| T H E S E E K E R |
| July 2024 | The Newsletter of the Shore Seekers Artifact & Recovery Club | Vol. 34, No. 6 |
The summer heatwave is upon us. I did manage a couple of trips to the beach last month, but they were not terribly productive. We noticed that the beach just didn't seem that crowded and we easily found free parking. However, by the sheer volume experienced this week via traffic reports and a trip to Ocean Pines, I can tell you that the depositors have finally arrived in record numbers. Traffic backups were everywhere. Luckily I avoided all that.
By now, you have probably heard that the Garrett Vortex releases this month. The top of the line model, the VX9, is priced at $599. This does not include headphones. Garrett promises that this machine will outdo all others on the market. It would be nice if a US company would finally step up and challenge all the others, but there has been a lot of chatter about its lack of bells and whistles. Instead, it has gone for something that would allow Garrett users to easily step up to the Multi-Frequency level. Whether this pans out or not remains to be seen. Check out the various YouTube videos and make up your own mind. The new Nokta Triple Score has been released and it is available at a $499 price tag. It's simpler to use than the Legend but promises the same depth. If you get the pro-pak it has an extra coil plus the wireless headphones for that price.
We are rapidly planning for our Big Hunt and Holiday party, more details down below somewhere, but if you want your opinions known, show up at the meetings. We are having a good time with all the games and raffles that we have going on, plus all the snacks. That's all I have for now, so if I don't see you at the meeting, maybe I'll run into you somewhere else.
Your President,
Andy Nunez
The last meeting of the SHORE SEEKERS Artifact and Recovery Club was held on Thursday, June 13, at 7:00 p.m. at Christ Church.
OLD BUSINESS
Extra copies of THE SEEKER were available.
Minutes were approved as distributed.
The Treasurer gave his report.
Various members talked about the recent pay hunt in Pittsville. It was well attended and with plenty of good prizes.
John is still cataloguing the recent generous donation from Mike Shannahan. We are undecided about what to do with the various coins: prizes, auction, raffles, etc. There is also the possibility of selling them and using the proceeds to buy other coins and prizes for the hunt. There is no date picked for a members' only hunt yet but some mentioned the date of October 19. We need to check with the church about availability. John will also check about November 2 as many would rather have the November date. Members voted to retain last year's hunt fee of $25. Marty asked what to do about those who only show up at the hunt? Many feel that they shouldn't pay the same as everyone else but perhaps should pay more than members who regularly attend meetings. Marty determined that last year, the people at the hunt made about $90 each in coins and prizes. This is not fair to those who show up at the meetings and make contributions to the treasury every month. Marty suggested deducting a certain amount off the hunt fee for each person whose name is on the attendance sheet. Andy posed the idea of needing to attend a certain number of meetings or else pay more for the hunt. John Fassel amended this by suggesting that the meeting requirement should go back to the first of the year and then have a minimum number of meetings people have to attend or else they can't participate in the hunt or would have to pay double or more. More than one member made the motion that members' only hunt participants have to attend at least three meetings before the hunt or they must pay double the hunt fee - $50. Some also suggested that next year the hunt fee might even go up. Julie will send out a message tomorrow so people will have plenty of notice about this.
We talked about the Christmas party. The church is okay with the December 12 date. The caterer from last year was very good and most would like to have him cook again. Andy will ask about a change of entrees and try to make sure that Al is available. We will bring a list of possible desserts for next month so that people can volunteer to bring something to the party. We are trying to keep costs down and feel like this is something we can do to trim something from what we would pay the caterer. Our aim is to keep the cost to $25 per person. NOTE: The club would still pay some of this fee but members would pay a little more than they did last year.
NEW BUSINESS
John has new CKG scoops available.
Phil McCutcheon has heard about some members wanting the club to go back to giving out dimes for Finds of the Month winners. Various people feel that members shouldn't be paid to come to the club. Members of the ESTC (Eastern Shore Treasure Club) told about what prizes are awarded for finds at their club: silver dime for the first win, an Indian head penny for a second win, a fully-dated buffalo nickel for a third win, then remaining wins are also buffalo nickels. John R. made a motion to adopt this starting next month. The motion was seconded.
John will pay the church the same amount that we did last year for the use of the building, use of the field and for the Christmas Party.
Penny to a Dollar winners: Kenny Mowbray, Cynthia Fassel, Julie Pryor, Cindy Mancuso and Darlene Stevens.
Thanks to Phil McCutcheon and Andy for the snacks. Next month's snacks will be courtesy of John Rebman and Ed Donovan.
Our raffle winners were Dan Spielman (50/50), Cindy Mancuso (silver half dollar) and John Rebman (attendance).
Julie Pryor,
Secretary