April 9, 2005

President Keith Blair called the meeting of the WPA to order at 1:10 p.m. at Big Noi.

The minutes of the last meeting were read, corrected and approved after the corrections were made. Treasurer’s report was given.  Bills were paid, and several deposits were made.  It was moved and seconded to approve the treasurer’s report. Motion carried. 

Correspondence:  Paula informed the club that one of our members, Norbert Lux, had passed away.  A sympathy card was passed around and signed by the members, which would then be sent on to his family.  Debbie Palmer read the letter, regarding the Day in the Park, to the members.  Enclosed was the form that needed to be filled out for the booth, that the WPA would have that day.  Randy informed the members that he had received a call for the Rock and Gem Club out of Casper inquiring about the possibility of having someone from the club visit them and talk to them regarding gold prospecting. It was, also, mentioned that maybe someone would show their members how to pan for gold. There was some discussion on this matter and it was decided that it might be a good idea to do this.  Randy will follow up on this matter. 

Committee Reports:  Deb reported on the Casper Sport show.  She informed the members that we had sold 38 bags of sand, 369 raffle tickets, and 2 new memberships. **A big thank” you was extended to Lisa, as she was a great big help in selling these raffle tickets in Casper.  The members presented Lisa with a bag of sand/gold for her great efforts. A great big thank you goes out to all of the members that helped at this event.   Les Armstrong is in charge of the Day in the Park.  Please let him know when you can help work on that day.  It was reported that a letter from Jim Hensley would be sent to all members outlining the conditions for prospecting on the claims for which he is the agent for the club. (Crusher, Common Wealth, Messy Soup, and Mud Pie).  Jim stated in the letter that the claims would be open to club members as soon as the letter was sent out. Paula Jones volunteered to mail out Jim’s letter and a quarterly newsletter to all the members. 

Old Business:  The yearly outing was brought up.  It was decided that it will be June 24, 25, and 26th this year.  Discussion on getting chairpersons for this event was brought up. Keith will be contacting members for outing chairpersons.  There was some discussion as to where we would have the outing, and where we would be obtaining the dirt for panning. It was, also, brought up at this time that Randy will be obtaining the permits so that the club can do some exploring on Yankee Gulch..  Again, please remember to let Les know when you can help on Saturday July 9th, which is the date for Day in the Park. 

New Business:  Keith reported that he had been approached by one of the Cub Scout leaders from Casper, regarding the possibility of his Cub Scout troop coming to one of our mini outings for at least 5 hours, so that some of the club members could teach the scouts something about gold panning and prospecting.  It was decided by the membership that this would be a good idea; a motion was made and seconded to extend an invitation to this Cub Scout group to come attend one of the mini outings sometime soon. Motion carried by the entire membership.  One of our members, Russ Sims, extended an invitation to the WPA members, to come to Rock Springs on May 9, 2005 to come to the White Mountain Library and listen to Dan Hausel talk about gold placers on South Pass and the westside of the Wind Rivers. The time for this event will be 7:30-9:30 p.m.  With no further discussions, the meeting was adjourned.  Raffles for the afternoon took place. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all who attended the meeting and supported the raffle. The next meeting will be held on South Pass Saturday  May 14th  at 5:00 p.m.. The location is to be determined but most likely be at the on the lease property or at the Dredge if open.

Respectfully submitted 
Rosemary Blair
Interim secretary