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The IJA Needs YOU
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April 17, 2003 |
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Hello, IJA Affiliate friends and members!
Some of you might know my name... I was the Affilate Chair for the
IJA Board of Directors a couple years back. One thing we tried to do
we get an online communication system going for the Affiliates, to
support and network with each other. It didn't happen, but right now
I sure wish it had!
You see, the IJA is in chaos right now. We need to get the membership
informed, get some discussions going, and figure out what to do. The
best way to do this might be via the Internet, and the most direct
link to the membership is through the affiliates. That's why I'm
writing to you now... in the hopes that you'll pass this information
on to your members, encourage them to ask questions, get involved,
and help wherever they can. If you love the IJA, NOW Is the time to
help out!
(Please remember, as you read the following, that this is only one
version of the story. I have been observing events via the IJA
Discussion Forum, and I've been in phone contact with several of the
people involved; I haven't read everything nor do I know all of what
has transpired. But what I have learned has outraged me, enough to
write this email to you now. Whether or not you agree with my
assessment of the situation, you still need to educate yourselves and
become involved!)
So here's what I have figured out so far. Three directors (board
chair Paul Richmond, board member Jaye Butler, and board member Bill
Ritchie) and the staff (secretary/treasurer Richard Dingman, festival
coordinator Ginny Rose, and Chief Administrative Officer Norman
Schneiderman) have decided that they want to change the way things
have been going.
On Monday, on very short notice, they held a special board meeting,
ostensibly to decide the fate of JUGGLE magazine (what? you didn't
know JUGGLE magazine was in question? Read on!). It seems that those
three board members and the staff want to dissolve the IJA's
relationship with StageWrite (the publisher who produces JUGGLE,
owned by Stan Allen). However, board members David Davis, Ben
Schoenberg, and Andy Ford did not wish to see JUGGLE jettisoned
(board member Scott Slesnick often abstains on key votes, including
apparently this one).
The faction of Richmond/Butler/Ritchie was able to do this by
installing Braidy Brown as a proxy vote for board-member-for-life Art
Jennings, who has been unwilling or unable to participate in board
discussions. The only problem is that the IJA bylaws do not specify
whether this is a legal move, either for a board member voted in by
the membership or for a special director like Art. From what I can
gather, this is NOT a legal move.
With Braidy as a voting board member (this is the guy who thought it
was a good idea to kill the Life Member program, remember?), and
Scott abstaining (or absent) for most of Monday's eight-hour long
meeting, this newly constituted board then passed the following
actions:
- Removed board member David Davis from the board
- Ended negotiations with JUGGLE magazine
- Removed Ben Schoenberg as the magazine liaison, and replaced him
with Bill Ritchie
- Removed Martin Frost as the IJA Webmaster and replaced him with
Marti Larsen (a new member who, with his wife Ellie, are both running
for the board. Apparently they were unaware of the stipulation that
you must be a member for at least a year. I understand that Ellie has
yet to learn how to juggle).
- Killed the online IJA Member Discussion Forum (that was created in
response to member demand in Pittsburg). It remains inoperative.
(Fortunately, dedicated members have resurrected the Discussion Forum
at the following Web site: http://www.juggling.org/discussion/ --- it
is being generously hosted by the Juggling Information Service).
NONE of these motions were presented to the membership, open for
member discussion, or posted on a public agenda for members to review.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the order of actions, who voted for
what (although I suspect you can guess), or what was said during the
discussions, because the board has also decided to make the
recordings of the meetings unavailable to members.
What precipitated such an enormous slash-and-burn of members' wishes
and benefits? I cannot say for sure, but there have been several
things under discussion recently that may have contributed:
- JUGGLE magazine needed a new contract. I believe Stan was working
with the IJA in good faith without a contract while a new one was
being negotiated. On the Discussion Forum, Stan was showing signs of
extreme dissatisfaction with the IJA board's inability to do business
(although he did not ever express concern about his treatment by the
magazine liaison, Ben Schoenberg). Some board members, specifically
Jaye Butler, believed another publisher could do a better job for
less money, or even a volunteer. Ben Schoenberg was one board member
who thought keeping JUGGLE was important; Bill Richie wanted JUGGLE
killed off. No reason, as far as I can tell, was given for Ben's
removal as magazine liaison.
