My interest in meteorites started when I was 5 years old. I �received a book�titled: You will go to the Moon. It told a story about a young boy that is given�the opportunity to travel to the Moon to collect moon rocks and bring them back�to Earth. That book planted the seed which sprouted into a lifetime interest in�Astronomy, Moon Rocks and Meteorites. After many years spent looking at the Moon�through a telescope, I was amazed and surprised when I discovered that�people could actually own a meteorite, and even one that came from the Moon! If I�couldn't travel to the Moon, at least I could hold a Moon rock in my hand!

My first meteorite wasn't a Moon rock, but a wonderful classified speciman that I�purchased from our famous former President Anne Black, in 2007, which I purchased�at a Colorado Meteorite Society meeting. I had what some people describe as ��meteorite fever�, and �I �have spent the years since then, studying, collecting,�and buying and selling �a few meteorites. I joined the IMCA International Meteorite�Collectors Association �and I am happy to be a part of this prestigious�organization.

I believe that Membership in the IMCA is important and necessary to be taken�seriously in the field of meteorites. The IMCA has worked hard at establishing�their members as honest, legitimate and reliable. I am proud to have sponsored�several members that have upheld our standards. I have sponsored �one high�quality member per year to join the IMCA. I am very careful about who I think�should join our organization, with an emphasis on collectors, versus those that�only want to be full time sellers that only want to use the IMCA membership to�enrich themselves. I am proud of the members that I have sponsored. Many of them�have gone on to find meteorites, buy and sell them, teach others about them, and�some have acquired �meteorie collections worthy of a museum and have them listed�on the Encyclopedia of Meteorites. I want to congratulate those members that I�have sponsored, and I thank them for upholding the high standards of our�prestigious organization, and I want to thank the patrons and those that purchase meteorites for keeping the joy and study ofmeteorites available to everyone, regardless of their economic or educational background.

Best regards,

Martin"Marty" Rhode

Member# 9189