2011 Meeting Minutes
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or additions... Thank you!
 October 9th, 2011:
Norcross, GA
Georgia Mineral Society |
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
|
- Members brought covered dishes. Lunch was served from 12am to 1:30pm. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
President Report: We have an opportunity to have a space at the Elachee Nature Science Center. Dave H. donated a specimen for the display, and the following members spressed interest in providing additional specimens: Anita W., Wayne D., Hal P., Dave G., Karl Z., Ross G. and Sean M. If you are interested in adding any of your specimens to the display, please contact Sean directly.
Treasurer: Wayne gave the treasurer's report ($3752) and collected fees for renewals and the winning bids for the auction items.
Auction: Several donated items and specimens were auctioned for the MAG coffers. Thanks to Dave Gheesling for donating a specimen of the new USA pallasite, Conception Junction - congrats to the lucky winner!
Member Reports:
Dave Gheesling: Dave G. gave a detailed report on the new Conception Junction pallasite and provided all attending members with a complimentary copy of the Conception Junction pallasite monograph.
Hal Povenmire: A second Georgiaite from South Carolina has been confirmed! Additionally, a new Georgiaite county has been added to the list of confirmed locations - Bibb County. Micro tektites have also bee found in a quary in Alabama that may be from the same event that created the North American strewnfield.
Show/Tell/Trade: At the conclusion of the meeting, BUYING and TRADING of swap meet items continued...
|
Sean T. Murray,
MAG President |
July 10th, 2011:
Cartersville, GA
Tellus Museum |
All MAG members were admitted to Tellus for free on July 10th
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
|
President Reports: Anita handed over a very unique "Nickel Iron Hammer" gavel to Sean to officially pass on her duties as present of MAG. Thanks for a great four years Anita! Sean reported that the Website is up-to-date and we have a solution for the proposed MAG mailing list that will have a nominal yearly fee. A request was made for member photos for the MAG Website gallery. Any suggestions for future speakers would also me welcome. Please contact Sean directly.
Membership: Carl Ziglin is ready to proceed with some MAG advertising and will work with Sean to get the new meeting schedule posted. Currently, our quarterly meetings will be on the second Sunday of January, April, July, and October of each year. Members with other suggestions should contact Carl Ziglin directly.
Treasurer: Wayne gave the treasurer's report ($3539.44) and collected fees for renewals and the new member that joined during the meeting.
Attendance: We had 4 guests and added a new member to MAG at this meeting.
Member Reports:
Hal Povenmire: Hal reported that new Georgiaite research is being done in Peach and Crawford county. Contact Hal if you are interested in heading to south Georgia to assist in the field work. Hal also brought a beautiful cast of the original Sylacualga meteorite for members to view.
Dave Gheesling: Dave had his new 128.3 gram Forsyth meteorite specimen and an amazing 57 gram Bleckley county Georgiaite on display for members. The Forsyth specimen may be the main mass for the fall since currently only about 300 grams of Forsyth can be accounted for in collections around the word. This was a rare opportunity to get a close look at a very rare meteorite. Thanks Dave!Julian Gray: Julian has suggested that we hold an anaual meteorite symposium event at Tellus, much like the one we had on August 15th, 2009. All attending members were in agreement. The MAG baord will work with Julian to plan date and details regarding the proposed event.Anita Westlake: Anita has spoken to about 10 gem and mineral clubs all over the SE on meteorites. Just this month she spoke to Opelika, AL and Chattanooga, TN. Anita will be a meteorite and tektite dealer at the 20th annual N. Ga Gem, Mineral & Jewelry show in Dalton. The event is in August (12th thru 14th).
 Guest Speaker: R. Scott Harris, Planetary Geologist, Brown University & Georgia State University.
South America is one of the great frontiers for the discovery of new impact craters. Planetary geologist Scott Harris has spent the last decade studying the scars of asteroid collisions with our planet from the Pampean plains of Argentina to the Altiplano of Peru. Scott will discuss the implications of this unique impact record, including the 2007 Carancas event, for understanding the evolution of our solar system and the current threat level to life on Earth. Scott brought a wonderful basalt shatter cone with him for display. It was a unique opportunity to see a specimen that could be representative of shatter cones that are found in other planetary basalt regions like the Moon or Mars.
Auction: Several donated books and specimens were auctioned, adding $88 to the MAG coffers. Many thanks to those who brought items! One of our guests even purchased their first meteorite! Thanks to everyone wo contributed items to the auction in support of MAG.
|
Sean T. Murray,
MAG President |
April 10th, 2011:
Norcross, GA
Georgia Mineral Society |
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
|
President: Anita gave a very brief address to the MAG members to allow ample time for our guest speaker.
Membership: Those members who still have to turn in their 2011 dues, please contact Wayne Dodd. Carl suggested that we should advertise in Creative Loafing and create a membership package. There should also be opportunities to leave membership materials in public places. Members with suggestions should contact Carl Ziglin directly.
Treasurer: Wayne gave the treasurer's report ($3081.44) and collected fees for renewals and new members that joined during the meeting. MAG is donating $25 to use the GMS main room for the MAG meeting - a very small price to pay for such a nice building.
Member Reports:
Carl Ziglin: Carl emphasized that we need to organize some meteoritic hunts. He is still taking suggestions for MAG field trips this year. Please contact Carl with any ideas or questions.Hal Povenmire: A new georgiaite arrowhead has been confirmed. Also, Hal reported a second tektite has been reported from South Carolina, in Allendale county.Jullian Gray: Jullian reported that the Tellus fireball camera in place and is part of a 5 camera network NASA has created in the southeast USA. For more information, visit the fireballs.ndc.nasa.gov website.
 Guest Speaker: Ross Gardner: A forensic analyst,working for his own company, Bevel, Gardner and Associates, Inc. In his spare time he is an amateur astronomy enthusiast as well as meteorite and impactite hunter.
Ross presented an overview of the Vredefort Impact Structure and Tswaing Impact Crater and their Associated Impactites, and even donated a few of his gatehred samples for the MAG auction.
The Vredefort Impact structure located in South Africa is one of the three largest earth impact craters known. It is also one of the oldest,
estimated to be about 2.2 billion years old. Despite heavy and long term erosion as well as intense continental shifts, the surrounding geology to this day shows significant evidence of the impact event. In contrast, Tswaing Impact crater which lies some 200
kilometers North of Vredefort is a very small and young impact crater, estimated at 220 thousand years old.
Vote for new president: At the conclusion of the meeting, Anita called for nominations for MAG president. Carl Ziglin nominated Sean Murray, Hall Povenmire seconded, and before Sean could react, a unanimous vote carried the nomination. Congradulations Sean!
|
Submitted on behalf of
Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President |
January 9th, 2011:
Tucker, GA
Reid H. Cofer, Library |
Meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m.
|
|
Submitted on behalf of
Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President |
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or additions... Thank you!
|
