Due to Covid-19, there was no Board Meeting for February 2021.

Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Board Meeting
May 3, 2021

​The meeting was called to order via ZOOM by President Anita Metzbower at 4:00 p.m.
 
Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. 
 
OLD  BUSINESS
  • Membership forms  The Board approved the membership forms, schedules and open shop fees previously reviewed.  Sheila will send out the application forms in August, and Karen will post the forms in the shops in September. 
 
NEW  BUSINESS
  • Open shops  At Oakwood, Thursday morning open shop will be shared by Silver and Gourds for the summer.  Silver may move to Cottonwood in the fall. 
  • Mail kudos  Doug Williams was praised by the Board for his interesting and fun mailings to the membership. 
  • Meeting room   Anita, Nancy, and Don will be looking at available meeting rooms in all of the Home Owners’ Associations.  Sun Lakes Country Club has raised the rate for the Navajo Room from $55.00 per meeting to $70.00. 
 
BOARD  REPORTS
 
President                                 Anita Metzbower
Vice President                         Nancy Hibbard
Secretary                                 Ellen Hellman
Treasurer                                 Karen Wollscheid           SLCC has refunded the Club for rent paid
            for the Arts and Crafts Room, which was not used by the Gourd group
            due to the pandemic guidelines. 
                                                            Inflow                          $1,121.25
                                                            Outflow                                         198.72
                                                            April 30 balance                      $16,438.30
 
Membership Coordinator                   Sheilah Buscaglia
Class Coordinator                              Sandy Peterson
Lost Wax Chair                                  Jim Marquis                                        
Glass Chair                                        Nancy Hibbard
Creative Crafts Chair                         Nancy Hibbard
Silver Chair                                        Gail Wilder
Lapidary Chair                                    Vic Hermann - Vic is leading a group to look at improving
            marketing and communication for the Club, with a goal to increase new
            membership and encourage previous members to rejoin.  Nancy and Karen
            volunteered.  Karen is going to solicit Club photos from members for new brochures. 
​
Equipment Manager                Don Hall
Museum Curator                     Suzanne Close                         Absent
Publicity Coordinator               Doug Williams
Holiday Party Coordinator       Nancy Frayer
Picnic Coordinator                   Nancy Frayer
Raffles Coordinator                 Pat Marquis                             Absent
Website Coordinator               Sheilah Buscaglia
Field Trip Coordinator                       Open
 
Member attending                  Jim McNaughton
 
MEETINGS
  • General meeting        The Board will notify membership of time, date, and location of our October meeting. 
     
  • Board meeting           October 4, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. in the Oakwood shop              
 
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Hellman, Secretary

Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Board Meeting
April 12, 2021

​The meeting via ZOOM was called to order by President Anita Metzbower at 4:00 p.m.
 
Minutes were approved. 
 
NEW  BUSINESS
  • Class and open shop schedules:  Sandy Peterson, Class Coordinator, met with craft chairs and reported schedule updates, which were approved by the Board. 
    • Effective May 2, the gourd group will move back to the Oakwood shop.  Country Club will refund the Club for unused rent for the Arts and Crafts room.  Open shop will be Thursday mornings.
    • The Lapidary 2/bears class has not been held on Wednesday mornings.  That time will now be available for occasional classes such as beading and geology.  These schedules will be coordinated by the craft chairs. 
  • Splash:  Kathy Porter has started writing articles for Splash, which are then also posted to the website. 
  • Membership fees and form:  Sheila Buscaglia, Membership Coordinator, led the discussion of Club fees. 
    • Gourd class fee will be reduced from $50.00 to $20.00.  This brings that class in line with other classes, and reflects low material cost for the class.  The open shop fee will be reduced from $25.00 to $20.00. 
    • Wire wrap open shop will have no additional charge if the member has a silver open shop stamp.  If the member does not have that, then the open shop fee for wire wrap is $5.00. 
    • Other class and open shop fees are unchanged. 
 
BOARD  REPORTS
 
President                                  Anita Metzbower
Vice President                          Nancy Hibbard
Secretary                                 Ellen Hellman
Treasurer                                 Karen Wollscheid
                                                          Inflow                        $640.55
                                                          Outflow                      527.99
                                                          March 31 balance      $15,518.47
Membership Coordinator          Sheilah Buscaglia
Class Coordinator                    Sandy Peterson
Lost Wax Chair                        Jim Marquis
Glass Chair                              Nancy Hibbard
Creative Crafts Chair               Nancy Hibbard
Silver Chair                              Gail Wilder
                                      Silver supplies/equipment are being moved to locked area at Oakwood to secure them. 
Lapidary Chair                         Vic Hermann                  Absent
Equipment Manager                 Don Hall                        Absent
Museum Curator                      Suzanne Close
                                      Her article about the Ming tree class will be in Splash in the fall to promote enrollment. 
Publicity Coordinator               Doug Williams
                                       Contact Doug with Club information so that it can be included in the Club emails he sends out to                                                  members
Holiday Party Coordinator        Nancy Frayer
Picnic Coordinator                    Nancy Frayer
Raffles Coordinator                  Pat Marquis
Website Coordinator                Sheilah Buscaglia
Field Trip Coordinator              Open
 
