December, 1996
Banquet Update
Our annual club banquet will be held at the Quality Hotel (located at I-10 and St. Mary's -- same place as last year) on Saturday, January 18. A social hour will start at 5:30 PM where there will be close-up performers to entertain you. A sit down dinner will commence at 6:30 PM. There is a choice of Chicken Masala or a London Broil for dinner entries. An awards ceremony and the installation of new officers will be held approximately at 7:30 PM. Following the ceremonies we will conduct a full feature magic show for your entertainment.
Tickets will go on sale at Williams' Magic starting on Tuesday, January 31st. Tickets will also be sold at the January 6 monthly meeting. The ticket price for the banquet is $15 per person. You have a choice of taking a color-coded "Chicken" ticket or a "London Broil" ticket. This banquet is open to the general public, so feel free to invite family and friends.
In celebration of twenty years that SAM #136 has existed, the evening's show will be performed by past assembly presidents. This is a unique opportunity to see a variety of performers. Several of the performers are no longer active members, so the material is likely to be fresh to much of the audience. It should be a great show!
Throughout the evening show we will be raffling door prizes for members. In order to participate you must be a member in good standing (i.e., you are current on both your local and national dues).
Our annual banquet has traditionally been a classy event. Please help us maintain the specialness of this evening by dressing appropriately: coats and ties for the gents; evening wear for the ladies. Think of it like you are dressing up to attend visit the Magic Castle.
If you are interested in performing close-up magic during the social hour, please contact Norm.

Next Meeting
The next meeting of Assembly 136 will be on Monday, January 6 at Hotel Park Tucson, 5151 E. Grant Road, at 7:30 PM. There will be a board meeting from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and all members are welcome to attend any and all board functions.

Production Box Magic
The magic theme for our January club meeting is "Production Box Magic". Anything goes that is made of wood, metal, plastic, cardboard, or glass that can be used to vanish, produce, penetrate or dismember other props or limbs. As examples, consider performing with a silk casket, silk cabby, production box, spirit cabinet, die box, square & circle, crystal silk cylinder, livestock production and vanish apparatus, or any other similar prop (you get the idea). Please, no "card trick of the month" performances.

Hoser Lecture from the Great White North
Canadian Jay Sankey will be lecturing for us at Hotel Park Tucson on Monday, January 13 at 7:00 PM. Jay is a very well known close-up performer, so get ready to be amazed and receptive to picking up a few new ideas.

At Our Last Meeting
Our last meeting was held on December 2nd. Todd Gaines received his new membership packet and pin. Welcome to our assembly, Todd! Dues are Due - Our annual club local dues will be due at the January meeting. The dues are $12 for Assembly and Junior members; $6 for associate members. In order to be a member of our local organization, you must also be a member in good standing with SAM national. Please bring your national membership card with you at the next meeting as proof that you are current with National -- we will be checking! If you don't know if you are current with National, a good indicator is whether or not you are currently receiving M.U.M. magazine every month. If you are not a member in good standing with National, then please feel free to renew your membership directly by contacting:

Richard Blowers, National Administrator
P.O. Box 51026
St. Louis, MO 63151
Phone: (314) 846-5659
e-mail: rmblowers@aol.com
Meeting Place - Joe DuPerry informed us that the contract for the Hotel Park meeting room is about to expire. For several years, our assembly has been receiving a Gonga deal (due to Joe's previous managerial position at the Hotel). Since new management is now operating the hotel, Joe anticipates that Hotel Park will want to re-negotiate a new contract. If this happens, it is very possible that we will not be able to afford to continue to meet at Hotel Park. As of late December, the hotel has not contacted us. We have reserved meeting rooms for the January meeting as well as for the Sankey lecture at the normal excellent room rate. In anticipation that we may need to change meeting venues, please let Norm be aware if you know of other possible meeting locations.

Good of the Order
Course in Magic - Allan Rasco performed a lecture on coins at Williams' Magic on December 18th. The lecture was attended by six eager students. The basis of Allan's lecture was on performing impromptu when someone say's "So, you are a magician -- show me something" and your magic bag is in the car. A stunning four coin production was presented to thwart this situation. Allan's coins across routine was also dissected and instructed.

Not so Majestic Disappearances - Bill McRea reported that his home was recently burglarized. Everything that was taken was magic related: stage lights, smoke machine, bits and pieces of illusions, etc. If anyone approaches you wanting to sell magic apparatus and it seems suspicious, please contact Bill. On a more positive note, Majestic Entertainment performed a show at the Arizona Theater Company on December 7th. As with many of Bill's shows, this one benefited a charitable organization (Make a Wish Foundation).

Call for Papers - Mimi First is writing a children's book. If you have any ideas or materials for the science/magic section feel free to bring them to her attention.

Magi work in Ecuador - Bea and Allan Rasco will be performing magic in Ecuador with their ministry. Regrettably, Allan will not be able to perform at the banquet since they will be leaving earlier that day. This is an additional shame since it was Allan's original idea to have a past president's show.

Recuperation - Joe DuPerry has recently under gone a very serious and complicated heart surgery. We all wish Joe a speedy recovery!

Broken Wand - It is with a great sadness we report that Bob Kavenaugh passed away on November 27th. At the December meeting there were many kind words spoken about Bob and his magic. It was said that even while he was in the hospital during his last days he was cheerfully performing magic for the medical staff. Bob was a friendly spirit -- he will truly be missed! Bob is survived by Ollie, whom flowers were sent on the club's behalf.

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