Orlando Florida GPAA - 2011 Meetings

Newsletters 2011

January 2011

Here�s to the New Year. Let�s hope it remains wonderful throughout and all our pans show some color.

Our January meeting at Warren Park was a bit chilly as the relentless wind off the lake had most of us complaining at one time or another.

Old Business

We really didn�t have much to go over, as all the old items from 2010 were taken care of at the December party. Our Elections were finally held, and the Officers are;

President � Jim Green
Vice President � Duane Chancey
Secretary � Bob Gaebler
Treasurer � Frank Mercier

Our Holiday party had a great turnout. Cathy won the clubs monthly raffle of a bag of concentrates. Tommy Thomas was 2010�s lucky member who ended up being the last picked when giving out the Club Gifts. He took home a nice nugget. Then about a minute or two later his number was picked in the Clubs Special Holiday Raffle for an even bigger nugget. Congratulations Tommy.

New Business

We decided to have a fossil hunting trip in late March. Looks like the weekend of March 26 and 27 will be it. Marty will be supplying further info on the site(s) and we will be choosing the exact day at the next meeting. Anyone attending should have a current Florida Fossil Hunting Permit. It cost $5.00, and the application can be found at http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/permitapplication.htm It�s a quick mail in process.

We also discussed our annual common trip we usually hold in May, but this was a limited discussion. Please bring all suggestions for places to go, dates, etc. to the February meeting, as this will be discussed further.

The monthly raffle was for a complete set of 40% silver uncirculated Ike Dollars which was won by Art Congratulations Art

The February meeting will be Pot luck, so please bring a dish to be shared by all. I will be bringing Deviled Eggs, and will have soda on hand. Please let me know the dish you�re going to bring just in case so we don�t end up with something like 5 dozen donuts :) Not that anything is wrong with 5 Dozen Donuts lol...

See you in February;

Bob Gaebler � RJGaebler@cs.com

February 2011

Hope everyone is doing well.

We had a good get together on the 12th, with about 15 members in attendance. We would like to welcome GPAA members to the Orlando area; Jim Shaw, Colleen Mannix, and Bill Wall. We� hope to see you at future meetings, and hopefully one of our outings.

Old Business.

The Fossil Hunting Trip was finalized. It will be on Saturday March 26. We plan to meet at 9:00 AM in parking lot of Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs. We will go over the locations that Marty located for us, and head out by 9:30 at the latest. So don�t be late. If you planning on attending please make sure you have a current Florida Fossil Hunting Permit. The cost is $5.00 per year, and the application can be found Here . Just print it out and send it off with a check. The turnaround is pretty quick. Head over to the Next Outing web page at OrlandoGPAA.org for all the details, ie: maps, items to bring, etc.

Hope to see you there.

We also talked about our clubs main Gold Outing. This is still up in the air. Besides our normal trip over to Buchannan, GA., we�re open for additional suggestions.

Our Treasurer, Frank mentioned the Vein Mtn. area, as there are three pay to dig sites there, along with the LDMA camp. I�m going to try my best to see if we can squeeze in a weekend at that the LDMA Vein Mtn. Site, so we have a great place to stay. In the past we�ve been turned down, usually due to holiday weekends, or it being too close to one of the GPAA Outings, etc. Mike Wicks suggested that I see what weekends we actually could go, and then we can work from there. I�ve already contacted GPAA, and will be making a formal request for our club to have an outing. Hopefully it will be approved, and we�ll move forward from there. Since the LDMA Rules apply once on site, they are being official about this.

We also had contact from the Georgia Weekender�s Club, after the January Newsletter was sent out. They offered us all to attend one of their open digs. I offered an invite to our meeting to get additional details, but never heard back, and no representative made it to the meeting. So this is still an option also, and I�ll be contacting them again for further details.

New Business - There was nothing discussed.

The Raffle for a bag of concentrates was won by Doug. Congratulations! Hope to see what you found at the next meeting in March.

With the meeting over, we all enjoyed the Pot Luck. Cheese and crackers, donuts, deviled eggs, a super chicken dish, some tasty homemade finger foods, cookies, etc., etc., was enjoyed by all. Yummy!

Well, our next meeting is on March 12. We start to gather around 9am, and try to start the meeting at 10am. Hope to see you then.

May you pans always show some color,

Bob Gaebler � RJGaebler@cs.com

March 2011

Spring has arrived, and the temperatures rising.