MEETINGS
               
  • Board meeting:    Monday, May 3, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. at Oakwood. 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Hellman, Secretary

Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Board Meeting
March 1, 2021

The meeting was called to order by President Anita Metzbower, via ZOOM, at 4:00 p.m. 
 
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved. 
 
NEW BUSINESS

  • Treasurer:   Karen Wollscheid was welcomed as new Treasurer. 
 
  • Class and shop schedules:  Sandy Peterson, Class Coordinator, is working on the schedules for the upcoming year.  Gail Wilder, Silver Chair, Vic Hermann, Lapidary Chair, Nancy Hibbard, Glass and Creative Arts Chair, and Anita will discuss schedules, revise, and give information to Sandy. 
 
Sheilah Buscaglia, Membership Chair, and Sandy are tallying the paid open shop stickers.  A goal is to ensure that the disciplines with the most shop stickers have adequate shop time. 

  • Splash writer:  Kathy Porter has volunteered to write articles for Splash. 
 
  • Member recruitment:    The Board discussed how the Club could recruit new members, and how to improve information about the Club.  Suggestions included the Board meeting in late summer to develop advertising and planning for the fall, including Splash articles, open houses, and emails to current and former members. 
 
  • Gourd open shop:   Don will check with Country Club about reserving the Arts and Crafts room for the gourd open shops on Thursday mornings.  Karen has been told that they would use payment made last year to credit for the room going forward.  Karen would be the monitor again for the gourd open shops. 
 
BOARD REPORTS
 
President              Anita Metzbower
Vice President      Nancy Hibbard - A new stained-glass class will start March 4. 
Secretary              Ellen Hellman
Treasurer              Gail Wilder        February inflow $80.10
                                                       February outflow $41.76
                                                       February 28 balance $15,403.21
Membership Coordinator           Sheilah Buscaglia         Absent
Class Coordinator                      Sandy Peterson
Lost Wax Chair                          Jim Marquis
Glass Chair                                Nancy Hibbard
Creative Crafts Chair                 Nancy Hibbard
Silver Chair                               Gail Wilder - There will be a Silver 1 class starting March
2, and a Silver 2 class the week of March 8.  The silver open shop will incorporate fold filled techniques. 
                                      PMC (precious metal clay) is still closed. 
Lapidary Chair                       Vic Hermann
            Vic will do a supply and equipment review.  The 8” diamond wheel at Cottonwood may need to be replaced. 
 
Reminder: participants and monitors need to be aware of the location of the water shut off valves, in case of need to utilize. 
                            
Equipment Manager                 Don Hall
Museum Curator                      Suzanne Close
 
Publicity Coordinator               Doug Williams  Reminder to send him information you would like sent out to the                                                                                                   membership. 

Holiday Party Coordinator        Nancy Frayer                    Absent
Picnic Coordinator                    Nancy Frayer
Raffles Coordinator                  Pat Marquis                      Absent
Website Coordinator                Sheilah Buscaglia             Absent
Field Trip Coordinator                     Open
 
The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.
 
MEETINGS
  • General meeting:  General meetings are cancelled until further notice due to COVID-19 guidelines
                  
  • Board meeting:    Monday, April 12, 2021, 4:00 p.m. at Oakwood shop and via Zoom
 
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Hellman, Secretary

Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Board Meeting
January 4, 2021

 The meeting via ZOOM was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by President Metzbower
 
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved. 
 
NEW BUSINESS
​
  • ZOOM meetings:  This Board meeting was conducted on ZOOM.  Sheilah Buscaglia facilitated the meeting.  Board meetings will continue to utilize ZOOM until further notice. 
  • Filling open positions:  Although historically a nominating committee has worked to find candidates for open positions up for election, this year a more informal approach will be utilized.  
    • Vice President:  Nancy Hibbard has agreed to continue
    • Treasurer:  Gail Wilder is finishing two terms.  Anita volunteered to pursue filling the position.
    • Holiday Party Coordinator:  Carol Capano is moving out of Sun Lakes.  Nancy Frayer volunteered to be the coordinator.
    • Field Trips Coordinator:  position remains open
    • Board members who have agreed to continue current positions:
      • Jim Marquis                    Lost Wax Chair
      • Don Hall                         Equipment Manager
      • Pat Marquis                    Raffles Chair
      • Creative Crafts Chair      Nancy Hibbard
      • Glass Chair                    Nancy Hibbard
  • Splash:  The Board acknowledged the wonderful articles in the Splash authored by Linda Shanahan.  Linda writes clever poems to go with her articles and photos and had the lead article and photo for the December 2020 issue. 
 
