March 2026
President’s Note
Dear Friends, it is a sad time and a hopeful one. Two of our fellow rock enthusiasts passed away this month. Brian Burgess and Deb Barnhart will both be deeply missed. Their contributions not only as members of HGMS but also on the personal level have been innumerable. Deb and Brian made the world a better place and made us better by being here. I think of them in the cosmos skipping meteorites.
On the more usual business side, our annual auction and sale will be on March 28. We need your help with setting up on the 27th and manning things on the 28th. Come with joy-full hearts and deep pockets! Jan Edmunds, President
Message from Mike Harrison, SFMS 1st Vice President
Hello North Alabama Rockhounds!
It saddens me greatly to hear of the passing of both Brian Burgess and Deborah Barnhart. It particularly reminds me of how much I miss all of the great members in the Huntsville Gem and Mineral Society. Pam and I have been in Georgia now for over six months but many days I wish I could just come by the club and see what everyone is up to. That is a five and a half hour trip each way but I will make that trek every chance I get.
But it didn’t take me long to get plugged in here. I am still a member of HGMS but I have joined the Northeast Georgia Gem & Mineral Society and I’m now an instructor at William Holland School of
Lapidary Arts along with HGMS’ own Shelley Curran and Theresa Chivers. Shelley, Theresa and I will be
teaching during William Holland’s “Federation Week”, the 5th thru the 12th of June. Shelley will be
teaching Metalsmithing, Theresa will be teaching everything you need to know about Chainmaille and I
will be teaching Mineral Identification for ages 15 to 50+ (no age limit for those who want to learn). And of course, we are only three of the 17 instructors scheduled for that week. And if you register before the end of April, you will get an early bird, $50 discount! Go to Wm Holland Registration and search for one of our names or under category, look for Federation Week. I hope to see a good crowd there for that week. And the week is open to any member from any club associated with the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Yes, that means any of the sub federations besides SFMS. Come and make
friends with folks from all over these United States!
One last thing, as your SFMS 1st Vice-President, I will be including an article every month, in the SFMS LodeStar newsletter describing how SFMS works and how the SFMS can benefit you and HGMS. Look for The LodeStar in your inbox and read it thru as well as this newsletter. I just hope I can do as good a job with my LodeStar articles as all who contribute to this newsletter.
Hello and welcome to “Almost Spring”! As your 1st Vice President, Acting Membership Chair and a new
member of the Education Committee, I’m excited to let you know that you can now sign up for classes the second week in June at William Holland. For many years the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical
Societies has hosted an SFMS Federation Workshop in the month of June. That week has always been a great time for people with a common interest to come together for a week of relaxation, enjoyment, sharing and learning. I attended last year and had a wonderful time not only in the class I took but also meeting all of the wonderful instructors and students. I made a lot of friends that week and I look forward to seeing not only some of them again but also making new friends from across the country. Many of you plan your vacations around that week. In the last few months some of you have called and emailed me asking about this year. I’m happy that your questions have been answered. Last year’s Education Committee of the SFMS decided to not host an SFMS Federation Workshop this year but thank you to William Holland School of Lapidary Arts! The school has stepped forward and planned an exciting “Federation Week”, the week of June 7, 2026. This will include students from all Federations in the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. A total of 17 instructors, including me, have signed up to teach. Exciting evening activities are also being planned. This will be a good week to meet and make new friends and learn new ideas from all areas of the country. Classes and Instructors can be viewed at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia. Registration is there also. William Holland is giving a $50 Early Bird Discount if you register by APRIL 31 as a way to thank you for participating in the First Annual All Inclusive Federation Week. I will be there. I hope to see many of you! We will have a wonderful time! I also want to thank the hard work of the Education Committee Chair, Lisa Roberts for pulling together two official SFMS Federation Weeks at Wildacres Retreat Little Switzerland, NC, August 10th-16th and September 7th-13th as well as an Eastern Federation week May 11th-17th. Please see her article describing those classes and how to attend those weeks.
Mike Harrison, SFMS 1st Vice-President
vp1@southeastfed.org
Field Trip Opportunity
Saturday, April 7th – Wednesday, April 18th – Sylacauga Marble Festival. For information, see Magic of Marble Festival.
