2018 Roswell National Night Out

GMS at National Night Out
Roswell, GA
Tuesday, August 7, 2018

So, what is National Night Out? According to the Roswell, Georgia government website, National Night Out is "designed to strengthen our communities by encouraging neighborhoods to engage in stronger relationships with each other and with their local law enforcement partners. The goal is to heighten crime-prevention awareness, build support and participation in local anti-crime programs, and most importantly, send a message that our neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. It’s also the perfect opportunity to get to know your neighbors even better."

For GMS members, the event is a great time to meet people and teach them about rocks and fossils. Lawrence and Shirley Parker have anchored the event every year since it started, but this year, Lawrence had to carnie alone as Shirley attended to other fun business. But, Sue and Jay Gorday were on hand to play, so even though we missed Shirley, GMS was still well-represented. Charles was there again too as well as Gilligan.

We weren't sure how things would go at the new venue, but we were very happy with our new spot. Many visitors came by to play "Rock/Not Rock" to win a pretty stone that they used to play "Rock Plinko" for another prize! Players received either a crinoid fossil or an apache tear obsidian. Kids and adults were amazed to hear that crinoids were animals that looked like plants and that the crinoid fossil in their hand was about 350 million years old! And who wouldn't want a piece of obsidian that came from volcanic activity! A lot of people said they were happy to see us and look for us every year, and we were happy to see them again too.

Visitors received lots of rocks and fossils and stickers. This year's raffle prize was a beautiful geode and the lucky winners could not stop smiling! And we smiled too, because it was a fun night, so we are all looking forward to next year's event.

Lori Carter
On behalf of the National Night Out volunteers