Meeting Minutes

October 4th, 2008:

Atlanta, GA
Emory's Math/Science Library
Meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.

Fernbank Science Center
  • Minutes:
    Pending...

Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President

July 20th, 2008:

Cartersville, GA
Tellus Museum meeting room #2
Meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m.

Tellus Museum
  • Brief Meeting:
    As promised, we had a brief business meeting in July. We acknowledged our Web-Master Extraordinaire, Sean Murray for all the hours of work he's put in on our web site. If you haven't updated your membership listing yet, you'll be sorry! Wayne Dodd gave a Treasurer's report. (We need to come up with some fund-raising ideas! Jerry Armstrong said he would do a painting for us that we could auction off) I introduced a brand new Georgia "Hammer" but it went over like a lead balloon. Thanks go to Tellus for allowing us to have our meeting there. I sent them a card thanking them for their hospitality, for the tour, and for cooking those wonderful hamburgers and hotdogs!

  • Lunch:
    What a feast! You guys were so generous with the food you brought and the homemade desserts! Good-bye diet. I told my doctor I went off my liquid diet just so I could enjoy the picnic and she said "Oh, was it one of those picnics where they hold you down and force food down your throat?" And I said, "Yes, and I hate it when that happens!" Next year, I'm going to bring a cake that looks like it was hit by a meteorite. (Come to think of it, all my cakes look like that.) Anyway, thanks again for your contributions.

  • Tellus Tour:
    Next, Jose Santamaria, Director of the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum, and Julian Gray, Curator (and member of MAG), gave a tour of their incredible new facility. We lingered over the area where the meteorites will be displayed (of course) and had the best time traveling through space with David Dundee, Astronomer (and member of MAG) guiding us.

  • Hal Povenmire:
    After we walked off the calories, we enjoyed a fine presentation by Hal Povenmire. He talked about the Georgia tektites, "Georgiaites" and the ever-widening strewn field where they are found below the "Fall Line" (Columbus to Macon to Augusta). He encouraged us to volunteer to make a field trip to south Georgia and see if we could find any tektites and broaden the field. Hal said in the beginning the strewn field was around 500 square miles. Now, with Hal's diligent research and hundreds of miles walked, it's over 8,550 square miles. Originally, the Georgiaites were found in only 2 Georgia counties; now it's 22 counties. Years ago, the number of Georgiaites found were only 200. Today, over 2,500 specimens have been found and identified. They are of Upper Eocene time period, around 35.5 million years old. Hal said these Georgia tektites are now linked to the Chesapeake Bay Crater. I awarded Hal an Honorary Membership Certificate designed and framed by Sean Murray.
    Hal can be reached in various ways:
    • Snail mail: Hal Povenmire, 215 Osage Dr., Indian Harbour Beach, FL. 32937
    • Phone: Home(321) 777-1303 Cell (321) 794-0807
    • Email (thru his wife): katiehall@yahoo.com
    Hal also talked briefly about the Woodbury, GA crater and showed us on a topo map the outlines of the crater. A visitor, (and new member?), Scott Harris, a geologist, also talked about the Woodbury crater in some detail.

  • Show/Tell/Trade:
    After the meeting, we enjoyed looking through the tektites, meteorites and books Hal brought with him. Many of us bought specimens and his books which Hal was kind enough to autograph for us. I bought a shatter-cone from Germany. We had a great time mingling, talking and shopping. Dave Gheesling brought a mountain of meteorites for us to drool over and purchase. Julian Gray finally kicked us out around 5pm. I told him we liked to linger!

  • New Business:
    A couple of people mentioned during the meeting that it would nice if MAG members could have their own membership certificate. Once again, Sean has come to the rescue and created one. They will be available at the October meeting, along with membership cards for your wallets. We have decided to have several levels of membership:
    • Founding Members: Those at the first meeting at Jerry Armstrong's house
    • Charter Members: Those who joined during the first year (July 2007-July 2008)
    • Lifetime Members: Pay $200.00 and never have to bother with renewals again!
    • Honorary Members: People like Hal Povenmire who give talks and have given so much to the field of meteoritics
    I'd also like us to have membership badges. Sean thinks this is a little geeky... but I can just imagine how useful they'd be. Say you're at a rock and mineral show with your MAG name badge on. Someone comes up to you and sees "Meteorite Assn. of Ga." and says "Wow! I didn't even know there was such an organization. How do I join?"

