I.B.M. Ring 362 The Maine Mystics Bangor, Maine
Home Archive Constitution Bylaws Policy and Program Manual Index to Minutes Index to Executive Minutes Index to Ring Reports Hall of Fame		Agenda of Executive Meeting February 2008 A meeting of the Board was held following the business meeting at the February 17 Ring meeting. Many items of business had been settled in advance via email, as noted. Officers: President: Danny Baker Vice President: Geoffrey Miller Secretary: Paul Szauter Treasurer: Randy Von Smith Sergeant-At-Arms: Matt Bennage

Agenda

Call to Order, Rules of Order, Approval of Minutes.

President Danny Baker called the meeting to order under the revised Rules of Order. The Board adopted the agenda, which had been developed in advance via email.

Minutes. The minutes of the January Executive Meeting are posted. The Minutes were approved without amendment.

Treasurer's Report.

A. Current Finances.

The Board voted to approve the Treasurer's Report. The Board had voted earlier via email to direct the proceeds of the January 2008, February 2008, and March 2008 raffles to the Lecture Endowment.

B. Budget. Here is the proposed 2008 budget, approved by the Budget Committee (Randy Von Smith, Danny Baker, Geoffrey Miller) via email on January 30, 2008:

C. Financial Review. We await the appointment of the Financial Review Committee; nominees have not yet accepted the appointments.

Old Business

A. Calendar

   1. Themes. Themes for September 2008 - February 2009 are needed. These will be developed by email in the next few weeks.

   2. Teaching Tables. Teaching tables for September 2008 - February 2009 are needed.

   3. Lectures. A lecture by Tom Craven is scheduled for April 20 in Rumford. Stan Davis will give a lecture as the August Ring meeting.

   4. Contests. The Elliott Card Challenge is scheduled for April 20, 2008, at 1:00 pm at the Hotel Harris in Rumford, Maine's Capital of Magic. The Max Malini Parlor Magic Contest is scheduled for May 18, 2008, at 3:00 pm at All Souls Congregational Church in Bangor. The Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition was rescheduled for Saturday, September 6, 2008, at All Souls Congregational Church, by a unanimous vote of the Board. Please see the Ring Calendar.

   5. Public Shows. The Elliott Card Challenge is scheduled for April 20, 2008, at 1:00 pm at the Hotel Harris in Rumford, Maine's Capital of Magic. The Max Malini Parlor Magic Contest is scheduled for May 18, 2008, at 3:00 pm at All Souls Congregational Church in Bangor. The All-Star Magical Revue is scheduled for July 4, 2008, at 2:30 pm at the Criterion Theatre. The Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition was rescheduled for Saturday, September 6, 2008, at All Souls Congregational Church, by a unanimous vote of the Board. The Ring may present a Halloween show. Please see the Ring Calendar.

Geoffrey Miller, General Show Chair for the All-Star Magical Revue, presented proposed terms for renting the Criterion Theatre on July 4. The terms were based on rental rates recently posted on the website for the Criterion Theatre.

General Show Chair Geoffrey Miller proposed rental terms in a letter to be sent to the Criterion Theatre. The letter was modified as a result of discussion by email following the meeting. The final version is posted here:

Colin Capers
Criterion Theatre and Arts Center
35 Cottage Street
Bar Harbor, ME 04609

February 17, 2008

Dear Colin,

It is my understanding that the Criterion Theatre and Arts Center (CTAC) is now charging day rates to non-profit organizations for use of the theater. As General Show Chair for this year's All Star Magical Revue (ASMR), I feel it is important to get these details in order now to assure a smooth operation this year. While I am disappointed that our established gate split will apparently no longer be acceptable, a look at other venues would indicate that flat fees have become somewhat standard. With that in mind, I am making the following proposal for July 4, 2008.

I.B.M. Ring 362 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians will rent the Criterion Theatre and Arts Center for the 2008 All Star Magical Review with the following stipulations:

1. Rent: $225 for the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. assuming a 2:30 show time as in the past.
2. Damage deposit: $250. We expect $200 of this to be refunded provided no damage is done. That leaves a cleaning charge of $50.
3. House Manager: $35 per hour with a maximum of 7 hours if needed for a total of $245.
4. Lighting: $50 assuming the standard setup for $25 and the follow spot for $25. As in the past, we will provide personnel to operate the equipment.
5. Box Office: CTAC will print tickets and manage ticket sales up to and including the day of the show for 10% of the total gate.
6. Concessions: I.B.M. Ring 362 will handle all concessions together with any other group taking part in the ASMR this year. The Criterion Theatre and Arts Center will not sell concessions and will not receive any percentage of concession sales. I.B.M. Ring 362 will not expect to use the Criterion Theatre's equipment for concessions.

Assuming I have covered all costs, here is a breakdown:

There are a few details that we would want included in any contract as well.

I.B.M. Ring 362 and its guest performers will have access to the Criterion Theatre stage no later than 9:00 a.m. on the day of the show. We will have access to that area until 5:00 p.m.

Other than the House Manager, no personnel from the Criterion Theatre, the CTAC Board or the general public will be permitted access to the stage or backstage areas before, during or after the show without the express consent of the General Show Chair.

