pocketfullarocks
having dreams about rocks
I love being a rock and mineral nerd!
Member since March 2019
Posts: 60
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Post by pocketfullarocks on Aug 7, 2019 9:01:53 GMT -5
I am the V.P. for my Gem & Mineral Society and my main duty is to provide educational and entertaining programs for our General Meetings. This is my second year and it is really hard to a) entice people to participate - I only got a response from one out of our 99 members to do a presentation. 2) to come up with ideas and sources for a speaker, or - anything! We do two things annually: a "What I Did This Summer Show N Tell" and an Auction Night. So far, - I tapped into a local university and have gotten Geoscience professors to do talks (it took alot of work to get them to answer)
- a local jeweler who is also a gem collector will do a presentation
- I created a game that is like a scavenger hunt with gem & mineral related clues
- Created a panel of our club experts to help other members ID their specimens (that was a hit)
- Invited members to tell us about their personal equipment and recommendations (not very successful)
- An Ice Cream Social (cost too much, too much work, mess and most "ate and ran" vs. the socialization anticipated
- I am considering a movie on Gemology from the library "in a pinch"...
I would greatly appreciate any ideas and input, what your clubs have done for meeting programs!
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Post by Pat on Aug 7, 2019 9:46:37 GMT -5
Whenever there is a field trip, participants bring some of their findings and talk about the trip. Sometimes slides of the trip are included, and sometimes a box of rocks are there for the taking.
Re Ice Cream Social --- we have a Meet and Greet 45 minutes prior to the meeting. Club pays for the refreshments which usually include drinks, sandwiches and desserts, or just donuts and drinks. Aim was to get members to meet --- entirely social.
We have two silent auctions per year.
We also have show and tell. Can be some rocks you want to have identified.
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on Aug 7, 2019 10:52:26 GMT -5
Sounds like you're doing a great job!
See if your local university has a list or contact info for retired/past professors. Sometimes these people have more time. While you're speaking with the geology department, see if a presentation to your group could dovetail into any student projects. Our club awards a scholarship every year, and one of the requirements is that the recipient gives a presentation, but you may be able to get a talk even without that element.
Sometimes, we get a mine owner to give a talk. At one of our meetings, we had minerals in a covered box with a curtained hole for the hand and had a contest to see who could ID the most by feel alone. See if your local historical society has any info or anybody willing to speak on mining or mineral use in your area. In the winter, you may have some "snowbirds" who could give a presentation on their rock-related activities in the areas where they're from.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Aug 7, 2019 12:40:25 GMT -5
I am the V.P. for my Gem & Mineral Society and my main duty is to provide educational and entertaining programs for our General Meetings. This is my second year and it is really hard to a) entice people to participate - I only got a response from one out of our 99 members to do a presentation. 2) to come up with ideas and sources for a speaker, or - anything! We do two things annually: a "What I Did This Summer Show N Tell" and an Auction Night. So far, - I tapped into a local university and have gotten Geoscience professors to do talks (it took alot of work to get them to answer)
- a local jeweler who is also a gem collector will do a presentation
- I created a game that is like a scavenger hunt with gem & mineral related clues
- Created a panel of our club experts to help other members ID their specimens (that was a hit)
- Invited members to tell us about their personal equipment and recommendations (not very successful)
- An Ice Cream Social (cost too much, too much work, mess and most "ate and ran" vs. the socialization anticipated
- I am considering a movie on Gemology from the library "in a pinch"...
I would greatly appreciate any ideas and input, what your clubs have done for meeting programs!