The fever is coming

Can you feel it

I know my skin is starting to tingle

Fellow members;

We had a Dozen or so members in attendance at this month�s meeting. The spotty foggy cool morning turned out to be wonderful sunny warm day at Warren Park. We would like to welcome Bill Freeman and Richard Gallup. Bill is a LDMA member looking to get back out there and we hope to see both of you at future meetings, and possibly our outings.

Old Business.

The Fossil Hunting Trip is Saturday March 26. We will be meeting at 9:00 AM in parking lot of Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs. Details are on the Web site, and a separate Email was sent out inquiring about attendance. Please respond to that Email if you are planning to attend. Hope to see you there.

Our Club Gold Outing(s)

We discussed Buchanan, LDMA, and The Weekend Gold Miners Club possibilities, and we have not resolved this issue. As requested by Jim here�s all the details as we know to date.

Buchanan � Farm Property, there and ready, we just need to set the dates, and go.

LDMA � We need GPAA Approval for an outing, which is in the process. We did decide to try for Vein Mtn. There are many dates we could get up there, including; ( May 13-15, July 15-18, 22-24, 29-31, August 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, Sept. 16-18, Oct. 14-16, 21-23) These are all Fri-Sun, but the outing can be planned for any 3 days. If approved, it includes onsite camping. Additional fees apply for anyone needing electric hookups. Everyone attending must be a GPAA or LDMA Member. We have to abide by LDMA rules, and Non LDMA members will have to sign a release upon arrival. The Caretaker will assist us in locating areas to prospect in, but will not dig material for us as at regular GPAA outings. Dredging, slucing, panning and metal detectiong is available on site, and there are many nearby off site locations.

Weekenders Gold Miners, Georgia. Below is the details we know to date about their open common outing.

WE AS A CLUB HAVE DECIDED TO HAVE 3 OUTINGS THIS YEAR. 1 IN MAY. 1 IN JULY. AND 1 IN SEPTEMBER.

THE FIRST WILL BE MAY 15 AND 16TH. A COMMON DIG AT OUR TURRNER PROPERTY. WE HAVE 3 LEASED PROPERTIES AND THERE IS ALWAYS GOLD FOUND AT OUR COMMON DIGS. THESE OUTINGS ARE OPEN TOO THE PUBLIC AND ARE FREE BUT WE DON'T PROVIDE CAMPING TO ANY ONE WHO IS NOT A MEMBER OR GUEST OF MEMBER.

YOU CAN BRING YOUR HIGH BANKERS AS WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY ONE DOING ANY DREDGING AT THE MAY OUTING BUT THERE WILL BE DREDGING AT OUR JULY OUTING AT THE ALLISON PROPERTY AS WELL AS HIGHBANKERS BEING USED IN THE CREEK AT OUR LOW WATER AREA.

WE HOLD THESE OUTINGS TOO BUILD MEMBERSHIP AND SPREAD THE TRUTH ABOUT PROSPECTING AND THERE IS ALL THE FACT THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOUNGER MEMBERS AND TO BRING THE YOUTH OF THE NATION TOO A HEALTHY AND CRIME FREE ENVIRONMENT.

Please keep all these options in mind, At our April meeting we will need to make decisions.

New Business.

Frank informed us we only have 3 bags of concentrates for future raffles, and it was decided he should put together 6 more at this time. Jim volunteered to supply him with enough Georgia dredging dirt to make them, and Frank will be getting the gold. So we�ll be good through the end of the year.

The GPAA Outings on the East Coast LDMA camps this spring are; Loud Mine, GA - June 8-12, Vein Mtn. NC. - June 15-19, and for those who might like to travel a bit. Athens, MI - June 22-26. The Cost is $175.00 for 5 days, or $100.00 for 3 days (Fri,Sat,Sun).

We only have one Gold Show on the East Coast this year. It�s October 22-23 up in Fletcher, NC. Details are in the Gold Prospector Magazine, or up on the main GPAA site, so start planning now.

The Raffle for a bag of concentrates was won by Frank. Congratulations! Hope to see what you found at the next meeting in April.

