Minutes of September 2008 Meeting
September 21, 2008

The September Meeting of I.B.M. Ring 362 was held at the Friars' Bakehouse in Bangor, Maine, on September 21, 2008, at 3:00 pm. The theme of the meeting was Chameleon Magic. Please see the Ring Report for details.

In the absence of President Danny Baker, Vice President Geoffrey Miller called the meeting to order. He 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 Geoffrey Miller called for the adoption of the agenda, which was approved without amendment.

The minutes for the August meeting were approved without amendment.

Treasurer Randy Von Smith presented the Treasurer's Report. The bank balance was $1,628.92 and there was $460.00 in petty cash for $2,088.92 in total funds. Of these funds, $1,615.81 (77.4%) was unrestricted and $473.11 (22.6%) was in endowments as follows: Ring Name Plaque Endowment ($140.00), Elliott Endowment ($130.35), Chung Ling Soo Endowment ($94.76), Max Malini Endowment ($111.00) and Lecture Endowment (-$3.00).

In Old Business, Paul Szauter, Contest Official for the 2008 Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition, reported that he had discussed the contest with each of the contestants and several of the judges, and welcomed anyone else to share their views on the conduct of the contest. He reported that half of the gate ($85) went to the Chung Ling Soo Endowment.

In Old Business, Randy Von Smith reported on behalf of the Nominating Committee (Randy Von Smith, Dayton Salisbury, and Gary Jewell) on a slate of nominees for 2009. The nominees are: Geoffrey Miller (President), Gary Jewell (Vice President), Paul Szauter (Secretary), Randy Von Smith (Treasurer) and Aubrey Smith (Sergeant At Arms). The closing date for nominations is October 1; any other Ring member interested in running for office should either contact the Nominating Committee or submit a petition for nomination by October 1. The nomination process is described in Article V of the Bylaws.

In Old Business, Geoffrey Miller reported on The Magic of Christmas, a public show to be held at 2:00 pm on December 6 at the Alamo Theater in Bucksport. The show is a themed show, with all effects being directed at portraying magicians helping Santa Claus get ready for Christmas. The climax of the show will be the magical production of Santa Claus. Geoff called for Ring members to help out as performers, crew, and builders. So far, Danny Baker, Professor Miller, and Dr. Wilson have committed to perform. Kaitlyn Grassette and a friend have offered to help backstage; Paul thinks that he might have a box jumper for one of the illusions.

In Old Business, the Secretary reported that the Worldwide Escape Artist Relay 2009 is scheduled for October 24, 2009. Thirteen performers have already registered.

In New Business, Brother Don Paul, who was not able to attend the meeting, had previously informed the Ring that the Friars' Bakehouse would be unavailable as a meeting location in the near future. There was a discussion of other meeting places. Paul Szauter spoke in favor of meeting at All Souls Congregational Church, which offers a generous amount of space, including the stage and parlor used for the Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition and the Max Malini Parlor Magic Contest. The issue of compensation is not resolved. Members favored a proposal to direct half the proceeds of the Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition and the Max Malini Parlor Magic Contest to All Souls (as has been done previously) instead of paying a fixed rent per usage, if that is acceptable to All Souls. The August meeting was held at St. Johns Episcopal Church; there was no support for meeting there if All Souls is available. No other meeting places were proposed.

In New Business, the Secretary reported that the Ring has joined S.A.M. Assembly 174 in sponsoring a lecture by Rick Maue on October 12 in Rumford.

In New Business, the Secretary reported that an attempt to write the World's Largest Letter to Santa is being organized for November 29 at the Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, Maine's Capital of Magic. There will be a magic show and other fundraising activities in connection with this event.

In New Business, Alan Drew announced that MAES was moving its 2009 convention from September to the third week in August in Carlisle, PA.

In New Business, Gary Jewell revived the discussion of youth participation at Ring meetings. Young people have been frequent guests at Ring meetings in the past. Randy Von Smith pointed out that we have had numerous meetings, committees, proposals and discussions on this subject over the Ring's history without much to show for it, except for the Ring's participation in Summer Festival of the Arts on Mount Desert Island and youth attendence at Ring meetings. Randy proposed that we incorporate young members into the regular Ring meetings. This has happened informally over the Ring's history. Randy emphasized that there is a requirement for minors to be accompanied by a responsible adult, and proposed that young people attending regularly be required to join the I.B.M. Randy moved that for the time being, we ease into youth involvement at regular Ring meetings rather than attempting to hold separate meetings for young magicians. The motion passed.

Paul Szauter added that because of involvement of SFOA Board members and staff as judges for the Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition, he had been approached by SFOA to commit for SFOA 2009. Paul will be preparing instructional materials and teaching a series of classes. He invited Ring members to participate in various ways.

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