SME BBQ April 1, 2017

We are pleased to announce that the Annual Barbecue for Scholarships hosted by the Florida Section of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (FLSME), a member society of AIME, will be held Saturday, April 1, 2017 at the Lake Mirror Auditorium in Lakeland. The social hour will begin at 6:00p.m. and the dinner at 7:00p.m. Mining industry representatives/ employees, industry support representatives/employees, members of the local community, and their families are invited to attend this annual event.

The annual Barbecue is a major fund raising activity for our Student Relations Program. During 2016, the Florida Section of SME provided ten $1,000 Academic Scholarships to deserving high school seniors who plan to study technical related curriculums at Florida's Universities. FLSME awarded several $500-1,000 mini-grants to teachers who developed mining based class curriculum. FLSME membership heavily supports science fairs in DeSoto, Polk and Hardee Counties by purchasing all science fair supplies that the students use for their projects and by providing judges and 1st thru 3rd place awards. At the collegiate level, we funded a variety of activities for the University of Florida SME Student Chapter including providing transportation for student members to attend and participate in local and national events. For a fifth year, we awarded the Annual David Gossett Memorial Scholarship in memory of our esteemed mining colleague. This year's scholarship was awarded to Katie Hutton. Ms. Hutton is an engineering student at Penn State who came highly recommended from her supervisor while interning as a mining co-op at Mosaic. The FLSME Section also participated in the Florida Association of Science Teachers (FAST) Conference in Orlando, handing out literature and talking about the benefits of mining in Florida.

The Florida Section of SME has enjoyed community and industry support of this once-a-year fund raising activity for many years, and the members of our Section are deeply grateful to all of the contributors who have made the Annual Barbecue so successful year after year. We are asking for your donation of $250 to the Annual Barbecue and the Student Relations Program. Please make checks payable to Florida Section SME. Each contributor will receive two tickets to the barbecue and will be recognized as a contributor. Additional tickets may be purchased at a cost of $25. Ticket includes appetizers, BBQ dinner, and beverages (open bar).