Minutes of September 2009 Meeting
September 20, 2009

The September Meeting of I.B.M. Ring 362 was held at Dino's Pizza in Brewer, Maine, on September 20, 2009, at 3:00 pm. The theme of the meeting was Close-Up Magic. Please see the Ring Report for details.

In the absence of President Geoffrey Miller, Vice President Gary Jewell 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. The agenda 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 $1655.85 and there was $415.00 in petty cash for a total of $2115.85. Members voted to approve the Treasurer's Report.

In Old Business, the Vice President outlined meeting themes and Teaching Tables for 2009 and early 2010. Members proposed Pizza Parlor Magic as the theme for the October meeting. The theme for November will be Turkeys. The theme for January 2010 will be Teach a Trick, with Gary Jewell as the Theme Leader. The theme for February 2010 will be Commando Cards, with Dr. Wilson as the Theme Leader. The theme of Old Wine in New Bottles was proposed for the March 2010 meeting; action on this theme will be deferred until after the election.

In Old Business, the Vice President called for members interested in serving as 2010 Ring officers to submit nomination petitions. The signatures of three members are required for nomination. Petitions for nomination have been received from all current Board members. In addition, Brian Rodgers submitted a petition for nomination for Sergeant At Arms and Prashant Srivastava submitted a nomination petition for Treasurer. The current nominees therefore are: Geoffrey Miller (President), Gary Jewell (Vice President), Paul Szauter (Secretary), Randy Von Smith and Prashant Srivastava (Treasurer) and Aubrey Smith and Brian Rodgers (Sergeant At Arms). Any other Ring member interested in running for office should submit a nomination petition to the Secretary by October 1.

In Old Business, Danny Baker, Professor Miller, and Dr. Wilson have committed to performing in The Magic of Christmas, scheduled for Saturday, December 5, at 2:00 pm at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport. Gary Jewell agreed to appear as Santa Claus. The President has appointed the Public Show Committee: Geoffrey Miller (Talent Coordination), Danny Baker (Stage and Theater Management), and Paul Szauter (Publicity and Ticket Sales).

In Old Business, Danny Baker reported that the management of Dino's is still pleased with having the Ring meet there. Members are reminded to order food, preferably upon arrival. Danny has also approached the management with an offer of a show, and has been hosting birthday parties there as well.

In Old Business, the Secretary reminded the members that a motion to amend the Ring Bylaws was made at the August meeting. The motion was to strike Article VIII, Section 2, which reads:

"Section 2. Awards and competitions may be proposed to the Board of Directors by any member of the Ring at any time. Endowments for awards and competitions will be provided by the individual or group proposing them and they will have the first choice of naming the award or competition. The Board of Directors will review all name suggestions and has the power to refuse a name on the grounds that it is demeaning to Magic or is inappropriate in any other way. Awards and competitions are renewable yearly by the members unless they were created and endowed for longer periods of time. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to administer all awards and competitions in the manner intended by its creators and endowers."

Passage of this amendment would eliminate all endowments. The Board would be directed to revise the Policy and Program Manual to reflect this change upon passage of the motion. The Secretary argued that the endowments served a minor role as a fund-raising instrument in the years that they have been in place. While the parlor and stage magic contests have generated sufficient funds from ticket sales to replenish the endowments, the Elliott Card Challenge does not charge admission or registration fees, and has no means of replenishing the endowment save for annual donations or special fund-raising events. The close-up magic contest will also not charge admission or registration fees.

The Secretary also argued that the endowments have the effect of allowing the current Board to attempt to direct the actions of future Boards. He argued that the Board, in consultation with the membership, is capable of determining which activities are popular and successful on an ongoing basis, and that the endowments no longer serve a useful purpose. He further explained that the amendment to the Bylaws is necessary to change the policy, as the Bylaws take precedence over the Policy and Program Manual, so Ring policy on endowments cannot be changed before the Bylaws are amended. The vote on the motion will take place at the November meeting, with voting by mail allowed.

There was no New Business on the agenda. Alan Drew requested a vote to amend the agenda to permit discussion of an undisclosed item of New Business. Members voted to amend the agenda to permit discussion of the undisclosed subject.

Alan Drew proposed that someone write a different member profile on a monthly basis for publication in The Rapping Hand. The member profile would describe the member's interest in magic, day job, and other biographical information. Randy Von Smith pointed out that this proposal requires that someone write this biographical sketch, and asked whether that would be the member, or some other individual. The Secretary, who serves as editor of the The Rapping Hand, pointed out that any member can send an article or photo for publication at any time. The Rapping Hand has published member-submitted material on a regular basis since its inception.

Alan Drew also proposed that three Ring members teach a nine-session magic class at the YMCA. Randy Von Smith asked whether Alan would be willing to be the coordinator of this activity, and Alan declined. Randy asked the members present whether anyone was interested in coordinating a magic class at the YMCA, and no one volunteered.

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