President's Message

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a great start to the New Year.

Collis & I arrived in Quartzsite, AZ on November 30th to find 75° sunny weather. We decided to attend the Wickenburg Gem & Mineral show in Wickenburg, AZ. The show had 40 plus vendors with rough rock, minerals, fossils, beads, jewelry and so much more. I even won a door prize! Several vendors were demonstrating wire wrap and wire weaving. The star of the Wickenburg show was Wingate Agate. Wingate Agate is considered to be one of the best plume agates in the world with the vibrant red & yellow plumes that resembles feathers. Prices started at $200/lb & up. Wingate agate was mined over 50 years ago. This deposit of Wingate came from, what is now, part of a military training area & is off limits to collectors. This material was collected before Death Valley became a National Park. Wingate Pass in Death Valley, CA Next we headed to Kingman, AZ for Turquoise. We spent the day at Colbaugh Mining, a family owned business. We had a great time picking out 2 buckets of turquoise and talking with Josh. After a day in Kingman, we headed back to Quartzsite to continue our rockhound adventures. It is always great to see & talk to the miners that bring their rough rock to Quartzsite. Sunstone, gold, opals, agates, jasper, variscite, turquoise, tiffany, white buffalo, just to name a few.

When you are out on your own rockhounding adventures, remember safety is #1. I always enjoy Bob Green’s Safety article in the Lodestar. Don’t forget about the SFMS Education classes held at William Holland and Wildacres: https://

www.sfmsworkshops.org/

Jerri Heer, the SFMS Secretary is stepping down after relocating to Ohio. Many thanks to Jerri for her many years of service. Jerri also spearheaded the Rockhound Roundup held in FL for the past 6 years. The SFMS is looking for someone to step up and fill the Secretary position and a person or club to take over the Rockhound Roundup. Dates for 2025 are 2/28-3/2/2025. Please contact me if you are interested, or you know someone who might, for either of these positions.

I am looking forward to being the 2025 SFMS President and hope to meet many of you at our meetings, workshops, and shows throughout the Southeast and beyond.

Lisa Roberts, SFMS President