Chairman's Corner
The 8th annual Symposium is done and over with and I believe it was another resounding success. We had close to seventy people in attendance. There seemed to be plenty of food to keep everyone happy. The talks were very good and included a few new faces including Bob Thompson, Harvey Jong, and Ed Davis. Bob Jones' slides on the art treasures of Russia were magnificent. Yes, there is a tie-in to Arizona mineralogy. The theme for the Tucson Show in 2001 is Russian minerals and gems. The Tucson Show Committee expects to have several Faberge eggs on display, as well as a number of other Faberge creations. Bob Jones is the Show Chairman and he is pulling out all of the stops to make this an event, not only for mineral
collectors but for the art world.

We have a couple of great things coming up for the Foundation. The agreement to acquire all of the Tucson Show posters and provide marketing
for them into the future has been approved by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society. Comments at the last Board meeting have been incorporated into the
agreement and will be presented to the Board on May 18. This gives the Foundation a different fund-raising mechanism that will benefit the Foundation, the Museum and the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society. We are now the proud owners of over 8000 show posters, which should provide us with a nice
cash flow for years into the future.
The other item of interest is the expansion of the

Family Day activities at the Museum in October. This occurs at the end of Earth Science week and has been a one-day activity. The Mineralogical Society of Arizona has graciously consented to participate with the Foundation and the Museum to
expand the festivities to a two-day show, with more dealers and exhibits and more hands to help with the work. We had our first kick-off meeting at the
end of April and a lot of details need to be hammered out. This will be an item of discussion for the next Board meeting, as well.

Summer is now upon us with our first 100 degree days. For those of you who continue to go out and enjoy our countryside for the next few months, please take a few common sense precautions to return safely.
1. Take lots of water.
2. Let someone know where you are going and when you expect to be back.
3. Stay out of the hottest part of the day.
4. Make sure your car's cooling system has been checked and is in good condition.
5. If needed, take a compass and a map. GPS is fine
but if the batteries go dead, it becomes just another piece of plastic to lug around.
6. Watch where you are walking and where you put your hands. Critters are usually smarter than us and stay out of the hot sun.
7. Cactus is everywhere in the desert and if you get up close and personal, it hurts.

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