With the meeting over, we all enjoyed some strawberry shortcake. Thanks to Colleen for bringing this wonderful dish to the meeting. I believe tere were several seconds being enjoyed

This brings us to April Our next meeting is on the 9th and this will be a Pot Luck. So plan accordingly, and prepare a dish for the day. Please let me know what your planning to bring just so we don�t end up with several doubles. I�m not sure what I�ll be bringing. The deviled eggs are always an option, but I might try something new

Till next time;

Bob Gaebler � RJGaebler@cs.com

April, 2011

Members;

April is here, the weather is much warmer, and plans are being finalized for the 2011 season. As in every year before, as long as I�ve been a member of this chapter several members are heading west for a summer of adventures. To those who are leaving, we wish you well. Here�s to safe travel, a wonderful summer and color in your pans.

And remember, don�t forget us back here, take plenty of pictures, maybe even write a little story to go with them. Our web site is open to all members to add content about their adventures.

Well on to business. We had a good turnout this month. It seems to happen when a Pot Luck is involved. I guess the taste of good food calls out to our membership.

We would like to welcome Gene and Valerie Sisk, Jeff Bromley, and Mickey Meredith. We hope you enjoyed the morning with us, and we look forward to seeing you at future meetings, and maybe an outing.

March Fossil Outing � Peace River.

Marty and Bob made it to the Peace River, and brought a nice display for the members to look over. Let�s see. There was a small gilded bottle, clock parts and lead bullets and casings of all sizes. Wait Those aren�t fossils Woops : )

Between the two of them there were 50+ shark teeth with a 1.1 inch one being the biggest, a molar from a unknown mammal, a little � inch claw, many bone and turtle shell fragments, but the best find of the day belonged to Marty with his rather large piece of a bone. Leg, Arm, no one knows yet, but Congrats Marty. It seems Bob with the smaller � inch screen found a lot of smaller fossils, but Marty processed more material and found the best one of the day.

Cookie checking out some fossils.

Some of our members.

Our Meeting - Old Business.

1. A reminder to all members about the GPAA outings this spring. They are at Loud Mine on June 8-12, Vein Mtn. on June 15-19 and also up at Athen, MI on June 22-26. The cost is $175 for 5 days, $100 for 3 days. Head over to the Main GPAA Website for further details.

2. For those who want to head up to the Weekenders Gold Miners open outing, it being held on May 15th and 16th at the Turrner Property in GA. There is a link to their web site on the links page. It�s suggested you head there for further details, and contact information to verify the dates, times, etc.

3. We finalized our Spring Gold Outing. It will be Memorial Day weekend, May 28 � 30 up at the GPAA Buchanan Property. Come one and all, as this has always been our main common outing of the year. There is a page up on our web site with further details, and for any new members, take a look at the links to some of the past outings up there. It�s always an adventure.

4. We discussed the LDMA Site Outing to Vein Mtn., NC. Members are looking forward to a fall outing and decided to try for early October, possibly coinciding with the Gold Show. Bob is to follow up on this with the GPAA/LDMA. Let�s hope it works out.

New Business

We decided on an April Metal Detecting Outing over in Daytona Beach at Sun Splash Park. The Club left it up to Bob to check tide table, and notify the club via Email. It�s seems April 16th is the best Saturday with the lowest low tide of the month. Full details have been Email'd out to the membership, and posted on the Web Site. We hope you can attend.

Our monthly raffle for a bag of concentrates was won by Tom. Could this be the start of another win streak? Hope to see what you found at the next meeting in April.
With the meeting over, we all enjoyed the many Pot Luck treats members brought, and we continued talks and discussions on various topics.

May 14th is our next meeting. Members start arriving about 9am, and we hope you can attend.

Till next time, or tomorrow at the Metal Detecting Outing;

May your pans always have a bit of color or a maybe a ring at the bottom of the sand scoop?

Bob � RJGaebler@cs.com

Congradulations Tom.

May, 2011

Members;

May is upon us, and as in past years the club is off to GPAA Buchanan Site for Memorial Day Weekend. Warm weather, longer days, camping, and gold just waiting for our common to dredge up. Not much more we can ask for, besides good health to all of us and our loved ones.

As I mentioned in April�s Newsletter, Contributions to the Clubs Website content are open to everyone. So take plenty of pictures during your trips this summer, and add some notes, or a little story. Forward this to RJGaebler@cs.com. I�ll do my best to get it posted quickly for others to enjoy.

I�d like to thank all the members that made it to Mays meeting. It was great to have 25+ make the trip. We would like to welcome Michael Paraway, Andy and Joann Rosko and Bill Alden. We hope you enjoyed the morning with us, made a few new friends, and we look forward to seeing you at future meetings, and events.

April Metal Detecting Outing � Daytona Beach.

