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SEPTEMBER 2012 MINUTES
14
September 2012 BOARD MEETING
Board members present:
Virgil Lueth, Jean DeMouthe, Penny Williamson, Julian Gray, Anna
Domitrovic The meeting was
called to order a 2:03 pm by president Virgil Lueth.
He went t Domitrovic reported
that she is still working with Wells Fargo on the theft of funds from SMMP
accounts. There have been no
useful responses from the bank, and AD will be withdrawing accounts from
W.F. No one has applied
for the SMMP grant this year. The membership could
be asked to vote on whether to offer an honorarium to speakers at the SMMP
meetings in Tucson. Williamson brought up
the issue of hot lights in the exhibit cases, suggesting that SMMP write a
letter to the show committees at Tucson and Denver. VL & others reported
that there has been no improvement in communication with the Denver show
committee, and nothing seems to have changed, despite SMMP efforts to work
with them. Our comments about
replacing "meet the curator" with a series of short curator lectures was
ignored. Foreign museums
still are not getting paperwork in time.
GENERAL
MEETING The meeting was
called to order by president Virgil Lueth at 2:30 pm.
Introductions were made and people were encouraged to sign in on
the circulating list.
The Tucson 2012
meeting minutes were posted on line.
A vote was taken to approve the minutes as presented, and it was
approved unanimously.
Domitrovic gave the treasurer's
report. Combined checking, CD
and savings accounts total $4,156.
She had a hard copy of the membership list, and she urged people to
check their information and see if they have paid their dues.
The membership list will be culled before Tucson, and people not
paying dues will be dropped. Collections
Committee: Lueth reported no
changes since Tucson. No
responses came from letters sent. Webmaster Kampf
announced that there have been problems with the list server, and messages
often appear to recipients as SPAM and are blocked.
They are working on fixing this. Education Committee:
DeMouthe said that next year's Denver theme will be tourmaline.
She suggested a possible theme for Tucson 2013 of "fluorite
diversity." SMMP Grant:
Lueth reported that no one had applied this year.
He also said that no new best practices articles have been
received, and there are currently two on the web site. Dunnell brought up
the issue of possibly offering Tucson speakers at SMMP meetings an
honorarium, particularly if they come from outside the mineral community.
It was reported that the board had approved this idea, and that the
amount would be determined on an individual basis (honorarium vs.
expenses). A vote was taken
and the motion was approved with no opposition or discussion.
Lueth offered to follow up and report to Dunnell. Williamson asked if
SMMP would write to Tucson and Denver about the lights in the display
cases, because there is too much UV and heat at present.
We should ask for a change to LED or fluorescents.
This is particularly important for Tucson 2013, where the theme
will be fluorite. There was
some discussion about people bringing their own light bulbs. The San Diego museum
asked for recommendations on collection management software. Carl Francis reported
that, since leaving Harvard, he has been working with the Maine Mineral
and Gem Museum in downtown Bethel, Maine.
They estimate that they will open in the spring of 2013 in two
renovated historical buildings.
Their displays will include local history, and they plan to display
at the 2013 Denver show. Williamson brought up
the issue of poor communication with and within the Denver show committee.
Foreign exhibitors are not getting information in a timely manner,
which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for them to get funding for
travel. Lueth reported that
he had met with the show committee and sent a letter from SMMP last year,
but nothing has changed. Bruce Geller
responded on behalf of the Denver committee, but said he is having the
same problems as everyone else is.
Jim Hurlbut stated that this is not a one-person problem and that
the show committee is indecisive and does not make decisions firmly in a
timely manner. Williamson
said that museum exhibits are not appreciated by the show committee, who
do not seem to realize the amount of work it takes to produce and travel
with these displays. Terry
Huizing noted that Denver's lack of organization makes it hard to plan
ahead. "Meet the curator"
was discussed. Jeff Post
stated that no one likes being told they have to participate in this
activity, particularly since it is viewed by most curators as a waste of
their time. The possibility
of doing a series of short lectures instead was mentioned again. The meeting was adjourned at 3:13 pm. Respectfully submitted, |
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