December 2015 | sam194

December 2015 SAM Assembly 194 Holiday Banquet

A magical evening!

That's what our Members, their families and friends experienced at our annual SAM Assembly 194 Holiday Banquet.

What a great way to wrap-up the year:

After everyone had their fill of all the delicious food and desert (thanks again, Ziggo and Dave!), we made sure to publicly thank those who have gone out of their way to contribute to the club -

Awards

We first honored our guest performer for the evening, Tom Pesce, for all his dedication and service to the Assembly, and also announced his return as a full-time Member. Welcome back!

Certificates of Appreciation were also handed out to Dave Crasson, Joe Fields, Jim Stranges, Steven Burchard, and Monsignor Brennan (Dennis Barlotta, who wasn't able to attend, has one waiting for him as well!). These were all well deserved for all their efforts and contributions.

We were happy to award Monsignor Brennan a beautiful "Past President" plaque in appreciation for all his hard work and leadership over the past two years, especially guiding us through tough times following the untimely passing of our Founding Member, Mike Piacente, in December of 2013.

Honors

We then announced that the Board of Assembly 194 had voted to confer on Monsignor Brennan the honorary title of "Dean of Assembly 194", the first time in the history of this Assembly that a Dean has been chosen. This is in recognition of a lifetime of achievement and dedication to the Art of Magic, the magic community and especially our Assembly. This title is held for life, and honors Monsignor Brennan as the elder statesman of our organization. A formal awarding of this title will be held in 2016 when we celebrate the Assembly's 35th anniversary.

SYM

We also announced the Assembly's plan to sponsor a Society of Young Magicians (SYM) Assembly and name it the Michael Piacente SYM Assembly, in honor of Mike. As soon as we have at least five youngsters registered as members, we can submit our application for SYM approval from the National SAM; please contact me if you have any youngsters that you could recommend.

Entertainment

Jocko, past President of Assembly 194 and a skilled Magician and Ventriloquist, started the evening's entertainment off with a hilarious repartee involving his sidekick, Rodney Johnson -- There were moments when it was hard to tell who was in control! Great job.

Tom Pesce rocked the party with non-stop entertainment that ranged from magic, mentalism and telekinesis to comedy, ventriloquism and illusion, with outstanding poise, personality and professionalism -- What a show!

Thank you to those who have already sent-in their pictures -- If you have any additional pictures or video from this party (or any other Assembly 194 event), please send them to me so that we can post them online and add them to our Assembly archives.

Next Month

The next General meeting of Assembly 194 on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 will feature an exciting lecture by Mario the Magician (AKA Mario Marchese) -- Please visit his website (http://www.mariothemagician.com/) to see what a great innovator and entertainer he is. Mario was the subject of a documentary film ("Building Magic" http://www.buildingmagicdoc.com/) and has a unique perspective on magic and performing that will be of interest to everyone. Please plan on attending, and let all your friends in the magic community know (the cost for SAM Assembly 194 Members is $15; non-members are $20).

Before the lecture at our January meeting begins, we will be inducting four new and returning members to our Assembly, which is an important event for these individuals and our current members. Your participation is critical and demonstrates your own commitment to our future success.

Thank you for your continued support and participation -- This Assembly is a great place to be because of members and friends like you.

Its a great time for Magic!

Looking forward to an exciting 2016 -

Happy New Year!

Roger Burchard

December 21, 2015