  • Next Meeting:
    Was tentatively scheduled for Oct 11, 2008 but since that announcement, several people have told me they can't attend. I'm trying to reach Dr. Mike Reynolds, our speaker for October and see if he can change the date. I'll send an email as soon as I know. Dr. Reynolds is the Associate Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at Florida Community College at Jacksonville. He's also a really nice guy. He wrote the book Falling Stars. Our own member, Jerry Armstrong, illustrated the cover. Dr. Reynolds will give a talk on his Antarctica expedition and will also bring his book to autograph as well as some meteorites for those of us who can't get enough!

  • Next Meeting Place:
    Undecided. If you know of a large place where we can meet, please let me know! Dr. Reynolds said "With gas prices approaching that of lunar meteorites, it might be cheaper to meet on the Moon." (That's an option.)

    • As always, I look forward to seeing you all again. Let me know if you have any agenda items for October.
Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President

April 26th, 2008:

Marietta, GA
Floor Expo Board Room
Meeting was called to order at 11:20 a.m.

MAG Meeting picture
  • MAG Officers:
    Anita asked for volunteers to fill the following positions: VP (no volunteers), Treasurer (Wayne Dodd), Recording Secretary (Anita will continue for now), Membership Secretary (Richard Graveline), Webmaster (Sean Murray).

  • Term of Office:
    for President and other positions was not determined at this meeting.

  • Cobb County Civic Center Mother's Day Show:
    Anita will put in a display on meteorites for MAG. Anita (and others) will staff a table at the show and talk about meteorites, bring hand samples, have membership applications available, etc. We will also have applications at the front desk where grab bags are sold. Jerry Armstrong donated a meteorite for the Saturday afternoon auction. Anita will make a card saying who donated it, and add "Meteorite Association of Ga" on it. Dave Gheesling said he has some meteorites to donate as door prizes.

  • Other Publicity Opportunities:
    Harlan suggested we put in a display case at one or more local libraries. This venue is more likely to be seen by younger adults and students. Security has not been an issue in the past as the display cases are lockable.

  • Speakers:
    Since the last meeting, David Hardy spoke to 75-80 5th graders at Eagle's Landing Christian Academy. Dave Gheesling spoke to 400 East Cobb Middle School children and about 150 Kennesaw Mountain high school kids. Dave has a small display of meteorites at the Elachee Nature Center. Jerry Armstrong announced one of his paintings will be on the cover of a new book on impact craters. Anita Westlake spoke to the Montgomery Gem and Mineral Society in Alabama on meteorites, and will speak to the Cotton Indian Gem and Mineral Society in May on the same topic. Anita is working on an article to be published in Meteorite magazine in the fall.

  • Website:
    Sean Murray has done an incredible job on our web site. He has jumped in with both feet and has created different types of maps to display Georgia falls, finds and tektite locations. He has updated our membership page with member's interests, removed our email addresses (to avoid spam) and has in general enjoying tweaking the site. Sean is also working on a mini-meteorite list where members can write in to this private listserv. He is eligible for at least two •gold stars• to be affixed to his forehead at the next MAG meeting.

  • Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum:
    MAG member, and Curator of the new Tellus museum, Julian Gray reported on construction progress. Tellus, located in Cartersville, GA. is hoping to open in the fall of 2008. They have designed a space for their meteorite collection, and are in the process of creating written panels describing their specimens. Dave and Anita have agreed to review the text for errors and omissions. MAG hopes to maintain a good working relationship with Tellus. We are currently in the process of planning our July (1st anniversary!) meeting there.

  • Treasury:
    Wayne Dodd has agreed to serve as our Treasurer. Anita will remove the funds from her "Escrow" account and transfer them to Wayne to monitor.

  • Trim Saw:
    Harlan brought his trim saw in case someone wanted to make big meteorites into little meteorites, but no one took advantage of this opportunity. He might not schlep it to the next meeting.

  • New Books, Journals on Meteorites:
    Anita brought in a couple of articles on tektites to share. Martha Brown brought in a book on the moon. The impact book that Jerry's artwork appears on is called "The Sedimentary Record of Meteorite Impacts" ed. By Kevin R. Evans, etc. It is Special Paper no. 437 of the Geological Society of America. It has 213 pages and is in press now. Contact www.geosociety.org/bookstore to order.

  • Announcements:
    Several members asked if we could change our meeting day from Saturdays to Sundays since many people have to work on Saturday. A tentative date of July 20th (a Sunday) is scheduled for our next meeting, possibly at the Tellus Museum in Cartersville.

