September Meeting
Adam Ryan
Minutes of the September 2025 Meeting of the Chattanooga Magic Club
Submitted for review by Club Secretary, Tommy Johns
Meeting Date: September 16, 2025
Members/Regulars Present: 8, Guests Present: 0
The Chattanooga Magic Club met on September 16, 2025, for our monthly meeting at Miller’s Ale House on Gunbarrel Road in Chattanooga. As has been our tradition, most of us showed up around 6:00 to enjoy a meal and a time of fellowship and conversation.
At 7:04 PM, Club President Jim Driscoll called the meeting to order.
The minutes of the August meeting were presented via email prior to the meeting and approved with no discussion or corrections.
The treasurer’s report was presented by Jim Driscoll on behalf of treasurer Adam Ryan. Our current balance is $185.05. We currently have 14 paid members.
Under Old Business, the following items were discussed:
· Jim Driscoll reported a possible meeting location at the local YMCA. They have a meeting room we may be able to use. He will report on this at the next meeting.
· An update regarding IBM members in the Chattanooga area was presented. Cities within a 60 mile radius have been submitted to the IBM office. We are waiting for a response.
· Jim thanked Jeffrey Williams, Lance Johnson and Tom Raidy for agreeing to perform on October 24 for the senior assisted living facility that allowed us to host the Dan Stapleton lecture.
· Bill Weimer will be presenting a 2 part mini lecture at our October and November meetings on the history of Chicago Bar Magic, highlighting stories from his new book, Now You See Them, Now You Don’t. We also discussed the need to schedule additional mini lectures (an idea we borrowed from the Georgia Magic Club and have been VERY well received!).
Under New Business, the following items were discussed:
· Themes for upcoming meetings were announced. October will be “A Season of Thanks.” November’s theme will be “Holiday Wonder.” In December, the theme is “New Beginnings.” All members are encouraged to prepare something to future meetings to present.
· Michael Frisbee reminded us that we start nominating officers for 2026 at the November meeting.
· We were reminded that the date for the December meeting has been changed to Tuesday, December 2nd.
Jim Driscoll offered a motion to end the business meeting at 7:19 PM. This motion was enthusiastically seconded and approved!
Business Meeting Adjourned
Mini Lecture
We are really enjoying our member mini-lectures! They just keep getting better and this month the trend continued with Barry Savage presenting Hidden Treasures, magic from old books and publications. WE have all heard the quote, “If you want to keep a secret from a magician, hide it in a book!” Barry dug through some of his over 500 magic books and presented almost a dozen great ideas and routines, including:
· The Saxon Flap
· Clippo from Boys’ Life Magazine from decades ago
· Cut Anywhere, a James Randi idea
· A number of sight gags including a double ended toothpaste tube
· Several card tricks, including a swing out force which was VERY fooling
· A children’s book with sound effects converted to a close up mat for a routine with funny sound effects. (I am not doing this justice, but you would have had to have been there to fully appreciate this!)
· A double prediction, proving once again that math IS magic
· A card reveal using paper and flame that looks like REAL magic
Thanks Barry! We can’t wait for you to do Hidden Treasures, Part 2!
We then took a brief self-care break and signed up to do some magic!
Performance and sharing time – Theme: Spooky Magic
This month performing for the theme were Mike Edwards (Axtell’s Genie puppet), Michael Frisbee (T&R TP to the song Wipeout), Roger Smith (Spirit Box and a ghost story), Tommy Johns (Halloween Costume Generator), Jim Driscoll (Book Force using a beautiful and brilliant premise).
After the theme magic, Jim presented a magic hat he has been building with special effects and a card fountain.
For a small club, we always have a BIG time!