2017 will certainly be one of the most memorable years of my life. As National President of the Society of American Magicians, I had the opportunity to travel both throughout the county and abroad. My wife and I took a boat ride on the Thames on our anniversary and visited Stonehenge the next day. I visited with magicians in Oregon, Washington, Texas, London, Blackpool, Las Vegas and in other cities and towns across the country. After a successful and productive term in office, I passed the Presidency on to the President-elect in Louisville, Kentucky.
My Abra-Nebraska magic show was more popular than I could have imagined. I designed it to celebrate the Cornhusker State's Sesquicentennial and nearly 40 schools brought me in to present it to their students. Quite a few libraries also had me do this fun-filled, educational show. Although the 150th birthday year is drawing to a close, I hope that schools will still see the value in this remarkable show.
2017 also saw an increase in volunteering activities. Last May I did a free school assembly show for students at an elementary school on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Pine Ridge is one of the poorest areas in North America and faces a lot of hardships. I also became involved with fundraisers for hurricane relief programs. In November I'll be attending and performing at a fundraiser for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation in Denver. I'm so proud to say that my nephew, Marcus Sikora has been chosen as the International Ambassador of this wonderful organization.
And then there were the libraries.
It was so much fun seeing my librarian friends this year. I was also so happy that I got to make new friends, too. About 10 new libraries had me come in to entertain their guests with the "Build A Better World" magic show. Combined with all of my regular libraries, it made for a very busy summer for me! Again, thank you all so much for giving me the opportunity to do what I do.
Next summer is already shaping up to be a great year for my SRP show. The Music & Magic show is already under development and I've very excited about it. A handful of libraries have already booked their dates for next summer, and I'm doing a bit more marketing this year. I'm hoping that 2018 will be one for the record books!