You mention 99 members and General Meetings.....curious how often are those meetings, how many of the 99 members show up for the meetings and what the average age of those that consistently show up....? It's been years since I've been a "ranking" member of social orders, but one of the things that helped us stimulate participation and keep them coming back consistently, was putting together a flyer and passing it out at the meetings. The flyer was just a simple short "question/answer" thing, asking what the members would like to see provided at the meetings, what there major interests were and what they'd like to participate in or have available for discussion (outside of the "business as usual" stuff). This was a starting point when we were experiencing lower than normal attendance and less participation from those who used-to-show more enthusiasm (seasonal and "life" circumstances considered) ........we'd request the members to take a few minutes and fill it out at the end of the meeting and drop it off at a table we provided or hand it to one of us on the way out. We did this for three consecutive meetings (tried to cover all those who did not consistently show up) and we warmly/passionately expressed to them that this was their "club" and that any input was important and appreciated..........just trying to liven things up a bit.....! It took a while to get a good overview, but once we dialed all the info in and presented it to the members for feed back, it really made a difference. After which, we set up a monthly newsletter/calendar flyer with a suggestion section, simple contests/award recognition, field trip, speaker/visitor presentation info, and highlighted a couple of different members special talents each month.......(every member has a talent, just have to do a little prying sometimes).......you'd be surprised how a simple thing like a newsletter worked out........(almost) every member looked forward to a little recognition and having their name in print. A few of us "elected" rank and file (which was passed onto the newly elected), shared the publication and distribution responsibilities (we had an established budget for such, just not implemented). It was never a burden (time consuming, yes) but was done by "committee" and we all enjoyed our time at the "wheel" and watching the growth and smiles that returned.....!
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Aug 7, 2019 13:02:53 GMT -5
pocketfullarocks - tough job, I feel for you. We've been locally involved with a Gem and Mineral club, and there was a period of time in my life where I was actively participating in three or more local tropical fish clubs. What you describe is the same dilemma most club that meet monthly have. One of the better ran clubs I was involved with (Pacific Coast Cichlid Association) uses a routine of maybe six speakers that came in the same month each year, typically with any travel expenses paid if they aren't local, along with a small percentage of the table auction we had with each meeting. Mix in a yearly mega-auction with no speaker (usually in the spring), and a December pot-luck party and that reduces it to only four months out of the year where speakers/programs have to be arranged. I'm not saying this would work perfectly for you - rocks don't travel to auctions as well as fish in bags of water do - but it's just an idea of dividing and conquering a yearly meeting schedule. Our local Gem club has a local geologist who loves to come in and talk (and talk, and talk, and talk...) about northern California geology and local faults etc.
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360
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Post by lookatthat on Aug 7, 2019 13:06:44 GMT -5
lookatthat - tough job, I feel for you. We've been locally involved with a Gem and Mineral club, and there was a period of time in my life where I was actively participating in three or more local tropical fish clubs. What you describe is the same dilemma most club that meet monthly have. One of the better ran clubs I was involved with (Pacific Coast Cichlid Association) uses a routine of maybe six speakers that came in the same month each year, typically with any travel expenses paid if they aren't local, along with a small percentage of the table auction we had with each meeting. Mix in a yearly mega-auction with no speaker (usually in the spring), and a December pot-luck party and that reduces it to only four months out of the year where speakers/programs have to be arranged. I'm not saying this would work perfectly for you - rocks don't travel to auctions as well as fish in bags of water do - but it's just an idea of dividing and conquering a yearly meeting schedule. Our local Gem club has a local geologist who loves to come in and talk (and talk, and talk, and talk...) about northern California geology and local faults etc. I'm glad you feel for me, Tommy... I am a little underappreciated lately, haha... but I think you mean pocketfullarocks
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Aug 7, 2019 13:09:54 GMT -5
lookatthat - tough job, I feel for you. We've been locally involved with a Gem and Mineral club, and there was a period of time in my life where I was actively participating in three or more local tropical fish clubs. What you describe is the same dilemma most club that meet monthly have. One of the better ran clubs I was involved with (Pacific Coast Cichlid Association) uses a routine of maybe six speakers that came in the same month each year, typically with any travel expenses paid if they aren't local, along with a small percentage of the table auction we had with each meeting. Mix in a yearly mega-auction with no speaker (usually in the spring), and a December pot-luck party and that reduces it to only four months out of the year where speakers/programs have to be arranged. I'm not saying this would work perfectly for you - rocks don't travel to auctions as well as fish in bags of water do - but it's just an idea of dividing and conquering a yearly meeting schedule. Our local Gem club has a local geologist who loves to come in and talk (and talk, and talk, and talk...) about northern California geology and local faults etc. I'm glad you feel for me, Tommy... I am a little underappreciated lately, haha... but I think you mean pocketfullarocks OH shoot! hahaha. Thank you. I do feel for you and want you to know how appreciated you are!
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pocketfullarocks
having dreams about rocks
I love being a rock and mineral nerd!