The stage and backstage areas are to be completely clean and clear of all equipment not being used for the ASMR. In the past two years, we have had to bob, weave and otherwise avoid lighting, sound and projection equipment that has made the stage area not only difficult to navigate but dangerous as well. If we are to pay for the use of this space, we want it clean and free of obstructions. We do not expect to have to move this equipment ourselves as doing so could easily result in damage for which we would be held responsible.

There was some discussion of the time of opening the Criterion Theatre to the Ring. Because of the cost of the Theater Manager, Randy Von Smith argued for an absolute minimum of theater time, suggesting opening the theater at noon. Paul Szauter argued that in the past, there have been many unforseen circumstances including equipment and debris on the stage that required extra time to deal with prior to the performance. Randy argued that it should be stipulated in the contract that the stage be clear and clean. Paul argued that if even if it is stipulated in the contract, the show will be thrown off by the Criterion Theatre's possible failure to comply with this, and that the Ring cannot risk that because of a few extra dollars in charges ($35/hour). This issue was not resolved.

B. Appointments.

Danny Baker nominated several Ring members to appointed positions in January 2008. Some have not yet accepted.

All appointed positions are indicated below. If the appointment has been accepted, the appointee and month of acceptance is indicated:

• Scribe - Paul Szauter (January 2008)
• Editor - Paul Szauter (January 2008)
• Webmaster - Paul Szauter (January 2008)
• Historian - Bryan-Keith Taylor (January 2008)
• Financial Review Committee
• Elliott Card Challenge Contest Official - Paul Szauter (January 2008)
• Public Show Committee - All-Star Magical Revue
1. General Show Chair - Geoffrey Miller (January 2008)
2. Talent Coordination - Geoffrey Miller (January 2008)
3. Publicity and Ticket Sales - Paul Szauter (January 2008)
4. Stage and Theater Management - Randy Von Smith (January 2008)
• Max Malini Parlor Magic Contest Official
• Public Show Committee - Max Malini Parlor Magic Contest
1. General Show Chair
2. Talent Coordination
3. Publicity and Ticket Sales
4. Stage and Theater Management
• Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition Contest Official - Paul Szauter (January 2008)
• Public Show Committee - Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition
  1. General Show Chair
  2. Talent Coordination
  3. Publicity and Ticket Sales
  4. Stage and Theater Management

C. Ring Name Raffle. Three names are under consideration: The Maine Mystics, Chung Ling Soo Ring, and Bob Nixon Ring.

Members have been invited to submit their preferences for the 2008 Ring Name Raffle via mail if they will be unable to attend the March meeting.

D. Ring Quality Program. The International Brotherhood of Magicians has a Ring Quality Program to improve local Rings. Please see the guidelines for the Ring Quality Program at the I.B.M. website.

It is worth looking over these guidelines to begin to make further improvements in the Ring.

There are quite a few areas in which our Ring currently meets a high standard, and other areas worth looking into for further improvement. Here is an outline of the online document; those areas in which we are meeting the standard are marked as OK. I have also marked several areas as "Areas of Focus," meaning that if the Ring invests some time in development here, there will be a good payoff.

Goals and Areas for Improvement. The Board should identify key areas in which the Ring should improve, and set goals to achieve.

Working with the TVP. The Board awaits the appointment of a new TVP following the death of Bob Nixon on January 19, 2008.

Youth Program. The Ring's participation in SFOA was its first effort at a Youth Program. The three-week magic class, taught by Kim Hawkins with guest appearances by Dr. Wilson, had an enrollment of 24 students. Danny Baker, Kim Hawkins, Bryan-Keith Taylor and Paul Szauter donated supplies. Students were given forms to submit their names, addresses and birthdays to the Ring. Please see the Ring Event Report for SFOA magic classes.

The Ring has been invited to participate in SFOA in 2008.

Charity Performances. The Ring has been quite active in charity fundraising and charity shows. A web page documents 2007 Charity Activity by the Ring. The Ring raised $3,265.00 for charity and gave two charity performances in 2007.

There was a brief discussion of scheduling three or four charity performances in 2008.

Library. There has been no recent discussion of the library.

Outside lecturers. Tom Craven will be our first outside lecturer in April 2008.

New Business

A. Policy and Program Manual Review.

The Vice President and the Secretary are required to review, and if necessary revise, the Policy and Program Manual for clarification or to reflect any change in policies during 2007. The Vice President and Secretary agreed to work on this, and to submit proposed changes to the Board for consideration.

Proposed changes include minor changes to the rules for the Elliott Card Challenge (specification of how each contestant shall receive the deck), the Max Malini Parlor Magic Contest (elimination of the requirement to create certificates of participation), and the Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition (elimination of the requirement to create certificates of participation).

Additional proposed changes include specific language added to the description of public shows to specify that: (1) the distribution of promotional materials at a public show is a matter for the Public Show Committee to consider (i.e., no unauthorized distribution of promotional materials), and (2) all performances by members are subject to the approval of the Public Show Committee (i.e., no unauthorized performances by members not in the cast or registered for a contest).

The Ring added a Lecture Endowment in 2007. Please see the Executive Minutes for August 2007.

The revised Policy and Program Manual was approved by the Vice President and Secretary on February 13, 2008, and thereafter approved by the other members of the Board on February 13, 2008, in an email discussion.

For changes, please see:

With no further business, a motion was made to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.