2008-06 Dennis' Deliberations

Orlando Ring 170 enjoyed a grand banquet and exciting show on April 19th that celebrated achievements by notable members and commissioned the returning board members.

President Craig Fennessy and event chairman, Art Thomas coordinated the evening’s happenings along with the help of many ring members and their spouses and children. Again this year we used the facilities in Barnabas Hall at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Southwest Orlando, not far from Universal Studios and the Orlando attractions.

The activities began with a team of walk-around magicians. Wallace Murphy coordinated the performers that included, John Anderson, Mike Bondi, J.C. Hiatt,
Ryan Schlutz and Greg Solomon. Coins, cards, rubber bands, sponge balls and an assortment of paraphernalia were used to delight the expectant crowd.

Chris Dunn arranged for the catering by Shelly Garza. Lynn Fitzgerald handled the printing of the programs as well as the creative table decorations. Gary Adams and Craig Fennessy circulated around the hall capturing photographs of the event.

After the dinner banquet President Fennessy took the platform and introduced the returning 2008 board members for Ring 170: Chris Dunn, Vice-President, Dennis Phillips, Secretary, Art Thomas, Treasurer, Joe Vecciarelli, Sergeant at Arms, James Songster, Director at Large and Steven Bartelski the Editor of our Famulus Newsletter. Fennessy then introduced Dan Stapleton, president of the Florida Magic Association.

In a warm tribute President Fennessy and the board honored member Charlie Pfrogner with a “Lifetime Membership”. Charlie could not be physically present but through the wonders of a cell telephone he was called and communicated with the audience. Charlie is one of our most creative members and his monthly magical innovations are eagerly enjoyed at every meeting.

Craig then called up Art Thomas and Sue Jacoberger, the hard-working duo behind all our live production events. They were awarded the Lee Noble Award for professionalism and their many contributions and tireless dedication to the Ring.

With the official presentations concluded Fennessy turned the evening over to the master of ceremonies, Terry Ward. Terry was recently featured on the cover of MUM Magazine and is a full time professional at Walt Disney World. He would perform later in the show. He brought on Fred and Idina Moore. Fred also is a locally based fulltime professional recently a featured evening performer in The Out of Control Magic Show at Wonderworks in Orlando.

Fred opened with his signature act which features a nerdy character. The character disco dances and then his broom joined in with him to dance. The broom effect is based on the Don Wayne Floating Microphone. After a dozen red balls emerge from his mouth he steps into a cloth cabinet and he quickly is transformed into a slick stylish guy that is anything but a nerd! Fred moved right into a great version of David Hoy’s Tossed Out Deck where he used a very long pole to pass a basket around the banquet hall. Next was Fred’s version of Jerry Andus’ Zone Zero with a nice finish. The ball goes into a bag and is transformed into a cape.

For his finally performance piece Fred did a delightful skit to Gene Kelly’s song “Singing in the Rain”. Fred introduced it by saying he was inspired by Kelly and that he originally wanted to be a dancer. Taking a fedora hat and white umbrella from Idina, Fred did a few dance steps and teased the audience as the umbrella floated on his fingers. While the music was playing he had three audience members select three playing cards. Two of the cards were impaled as they flew up from a card fountain and the final card was revealed on the umbrella cover. Fred and Idina bowed off to a very nice hand.

Master of Ceremonies Terry Ward returned for his performance portion of the show. His audience banter and comic lines are the result of years of honing with crowds at the attractions. Spectators would select a card and Ward would reveal it. He finally revealed a chosen card by counting the values from a random pile. Terry then went into a Copentro coin effect that he transformed into a highly entertaining routine. Four coins vanished and reappeared in a shot glass sealed with another larger glass inverted over it. His use of audience assistants with the coins enhanced the effect. He rewarded his last young boy assistant with a balloon animal.

In a delightful interlude Jake Blues was introduced and he said that Elwood Blues could not make it. James Songster was drafted and dressed like the classic part played by Dan Akroyd. The audience delighted in “Soul Man” and the musical entertainment.

Terry Ward returned and introduced the final performer of the evening, Giovanni Livera.
Giovanni is an Orlando based magician and motivational speaker as well as book author.
He graced the cover of Genii Magazine in February of 2002. Giovanni is a whirlwind of enthusiasm and optimism and translates his solid enjoyment of life into a fun-filled performance. He opened up a thin attaché case and brought out a solid bowling ball that he dropped to the floor with an attention getting thud. He invited up three women to select three playing cards and sign them. Each one was revealed in an unusual way. The last card was revealed folded up in his mouth!

Giovanni then went into a lively version of a Magic Square. While the Mission Impossible music theme played he completed a square that added up in every way to be the number given by a spectator. He next invited up a young woman and presented classic Slydini’s paper balls over the head. He used toilet tissue to great comedic effect and at the end unrolled a large bundle and produced a bottle of Champagne!


A pocket watch vanished into a cloud of confetti, as he prepared for his final effect. It was a clever bit of mentalism. Three spectators each came up with a letters, numbers and a state in the United States. One assistant used a marker to fill in those random selections on an automobile license plate drawn on a large drawing pad. Giovanni then opened a large white sealed envelope that had been in full view all the time and opened up the large piece of paper inside revealing that he had predicted all the items on the imaginary license plate. In a generous gesture, Giovanni then offered a free copy of his latest motivational book to everyone in the audience with any free-will donations going completely to the ring treasury. He finished with a standing ovation.

The technical crew for the excellent stage show included, Sue Jacoberger as stage manager, Art Thomas and Amanda Vecciarelli on lighting, Craig Fennessy and Joe Vecciarelli on sound, and James Songster handling the trusses and stage set-up.

Dennis Phillips