I.B.M. Ring 362
Dr. James William Elliott Ring
Bangor, Maine

Minutes of Organizational Meeting
January 15, 2006

The Organizational Meeting for the new Ring in central Maine was held at the Hawaiian Paradise Restaurant in Newport on January 15, 2006. Dinner began at 6:00 pm, and the meeting followed. Emily Burnham (reporter) and Bridget Brown (photographer) of the Bangor Daily News attended, and covered the event in an article published on January 17.

Acting Secretary Paul Szauter called the meeting to order. Motions were made to appoint a meeting chairman and meeting secretary; these motions both passed, and Paul was appointed to both positions unanimously. Paul welcomed Bob Nixon, the Territorial Vice President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, who gave a welcoming address and explained the procedure for forming a new Ring. All magicians in attendance were asked to briefly introduce themselves and describe their interest in magic.

A motion to form a new Ring passed unanimously. Bob Nixon answered some questions about Ring membership, pointing out in particular that it was possible to be a member of both the new Ring and other I.B.M. Rings, S.A.M. assemblies, or any other magical organization without conflict.

Dennis Labbe and Scot Grassette, the invited performers, gave a magical performance for members, guests, and patrons and employees of the Hawaiian Paradise Restaurant.

Following the performance, Acting Treasurer Randy Von Smith accepted membership applications and annual dues of $5 from each member, accepting dues from 20 members.

The Petition for Charter was circulated. I.B.M. members in good standing and new applicants to the I.B.M. signed the Petition for Charter.

Door prizes donated by members were distributed by a series of drawings, and Alan Drew distributed decks of cards with two gaffed cards to each member.

A motion was made to elect officers, and passed unanimously. A slate of nominees for officers was put forth. The nominees were:

• President: Alan Drew
• Vice President: Wes Booth
• Secretary: Paul Szauter
• Treasurer: Randy Von Smith
• Sergeant-At-Arms: Geoffrey Miller

There were no additional nominations; the election of officers was unanimous.

A motion was made to name the new Ring; the motion passed. Members spoke in support of a series of proposed names. The proposed names advanced for consideration were:

• Dr. James William Elliot Ring
• The Ralph Greenwood Ring
• The Maine Ring
• The Maine Mystics
• LobsteRing
• Chung Ling Soo Ring
• Houdini Ring

During discussion of the naming of the Ring, it became clear that members needed more time to give full consideration to this important matter. A motion was made and seconded to table the motion to name the Ring, to allow further consideration. Voting was by show of hands, with 11 members voting to table the motion, 8 members voting in the negative, and one abstention. The motion passed; the motion to name the Ring will be acted upon at a subsequent meeting.

The Secretary explained the benefits of having a web site for the new Ring, estimating the cost of domain name registration and hosting at no more than $75 annually. A motion was made to authorize the Secretary to develop a web site for the new Ring and to find a suitable host, spending up to $75 in the first year to do so. The motion passed unanimously.

The time and place for the next meeting was discussed. In order to allow time for the International Brotherhood of Magicians to respond to the Petition for Charter, the next meeting is tentatively set for the third Sunday in March at the Hawaiian Paradise Restaurant in Newport. Members were asked to convey their thoughts on most convenient times, dates and locations of future meetings to the Secretary.

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