BOARD REPORTS

President                                  Anita Metzbower
Vice President                          Nancy Hibbard
Secretary                                 Ellen Hellman
Treasurer                                 Gail Wilder
                                                          December inflow            $246.00
                                                                           outflow          383.26
                                                          Balance 12/31/21       $15,668.24
Membership Coordinator          Sheilah Buscaglia
Class Coordinator                    Sandy Peterson               Not attending
Lost Wax Chair                        Jim Marquis
Glass Chair                              Nancy Hibbard
Creative Crafts Chair               Nancy Hibbard
Silver Chair                              Gail Wilder
Lapidary Chair                         Vic Hermann
Equipment Manager                Don Hall
Museum Curator                      Suzanne Close
Publicity Coordinator               Doug Williams
Holiday Party Coordinator       Carol Capano                 Not attending
Picnic Coordinator                   Nancy Frayer
Raffles Coordinator                  Pat Marquis
Website Coordinator                Sheilah Buscaglia
Field Trip Coordinator             Open
 
MEETINGS

  • General meetings :  General meetings are cancelled until further
                                        notice due to COVID-19 guidelines
  • Board meeting:    Monday, February 1, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. via ZOOM        
 
 
Respectfully submitted, Ellen Hellman, Secretary                      

Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Board Meeting
December 7, 2020

The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by President Anita Metzbower.
 
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved. 
 
OLD  BUSINESS
  • Participation updates show that numbers are down due to COVID-19 concerns and decrease in winter people returning.
  • Classes and open shops
           -Cleaning supplies are available in each shop
           - Signing up for a class, or obtaining a shop sticker, will be done with approval of the Chair.   
           -Open shops for dichroic glass, gourds, beading and Ming trees will resume in January.
           - Maximum capacity for shops has been reduced due to COVID-19.
  • The Holiday dinner has been cancelled. 
  • Holiday silver sales will showcase  9 silversmiths from the club at Linda Shanahan’s House.  Showings will be by appointment only, December 1 to 21. 
 
NEW  BUSINESS
  •  -2020-2021:  The updated schedules for 2020-2021 will be posted. 
  •  -2020-2021:  Fee schedules were discussed.  There will be no increase in dues or fees.  Members with a silver                                shop designation do not need to purchase a separate open shop sticker for wire shop. 
  • –Insurance:  Vic Hermann noted the cost increase of the club’s insurance.  The Board approved paying the insurance bill and continuing with the same provider. 
  • -Shop monitors:  There was discussion about recruiting members to be shop monitors.  Many of the current monitors have taken on multiple roles to fill the void for monitors. 
    • Nancy Hibbard: Vice President, Creative crafts Chair, Chair/instructor of stained glass
    • Gail Wilder: Treasure, Silver Chair, silver and lapidary instructor, monitor
    • Don Hall: Equipment manager, instructor or lapidary, opals, and lost wax, monitor. 
  • ZOOM meetings: The Board approved payment for the premier version of ZOOM, and will utilize the software for future Board and General meetings.  Ellen will discuss with Sheilah Buscaglia, who does all of the web maintenance for the Club. 
  • Linda Shanahan was recognized for her excellent articles in the Splash. 
 
BOARD  REPORTS
 
President                                  Anita Metzbower
                                                                Anita has placed a notebook in the Oakwood shop with the Splash articles, so                                                                        that new members and visitors can learn about the Club. 
Vice President                          Nancy Hibbard

Secretary                                 Ellen Hellman

Treasurer                                 Gail Wilder
                             November inflow                     $1,413.10
                             November outflow                   $1,181.43
                             November 30 balance         $15,805.50

Membership Coordinator          Sheilah Buscaglia           Absent
                                                                                                                    There are 73 members

Class Coordinator                    Sandy Peterson               Absent

Lost Wax Chair                        Jim Marquis

Glass Chair                              Nancy Hibbard

Creative Crafts Chair               Nancy Hibbard

Silver Chair                             Gail Wilder

Lapidary Chair                         Vic Hermann

Equipment Manager                 Don Hall
  • The Cottonwood cleaning/maintenance staff report that they do not have a key to access the shop for cleaning since the re-keying.  Don will contact Cottonwood security to resolve the problem.
  • Don has installed new valves on the Cottonwood arbors, so there will be no more leaks. 
Museum Curator                      Suzanne Close                Absent