Bob, Connie, Doug, Jeff, James, Mickey, and Mike made it to Sun Splash Park over in Daytona Beach on April 16th. The day turned out to be a typical Florida Day Sun, Sun and More Sun We hit the beach about 9:30am or so and by Noon, everyone was under a pavilion comparing their finds. An estimated $5.00+ was pulled off the beach, a couple of small car toys, a copper bangle, a faux pearl jewelry piece, and typical assorted junk items, (i.e. pull tabs, n bottle caps). Etc. The best piece of junk had to of been the Car Battery Tie Down Bracket Mickey found. It looked to be in great useable shape. The best find of the day was made by Doug. Although it was submerged in wet sand, and may never work again, an 8gb IPod is a neat find.

Our Meeting - Old Business.

Further Information on the planning of the LDMA - Vein Mtn., NC. Outing. After talking to the Caretaker, it looks as though a midweek outing after the Gold Show is ok. This would be Monday � Wednesday, October 11th � 13th. It might be a bit crowded due to the show, but there should be plenty of room. A request was put in with GPAA headquarters, and we are awaiting approval. Let�s hope it works out.

We talked about the Spring Gold Outing to Buchanan, GA. this Memorial Day weekend, May 28 � 30. Please visit the clubs website, at www.orlandogpaa.org, and view the latest information, get directions, and see what to expect by looking over the past outings there. Most links are under the Outings and Directions menu tabs, and you can read over a bit of the history of the area under the Mining Sites Tab. Primitive Camping on site, RV and trailers are ok, and there are motels nearby towards the interstate. Doing a search on Buchanan, GA. should bring up nearby results.

Please Remember to respect the property, keep it as clean as it is when we arrive. Even cleaner... This is a working farm, so after signing in, when heading to the camping area if a gate is closed, please close it after you passed through.

This year the common operation will be bringing back all concentrates for distribution at the June meeting. So if you attend and work towards the common, you�ll be getting your share at the June meeting. Frank has generously offered 2 grams of fines, (or was that pennyweights) to be sprinkled upon the concentrate cake prior to the split. So besides all the fine Buchanan Ga. Gold, there is going to be even more to look forward to.

As far as we know, it looks as though there will only be 2 dredges available. A 4 inch and a 2.5 inch. This will limit our adventure a bit as in the past we have had up to three - 4 � dredges working plus.

The Club also contributes up to $100.00 towards a club meal. In the past it�s been a dinner, or breakfast, and the members attending make the decisions up in GA.

Feel free to Email me at RJGaebler@cs.com if you have any questions, or need more information.

New Business

Mickey brought a Pamphlet about the Mountain Creek Gold Mine and Campground up in New London NC. The owner Billy Ray Tucker is having a GPAA style common dig in July, 22 � 24, Fri - Sun., and Mickey thought this might be perfect for some members. The cost is not listed on the pamphlet, and you need to work at least two 4 hour shifts. This is a Pay to Dig location offering panning, sluicing and dredging at rates comparable with other Pay to Dig sites. The mine is located next to the Cotton Patch Mine if your familiar with the area, at 38805 Smokeridge Rd., New London, NC. 28127. Phone: 704 985-8374 or 704 463-7749.

Ray-lynn asked about another metal detecting trip when having another one was suggested, but no decisions were made. Bob is going to take a look at possible dates for late June, early July where the low tide would be late in the day for an evening detecting trip. Decisions to be made at the June meeting.

Bob also asked about possibly looking to do a trip in conjunction with a mineral club to go after other minerals besides Gold, I.e. emeralds, rubies, aquamarines, rose quartz, etc. since there are several Mines that open up for club digging events. More info is needed. Bob will try to locate some dig dates, and have further information by the June meeting. That way we can see if there would be enough interest in doing this.

Paulette, reminded Bob that this is the time of the year the club needs to reserve the Pavilion for the holiday party. Bob is to do so, ASAP.

Our monthly raffle for a bag of concentrates was won by Marty. Congratulations! Hope to see what you found.

June 11th is our next meeting. Members start arriving about 9am, meeting starts about 10am. We would like to see you there.

See you earlier in Georgia maybe?

Bob - RJGaebler@cs.com

June 2011

Members;

Where is everyone?

For a while only four of us were enjoying Florida�s wonderful weather at Warren Park, but it was early, and this time of year many members are in different parts of the country plus several members were up at the GPAA�s Loud Mine Outing which was also going on this week. By 10:15 or so 11 members were discussing the Buchannan Outing, and related items.