Member since March 2019
Posts: 60
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Post by pocketfullarocks on Aug 16, 2019 19:16:02 GMT -5
Sounds like you're doing a great job! See if your local university has a list or contact info for retired/past professors. Sometimes these people have more time. While you're speaking with the geology department, see if a presentation to your group could dovetail into any student projects. Our club awards a scholarship every year, and one of the requirements is that the recipient gives a presentation, but you may be able to get a talk even without that element. Sometimes, we get a mine owner to give a talk. At one of our meetings, we had minerals in a covered box with a curtained hole for the hand and had a contest to see who could ID the most by feel alone. See if your local historical society has any info or anybody willing to speak on mining or mineral use in your area. In the winter, you may have some "snowbirds" who could give a presentation on their rock-related activities in the areas where they're from. Thank you so much for your kind words!! It is a bit cricky putting this all together each year! And, the idea of retired profs is great!! I will inquire about that. We need to get our Education Chair to revive our youth component, it is severely lacking, although we are in a highly concentrated retiree area, there are still many youngsters to tap into! Alas, there are no mines, let alone rocks to speak of in the state of Florida. I still shake my head that I chose the one state that is ROCKLESS to retire to! Our snowbirds do participate in our annual show-n-tell with their mining stories and finds and it just gets us all itching to travel north more! Thanks for your input!! Much appreciated!
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pocketfullarocks
having dreams about rocks
I love being a rock and mineral nerd!
Member since March 2019
Posts: 60
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Post by pocketfullarocks on Aug 16, 2019 19:21:59 GMT -5
I am the V.P. for my Gem & Mineral Society and my main duty is to provide educational and entertaining programs for our General Meetings. This is my second year and it is really hard to a) entice people to participate - I only got a response from one out of our 99 members to do a presentation. 2) to come up with ideas and sources for a speaker, or - anything! We do two things annually: a "What I Did This Summer Show N Tell" and an Auction Night. So far, - I tapped into a local university and have gotten Geoscience professors to do talks (it took alot of work to get them to answer)
- a local jeweler who is also a gem collector will do a presentation
- I created a game that is like a scavenger hunt with gem & mineral related clues
- Created a panel of our club experts to help other members ID their specimens (that was a hit)
- Invited members to tell us about their personal equipment and recommendations (not very successful)
- An Ice Cream Social (cost too much, too much work, mess and most "ate and ran" vs. the socialization anticipated
- I am considering a movie on Gemology from the library "in a pinch"...
I would greatly appreciate any ideas and input, what your clubs have done for meeting programs!
You mention 99 members and General Meetings.....curious how often are those meetings, how many of the 99 members show up for the meetings and what the average age of those that consistently show up....? It's been years since I've been a "ranking" member of social orders, but one of the things that helped us stimulate participation and keep them coming back consistently, was putting together a flyer and passing it out at the meetings. The flyer was just a simple short "question/answer" thing, asking what the members would like to see provided at the meetings, what there major interests were and what they'd like to participate in or have available for discussion (outside of the "business as usual" stuff). This was a starting point when we were experiencing lower than normal attendance and less participation from those who used-to-show more enthusiasm (seasonal and "life" circumstances considered) ........we'd request the members to take a few minutes and fill it out at the end of the meeting and drop it off at a table we provided or hand it to one of us on the way out. We did this for three consecutive meetings (tried to cover all those who did not consistently show up) and we warmly/passionately expressed to them that this was their "club" and that any input was important and appreciated..........just trying to liven things up a bit.....! It took a while to get a good overview, but once we dialed all the info in and presented it to the members for feed back, it really made a difference. After which, we set up a monthly newsletter/calendar flyer with a suggestion section, simple contests/award recognition, field trip, speaker/visitor presentation info, and highlighted a couple of different members special talents each month.......(every member has a talent, just have to do a little prying sometimes).......you'd be surprised how a simple thing like a newsletter worked out........(almost) every member looked forward to a little recognition and having their name in print. A few of us "elected" rank and file (which was passed onto the newly elected), shared the publication and distribution responsibilities (we had an established budget for such, just not implemented). It was never a burden (time consuming, yes) but was done by "committee" and we all enjoyed our time at the "wheel" and watching the growth and smiles that returned.....! Thank you for this great comment! So, we meet once a month, September through May. Then all the snowbirds flee the heat. At the meetings it starts out strong at 30-40 then at times, only 10-12. I love the idea of the questionnaire brochure! I will definitely give that a try! We have a newsletter, only online, as the cost of mailing and keeping the mail list accurate got prohibitive. Alas, it needs new blood - our editor doesn't have the time to give it to make it a viable, and exciting component of the club. Uphill battle, still be waged! Again, thanks for the great ideas!!
