MUFON Illinois Visitors

History

Visitors launched in May 2008 as the quarterly newsletter of Illinois MUFON NFP Inc., published from PO Box 2105, Orland Park, Illinois 60462. Frank Coffman served as editor and public relations officer, Samuel Maranto as State Director, and Vic Connor as Assistant State Director. Staff writers included Bill Murphy, John B. Ringer (historical anomalist), and Scott Waldyn. Annual membership cost $20. The publication ran to professionally designed, multi-page issues with photographs, event coverage, and feature-length investigative articles.

Illinois MUFON co-sponsored events with the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), whose scientific director Mark Rodeghier collaborated on symposia. The first symposium in March 2008 drew over 150 people to Tinley Park, Illinois, with Don Schmitt presenting "Witness to Roswell: New Evidence and Death Bed Confessions," Rodeghier updating the O'Hare UFO sighting investigation, and film producer Darryl Barker screening his documentary "Edge of Reality: Illinois UFO January 5th, 2000." The August 2008 issue covered UFO Symposium 2, where Richard Dolan delivered the keynote on "The Challenges of UFO Disclosure."

Maranto pursued an innovative outreach strategy: holding regional meetings at locations designated by the Illinois Department of Tourism as "Seven Wonders of Illinois," including Starved Rock State Park, Rend Lake, and Allerton Park. This combined public engagement with geographic coverage of a large state. Public meetings at Orland Park Public Library drew community interest beyond the traditional UFO research audience.

John B. Ringer contributed historical analysis pieces, including "Can the Military Keep a Secret?" which drew on his personal experience as a 1950s Army draftee to dismantle the argument that government secrecy about UFOs would be impossible to maintain. The newsletter balanced current investigation updates with historical perspective and symposium coverage, positioning Illinois MUFON as a serious research organisation with academic partnerships.