This was the first meeting in a while we didn�t have any new members stopping by. They must all be out prospecting.

By far the main agenda of the meeting was our Clubs Outing to Buchanan over Memorial Day Weekend. All the concentrates under 20 mesh were brought back for a split. The bucket full was poured and stirred up a bit, and a cake was made. It was then divided up for the four common participants. Almost a gallon bag of cons for each to go through.

Bucket of Concentrates.

The Cake.

Only 2 pieces showed up in the 20 over. At Buchanan in the 8th over Tom and De dredged up a nice little picker that looks like a wooden shoe and on Monday morning a nice fat flake showed up in the 20 over from Sundays fun. Not sure which dredge found that little one. Also for this outing, Frank contributed over 2 dwt to be split up among the Participants.

The upside down wooded shoe picker.

A nice fat flake.

With the bags of Cons ready, 4 vials of gold, and the flake added for the no. 1 draw, raffle tickets were assigned to each of the participants. Paulette picked the tickets out of a pan, and Bob�s number was the lucky first one out. Doug was second, followed by De and Tom. Tom spent a little time panning some of the cons, and found 3-4 specks in the first small scoop full. Maybe next month we'll get to see what was found in each bag.

Bob with a Bag of concentrates, and the fat flake.

Tom panning some of the Buchanan concentrates.

Our Meeting - Old Business.

The Pavilion is rented. Frank sent Bob a check for the fee necessary for the rental, and the reservation is in place, and paid for.

There is no new news on the approval of our planed outing at LDMA - Vein Mtn., NC., M�W, October 11th � 13th, After the NC Gold Show. Bob�s going to send out another reminder to GPAA.

Concerning a possible join trip with Rock and Mineral Clubs, It seems that the Jacksonville Rock and Mineral club is the only active club in the area with an up to date website that does outings for mineral specimens. For 2011, they have already gone on all of their scheduled outings, except one in October, but that is the same weekend as the GPAA Gold Show. Bob�s going to contact them to see if anything else is in the works, and about next years trips. Check out their website at http://www.jaxgemandmineral.org/

Bob met up with a fellow GPAA members family and his friends from Colorado at Sunsplash park on the 4th. Without knowing exact times, etc. other club members only found out about this the day before, so it was not a surprise others couldn�t make it there. On behalf of the club he gave them a few of the Peace River Fossils for his children to enjoy. After about 2 hours of metal detecting they only had a few coins to show, plus one chrome plated 1.5 inch heart. Let�s hope they all enjoyed their vacation here in Florida.

New Business

Nothing new was really discussed, except a few members were again looking to go Metal detecting. It looks like we need to plan another trip

Our monthly raffle for a bag of concentrates was won by De. Congratulations! With all the gear on site, De was able to pan his winnings. He had a smile on his face when those 2 nice little pickers showed up with the smaller stuff.

De, this month raffle winner.

Nice little pickers in there...

July 9th is our next meeting. Members start arriving about 9am, meeting starts about 10am. We hope to see you there.

Bob - RJGaebler@cs.com

July 2011 - No News Letter.

August 2011

Members;

We�re Back Well almost every one of the members that planned trips this summer is back in town.

Sorry for no July Newsletter, but being away and missing a meeting has its drawbacks. I hope everyone was too busy prospecting that it wasn�t missed.

We had a nice turnout Saturday, and the food everyone brought for the Pot Luck was great. We would like to welcome Chris Maggio, and Greg Greene. We hope you enjoyed the morning with us, made a few new friends, and we look forward to seeing you at future meetings, and club events.

Our Meeting - Old Business.

Just a reminder that the Pavilion is rented for our Holiday party, and that we need to plan the festivities.

Our Outing to LDMA - Vein Mtn., NC., M�W, October 11th � 13th, After the NC Gold Show is on... We have approval from GPAA headquarters via Email, pending final approval by Jon, the caretaker at Vein Mtn., and since in prior discussions he already said it would be fine, this looks to be a Go So I�m pretty confident to tell everyone to plan for it.

New Business.

In Jim absence he wanted a few bits of information made known;

    1. The new GPAA point system most likely will not be starting until after the new year, and $1.00 of credit will = 455 points.

    2. There is a new pink pan for the lady prospectors.

    3. The rumor about Tom's father-in-law taking over is not true.

    4. Supposedly there will be 20 Gold shows nest year, 2012, with one possibly coming to Florida, (Orlando, Jacksonville, or Gainesville ?)

