Mr. Roger Miller in the December Linking Ring said,
"Due to a decrease in the membership dues income and in the Linking Ring advertising income, it will be imperative some changes be made in the future."
Well, I knew it would happen.
When the requirement for two sponsors to join was removed, I knew it would result in a decline in membership, not a increase. Making it a little bit hard to become a member only increased its value in peoples minds. I for one would like this to be reinstated, perhaps even increased to requiring three sponsors. Is there a way this issue could be brought up for a vote by the current members?
Mr. Danny

I doubt that the new membership requirements have anything to do with the recent decline in membership. People, at least in the states no longer join clubs or organistions in the numbers they once did. Membership in clubs of all types are at all time lows. People just don't socialize like they used to.

http://www.sourcenewspapers.com/articles......ullstory

Payne is correct. Membership numbers were falling long before the requirement was dropped. Other fraternal organizations such as Lions, Elks, Rotary, VFW, are all experiencing a debilitating lack of younger members to replace dwindling older members. The Internet, cable and streaming TV, and mobile technology have changed the way people socialize. The future of the I.B.M. and SAM depend on the local clubs revamping their programs to make them more appealing to younger and inactive members. Too many clubs cater to older members resistant to change and stuck to old rituals and ideas that bore our faster-paced, multi-tasking young people. Less politics ... More fun.

Of course this begs the question as to what the National organization is doing to aid the local groups in devising ways of attracting new members.

One would think that they would encourage the TVP's to go through the membership roster to see where there might be sufficient members to form a ring where no current or active rings exist. It could very well be that there are members who are unaware that other IBM members are in their local area.

True Payne, I live 100 miles from the nearest ring. Would love to get one going in North Central Louisiana!

And, as it so happens, Payne, I'm in the very position to answer that point. I was appointed as the TVP and New Ring Coordinator in July. I've reached out to all TVPs to see who is actively working their areas and who isn't. I've started a quarterly TVP newsletter to enhance communication and networking. We're sharing ideas for boosting existing Rings, forming new Rings, and reaching out to unaffiliated members living too far from either.

We're ramping up youth programs and scholarships to bring in younger members and teach and promote the "fraternal" concept. Programs like those starring David Blaine and Andrew Mayne are generating fresh interest in the art ... It's up to the local club leaders and members to capitalize on and harvest that interest.

There will always be issues with any organization staffed entirely by volunteers ... Priorities like earning a living always get in the way. Ring quality varies with the level of devotion and resourcefulness displayed by their members. As a National, Territorial, or Local entity, we're only as good as those who serve and those who participate. But, we are moving forward.

Danny, your TVP is Kevin Carney in Slidell, LA. I'll PM his email to you. Reach out to him. Please let me know what response you get. Sometimes, it's closer for a member to join a Ring across state lines. Let me know if that's the case.

Situations change... people change...

After 25 years in IBM and almost 20 of them running Ring2100, I'm considering dropping my membership.

It's not just IBM. I'm thinking hard about dropping Magic Castle membership as well.

Instead of dropping, what can we do to make it more appealing and meaningful for you, Dave. Your service to the IBM has been exceptional ... What's missing for you?

Guys have been hearing this for years, but it applies here too.

"It's not you, it's me"

That I understand, too. Please let me know if I can help.

Skip

I live in northeastern Michigan 100 miles from the nearest ring there are atleast 6 other magicians in my area but we need 10 to form a ring. Maybe we could lower that requirement and possibly gain more members with the backing of the IBM the new ring could be on a probationary basis for one year once 10 members have joined it would become permanent. Just a thought.

Dave, What ever you decide, You have been Great for as long as I have known you. You have my Thanks, Mr. Danny

Mike, that's a fair proposal. I'll toss it up to the board and see what we can do. Keep in mind that you don't HAVE to be an affiliated Ring or Assembly to meet with fewer than 10 members. Magic and socializing are the same regardless of the name.

An interesting topic. The matter of clubs and organizations and the-like has always fascinated me. "Belonging" to anything is about the pathways which that thing might/might not provide. People very easily "connect" with others via cheap devices nowadays. There is still plenty of room for clubs, associations, organizations to exist......they just have to modify what the word "club" means. People are much less ceremonial now. The old days of "belonging to 'The Lodge'"....just doesn't hold the kick it once did for most Americans, at least.

