2012 Meeting Minutes
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or additions... Thank you!
 November 4th, 2012:
Georgia
Dave's Falling Rocks Collection |
Meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m.
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President's Report: Sean addressed the MAG members with the following subjects prior to our guest speaker presentation:
- Sean indicated members should keep an eye on the Events page on the MAG Website for details for our 2013 events.
- Any suggestions for future speakers (specifically July) would also be welcome. Please contact Sean directly.
- Brief member report regarding the meteorite theme table at the National Astronomy Day. It was anoter success.
- Our next Event is December 7th - 9th Mammoth Show - We will have a table, so if you can be at the table to greet guests, please let us know. We won't have our stickers for this event, but will work on that for the next event at Tellus (2013 National Astronomy Day).
- The following people still need to contact Sean and provide a picture and specimen information for any items they want to have on display: Anita W., Wayne D., Hal P., Dave G. and Karl Z. If you are interested in adding any of your specimens to the display, please contact Sean directly.
Treasurer: Wayne was absent for the meeting, but indicated via email to remind members about renewals for 2013.
Member Reports:
Dave Gheesling: The Elachee nature center is re-working their meteorite display area and will let us know when we are ready to submit specimens and a design for the display.
Travis Paris: Travis has a contact for the Well Creek impact structure and will keep us up-to-date with his progress.
Hal Povenmire: Hal's next book is coming out soon - a more up-to date version of his Tektites book, entitled "Tektites: A Cosmic Mystery". The book should be available prior to our next meeting. Contact Hal if you are interested in ordering his book.
 Guest Speaker: Robert Ward, Meteorite Hunter.
Topic: "Hunting Meteorites"
We had a fascinating presentation and personal chat with Robert Ward, talking about some of the exciting meteorite hunts we've all been reading about this last year, including the latest US fall, Battle Mountain. This is the first time Robert has been back to speak to MAG since 2009 at the Tellus Mineral Symposium. Robert also gave a detailed acount of his hunting adventures in Oman - truly a guest speaker that you did not want to miss!
Show/Tell/Trade: At the conclusion of the meeting, BUYING and TRADING of swap meet items continued... Members were also able to chat with Robert and take a final tour of the Falling Rocks collection commenced. This will be the last opportunity members had to see Dave's amazing collection in the current location.
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Sean T. Murray,
MAG President |
July 8th, 2012:
Cartersville, GA
Tellus Museum |
All MAG members were admitted to Tellus for free on July 8th for our 3rd quarterly meeting
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
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President's Report: Sean addressed the MAG members with the following subjects prior to our guest speaker presentation:
- An updated Website Events page has been created that lists shows, events, and future meetings.
- Brief member report regarding the meteorite theme table at the National Astronomy Day. It was a great success. Even more successful that 2009. Plenty of give-aways.
- Next Meeting: 2nd annual Swap Meet - October 14th. We can grow the event and invite non-members to attend. We will continue to have it every October.
- We are looking for a speaker for our next meeting. If you are able to give a presentation, or know of an interested 3rd party, please contact Sean directly.
- Our next Event is December 7th - 9th Mammoth Show - We will have a table, so if you can be at the table to greet guests, please let us know.
- Dave and Sean are going to present for the Cobb Co. Scottish Rite Assoc. 2nd Monday each month at Picadilly's on Cobb pkwy.
- Sean asked Carl to work on give-away stickers for the MAG tabe at the Mammoth show. He will work with the same group that does the stickers for GMS.
- The following people still need to contact Sean and provide a picture and specimen information for any items they want to have on display: Anita W., Wayne D., Hal P., Dave G. and Karl Z. If you are interested in adding any of your specimens to the display, please contact Sean directly.
Treasurer: Wayne gave the treasurer's report and indicated that we are up to date with our treasury, currently at $4,477.44.
Membership: Wayne indicated that we have an opportunity at the up-coming Cobb show to solicit Members (in October/May).
Member Reports:
 Guest Speaker: David Dundee, Tellus Astronomer.
Topic: "Astronomical Events"
David gave a presentation on some of the exciting astronomical events we've all been reading about this last year, including the Venus transit, Hubble space telescope, and other exciting topics.
Auction: Several donated items and specimens were auctioned for the MAG coffers. Thanks to those members that brought items to the auction!
Show/Tell/Trade: At the conclusion of the meeting, displaying and trading of meteorites commenced.
Tellus Visit: Post Meeting - Members were encouraged to tour the Tellus museum, the observatory and the meteorite/tektite collection.
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Sean T. Murray,
MAG President |
April 28th, 2012:
Cartersville, GA
Tellus Museum |
All MAG members were admitted to Tellus for free on April 28th for National Astronomy day
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
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President Reports: Sean indicated that the Website was updated with the current meeting schedule for 2012 and members should keep an eye on the Events page for details for future events. Another request was made for member photos for the MAG Website gallery. Any suggestions for future speakers would also me welcome. Please contact Sean directly.
Treasurer: Wayne gave the treasurer's report and indicated that all member renewals are up to date.
Member Reports:
Dave Gheesling: Dave indicated we were still on track for the Elachee nature center. Dave will be picking up his current specimen on display soon, so members are encouraged to donate specimens for loan to Elachee.Anita Westlake: Mentioned that there will be meteorite and tektite dealers at the 20th annual N. Ga Gem, Mineral & Jewelry show in Dalton. The event is in August (12th thru 14th).
 Guest Speaker: Jerry Armstrong, Artist & Astronomer.
