Thursday, February 27, 2014

March 2014 Events & Other Info



Del Air Rockhounds March 2014 Calendar of Events:
06: General Meeting: 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room
08: Granada Hills Little League Opening Day Festival: (See Article)
09: Daylight Savings Begins: Set your clocks ahead or you’ll end up being late!
17: St. Patrick’s Day: Wear your Green and watch out for those pesky pinchers!
18: New Castle Elementary Open House Fair: 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. See Maxine D. for details.
20: Board Meeting: 7:30 pm @ the VanWinkle’s home. (Check your roster for the address)
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Del Air General Meeting: Thursday Mar 06, 2014 
7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at:
Northridge United Methodist Church - 9650 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324 Guests Are Always Welcome At Our Meetings & Events.

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Mar 2014 Program:  "Learn Something New"

Select Del Air Rockhounds Club members will be demonstrating some new techniques so be sure you make it to this month’s meeting. Dennis Miller will be demonstrating “Sound Object Art” utilizing broken cups and bottle necks. Dorothy Ridenour will be doing wire wrapping. Chris Ward & Dick Flaharty will demonstrate how to use a trim saw to cut out a cabochon free form and then how to finish it on a Genie. Bob Knox will demonstrate how to create “Fairy Gardens” and Bob Backus will show us how to make gemstone boxes. It’s never too late to learn something new. Please join us for this fun and interesting presentation.

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“Something” of the Month
For March 2014, Club Member Jeff Dengrove Asks:   What are Plume Agates?
Find out more at our March meeting and please remember to bring any plume agate specimens you may have and share with the group. There will be a color handout for those of you that have been collecting these info sheets over the past few years.

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Granada Hills Little League Opening Day Festival
Saturday March 8th, 2014
16035 Rinaldi Street, Granada Hills, CA 91344
Set-up 8:00 am – Festival runs 9:00 am to 3:00 pm - Take down 3:00 pm (times approx)

The Del Air Rockhounds Club have been asked to bring our school fair booth to the Granada Hills Little League’s Opening Day Festival in Granada Hills. This will be our first festival of the year albeit a bit different than what we are normally used to. We will still have our Spin-a-Wheel, Geode Cutting, Bracelet Making, Touch & Feel Table, Educational Game and other Show & Tell items to share but instead of an elementary school’s student body and their families, we will be sharing what we do best with 30 little league baseball teams, their coaches and all their families and friends. We need our members help with this. Maxine thinks we have a chance to have a very busy booth with all these boys and their parents. Mark your calendar to help on March 8th. Because we need to take our own tables, shade pop ups and normal equipment, we will need extra vehicles to get stuff there. Please let Maxine Dearborn know what time of day (or all day) you can help at our booth, either by email or telephone.

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News from the CFMS      website: www.cfmsinc.org   
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By Jennifer Haley – 2014 CFMS President
 Hello Everyone,
 
I am really looking forward to when we all get together at our annual show and convention hosted by the Pasadena Lapidary Society on May 30 - June1, 2014. The theme is California’s Gem & Mineral Bounty, so let’s get ready for the show. We all know what it’s like preparing for a big event so please try to send in your forms and reservations early. Show and convention information is on the CFMS website. Due Dates:
Competitive Exhibits - April 14th
Non-competitive Exhibits - April 25th
Advance Registration for show tickets/passes, Awards Banquet, Editors Breakfast - April 30th

In January I was able to bring the CFMS Database up to date. The value of having this system is so the Federation can e-mail you important information which can’t wait until the next CFMS Newsletter reaches you, and when there’s information we’d like to share with you in between the newsletters. If you are a Federation Director for your club but have not received the email called The Heartbeat of CFMS, please let me know so I can add you to the database.

If you want a really good read, take a look at the CFMS Society Aids Manual. Maybe it’s been several years since you’ve read through it or maybe you’ve never seen it. The manual holds so much great information you can share with your club. Topics include: putting together a slide program with hints and tips for narration, projection and recording; meeting hospitality; how to get guests to return; establishing a sister club; club projects, etc. You’ll probably be inspired with your own ideas and innovative ways to encourage our hobby, show off a skill and maybe you’ll even try your hand at being a speaker or learn that new lapidary or metal smithing technique you’ve wanted to try for years.

“To all of us who enjoy the earth sciences, and the practice of lapidary arts and crafts, "go out and play, put your hearts and your souls into the hobby and make some wonderful memories. It’s what we do best and it is our gift to give.”   
(Re-printed from the Mar 2014 CFMS Newsletter)

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WE NOW HAVE GRAB BAGS!
 Del Air Club - Fill Those Grab Bags Day February 8th
We had a great crew show up at the Dearborn’s house and they got busy right away putting many kinds of rocks and minerals in our grab bags. We started to fill the bags at 10 am and by 11:30 am we had filled all we had –580 bags! This should carry us through 2014 with all the club functions we do. Our crew consisted of Jim & Shellie VanWinkle, Oscar & Julie Marin, Chris Ward, Dennis Miller, Jeff Dengrove, Michael Tschacher and Bob & Maxine Dearborn. Maxine put together a hot lunch for all after our hard work and by the time we ate and did a good share of talking, all left for home by 1pm.
A good club project and well done by our members!
                                                                Del Air Youth Outreach Team

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