One of the things that's holding me back from joining either IBM or SAM is that I feel it wouldn't really be worth my while without a local group or ring to talk to and hang out with. I'm a poet also, and I have found a good group of them to pal around with (although I'm definitely the youngest in the group), but I have had zero success finding anyone nearby (within 30 minutes or so) to talk magic over with. Closest is over an hour, and that's too far (and gas/tolls too expensive) to rationalize.

Mercutio01, I to have no ring where I live. Ring 2100 is a very good online ring, open 24/7.
Like the Café, you can almost smell the coffee.

Here's a thought ... just a thought ... Ring meetings don't have to be monthly. When I was stationed in Italy, we had 19 American and European IBM and SAM members scattered over a 300 mile radius of Munich, Germany. I was in northern Italy at the outer edge of that circle. We got together for a full weekend every three months. Our Munich contact would arrange rooms at a local gasthaus with a meeting room. We'd meet over a weekend, brainstorm and share during the day, see the sights and enjoy the food at night. We would double or triple up in rooms and evenly split the costs. Including train tickets, meals, and quarters, I rarely spent more than $125.00 for a fun, relaxing weekend - granted this was in the 1980s.

My entertainment mastermind group, with 20 great kidshow performers from around the US, did this on an annual basis. We'd rent a beach house or stay at a Homewood Suite for around $250.00 for a weekend of brainstorming, sharing, energizing, and fellowship. Each member was tasked with bringing a mini-lecture or presentation focused on the interests of the group - either business, magic, comedy, or creative in nature. We shared past successes and failures and set out future goals - and group members kept us focused and motivated toward reaching those goals.

These two examples accounted for some of my BEST mini-vacations ever. I always came back home tired, but refreshed and ready to tackle new projects.

Don't let distance keep you from sharing and fellowship with other magicians in your area. A quarterly or semi-annual weekend get-together can be just as beneficial as monthly meetings. Bonus thought - There's no reason that I'm aware of that a group like this couldn't be registered as a Ring. Your TVPs can help you reach out to peers within a given radius. Just ask!

Think outside of the Ring...

I joined the IBM and the local Ring a year ago after accidentally making contact with a local magician here via the Magic Café.

I've enjoyed the local club. But after a year, I don't understand any value in paying tribute dues to the parent IBM. I don't see anything from the parent organization that affects or aids the running of our local club.

As for individual benefits, a magazine subscription is lovely, but I already subscribe to Genii so I joined without The Linking Ring -- and parent dues are still more than double our local club dues, which seems totally upside down.

Why do I pay that money? It just leaves our community and vanishes.

If we cut ties with the parent organization, I can't see how there'd be any difference in the club.

The "Decrease in Membership" topic seems a reasonable place to ask this question, since membership decrease would be a logical consequence of not having a good answer to this.


Posted: Mar 11, 2014 07:19 pm After further pondering...

Actually, just being able to answer that question probably isn't sufficient.

To really be effective, the benefit of the parent organization to the local club should be so obvious and self-evident that no one would even think to ask the question.

During our annual convention (Magi-Whirl in DC) -- I handed out 400 fliers to families who came to the public show telling them about our "Counts of Conjuring" club for kids to learn magic... not one sign-up or expression of interest... But we'll try again. Sad, but true ... it's hard to get people to get off their couches...but away their toys and get involved in a hobby...

Agree with those who want more from the parent organization. Everything of value that I can see comes from the locals. But that's actually a side issue (IMO).

I dropped out years ago when Life got a little too complicated. Lost touch with the friends I knew. Many of them died. I really was unaware that our ring still existed until a couple years ago through a chance encounter with a young member (who didn't know me) who was running a magic shop out of a flea market booth. I mentioned that I had belonged to a magic club years ago, and he told me about, you guessed it, my old club. I knew almost no one; only four of us old-timers are even alive now.

Point is (and we're working on it now, at least locally) is that people (even magicians) don't even know we exist. I'm focusing on finding young people interested in magic and bringing them with me! (YouTube will NEVER be as good as old-fashioned Mentoring.) I think if we lose our physical connections, we'll wind up with a stratification between those who fumble, frustrate and expose, and those who actually LEARN to be performers of the highest quality.

I for one am tired and embarrassed of seeing VBS hacks posing as "children's magicians" when the fact is, they're not good enough to actually entertain ANYONE!