    5. For those who know Nancy, she is no longer with the GPAA. No reason was given as to why she left.

I informed the Club that I was attempting to get a guest speaker for the last couple of months whom is retailing large Fresnel lens. These are capable of melting Gold via the solar energy. (Remember burning bugs with a magnifying glass Well these are a lot bigger. ) Alas the Emails I�ve been sending have not been responded to, so this looks to be a no go. I believe the Lens retails for about $150-$200+, so beyond this cost the usage is free as long as the sun is shining. I'm going to give it a try one more time.

Frank attended a Gold operation in Lake City, FL. The owner sells buckets of concentrates and supplies most if not all of the prospecting tools we need. A suggestion was made that we have an outing there, and further to combine it with one of our meetings. November was chosen, and the members took a vote. It passed. So look for upcoming details concerning the address and times we�ll be meeting there. This will be Saturday November 12th. Frank also informed us he will be supplying the hotdogs. It looks to be a Pot Luck, so plan accordingly.

We briefly talked about the October meeting, as this coincides with the Gold Show on Saturday, October 8th, and with the outing following it, there�s a good chance most of the club officers will be away, attending the Show, and outing. We briefly talked about the possibility of canceling the October meeting, having it up in NC, or doing nothing. With this conflict, and the Vote on the November meeting, it's conceivable that after September we might not meet again in Orlando until the Holiday party in December. Since no decisions were made, this needs to be discussed further at the September meeting.

Our monthly raffle for a bag of concentrates was won by Mike.

September 10th is our next meeting. Members start arriving about 9am and the meeting starts about 10am. We hope to see you there.

Bob - RJGaebler@cs.com

Congradulations Mike.

September, 2011

Members;

Saturday, Sep. 10th. Yet another beautiful day in Orlando. Thanks to everyone for coming out to our chapters meeting this month.

We would like to welcome Todd Mittleman, and Terry Boydos. We hope you enjoyed the morning with us, made a few new friends, and we look forward to seeing you at future meetings, and chapter events.

Our Meeting - Old Business.

1. Our chapter outing to LDMA - Vein Mtn., NC., M�W, October 10th � 12th, After the NC Gold Show is on... At the meeting it still was not 100% positive it was a go, but on the following Wednesday, John, the caretaker at Vein Mtn. ok�s it, and is looking forward to our chapter being there. John is allowing us to arrive early on Friday for those also attending the Gold Show.

2. We reiterated our chapter President, Jim�s news items;
    1. The new GPAA point system most likely will not be starting until after the New Year, and $1.00 of credit will = 455 points.
    2. There is a new pink pan for our lady prospectors.
    3. The rumor about Tom's father-in-law taking over is not true.
    4. Supposedly there will be 20 Gold shows nest year, 2012, with one possibly coming to Florida, (Orlando, Jacksonville, or Gainesville?) Many are already published online through May, 2012.
    5. For those who know Nancy, she is no longer with the GPAA. No reason was given as to why she left.

3. I will no longer attempt to get a guest speaker from the Tampa area whom retails a large Fresnel lens, which is capable of melting Gold via solar energy. If he does contact me, I will pursue it though. Three tries is enough.

4. Our November meeting, November 12th will be a combined meeting/outing at; Gem and Gold, 2939 216th St, Lake City, FL 32024. ( 386-935-2048 ), where we can purchase and have some fun working buckets of concentrates. Our meeting will start later in the day to give time to everyone traveling, as this is a new place for almost all of us. This is a Pot Luck. Frank will be supplying hotdogs, and Tom and Raylynn are bringing a grill, so plan accordingly, and bring an item to share. Information will be posted on the chapter website ASAP after Oct. 13th. As both an outing, and meeting.

5. The Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Association (JGMA) responded to my inquiry about joint outings, by indicating that it looks like we have a lot in common, and the request has been forwarded to their officers. I will be keeping in touch with them, and update the club as events unfold.

New Business.

1. GPAA Gold Show. I was informed that it will cost the chapter one half the normal fee for a table at this year�s show. $127.50+ depending upon the spot, (isle or corner). After very little debate, the chapter decided not to get a table this year.

2. Chapter member Kent has a friend that has several pounds mercury for sale, and wanted to know if anyone in the chapter was interested. Frank informed the chapter that we have mercury available to members whom need it. I informed Kent of these details, and added that I could post his offer on our Trading post if he liked.

