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Bean Regular user 119 Posts |
I'm trying very hard not to be impatient, really I am. It's been three weeks since I mailed in my membership application and payment. Can anyone give me a rough estimate of the turn-around time? 4 weeks? (gulp) 8 weeks?
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Father Photius Grammar Host El Paso, TX (Formerly Amarillo) 17161 Posts |
Well you have a bit more to wait. With both the IBM and SAM your name has to be published in the next issue of the association magazine, and members have an opportunity to object to your membership. So depending on when the next MUM was published after your application came in, you can look to 6-8 weeks. It will come.
"Now here's the man with the 25 cent hands, that two bit magician..."
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Bean Regular user 119 Posts |
Thank you, kind sir! I'll just keep reminding myself that patience is a virtue and all good things come to those who wait.
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weidhaas Loyal user 271 Posts |
Best thing to do is give a call or drop an email to Manon Rodriguez, our Administrator. She says she usually has these turned around within 2 weeks. If you are affiliating with a local Assembly, the membership packet is mailed to their secretary to present to you at their next meeting.
The SAM does not hold membership until the names are published in MUM, so that will not delay your membership/benefits. Mark |
Bean Regular user 119 Posts |
As Father Photius counseled, all it took was a bit more patience. I'm very happy to say my membership card arrived today! Greetings, fellow Compeers!
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Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
Welcome, Bean! We look forward to your contributions and celebrations!
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
Merlina Veteran user Maria Ibanez 367 Posts |
Greetings Bean, congratulations on your membership. A prior post of mine here somehow magically disappeared but at that time I was curious as to how there could possibly be a 2 week turnaround on membership since by bylaws and constitution the name has to be published before anyone can be accepted....oh, well....
Keep a dream in the making Maria |
Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
Bean, this post in NO way reflects upon you or your membership. You are a most welcome addition to S.A.M. in every respect.
Rather, this post is respectfully directed towards the S.A.M. administrators. I agree with Maria. The S.A.M. constitution states: SECTION 6 Final acceptance of members into this Society shall be in accordance with the following: a. After publication of the name of the prospective member in M-U-M and no objections with reasons therefore having been filed, in writing by an Assembly or by six or more Associate members in good standing, within 45 days, the time period starting from the first day of the month as the monthly date of that issue, then the applicant shall become a member in good standing. (Amended 11/14/92) I could understand granting a provisional membership that automatically becomes full after the 45-day period - however, this provision is not covered by the constitution. Such rules are meant to establish a foundation for the orderly management and transfer of power. If these rules are going to be ignored, then they need to be duly changed to reflect the new structure. Respect for the art and ethics of our craft begin with the respect and enforcement of the guild's rules by its leaders. Again, Bean...all this aside, We are delighted to see you counted among the S.A.M. family! Welcome!
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
Bean Regular user 119 Posts |
Absolutely no offense taken! I understand your concerns and I'm sending you a PM.
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Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
Your PM supporting the constitution proves your value to S.A.M. Thanks, Bean. As I said privately, I believe that everyone involved acted in good faith in an effort to provide outstanding service to new members. That is exactly the kind of service we hope to see from an organization like this. Someone simply overlooked a basic policy in the process.
What's done is done and you should certainly not have to wait for your membership again due to someone's innocent error. I would be the first to fight in your favor should that happen. The vetting process of publishing names is designed to keep people like the Masked Magicians from gaining perceived legitimacy thru S.A.M. membership. It has a purpose and while 99% of the applicants are like you...anything we can do to keep that 1% out is justifiable. Thanks for the kind note and for understanding my concern. Once again, Compeer, welcome! Skipster
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
Bean Regular user 119 Posts |
Thank you for your kind words. I hope that I can be an asset and I also hope to be involved in volunteering.
Thank you for the welcome! |
Merlina Veteran user Maria Ibanez 367 Posts |
Greetings Bean, I am happy to see that Skip has reiterated what I told you in response to your PM....welcome to membership and again I say, don't hesitate to let me know if I may ever be of any help.
Keep a dream in the making Maria |
Bean Regular user 119 Posts |
Thank you, Merlina! Thanks, too, for your kind words and encouragement.
