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

Minutes of November 2006 Meeting
November 12, 2006

The November Meeting of I.B.M. Ring 362 was held at the Friars' Bakehouse in Bangor, Maine, on November 12, 2006, at 3:00 pm. The theme of the meeting was Turkeys. The meeting began with member performances. Please see the Ring Report for details of the performances.

Vice President Wes Booth called the meeting to order. Sergeant At Arms Geoffrey Miller cited a set of simplified Rules of Order that have been made available as a PDF on the Ring's web site, which were adopted as the Rules of Order for the meeting.

The agenda for the meeting had been made available in advance, and Wes called for the adoption of the agenda, which was approved without amendment.

The minutes for the October meeting were approved without amendment.

The Secretary reported on behalf of Treasurer Randy Von Smith that the Ring's bank account has a balance of $776, and that there is $62 in petty cash plus approximately $100 in recently paid dues and an anonymous donation. These funds include two endowments: $40 to purchase a plaque listing the Ring's annual descriptive name, and $10 in the Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge endowment. The Treasurer's report was approved without amendment.

In Old Business, there were several items connected to the January 2007 elections. First, the Board members present appointed the Ballot Committee: Paul Szauter, Randy Von Smith, and Dayton Salisbury.

Paul Szauter reported on elections for Ring office to be held in January 2007. Nominations are closed. Brother Don Paul announced that he is not permitted to hold office in a secular organization and therefore withdrew his nomination, making the office of Vice President uncontested; Carroll Chapman will be Vice President. Four offices are uncontested, and those offices will be filled without balloting: Vice President (Carroll Chapman), Secretary (Paul Szauter), Treasurer (Randy Von Smith), and Sergeant At Arms (Geoffrey Miller).

The office of President (candidates Danny Baker, Wes Booth) is contested and will be filled by election at the January 2007 Ring meeting. A balloting procedure has been approved by the current officers and candidates. Ballots will be mailed to all members together with a return envelope and a small coin envelope. Members voting by mail shall mark their ballots, seal them in the coin envelope, then seal the coin envelope in the return envelope. They should sign the return envelope across the flap, and return it by mail to the Secretary. At the January meeting, members shall also have the option of voting in person. A member wishing to vote in person who has previously mailed in a vote shall have their mailed-in ballot destroyed. The Treasurer shall verify that each person intending to vote has paid their membership dues for 2007. Only members who have paid their dues can vote. As the Treasurer verifies the membership status of each mailed-in ballot, the outer envelope shall be opened and the coin envelope mixed with those from in-person voting. This procedure ensures that only qualified members can vote, and also ensures that voting is by secret ballot.

Finally, both candidates agreed that in the event of a tie, the election would be settled by each candidate cutting a deck of cards supplied by the Ballot Committee to reveal a single card.

In Old Business, there was a call for names for the Ring Name Raffle in March. To date, only the current name, the Dr. James William Elliott Ring, has been submitted. The deadline for submission is the January meeting (January 21, 2007).

In Old Business, Paul Szauter reported on the Worldwide Escape Artist Relay 2007, scheduled for October 27, 2007. Since the posting of the WEAR 2007 registration page on the Ring's website, 42 performers from eight different countries have registered, with many others expressing an interest in the event. Phil Wilmarth, Executive Editor of The Linking Ring, has expressed an interest in pre-event publicity in The Linking Ring. Several well-known performers have already responded to a call for photos to be submitted to TLR.

In New Business, the October 2006 issue of TLR reported that Bob Nixon has been nominated for TVP. Any I.B.M. member in Maine may be nominated by collecting the signatures of twenty I.B.M. members residing in Maine on an official petition available from the International Office. Once the required number of signatures has been collected, the petition must be notarized and returned to the International Office by February 1, 2007. In the event that there is more than one candidate, balloting will be conducted by the International Office. The full details on nominations for TVP are may be downloaded as a PDF here:

I.B.M. Election Rules

In New Business, Members considered a proposal to have a Ring meeting on Sunday, April 15, 2007, at the Hotel Harris in Rumford. Brother Don pointed out that the date named is Easter Sunday. The following weekend is also a poor date because of Hank Lee's Cape Cod Magic Conclave, so April 29 was selected as the date of the April 2007 Ring meeting, to be held in Rumford if possible. The motion to seek to hold the April meeting and the Elliott Card Challenge in Rumford was seconded and passed unanimously.

In New Business, following a discussion with Scot Grassette after the October meeting, Paul Szauter advanced the idea of recognizing Rumford as "Maine's Capital of Magic" by submitting the following motion in writing:

I.B.M. Ring 362 shall recognize Rumford, Maine, home to Dr. James William Elliott, as "Maine's Capital of Magic." The Board shall form a committee to accomplish the following tasks:

(1) Explore the best means of officially recognizing Rumford as "Maine's Capital of Magic" in a public event in Rumford.

(2) Encourage SAM Assembly 174 in Portland, Maine, to formally recognize Rumford as "Maine's Capital of Magic," and to participate in a public event in Rumford.

(3) Seek appropriate publicity for the official recognition of Rumford as "Maine's Capital of Magic."

Ring funds may be used in connection with this project, subject to review by the Board.

The motion was seconded. After some discussion, the motion passed unanimously.

In New Business, there was a discussion of having an auction of donated magic items to benefit the Ring, possibly at the March 2007 meeting. Members expressed an interest in a separate auction/swap meet at the same meeting for members to buy or trade magic items, with no percentage taken by the Ring. The Board was encouraged to take up the matter following the January election.

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