Peter is a collector. With $12 worth of minerals to his name, he first arrived in Tucson to attend the Gem and Mineral Show in 1978. Almost 40 years later, his passion for minerals has grown exponentially deeper, not to mention his one-of-a-kind mineral collection. After having been introduced to the Show, he was amazed at the rich opportunity that the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society had to offer. After he finished his undergraduate studies, the decision to move to the University of Arizona for his doctorate work was an easy choice. With that first introduction to the riches of the Southwest at the Show, “the hook was set.”
Being a locality collector, the Sonoran Desert area is where he has found the most interesting minerals. Not only has Peter had an influential part in Tucson's mineral world but has strong ties in Mexico. His involvement within the Mexican mineral world led him to start a consulting company in the area. Peter’s expertise in locality exhibits and mineralogy has shaped the way the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show is being seen, creating it as the opportunity that is impossible to miss by any collector, trader, geologist or mineral enthusiast.
Now an honorary lifetime member, Peter’s history with the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society started as soon as he moved to Tucson, joining at the next possible meeting. Over time he has held close to every position, including President. Peter's expertise and involvement in the Mexico gives him the opportunity to travel and visit many different museums and help draw together Mexican mineral collections. Currently, his major focus has been to increase funding to geological education as well as donate geological books to universities in Mexico.
In his own words:
“An outfit like TGMS is one of those mysteries of physics in a sense where it’s one of those few places where you can actually get more out than you put in. So the more you put in, the more you get out. So if you do it long enough that [love] spreads to a lot of other people.”
Peter
65 years old
Focus: Locality collector
Society member since 1979