a field trip. I have taken him off our official membership and email list but will continue to try and reach him. MAG Expenses: If you have spent any money on MAG and wish to be reimbursed, you must turn in a dated receipt with a description of the item(s) purchased in order to receive a refund. If, on the other hand, you want to donate your purchase, no forms are required!!! Newsletter: Someday, I'd like to start a newsletter for MAG. Instead of incurring postal and paper costs, I could send an electronic version to members. If you have anything you'd like to see in a newsletter, (cartoons, articles, buy/trade specimens, etc.) please drop me an email and I'll get it out to you one way or the other. Savannah Trip: Before the official meeting ended, we talked about possibly going to Savannah in April to see fellow member and all-around good guy, Walter Branch. He is still recovering from a severe auto accident and maybe we'll catch up with him in the fall. Travis Paris, our Tennessee member suggested we might want to come up his way in the fall and go on a field trip or two to see some meteor craters. Although we're called the Meteorite Association of Georgia, we're really hoping to welcome and include members from all over SE United States and then some. Statesboro Meteorite: For those of you who haven't heard, Dave Gheesling pulled off the biggest purchase in recent memory! He bought the un-buyable, not-for-saleable STATESBORO meteorite. Come to the next meeting and hear how he did it. He may even let you touch it. Next meeting: April 19, Marietta. Please send me agenda items for the next meeting. Details to follow.

Anita D. Westlake, MAG President