Topic: "Birthday meteorites"
Since Jerry's birthday is in April, and he collects meteorites that fall on the same days as the birthdays of his family, he wanted to tell us about another aspect of collecting meteorites. He had specimens on display and gave a presentation on their history and provenance. Members had access to a list to look up their own birthday meteorite! Who knows, maybe his next topic will be NWA meteorites based on your address!
National Astronomy Day: 2:00pm to 7:00pm - After the meeting and speaker, MAG members were invited to participate at the National Astronomy Day at Tellus. We set up a table set up in the main hall where Tellus visitors came up and asked questions about meteorites and learned about our group. It was a great opportunity to spread the wonder of meteorites to the families that visited Tellus during this special event. The table was swamped throughout the event! Every person that came up to the table was given a small unclassified NWA meteorite sample to take home with them. It was a big hit with the kids! We also donated a large NWA specimen and an indochinite tektite to all 6 of the hourly drawings. Congrats to Anna Tilley, Josiah Goswick, Vladimir Rashmovskiy, Mark Banks, Lou Annkey and Alex Watson on their prizes!
Observatory Visit: 9:00pm to 11:00pm - David Dundee, Tellus Astronomer, invited MAG members to join him in viewing the night sky at the Tellus observatory.
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Sean T. Murray,
MAG President |
January 8th, 2012:
Norcross, GA
Georgia Mineral Society |
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m.
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President's Report: Sean addressed the MAG members with the following subjects prior to our guest speaker presentation:
- An updated Website Events page has been created that lists shows, events, and future meetings.
- We have a new URL! http://www.MAofGA.org - Easier to remember, communicate, and type. Members are also invited to connect to our MAG Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/56308554675/
- We have a conflict this April 8th (Easter) - It was proposed we move it to Saturday the 28th to coincide with the April Tellus Event.
- Jerry Armstrong has expressed interest in giving a talk on collecting Birthday meteorites at the April meeting. Please contact Sean with ideas/requests for this or future events.
- The 1st annual MAG Swap Meet was a great success. We will be doing this every year at the October meeting... We can grow the event and invite non-members to attend.
- There was very good traffic at the Mammoth Show in December - we had two potential new members sign up and there were some very good deals on meteorites and tektites at the show. Thanks to those that were able to be at the table to greet visitors.
- We have been invited to participate at the National Astronomy Day at Tellus on April the 28th. We will have the same setup we did for the National Astronomy Day in 2009, but this time we will be in the main hall to greet guests. Please see the Events Page for more details regarding the event. If you have questions. Contact Sean or Dave Dundee for more details.
- We need speakers for two presentations:
- February 21st there is a Family Science Night at Morningside Elementary School. Our contact, Keely Muse, is looking for 3 identical 30 minute sessions for families attending the event. Dave and Anita have said that they may be able to give their presentations at this event.
- Sometime in 2012, the Cobb County Scottish Rite Associoation is looking for a speaker. They meet the 2nd Monday each month at Picadilly's on Cobb pkwy. Our contact is Jan Giddens.
- We still have our opportunity to have a space at the Elachee Nature Science Center. The following people need to contact Sean and provide a picture and specimen information for any items they want to have on display: 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 ($4063.44) 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 those members that brought items to the auction!
Membership: Members who still have to turn in their 2012 dues, please contact Wayne Dodd. Several suggestions regarding membership and outreach were discussed:
- Carl Z. has listed us on Craigs list and is looking into advertising in any local pulications.
- Carl Z. will investigate the costs for creating MAG stickers and bookmarks to give away at events. Members with suggestions or ideas for sticker designs should contact Carl Ziglin or Sean directly.
- It was suggested that we advertise MAG in the Cobb GMS & GMS newsletters. Carl and Wayne will be working to get the banner inserted into one of the upcoming newsetters.
- Carl also suggested that we create a MAG pamphlet that describes the NWA give-aways we usually have available to children that visit our able at MAG events.
Treasurer: Wayne gave the treasurer's report ($4063.44) and collected fees for renewals during the meeting. MAG is donating $25 to use the GMS main room for the MAG meeting. Wayne will work with Sean to get paypal attached to our MAG account to make membership renewals easier.
Member Reports:
Anita Westlake: Carl Ziglin is still taking suggestions for MAG field trips this year. Anita and a few other members suggested trips to known areas with shatter cones, and Wayne also suggests a yearly excursion to a more "exotic" local like Arizona fora meteorite hunt. Please contact Carl with any ideas or questions.Julian Gray: Jullian reported that Tellus is committed to hosting a Meteorite Symposium in 2012. MAG has been asked to volunteer to assist with the planning for this event. We will need to finalize the speakers and activities at this event by Fall of this year. Please contact Sean and Jullian if you wish to volunteer or if you have ideas for the Symposium.  There is an opportunity to have a few sellers tables at this event also, so if you mave material or know of any other meteorite dealers that may want to attend, please get them in contact with Sean. Jullian will be working on an "intro letter" that we can distribute to any parties interested in participating at this event.Hal Povenmire: Hal Povenmire repoted on the status of the new South Carolina tektites and gave a summary of his 2011 field work, all while multitasking on his cell phone!
Guest Speaker: Anita Westlake: Anita Westlake, former president, Meteorite Association of Georgia.
Anita gave a new presentation "Meteorites: It's Hammer Time!" -- discussing those rare meteoritic events when meteorites impact man-made objects. Anita had several hammer specimens to display to MAG attendees.
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Sean T. Murray,
MAG President |
Please feel free to contact us with any questions or additions... Thank you!
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