Minutes of March 2009 Meeting
March 15, 2009

The March Meeting of I.B.M. Ring 362 was held at Dino's Pizza in Brewer, Maine, on March 15, 2009, at 3:00 pm. The theme of the meeting was Magic Class. Please see the Ring Report for details.

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 the President called for the adoption of the agenda, which was approved without amendment.

The minutes for the February meeting were approved without amendment.

Treasurer Randy Von Smith presented the Treasurer's Report. The total funds were $2475.08. Of these funds, $2014.61 (81.4%) were unrestricted and $460.47 (18.6%) were in endowments as follows: Ring Name Plaque Endowment ($140), Elliott Endowment ($107.71), Chung Ling Soo Endowment ($94.76), Max Malini Endowment ($111.00), and Lecture Endowment ($7.00). These totals do not include dues payments, ad payments, and raffle proceeds from the March meeting.

In Old Business, there was a call for payment of Ring membership dues for 2009. Dues, payable January 1, are due by April 1 in order to prevent suspension of membership privileges. Wes Booth and Brian Rodgers paid dues for 2009.

In Old Business, President Geoffrey Miller called for new meeting themes and Teaching Tables for 2009. The current calendar has themes through September. Brother Don Paul suggested a theme (or Teaching Table, or both) of storytelling magic, along the lines of A Winter's Tale in January 2008. Geoff has offered a Teaching Table, as yet unscheduled, on Costume & Character. Dr. Wilson offered a Teaching Table on Wagering, with members buying chips to wager on a series of proposition bets, with all proceeds going to the Ring.

In Old Business, the Ring Name Raffle was held. Three names had been approved: Bob Nixon Ring, Chung Ling Soo Ring, and Dr. James William Elliott Ring. One additional ticket was purchased for $5. The winning ticket was Wes Booth's ticket for Bob Nixon Ring. The proposal to order the Ring Name Plaque was briefly discussed, then tabled, because the Ring does not have a fixed meeting place.

Six members who have ads on the Ring's Hire A Magician page had paid to renew their ads by the time of the meeting. All six were entered into the drawing to determine the order of placement of the ads on the page. The order drawn was: Dr. Wilson, Wes Booth, Alan Drew, Danny Baker, Phil Smith, and Professor Miller.

In Old Business, the Secretary reported that the 2009 Dr. James William Elliott Card Challenge will be held at 1:00 pm at the Rumford Public Library in Rumford, Maine's Capital of Magic, on Sunday, April 19. A Ring meeting will follow the contest. Tom Craven, the defending Elliott Card Champion, will give a lecture at 3:00 pm at 49 Franklin Street. The lecture will be presented without charge to members and guests.

In Old Business, the Secretary reported that the Chung Ling Soo Stage Magic Competition is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, 2009, at 7:00 pm, at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport. Talent Coordination Chair Danny Baker had reviewed performance videos by dancers, and several dancers and troupes were invited. Paradigm East (three dancers) and Tribal Spice (five or six dancers) will appear. Danny pointed out that the limited backstage space will have to be carefully arranged to accomodate the dancers and magician's props. Members were encouraged to compete; the registration deadline is midnight on Thursday, April 17, 2009. So far, Professor Miller, Danny Baker, and Wes Booth have expressed interest in competing.

In Old Business, Brother Don Paul reported that Thistles Restaurant had agreed to host the Nate Leipzig Close-Up Magic Contest on Sunday, September 20. Thistles is not normally open on Sunday afternoons, but they would open for the contest. The contest will be open to the first six registrants. The Contest Official has not yet been appointed. The Contest Official is charged with the task of registration, and will announce the opening of registration to all members at the same time. Registration is not possible prior to that time. The President reported that he had asked several members whether they would accept an appointment as Contest Official, but each person had declined, citing their intention to compete.

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