GMS President's Page

The 2006-2007 year was a good one for GMS. We are still the largest and probably most active society in the country. Lizabeth McClain had the task of keeping track of us all. Mary Porter has kept track of everything that has gone on at general meetings and meeting of the Executive Board. I thought that she might actually have to read the general meeting minutes but the votes just were not enough. When we arrived at the library Margaret Ronan welcomed everyone and gave out door prize tickets. I thank everyone for bringing door prizes. GMS members are a spoiled bunch. There are no other groups where everyone receives a door prize. Some members even grumble when they have to get more than one prize at section meetings. I am surprised to find an unwanted door prize in my freezer or tucked away some place in my living room. Anita Westlake has provided a great variety of speakers on varied topics to educate us. Program chair can be a difficult job and you need to keep a program stuck away in case the planned program does not materialize. Barbara Libby kept track of our assets and equipment. Make sure that when you leave a position that you pass on everything to the next person in charge. Barbara will get you if you don’t. She was also in charge of Sunshine. Barbara can only call and send cards to the sick if you call and let her know. Nancy Marden made sure that we had goodies to munch on after our meetings. She is the most cost efficient person that I know. She feels guilty when we donate money to the kitty to offset our refreshment costs. Also for the past year we have enjoyed monthly brownies baked by Richard Graveline. For many years now have been working on by-law revisions. Under the guidance of Frank Decaminada and Jay Gorday I trust that the changes will soon be accepted. Our library is set up at the home of Julian Gray. We have an extensive collection of books and publications for the use of our membership. There have been a number of collections donated to us. This material is used for grab bags, door prizes, and probably the best auctions in the federation. Speaking of the Federation, Anita Westlake still served as the state director for Georgia. She represents us at the federation meetings. We have several other members involved with the Southeast Federation. I have attended meetings where there was close to a majority of people who were GMS members. At this time we still do not have a home. John Trimble is chairing this committee. Barbara and George Libby are constantly looking for possibilities. Just last week we looked at a house in the Lilburn-Stone Mountain area. We will have to make a decision, Should we buy? Should we lease? I don’t know, we will see. I was happy when Carl Ziglin agreed to chair the Awards Committee. Again, this job is much easier if we have input from the members. Should you wish to learn a little more in certain subjects we have our section meetings. Due to health reasons, Dave Babulski has not been able to have Micromount Section meetings. This may soon change. Though we have had no meetings Dave has educated us through his great articles in the Tips and Trips. After being away in China, Roxanne Lopez has reactivated our Junior Section. We have nearly 100 juniors. They are the future. Plant a seed, it will grow. On down the road our hobby will benefit from what we do now. Because of time restrictions Julian Gray gave up the Mineral Section. Jay Gorday steeped in. Come to the meetings and learn more about minerals. Martha Brown is in charge of educating us about fossils. There is much interest. Come learn about the past few billion years of earth history. Our Gem Section meetings have been very well attended. Sarah Moore gave me four additional chairs so that she would not have to sit on the floor or move. When this meeting ends there will be no Gem Section chair. I pray that someone will step up and take over.
At the beginning of the year Tips and Trips was edited by Joan White. A few months ago Tom Batcha took over. We have always had an award winning bulletin and I am certain that we will continue on that path. Last December we held our final fall show. I will miss having shows so close to home. Our original show at the Cobb Civic Center is still going strong under Jay Gorday and under his leadership. I know that it will continue to be a great show. George Libby has led us on many great field trips. We collected a variety of minerals and fossils. This position can be difficult as we are steadily loosing collecting sites. I would like to give a big thank you to Jim Flora our webmaster. I don’t know how many times during the year that he has posted sudden changes or new information through something called email on the internet whatever that is. Financially we are doing well. Dylan Porter started out as Treasurer, later John Trimble took over. John is looking after our funds. It will make his job easier if you use the proper codes when submitting bills or receipts. Have you ever driven down the road and have seen a number of people and a nun picking up trash? You should have seen the look on the faces of people whose van broke down when they saw that the nun had a moustache! Bill Waggener again chaired Adopt-A-Highway. We are contributing to have a healthier environment. Whether it is a massacred trash pick up or an Easter egg hunt pick up we have a good time. Let me encourage you to attend the next pick up at the end of this month. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a whole flock of nuns picking up trash? So, there you are, we have had an active year. But wait, aren’t we supposed to educate? Bill has also served as Education Chair. We gave out many scholarships to elementary and middle school earth science teachers. We have learned at our meetings and we continued to reach out to other people. We have members who are associated and volunteer at Fernbank and the Atlanta History Center. Our members spoke to schools and civic groups all over. Last year our outreach went to five states and Australia. I have given my thanks to a handful of members. But it took many many more members to make our endeavors a success. I wish to give a big thank you to all of our members who have chipped in. It takes more than just a handful it takes you the membership for us to carry out our goal. We are now beginning our 73rd year. I am looking forward to many more successful years to come. Thank you GMS!

Kim Cochran
2006-2007 President of The Georgia Mineral Society