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pocketfullarocks
having dreams about rocks
I love being a rock and mineral nerd!
Member since March 2019
Posts: 60
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Post by pocketfullarocks on Aug 16, 2019 19:26:35 GMT -5
pocketfullarocks - tough job, I feel for you. We've been locally involved with a Gem and Mineral club, and there was a period of time in my life where I was actively participating in three or more local tropical fish clubs. What you describe is the same dilemma most club that meet monthly have. One of the better ran clubs I was involved with (Pacific Coast Cichlid Association) uses a routine of maybe six speakers that came in the same month each year, typically with any travel expenses paid if they aren't local, along with a small percentage of the table auction we had with each meeting. Mix in a yearly mega-auction with no speaker (usually in the spring), and a December pot-luck party and that reduces it to only four months out of the year where speakers/programs have to be arranged. I'm not saying this would work perfectly for you - rocks don't travel to auctions as well as fish in bags of water do - but it's just an idea of dividing and conquering a yearly meeting schedule. Our local Gem club has a local geologist who loves to come in and talk (and talk, and talk, and talk...) about northern California geology and local faults etc. LOL!! You really made me chuckle with the talk...and talk comment!! We hold an annual in-house auction which is wildly successful. You would be surprised by the amount of material people will haul in for that! We run out of time before we do auction items! (and I do have to say, I think our items a much more portable than a fish in a bag...lol!) Thanks again!
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Aug 16, 2019 21:22:29 GMT -5
Thank You pocket.....
We did not do mailers, just printed on nice stock and passed out at meetings.......If you didn't show, oh well. It did encourage more head count and participation.
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Post by rmf on Aug 17, 2019 6:56:44 GMT -5
In this forum two items below this post is on called "cooking rocks in a crockpot" You might solicit from members, in your club, experiments they have done such as heating rocks in a crockpot and then pick out the interesting ones and approach them one on one to have them recount the experiment and results. You could even have the club vote on which sounded most interesting.
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,630
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Post by NRG on Aug 21, 2019 17:00:55 GMT -5
In the 1990's I was program coordinator for the local reptile club. 500+ members and 40-60 at each meeting. We were the largest club within 100 miles or more. We held monthly meeting and my task was to provide one entertaining speaker for 11 of 12 months with a potluck Christmas dinner in December. I had no trouble finding 11 topics a year and feel that lapidary/gems/minerals will be similar. I initiated a monthly raffle and the proceeds went to provide a stipend for the speaker ($50 or so). Some speakers were members so no stipend needed. Some things that I found quite useful: If someone wrote a book they want to promote it. Invite them! You will be surprised how far an author will travel to promote their book. I attended industry academic conferences. I could easily grab 2-4 speakers at each one. (Think gem shows!) I placed a call for member recommendation in the newsletter. You will be surprised how many folks have high end friends that would (and should) talk. Develop your speaker budget so that once a year you can fly in and house some real high profile individual. Even minor celebrity hobbyists (think Tommy) are flattered and more often than not will do a lecture for free if expenses are paid. If I was a speaker coordinator for a lapidary club I would make a list of major topics to search in. No more than one speaker per year per topic. Look at the topics of this forum for many more ideas. At Christmas I had all members submit slides (back in the ektachrome E6 days!) I then compiled them into an interesting show. No words just eye candy to view after dinner. 6 years I did this. I more than doubled attendance at meetings in the first year. That leveled out 120-130 maxed out room. I also drove membership. From 500+ to 1200+ during my tenure. Most who joined stayed. All speakers got a free year membership too. Even members. Don't overthink it. Develop a written action plan and spend 3-4 hours a month on it. This forum is a wealth of individuals. Email is your friend. Persistence and patience gets you started. Easy peasy. I'm happy to help you with the action plan if you need to. I don't think you do, but the offer is there. Tommy you should put together a lecture titled "shopping for slabs". You can include side topic like buying rough or why not to buy rough and high grading in the field. How you decide if you want that slab and what you are willing to pay. Easy 30-45 minutes when you include 50-60 images. Then offer to travel to clubs all over the USA and get the club to pay for it. Then spend an extra day or two, on them, hounding!
