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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Greetings from the 47th State (admitted one month before AZ, on the 5th try...) - otherwise known as the Land of Enchantment.

First, I want to remind everyone who plans to attend the Tucson Show that we changed the times of the meetings. Everything starts later than in previous years in accordance to our discussions at the last meeting in Tucson. The later meeting times give us more time to complete our business on the floor during the first day of the TSMS show. No excuses for being late, you will only need one if you're early. Please remember the board of directors terms expire for Anna Domitrovic, Jamie Newman, and me.

Normally I try and introduce my latest "plans" for the SMMP during this message. Lo and behold, I have none for this year (my latest resolution). Instead let me highlight some of the work of our members, often unnoticed, but essential to our success. Please take time to thank them for their efforts.

Penny Williamson has prepared and coordinated a program on "What will happen to your collection?"  She has geared the panel presentations for the general public and the program descriptions are included the TGMS show publications and advertising. Hopefully we will see a large audience at this program of both curators and collectors. I'm sure a number of us have experienced a few trials and tribulations over donations and their donors over the years. I think this educational program will help both donors and donees understand the process, and each other, a little better. Penny hopes to use some of the information derived from this program to develop a "best practices" publication.

Once again Jean DeMouthe is coordinating our display at Tucson while serving as our secretary. Both the displays and her meticulous notes attest to the care and dedication Jean has shown to the SMMP over many years.

Membership and money, two things we cannot live without as a society, have been under the purview of Anna Domitrovic since I can remember. Anna has handled the busiest job in the Society with the utmost competence and good humor (two other important ingredients to a successful organization and treasurer).

Finally, Tony Kampf has run out website, the stolen mineral hotline, and helped with the newsletter since I have been president (and before). I have always found the website current and attractive; essentially a seamless operation. I'm sure it is not as easy as Tony makes it look.

Jim and Gail Spann are again sponsoring a "meet the curators" social during the Tucson show right after our meetings and program. Also hosting this year is Jorde Fabre with regulars from his web forum. Last year was great fun and good camaraderie. Please RSVP to me by Feb. 7 if you plan to attend (vwlueth@nmt.edu - I will check email up to the last minute). This is an invitation only event, and if you belong to SMMP, you're invited with one guest.

Finally I'd like to thank the participation of our members at meetings, conferences, and via the list server. If you are inclined, think about how you might improve our group via ideas or actions. We would greatly appreciate your efforts.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Tucson,

Virgil Lueth, President

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BEST PRACTICES PROJECT

"Best practices" documents are posted on the SMMP website:

BEST PRACTICES REPORT NO. 1: Research Sampling of Collections

BEST PRACTICES REPORT NO. 2: Moving Specimens

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SMMP GRANT PROGRAM

Awards are to support curatorial research and methodologies that address one or more of the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP) mission statement goals: 1) foster recognition of mineral science collections as essential scientific, educational and cultural resources, 2) promote support for growth, maintenance and use of collections and exhibits and, 3) advance museum practice through cooperation in the development, review and dissemination of information. Amounts vary up to a maximum of $1000 per grant. Grant awards determined by SMMP Board of Directors. Grant applications and more details are posted on our website:
http://www.agiweb.org/smmp/support-SMMP.htm

Grant proposals are due: August 1, 2012

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MINUTES OF THE DENVER MEETING
September 2011

Click on the link above to view the minutes.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION

Three board member terms will be expiring this year.
Please be prepared to nominate candidates and vote.
Board members whose terms expire this year are:

Anna Domitrovic
Jamie Newman
Virgil Lueth

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SMMP AFFILIATIONS

American Geological Institute (AGI)

Natural Science Collections Alliance NSCA)

Although the Society of Mineral Museum Professionals maintains no official ties with the Commission on Museums (CM) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), the Commission resolved at its December, 2000, meeting in Melbourne, Australia, to support SMMP's efforts in uniting mineral museum professionals worldwide.

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SMMP LIST SERVER

You are encouraged to interact with your fellow SMMP members via our list server:

smmp@listserv.nhm.org

Please remember that when you reply to an email sent via our list server, you will be replying to the sender, although you have the option of copying the membership.

Tony Kampf processes additions to and deletions from the list server. That way we limit the list to our membership and if a member decides that they want to be dropped from the list, Tony will know whether to send them the SMMP Newsletter by snail mail. Note that you are only able to send via the list server from your email address that is on the list server. This should be the same one that is used in our on-line roster.

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PAYING DUES

SMMP dues are $10.00 U.S., payable to Anna Domitrovic, treasurer, 6118 W. Lazy Heart Street, Tucson, AZ 85713. Any directory changes or additions should be sent to Tony Kampf. In Europe, dues can be remitted to Peter Davidson, National Museums of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, SCOTLAND.

To make paying your dues easier (especially for non-US members), a PayPal account has been established and installed on our website. You can use your credit card or your own personal PayPal account. Just go to our Dues webpage.

Note that you can check your dues payment status on the SMMP on-line roster. The year shown in the last column indicates the last year for which you have paid. If you are delinquent, please remit your dues payment as soon as possible.

Remember to renew your membership. If you are planning to pay dues at the Tucson meeting, help Anna by filling out a membership application with your dues payment. Do it beforehand and save time at the meeting!