  • Lunch:
    Dave G. provided a wonderful barbeque lunch.

  • Show/Tell/Trade:
    Dave G. and others brought lots of material for trading. A good time was had by all. Anita sold a duplicate Robert Haag Catalog. A couple of members got their very first meteorite at this meeting. (Warning: there's no turning back now!)

  • After Meeting Discussions:
    Richard Graveline (Membership) and Anita are discussing ways to welcome new members. If you have any thoughts, please share them with us.
Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President

January 12th, 2008:

East Point, GA
Anita Westlake residence
Meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.

MAG Meeting picture
  • I hope everyone had a good time and enjoyed seeing my collections. I haven't heard about anyone dying from eating my chili, so I'd say it was a smashing success!

  • Membership Status:
    I received about 6 memberships dues at the meeting, which I will deposit today. As far as I can tell, only 1 of you hasn't paid up yet. Don't make me come down to the Keys to get you! We'll have $400.00 in the bank after today's deposits. That's still not quite enough to pay for the web site, but we're getting there. We had a new member drive all the way down from Knoxville, TN! Thanks, Travis for your interest and your membership. We have 16 paid members, with about that many coming to our quarterly meetings. Speaking of which, my living room could barely contain all our members. At least one person had to lean against the wall (David Hardy) and Dave Gheesling ended up on the floor playing with his Erg Chech trade specimens. So, Dave has offered the board room in his office in Marietta for our next (and future?) meetings. There's room for all of us at the table and we can act like CEO's for a day.

  • MAG Logo:
    We now have an official logo. Check it out on our web site at: www.meteoriteassociationofgeorgia.org.

  • North Atlanta Trace Center Show:
    We then discussed how successful our booth was at the North Atlanta Trade Center gem and mineral show in December. I'll send a "Thank You" card to Richard Hightower, the show producer, for allowing us to have a free booth at the show. We were able to show off some meteorites, educate the public, give away samples and membership applications, and get the kids excited about our treasures from outer space. We even got a couple of new members out of it!

  • Upcoming Talks:
    Along those same lines, I'll be giving a talk to the Morningside Elementary School in February on meteorites, as well as the Rome, GA gem and mineral club in March and the Montgomery, AL gem and mineral club in March. Let me know what you've been doing lately.

  • Membership Outreach:
    Members brainstormed other outreach opportunities like: putting in a meteorite display in a library case, having stickers made with our logo, contacting the Atlanta Astronomy Club and Fernbank, etc. We're leaving 100 membership applications at the Georgia Mineral Society's table at the Georgia Science Teachers Association convention next week in Athens, GA. Thanks go to Carl Ziglin for jazzing up the application and making the copies.

  • Cataloging Discussion:
    Dave stressed the importance of cataloging your meteorite collection, even if it is just to number the piece and/or the box that holds it. We cannot to afford to rely on our memory (especially those of us who are no longer Spring Chickens) because one day we'll forget or pass on and no one will know what we had or how much it was worth. Don't let your meteorites succumb to this disgraceful fate.

  • Georgia Tektite Field Trip:
    I still haven't been able to contact Hal Povenmire for a field trip. I have taken him off our official membership and email list but will continue to try and reach him.

  • MAG Expenses:
    If you have spent any money on MAG and wish to be reimbursed, you must turn in a dated receipt with a description of the item(s) purchased in order to receive a refund. If, on the other hand, you want to donate your purchase, no forms are required!!!

  • Newsletter:
    Someday, I'd like to start a newsletter for MAG. Instead of incurring postal and paper costs, I could send an electronic version to members. If you have anything you'd like to see in a newsletter, (cartoons, articles, buy/trade specimens, etc.) please drop me an email and I'll get it out to you one way or the other.

  • Savannah Trip:
    Before the official meeting ended, we talked about possibly going to Savannah in April to see fellow member and all-around good guy, Walter Branch. He is still recovering from a severe auto accident and maybe we'll catch up with him in the fall. Travis Paris, our Tennessee member suggested we might want to come up his way in the fall and go on a field trip or two to see some meteor craters. Although we're called the Meteorite Association of Georgia, we're really hoping to welcome and include members from all over SE United States and then some.

  • Statesboro Meteorite:
    For those of you who haven't heard, Dave Gheesling pulled off the biggest purchase in recent memory! He bought the un-buyable, not-for-saleable STATESBORO meteorite. Come to the next meeting and hear how he did it. He may even let you touch it.