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weidhaas Loyal user 271 Posts |
I stand corrected. In no way was I suggesting the rules should be ignored. Thank you for reminding us of them here. The key word, to me, is "Final" acceptance.
Logistically, if a new applicant mailed in their application, it may take 3-4 weeks until the name is sent to the MUM Editor, another 2 months until it appears in the MUM, and another 45 days till they see their first MUM. That is over 4 months. In addition, walk-in registrants for the SAM Convention would be an issue, since one must be an SAM Member. My position is SAM Membership Strategy Development Chair, so this issue is outside of my charge. I spoke to Mike Miller about this, and he suggested if this is a concern, Maria could investigate if a change in policy or rules is necessary. Maria, please call or email me as there are several additional nuances to this issue to consider. Also Maria, I think the post that magically disappeared is still where you put it: on another topic - "2nd VP". Mark Weidhaas |
Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
Mark, Bean pointed out in a PM that his New Member packet included a letter that explained that his membership is provisional pending the 45-day M-U-M approval process. It makes perfect sense not to leave a new member hanging for 3-4 months without some sort of welcome and recognition - especially with the current struggle to attract new magi into the club. Constitutional rules must be adjusted for real world requirements - hence the creation of reasonable administrative policies and procedures. This works. Apologies for the confusion and thanks for the clarification.
As for the posts...Maria and I had both thought they'd disappeared and rediscovered them under the 2nd VP thread at the same time. Doh! Thanks and I look forward great things as you move into the top spot!
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
Merlina Veteran user Maria Ibanez 367 Posts |
Greetings, I am very happy that this issue has been settled at least for Bean. It appears he will be an asset to the organization and via PM I've congratulated and welcomed him to membership as well as offered him any assistance he feels I could provide.
Mark, in your original post you stated that Bean should contact Manon and then said "She says she usually has these turned around within 2 weeks"....it seems odd that there is usually a 2 week turnaround to a potential member but according to your last post above, "it may take 3-4 weeks until the name is sent to the MUM Editor".....it would seem to me that it might be easier to get the info to the MUM editor much faster than a membership card processing and printing since sending this to the editor only requires an email with the names to be published; no? Yes, there are those things to consider such as "walk in" applicants at the convention, however, as of Buffalo a one year membership is automatically charged to the registrant if they are not already members so that would make that point not a concern. I'd be happy to research any changes that need to be made, but, remember that those changes would have to be constitutional changes and therefore would require wording, publishing, announcing and then must meet the time frame to be able to be voted on at the next convention. These membership requirements would not be changes that could be made just because they needed making, otherwise changes would be made at will by any administration to meet what they wanted....that is why procedures were put in place to be followed. Yes, I'd be happy to research this and will call Most Illustrious President Mike Miller when he returns to see what assistance he may require. Thank you Skip for your comment that we were both mistaken in that the posts were under 2nd VP. The post I was referring to as having disappeared is one I made on here referring to the one on the other thread since that post dealt with this issue as well. Mark, I'll be glad to contact you per your request....just in case, however, my contact information hasn't changed....home 305-258-3414; cell 786-258-8762; house up north in Palatka 386-326-3651; fax 305-258-1053; my personal email is merlina17@aol.com or through my web at merlina@merlina.com; via snail mail at 12791 S.W. 216 Terrace, Miami, FL 33170. This information is also for anyone who may wish to contact me. Members and their benefits was one of the biggest things I concentrated on during the year that I was honored to serve as President. Any applicant who wishes to be a member of this great Society of American Magicians is someone I admire and welcome with open arms, but, I also realize that there are procedures to follow and that as long as everyone knows what those rules are and the process involved, people deal with it. If you refer to the original post by Bean, his question was with reference to how long does it take?.....to me that means that the process for application hasn't been made clear enough to someone who wishes to apply rather than him not wanting to wait the required period of time or meeting the process requirements. This brings us back full circle to what has been said many a time -- communication -- that is the key both with current members and with potential members -- communication of processes, what's going on, future plans, actual day to day happenings, etc. Keep a dream in the making for you create your tomorrows by what you dream today. Maria Ibanez |
weidhaas Loyal user 271 Posts |
Thanks all. The 3-4 weeks I mentioned included time in the postal system when the application is sent to the National Administrator. I hope I did not offend any postal service workers ;-)
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