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Aug 21, 2019 17:54:56 GMT -5
In the 1990's I was program coordinator for the local reptile club. 500+ members and 40-60 at each meeting. We were the largest club within 100 miles or more. We held monthly meeting and my task was to provide one entertaining speaker for 11 of 12 months with a potluck Christmas dinner in December. I had no trouble finding 11 topics a year and feel that lapidary/gems/minerals will be similar. I initiated a monthly raffle and the proceeds went to provide a stipend for the speaker ($50 or so). Some speakers were members so no stipend needed. Some things that I found quite useful: If someone wrote a book they want to promote it. Invite them! You will be surprised how far an author will travel to promote their book. I attended industry academic conferences. I could easily grab 2-4 speakers at each one. I placed a call for member recommendation in the newsletter. You will be surprised how many folks have high end friends that would (and should) talk. Develop your speaker budget so that once a year you can fly in and house some real high profile individual. Even minor celebrity hobbyists (think Tommy ) are flattered and more often than not will do a lecture for free if expenses are paid. If I was a speaker coordinator for a lapidary club I would make a list of major topics to search in. No more than one speaker per year per topic. Look at the topics of this forum for many more ideas. At Christmas I had all members submit slides (back in the ektachrome E6 days!) I then compiled them into an interesting show. No words just eye candy to view after dinner. 6 years I did this. I more than doubled attendance at meetings in the first year. That leveled out 120-130 maxed out room. I also drove membership. From 500+ to 1200+ during my tenure. Most who joined stayed. All speakers got a free year membership too. Even members. Don't overthink it. Develop a written action plan and spend 3-4 hours a month on it. This forum is a wealth of individuals. Email is your friend. Persistence and patience gets you started. Easy peasy. I'm happy to help you with the action plan if you need to. I don't think you do, but the offer is there. Tommy you should put together a lecture titled "shopping for slabs". You can include side topic like buying rough or why not to buy rough and high grading in the field. How you decide if you want that slab and what you are willing to pay. Easy 30-45 minutes when you include 50-60 images. Then offer to travel to clubs all over the USA and get the club to pay for it. Then spend an extra day or two, on them, hounding! That's the kind of commitment rarely seen in today's environment.......without compensation....to say the least.......great advice.....!
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Aug 21, 2019 17:55:45 GMT -5
Tommy you should put together a lecture titled "shopping for slabs". You can include side topic like buying rough or why not to buy rough and high grading in the field. How you decide if you want that slab and what you are willing to pay. Easy 30-45 minutes when you include 50-60 images. Then offer to travel to clubs all over the USA and get the club to pay for it. Then spend an extra day or two, on them, hounding! There is an enormous amount of good solid information and ideas in your post ... bravo! Some of said ideas and information are road-ready and some of it may be subject to further review Consider a seed planted and we'll see if anything grows from it.
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,630
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Post by NRG on Aug 21, 2019 20:23:14 GMT -5
That's the kind of commitment rarely seen in today's environment.......without compensation....to say the least.......great advice.....! Thank you. Took me literally a few hours a month, for a hobby that I was passionate about. Some months I did nothing but make a phone call. I was able to book the schedule months in advance. Also able to announce in the newsletter all future speakers. This drives meeting attendance. Advance scheduling was usually based on the speakers personal travel schedule. Trade secret: I booked my friends or people I wanted as friends. Helped out later when the hobby became a business.
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,630
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Post by NRG on Aug 21, 2019 20:36:37 GMT -5
Tommy you should put together a lecture titled "shopping for slabs". You can include side topic like buying rough or why not to buy rough and high grading in the field. How you decide if you want that slab and what you are willing to pay. Easy 30-45 minutes when you include 50-60 images. Then offer to travel to clubs all over the USA and get the club to pay for it. Then spend an extra day or two, on them, hounding! There is an enormous amount of good solid information and ideas in your post ... bravo! Some of said ideas and information are road-ready and some of it may be subject to further review Consider a seed planted and we'll see if anything grows from it. I have zero clue if there is a market for this. Maybe all clubs are poor and can't pay for this. Your investment is minimal though and then you can find out
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