THANK YOU FOR THE 2023 SHOW from the SHOW CHAIR – Jim Haege

I would like to thank all of our club members who volunteered their time to help us put on another great show! I received dozens of thank yous from our dealers, from the delicious food at our dealer dinner to all the club members who helped during setup and teardown. They were also very thankful for the members who were floorwalkers offering them water or a break if they needed it. I received many, many compliments on how well our dealers were treated by our club.

What I am mindful of that some of you may not realize is that this show was a huge team effort that began months ago. Starting with our crew at Tellus in June, y’all put over 3,000 of our post cards out there to help advertise our show! Grab bags had to be sewn and stuffed, so many things had to be done well in advance of the show. Y’all did a great job, and it was noticed by our customers as well who also told me how great our show was!

So thank you, thank you all so much! We could not have done it without you!

More Appreciation from our Co-Presidents

This month our member spotlight is on every CCGMS volunteer and cook who made our show such a tremendous success. I’m not sure how to even start, so I guess at the beginning of the actual show. On Thursday, many of you met at the clubhouse to bring to the Cobb County Civic Center over 2000 grab bags, all our display cases, and a truck load of kitchen supplies. After those were all unloaded, many members helped our dealers with getting into the building as well as helping some set up. Jim Haege brought huge pans of BBQ and smoked turkey while many others brought delicious sides. Boyd Ashworth brought dozens of drinks and buns and between him and Shirley Parker kept coffee and water flowing throughout the show. Many came early to set up beautiful display cases. A dinosaur selfie stop was constructed. Everyone worked for hours getting the place ready, especially our dealers.

Friday morning bright and early, an interview for FOX5 Good Day Atlanta was conducted thanks to our publicist Karla Roper. Later Lawrence Parker was also interviewed by the Marietta Daily Journal . Many customers came in so excited after seeing our show on TV! The dealers were ready and stayed busy from the time the doors opened. Scores of members stepped up to help split geodes, work the silent auction, sell grab bags, and greet our guests. The dealers were so appreciative of all who walked the floor and checked to see if they needed water or a break. Many of our members bought the silent auction items; Shirley Parker ‘rescued’ the primo piece from being chopped up into parts to be sold as several bits.
Some members were there every day. John Anderson taught every Mineral ID class for three days. The class I attended had very smart kids and parents, and John’s style and stories were entertaining. Wayne Dodd camped out in the geode room teaching new members how to use the geode crackers and teaching guests about why their geode was so special. Kim Cochran stayed with the silent auction most of the first and last day, helping guests with information about the pieces. Marie and Dennis Worthington and Rick were really instrumental in organizing the remaining auctions and set up time between the end of one auction and the beginning of the next became much quicker. Keith Johnson greeted people and assisted with the cases. Carol and Al Sorenson worked the membership and bags table. Curtis Wolovlek showed many guests his expertise in weaving wire next to Jay Gorday who faceted marbles into works of art. Boyd Ashworth really stepped up by volunteering to be hospitality chair through December. Richard Cepurna, who moved to a new home that weekend(!?!), was there every day bringing grab bags, working the silent auction, and helping anyone who needed it. Everyone’s time and effort for this event are so appreciated.

Some members put in a lot of hours way before show time. Grab Bag Chair Melanie Ging drummed up interest in the sewing of the grab bags by sponsoring three different sewing days. She then organized the grab bags stuffing day, where thanks to Dennis’s big tent we stayed dried as over 1200 bags were filled. To all who helped with the purchasing of the rocks and minerals, who cut and sewed the material, and who came and filled, we thank you so very much. Melanie, you did a great job before and during, and we thank you.

Dealer Chair Becky Patellis did a great job in not only bringing us such great dealers, but she has also obtained contracts from many of them for next year. The Civic Center was packed with interesting specimens, minerals, jewelry, and art. It looked beautiful. Becky, Janie Bailey, Bob Hohn, Michelle Puryear, Laurie Schmidt, Scott Schmidt, Mary Ingram, and Jim Haege are member dealers who had beautiful displays. These dealers pass along our postcards at other shows they’re in, always thinking about promoting us too. We hope they all did well. Watch the newsletter this coming year for highlights of each of them.

Lawrence Parker always wears many hats. He starts in June at Tellus Rockfest where he talks with everybody who gets close to our booth, enticing them to sign up on a postcard for a chance at a very nice specimen. Those postcards are then sent out before the show. At the show, he greets every guest with that welcoming style of his, kids with them, and talks with them before they leave. He is in charge of the cases bringing them from the shed, setting them up, tearing them down, and returning them. He visits every dealer and fills his case with their gifts. When guests see something they really like in his case, he points out the booth and the dealer. He announces the door prize winners and listens for their shriek! He drums up interest for the silent auction and Mineral ID classes by reminding guests when they’re beginning and ending. And this year he was inter-viewed for TV and the paper. He’s famous! We appreciate all he does for us so much.

And finally many thanks to our Show Chair Jim Haege who worked for months behind the scenes planning photo ops, working with the publicist, updating Instagram with 15 second spots to promote excitement at the show, working with Karla to bring us new ideas for publicity, deciding to add the silent auction which brought in so much money for the club, and helping fill grab bags. While recording on his Instagram account, he even added his own Herkimer ‘diamonds’ to three of the grab bags we were filling to entice folks. I was at the grab bag table when one young woman bought one of those bags. She was blown away by the size of the Herkimer within. He is already thinking of ideas to bring even more people to our show next year!

It was a very successful show for our club. It was a lot of fun. Most of our dealers were very happy. For those of you who missed it, put the weekend before Thanksgiving on your calendar for next year (NOV 21-24, 2024). It is the biggest event of our year, and it is so special when you’re part of it.

With our sincere thanks,
Lynn Avery and Amanda Rollason
CCGMS Co-Presidents