Publicity Coordinator               Doug Williams
​
Holiday Party Coordinator        Carol Capano                 Absent

Picnic Coordinator                   Nancy Frayer                 Absent

Raffles Coordinator                  Pat Marquis                    Absent
     
Website Coordinator                Sheilah Buscaglia           Absent

Field Trip Coordinator             Open
 
MEETINGS
  • General meeting    None scheduled at this time.             
  • Board meeting     Monday, January 4, 2021, 4:00 p.m. Oakwood Shop
 
The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Hellman, Secretary

Due to Covid-19, there was no Board Meeting for November 2020.

Sun Lakes Rock, Gem & Silver Board Meeting
October 5, 2020

The meeting was called to order by President Anita Metzbower at 4:00 p.m.
 
Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. 
 
NEW BUSINESS
  • Participation updates
    • The number attending summer open shops has been significantly lower than 2019.  COVID concerns may result in fewer people participating in classes and open shops.  Also, there may be a reduction in winter people returning this year, which would reduce membership number. 
  • Classes and open shops
    • Cleaning supplies are stocked in each shop.  Members are responsible to clean equipment after use. 
    • Modifications to the schedules are posted on the web site and in each shop.  The following are classes which are tentatively being scheduled for January.  Class sizes are reduced to allow plenty of spacing.  To sign up for a class and/or get an open shop sticker, contact the Chair. 
      • PMC
      • Gourds
      • Ming tree
      • Beading
    • Open shops:  no open shops for dichroic glass, stained glass, and gourds until January. 
    • Maximum capacity for open shops have been reduced due to COVID-19 guidelines:
      • Oakwood                    10
      • Cottonwood                  7
      • Country Club                 3  lapidary
                                                                  2 opals
                                                                  3 faceting
  • The holiday dinner has been cancelled.
  • Holiday silver sales
    • Linda Shanahan is volunteering her patio as a venue to sell members’ work.  Contact her to arrange for your work to be displayed from December 1 – 21.  This will be cash sales only, and sold by appointment. 
    • Linda Shanahan is also interested in a members’ opportunity to sell work 
 
BOARD REPORTS
 
President                                             Anita Metzbower
Vice President                                     Nancy Hibbard
                                                                        Keys:  New keys have been issued for
            Cottonwood.  Following up on Oakwood list and will coordinate with the
            list that Oakwood administration has.  Sun Lakes Country Club will continue with
            current list of people who have been issued keys.
Secretary                                             Ellen Hellman
Treasurer                                             Gail Wilder
                                                                        September 30 balance             $15,436.79
Membership Coordinator                   Sheilah Buscaglia                    Absent
                                                                        Only 46 people have signed up to date.   
Class Coordinator                               Sandy Peterson                       Absent
Lost Wax Chair                                   Jim Marquis
Glass Chair                                         Nancy Hibbard
Creative Crafts Chair                          Nancy Hibbard
Silver Chair                                         Gail Wilder
Lapidary Chair                                    Vic Hermann
Equipment Manager                            Don Hall
                                                                        There is no stock available for the opals
            class.  Don will develop a proposal, and coordinate with Vic Herman.  
Museum Curator                                 Suzanne Close                         Absent
Publicity Coordinator                         Doug Williams
Holiday Party Coordinator                 Carol Capano
Picnic Coordinator                              Nancy Frayer                          Absent
Raffles Coordinator                            Pat Marquis                             Absent
Website Coordinator                          Sheilah Buscaglia                    Absent
Field Trip Coordinator                       Open
 
Member attending:                              Jim McNaughton
 
The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.
 
MEETINGS
  • General meeting:       Monday, January 18, 2021, 10:00 a.m., Navajo Room
  • Board meeting:          Monday, December 7, 2020, 4:00 p.m. Oakwood shop
 
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Hellman, Secretary

Sun Lakes Rock Gem & Silver Club
Board Meeting
​Monday, March 2, 2020

The meeting was called to order by President Anita Metzbower at 4:00 p.m.
 
The minutes of the February Board meeting were approved.
 
OLD BUSINESS

  • Picnic Update –Nancy Frayer, Picnic Coordinator, reported that 12 people have signed up for the picnic, scheduled on March 28 at Sisk Park, Palo Verde.  March 23 is the cutoff date for signups.  There are signs in each shop.  The Board will review the event at the April Board meeting, and assess if this is an activity to continue to sponsor. 
 
