Why doesn't the SAM national office (and IBM for that matter) try to get the local assemblies (and Rings) to actively recruit new SAM members for Assembly (or Ring) membership? It would obviously strengthen the Assemblies (and Rings) and probably keep national memberships from lapsing due to disinterest or noninvolvement. There must be more that a few SAM members who may not feel comfortable walking into a local Assembly meeting on there own if they don't know anyone in the local group. A local Assembly welcome letter which invites the new member to "come on down and check it out" is a nice icebreaker which might get the prospective Assembly member down to a meeting. The national offices should inform all local Assemblies of new SAM members in the area and there should be a coordinated effort to encourage the Assembly to go after the member for Assembly involvement. That just doesn't happen from what I have seen and it makes absolutely no sense on ANY level.

I fear that too many TVP's (and whatever the SAM version is) view the position as strictly ceremonial. Our local ring has never seen or heard from our TVP and it's been affilliated with the IBM for a deade. The guy only lives four hours away so you think he'd have shown up at one of our local Day's of Magic at least once. Or even bothered to write a letter that could be read aloud at a meeting.
I've often felt it was the responsibilite of the regional officers to help members locate one another and help maintain and create new clubs.
Perhaps there are some who do but I've never come across one myself.

That's no good. I would think the organization should make it clear - there are NO ceremonial positions and should be based on service and additional responsibility beyond normal membership.

Alas, this is not exclusive to SAM. Almost every organization I have ever been a part of has had people in offices who were just building their resumes.

Hi, please, can anyone help me, iam trying to find a december issue of the sam/ mum magazine , iam wanting to build a dove tray and someone told me theres a plan in dec issue. I live in uk. thank you.

Greetings: I cannot speak for the IBM and the TVPs. That is a discussion for the IBM section of The Magic Café, or better yet, with the IBM officers directly. The SAM divides the US into 9 Regions, with a Regional Vice President (RVP) for each Region. This is an elected position, with the votes cast only coming from that Region (i.e. an Assembly in NY cannot vote for the Northwest RVP). Further, each Region has appointed State Deputies. Not all States have a Deputy since not all States has Assemblies; some States have multiple Deputies. All of these people have their contact information on the SAM website, http://www.magicsam.com, in the members only section.

I can confirm that they WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. If you have a problem, suggestion, compliment or complaint, they want to hear it. And they will make sure the item you raise is brought to the correct person, or up the chain of command all the way to the National Council, if necessary. That is their job, and I can also attest that they do their job. If htey did not, they would not continue in the position.

Last year, as 2nd Vice President, it was my duty to coordinate with the RVPs. I was proud of the hard work these individuals did and are continuing to do the Society. They are not in a cerimonial position.

Payne: I recieved an email from the Washington Deputy 2 weeks ago. In his email he commented on how much growth the Seattle Assembly has seen - so much they are looking for a new meeting space. Please contact him (Mark Paulson), and I am sure you will be surprised.

The SAM and it's officers are very active, working for our members. "New Member" and "Dropped Member" lists are generated monthyl and distributed to the RVPs and Deputies. Each Assembly can request this info. There are many "Associate" members who are not affiliated with an Assembly who just need that initial invitation to attend the local Assembly. I agree that National can be more pro-active in getting this info to the Assemblies. Thanks for the suggestion and we'll see what we can do.

Mark Weidhaas
SAM 1st Vice President

Mark: Thanks for answering my inquiry. The thread started to go off on unrelated tangents.

Actually Mr. Paulson came to a show I was in tonight and introduced himself to me. Quite impressive considering the support we get from the IBM's TVP. I'm surprised that the local SAM is having space issues. A 50% increase in membership would result in them having to find a space that could hold eight or ten people:) But I do hear that they are really trying to become an active assembly once again. I might just have to drop by. Seattle proper hasn't had a viable SAM or IBM for several years now.

I think some members may stay away from assembly meetings because they are concerned that they are not as good as the other members or that the meetings may be very competitive.

Some local assemblies and rings do make an effort to contact prospective members. I received an e-mail from a local IBM ring inviting me to their meetings. They made it clear that I could join either for friendship, mentoring, and/or sharing my skills. Everyone was welcomed whether they were a pro, amateur, or a magic enthusiast. It was a great gesture.

Payne: You might be surprised to learn that there are about 60 S.A.M. members in the Seattle area. Northwest RVP Dick Bowman is compiling the list of emails to send to the Assembly so they can grow even more.

Ken: I agree. Assembly meetings are to be welcoming for all. It is a place for the novice and the seasoned pro to explore magic together. I think they can both benefit.

ANYONE READING THIS WHO IS NOT A MEMBER OF AN ASSEMBLY - GO! YOU WILL HAVE FUN! Contact an Assembly Officer for info (assembly info can be found at http://www.magicsam.com)

Mark Weidhaas

I was a bit wary about attending my first S.A.M. and I.B.M. club meetings. I, too, thought they might think I wasn't up to their calibre of magic, being I'm an amateur. How wrong I was. The other club members were nothing but supportive.

We have such a great time at each meeting. Just about everyone performs at our S.A.M. Assembly 200, but there is no pressure to do so. When I started in July 2007, there were usually 6 people present at the meetings, although there were more members on the roster. Now there are at least 12 members who show up regularly, and we've had 3 new members in the past 3 months.

I know that 10-12 members isn't very much compared to some clubs, but it does give everyone a chance to perform a couple of effects he's working on. The room we reserve only holds about a dozen people at most, and that's why we are looking for a bigger space.

Payne, I'll let you know when we have room for you. I'll send you a personal invitation!

-Mark