Minutes of November 2009 Meeting
November 15, 2009

The November Meeting of I.B.M. Ring 362 was held was held at Dino's Pizza in Brewer, Maine, on November 15, 2009, at 3:00 pm. The theme of the meeting was Turkeys. 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. The agenda was approved without amendment.

The minutes for the October meeting were approved without amendment.

There was no Treasurer's Report.

In Old Business, the President reviewed nominations for 2010 Ring officers. The list of nominations is: Geoffrey Miller (President), Gary Jewell (Vice President), Paul Szauter (Secretary), Prashant Srivastava (Treasurer) and Aubrey Smith and Brian Rodgers (Sergeant At Arms). Aubrey Smith withdrew his nomination for Sergeant At Arms, meaning that all offices are uncontested. The election will proceed without balloting at the January meeting, with the new officers assuming responsibility at the close of the January business meeeting.

In Old Business, the President called for the payment of 2010 dues. Dues are set at $10 for the year. Payment is due January 1.

In Old Business, the President raised the subject of the vote to amend the Ring Bylaws by striking Article VIII, Section 2. This section discusses the endowments meant to fund awards and prizes for contests. The Secretary, who introduced the motion in August, spoke in favor of simplified accounting that would result from this change. Randy Von Smith explained that the purpose of the endowments was to spur the creation of contests and to encourage donations. He stated that the endowments have served their purpose and that it was time to move to a new system: transparency and accountability for all contests. The vote to amend the Bylaws was approved unanimously.

In Old Business, there was a discussion of The Magic of Christmas, which is scheduled to take place at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport on Saturday, December 5, 2009. The cast includes Danny Baker, Gary Jewell, Professor Miller, Dr. Wilson and Sennyo. Alex Turanski agreed to perform. Cast members agreed to discuss the set list for the show after the business meeting.

In New Business, members were reminded that the deadline for the submission of names for the Ring Name Raffle in March would be the January Ring meeting. Any member may offer a proposed name for the Ring for consideration by the Board. The current name (Bob Nixon Ring) will be entered automatically. Each member will receive a raffle ticket, and may buy additional tickets for $5 each.

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