  • Audit Committee Update – Sandy Peterson reported that the audit is completed, and Treasure Gail Wilder continues to do a wonderful job.  Sandy and Karen Wollscheid completed the audit. 
 
NEW BUSINESS

  • New to the Board:
                                       President                               Anita Metzbower
                                       Lapidary Chair                      Vic Hermann
                                      Silver Chair                           Gail Wilder
                                      Publicity                                 Doug Williams
                                      Holiday Party                        Carol Capano

  • Next Year’s fees – Sheilah Buscaglia led the discussion on fees for classes and open shop for the 2020-2021 year, which starts in October. 
  1. The woven bracelet class was added to Creative Crafts.  The class will be $20.00 plus materials.  The class will be 2 to 4 sessions. 
  2. Because the handle sets for the stone handle class are not available due to a factory closing, the cost of the class will be lowered to $20.00 but materials will be additional.  The class will be 2 to 4 sessions. 
  3. Woven bracelet will be added to the application form. 
 
  • China Supply Source Impact – Vic Hermann
  • General Administration
    • Key turnover – Nancy Hibbard
      • Keys for the Oakwood shop are to be turned in to Patrol, who will then issue to key to the new Chair.
      • Keys for the shops of Cottonwood, and Sun Lakes Country Club can be given to Nancy, who will issue them to the new Chairs and monitors. 
    • Display/Sale Table Exposure – Vic Hermann:  The display tables at the meeting have been a success.  Scheduling to display at the meetings is done by Nancy Hibbard.  The display tables are also a great way for students to display their projects for show-and-tell (but not to sell). 
 
BOARD  REPORTS
 
President                                          Anita Metzbower
  1. Anita presented a gift to Carol Capano, on behalf of the Board, in recognition of her service as President.
  2. Anita will work on finding a member to write the monthly Splash articles. 
  3. 20 people have signed up for the volunteer luncheon. 

​Vice President                                 Nancy Hibbard*
Secretary                                          Ellen Hellman*
Treasurer                                         Gail Wilder*
                                                                         February inflow              $1,422.45
                                                                         February outflow                  501.66
                                                                         February 29 balance     $18,688.64
 
Nancy, Gail, and Anita will go to the bank to update approved signatures for the Club. 
 
Membership Coordinator             Sheilah Buscaglia*
                                                                        There are 160 members, which is lower than the 200+ last
                                                                        year.  The Board noted that there are fewer people signing
                                                                        up for classes.  There was acknowledgement that the
                                                                        terrific articles that Doug Williams wrote for the Splash may
                                                                        have contributed to higher numbers. 
Class Coordinator                         Sandy Peterson*
                                                                        Even though the class schedule says “Class”, there may not                                                                              actually be a class scheduled each time.  The Craft Chairs
                                                                        coordinate the scheduling of the classes. 
Lost Wax Chair                               Jim Marquis*
Glass Chair                                      Nancy Hibbard*
Creative Crafts Chair                      Nancy Hibbard*
Silver Chair                                     Gail Wilder*  
  1. Gail taught a small class of Silver 2 during open shop.  She will offer Silver 1 in March or April.  The combination Silver1/Silver 2 class will again be offered this summer. 
  2. There is no instructor of PMC (Precious Metal Clay).  Alexa Buchanan will monitor some open shop when she is in Sun Lakes.  Sandy Peterson offered to assist with monitoring. 
Lapidary Chair                                Vic Hermann*
Equipment Manager                      Don Hall*
                                                                        The purchase of the arbor for Cottonwood which was
                                                                        approved by the Board is still on back order.   The order is
                                                                        on hold at this time because the current arbor is still working.
Museum Curator                            Suzanne Close
Publicity Coordinator                    Doug Williams
Holiday Party Coordinator            Carol Capano
                                                                        Work on centerpieces for the holiday party has begun. 
Picnic Coordinator                        Nancy Frayer
 
Raffles Coordinator                       Pat Marquis
                                                                        Raffles continue to go well.  There was discussion about
                                                                        changing the raffles as listed below.  No action was taken on
                                                                        this proposal:
  1. Eliminate the drawing for wearing the name badge
  2. Anyone could win the first drawing for the 50/50 cash
  3. To win the second drawing for the 50/50, the winner would have to be wearing the name badge. 
Website Coordinator                     Sheilah Buscaglia
Field Trip Coordinator                  Open
 
*Indicates voting board member
 
MEETINGS

  • General Meeting                 March 16,  10:00 a.m., Navajo Room
  • Board Meeting                    April 6, 4:00 p.m.,  Oakwood shop
 
The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 p.m.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Hellman, Secretary