3. We talked about the October meeting, as this coincides with the Gold Show on Saturday, October 8th, and with the outing. Cancel? Postpone?, have it there, or here as usual? It was decided that the meeting will be held as usual here at Warren Park. It also is a Pot Luck. The following is being supplied. Tom and Raylynn - Burgers, Buns and Condiments, Frank and Maryanne � Potato Salad, Jim and Cookie � Beans, Paulette � Eggs, Desert, Debbie and Dave � Salad. This already looks to be one of our better Pot lucks. Thanks Raylynn for getting these details.

4. The Jacksonville Gem and Mineral Association (JGMA) offered us free table space at their Gem and Mineral Show the weekend of Sep. 16th - 18th as they had some space still open. I planned to go there on Saturday for the Show, and a few others seemed to indicate they would also.

5. Tom informed the Chapter to take a look at the ICMJ Mining Journal as they have a listing for the Public Lands for the People�s newest Raffle for 2012. Information can be found at; http://plp1.org/raffleticketsandprizes.html if you do not get the Magazine. This is PLPs once a year Major Raffle in support of Land Rights. They have lots of great prizes They should be at the Gold Show where tickets should be for sale.

Our monthly raffle for a bag of concentrates was won by Bob. Congratulations!

October 8th is our next meeting. Members start arriving about 9am, meeting starts about 10am. We hope to see you there.

Bob - RJGaebler@cs.com

October, 2011 - No News Letter, Meeting Rained out.

November, 2011

Members;

I hope everyone is in good health and spirits this holiday season and that each of you will be planning to attend this year�s Holiday Party.

First off, a brief Newsletter.

As everyone knows, our club meeting for October was rained out. Our November meeting was to be held up in Lake City at Gem and Gold as a combined meeting and outing. With only 7 members making the trip, and seeing how busy everyone was between panning for Gold, discussing items of interest, prepping & cooking, plus the great hotdog fest, (name a topping, and it probably was there ) we didn�t hold a meeting.

So, this leaves us with just the planning of the Clubs annual Holiday Party.

Saturday, December 10th is the date for our Holiday party. This will be at our usual location at Warren Park, and the club has the main pavilion space reserved for the day. As with past holiday festivities the normal arrival time is being pushed back an hour to 10am.

Bob Gaebler

Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA

Bob - RJGaebler@cs.com

PS. I hear this year we may have few TV stars attending

December, 2011

Members;

I hope everyone is in good health and spirits this holiday season and that each of you has a joyous New Year.

December is always a fun relaxed meeting.

    * Great Company.
    * Delicious Food.
    * Presents Exchanged.
    * Club Gifts for Members.
    * Extra Raffles.

The events of the day went off without a hitch.

Plenty of action in the Crazy Santa gift exchange as members traded gifts. I�d guess that the rather large Thunder Egg/Geode was in the highest demand, followed by a nice sturdy Mag-Lite Flashlight.

Our Big Raffles winners of the day: Dave�s number was drawn for the US $5.00 Gold piece and Tom had his number pop up for the 1.1gram Nugget. Congratulations.

For this year�s Club Gift: As members tickets were picked, one by one each of us took home a candy cane full of M&M�s, a mini gold plated sliver ingot and a small vial with a bit of gold. At the end, the second to last winner, Mike & Connie, won a special Candy Cane with a bit more of the goodies, and the holder of the final ticket, Art, took home the grand prize. A heavy silver chain necklace with an attached piece of eight from the Spanish shipwrecks. Congratulations Art.

In between all the fun and games we did have a bit of business to attend to; the Election of chapter officers for 2012. First off on behalf of the chapter I�d like to thank Jim Green for all his service as our chapter�s President over the last several years. He�s been holding that office since I attended my first meeting back in Sept, �08 and has always been there for the membership during the years. Thanks Jim for everything.

With a bit of discussion, a few rounds of nominations, declines, and acceptances. After a vote of approval our chapter�s officers for 2012 are;

  President        � Tom Davis
  Vice President � Doug Sayre
  Secretary        � Bob Gaebler
  Treasurer        � Frank Mercer

Congratulations and here�s to a great New Year.

Bob Gaebler

Secretary � Orlando Chapter, GPAA

Bob - RJGaebler@cs.com

Below are some of the highlights of the Holiday Party. Thanks Ken and Bob for the Photographs.