  • Next meeting:
    April 19, Marietta. Please send me agenda items for the next meeting. Details to follow.
Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President

October 6th, 2007:

Alpharetta, GA
Dave Gheesling residence
Meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m.

MAG Meeting picture
  • The October 2007 meeting at Dave Gheesling's house was a blast! We all enjoyed drooling over his meteorite collection, had a great time visiting with each other, snuck in a short business meeting, cut some meteorites and had a fine time all the way around. If you left early, you missed the bacon-wrapped scallops. Some of you may still be trying to find your way out of his massive subdivision. Next time, leave a strewn field of bread crumbs to get back to the main road.

  • Guests:
    We had two visitors: Eileen and CR from Prospector's Pouch in Kennesaw.

  • Logo Status:
    Dave showed us a logo he was working on for our association, and Carl sent an idea for one via email. Ideas are encouraged. A final decision will be made at the next meeting.

  • Georgia Meteorites Document:
    Anita distributed free copies of "Georgia Meteorites" generously donated from our own Walter Branch. Everyone appreciated the gift, and most members did not previously have a copy in their collection.

  • Introductions:
    Per Dave's suggestion, we went around the room discussing "why we were here" (why we wanted to be part of a meteorite association.) Thoughts included: camaraderie among like-minded people, the chance to be educated by others in the group, and to educate the public, a chance to see other members collections, the opportunity to buy/trade/sell at every meeting, the opportunity for field trips, developing opportunities to speak with groups and especially children, and using the group as a way to share news, updates, etc. about the meteorite world (recent falls, finds, auctions, etc.)

  • Meteorite Central:
    Anita mentioned the meteorite list-serve she has belonged to for years: "meteoritecentral.com"

  • Membership Dues:
    We discussed membership dues (and later decided) that $25.00 a year would be a reasonable amount.

  • Application Form:
    Anita developed an application form and passed it around the room for comment. The only change to the form was to add the word "Planet" under City, State, Zipcode. Ha Ha.

  • Website Progress:
    Dave mentioned developing a web site and getting that up and running as soon as possible. This is one of the best ways to increase membership and consequently, money coming in. He is working on getting the web site up and running and will lay out the initial cost (to be reimbursed after the membership dues start rolling in.)

  • MAG Official Status:
    Anita is doing research on creating a real, live association through the state of Georgia. Fees, forms and finalization will be discussed at the next meeting.

  • Voting for President:
    A brief discussion took place about the qualities of a good president: one who has the time, the energy, and the inclination to serve. As things are going along quickly, we should probably do an email blast to the members and see if we can get consensus on a new President via email. Dave will coordinate this.

  • Next Meeting:
    We adjourned before discussing the next meeting. Here's hoping January 12th at 11am at Anita's house in East Point will work for most of you. I will have a roaring fire in the fireplace (hopefully it will be cold enough), will make home-made chili and cornbread, and will serve red wine for those inclined.

  • Next Agenda:
    Getting a post office box, Volunteers for Secretary and Treasurer, Deciding on a logo, More as things come up... Please feel free to add to this list.
Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President

July 14th, 2007:

Winston, GA
Jerry Armstrong residence
Meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m.

MAG Meeting picture
  • Thanks everyone for a great 1st meeting! The barbeque was rivaled only by the enthusiasm of the group. And that took a back seat to the AWESOME specimens we got to drool over. (I hope we didn't drool on any "rusters.") I really appreciate every one taking the time and trouble to make the first meeting, and share your ideas. We had folks come from as far away as Dahlonega! (Tim and Bunty) and one member who called in from England! Don't forget to talk us up to your friends. The more the merrier.

  • Field Trips:
    Hal Povenmire (who wants to be part of our group, but I have temporarily misplaced his email address) has offered to take us Georgia Tektite hunting this coming November!!! More information forthcoming.

  • Distribution List:
    If you want to be removed from this list, please email Anita at and she shall remove you - no questions asked!

  • Member Contact Info:
    We distributed the names, phone numbers and email addresses of folks who attended our first meeting (or wanted to). If you can fill in some of the blanks, please do so and resend to the group.

  • Next Meeting:
    Our next meeting will be October 6th, at Dave Gheesling's house in Alpharetta from 11am-3pm. Contact Dave for directions. (I'm not going to post people's home addresses here for security sake.)
Anita D. Westlake,
MAG President

Please feel free to Contact Anita with any other questions or additions... Thank you!

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