2011-03 Ring Report

President Craig Fennessey called the meeting to order on February 16th with 27 members and guests in attendance. He sadly announced that in the past month there were Broken Wand Ceremonies for Pavel, Terry Seabrooke and Tim Conover all of whom had either lectured or appeared in our area. He next reported that Art Thomas, our Ring Treasurer had submitted his letter of resignation which was read by Bev Bergeron. Art did many fine things for the Ring and his absence will be deeply felt. Craig went on to say that any member wishing to replace Art should contact him (Craig) for consideration.

He further announced that we had two lectures scheduled May, Tony Clark and Danny Garcia. We were encouraged to participate in the Make a Wish Foundation's Walk for Wishes which will be held in late March.

Our Annual Flea Market and Auction will be held on Feb 21st with Joe Zimmer and Phil Schwartz handling the Auction. Twenty-four (24) tables have been reserved for the Flea Market.

It was announced that John Calvert would be lecturing at Abbott's Convention in Colon, Michigan on August 5th and several of our members will be attending.

Phil Schwartz was up next with his Magic History Moment #28. The subject was Carl De-voy Williams whom Phil held in high esteem. Born in 1922 and still active today, Williams, raised in Pasadena, California, had an interest in puppets and magic. He spent much of his leisure time watching the lathe workings of Floyd Thayer, a nearby neighbor.

Educated, after a stint in the Navy, at Cal Tech he joined Lockheed as an electrical engineer. After a long professional career, he retired in 1988 and began making magic. He is a skilled craftsman and is known for many creations, including Wands of the Masters, the Houdini Wand, and cages for Lance Burton.

Following a short break, six of our members performed, starting with Chuck Smith, who with the aid of an audience volunteer, predicted the outcome of a random number calculation. Doug Kalcik followed with 2 well performed card effects. Chuck Pfrogner demonstrated an intriguing coin transport. Dan Stapleton, with the assistance of three volunteers and IHOP place settings entertained the group with a seemingly impossible exchange of utensils. Richard Hewitt closed the show with finding a selected card by an audience volunteer.

A fine time was had by all.