- The IJA has been heading towards a financial train wreck for a few
years. The people who have been trying to alert the membership and
working to avert the disaster have been shunned, ignored, and
discredited by the staff and the board chair. The crisis is looming
soon... which is another reason, perhaps, why the magazine was
jettisoned. No other reason, as far as I can tell, was given for the
break with the very popular JUGGLE magazine.
- David Davis has worked tirelessly since his election to obtain and
investigate the financial records of this organization (something
quite reasonable for a board member to do, as he is legally
responsible for the fiscal fitness of the organization). This
information was never given to him in a form that was easily readable
or accessible. He has remained a champion of regular procedures,
accounting, and responsibility... things that the current board
leadership apparently can not support. No specific reason, as far as
I can tell, was given for David's removal.
- There were several postings on the IJA Discussion Forum by a "Joe
Joshua" encouraging unhappy members to quit the organization. But
there is no member named Joe Joshua. Speculation and then
investigation revealed that this poster was very likely Norm
Schneiderman, the Chief Administrative Officer of the IJA. The CAO
telling members to quit... when IJA is desperate for new members and
to retain old ones? If this is true... a staff member actively and
anonymously working to DECREASE the membership... then there should
be some consequences. Was Martin fired because he was involved in an
investigation of this matter? He would have been one of the only
people who had access to the records that would have proven (or
disproven) "Joe's" real identity. No reason, as far as I can tell,
was given for Martin's removal.
- Not long ago, the staff advocated to the board chair that the Reno
festival be moved to Buffalo. This move was averted largely due to
member outcry (mostly via the Discussion Forum and email). The board
chair, Paul Richmond, then advocated that the IJA split into two
festivals, one in each site, a few weeks apart. Where would the
championships be held? Where would be member meeting be held? These
issues weren't addressed... the proposal was half-baked and
unreasonable. What's driving this kind of thinking?
- Chair Paul Richmond has not been able to administer the board in
any way. There are no regular meetings, rarely an agenda, little
public discussion of board actions, no report of the minutes. He has
called special meetings with little regard to board members' outside
committments, with little advance warning, for items with little or
no discussion planned or offered (for members and directors both).
This is for decisions like where to hold the festival or whether to
renew the JUGGLE contract... not insignificant issues. He has shown
no inclination to create or follow regular board procedures, yet he
does not delegate the administrative duties to anyone else. Offers of
free assistance and counseling by volunteers and a registered
parliamentarian have been ignored. The board is not functional...
nobody is driving.
Well, I could keep going, but I don't need to. The discussion is
going on right now (along with access to all the previous discussions
of all of the above issues) at the new Discussion Forum. If you are
unhappy with how the staff and board have trampled the work of
dedicated IJA members like David Davis, Martin Frost, Ben Schoenberg,
Andy Ford, Stan Allen, and Alan Howard (the editor of JUGGLE
magazine), then please come to http://www.juggling.org/discussion/
and find out what other outraged members are hoping to do.
If your affiliate group has an email list, please forward this
message along it. It's important for our members to become as
informed as possible. If you think this message is too long or too
biased, at the very least encourage your members to join in the
discussion at http://www.juggling.org/discussion/ and to VOTE (your
ballot should be included in the next... and final... issue of JUGGLE
magazine, which should be arriving in the next few weeks).
And yes, there will still be a festival in Reno. We're hoping it's
the IJA festival; it's hard to tell what the remaining board and
staff have planned. But the IJA membership WILL convene in Reno. Be
sure to attend that meeting if you can.
By email, by web, by post, by telephone, by site-swaps... if you care
about the IJA, NOW is the time to make your voice heard. This could
be the IJA's last year, or it could be the birth of a new, vital,
wonderful organization. The only way to go from one extreme to the
other is with member involvement, input, work and ideas.
The IJA needs YOU.
Don't drop the ball now.
Katje Sabin
former IJA board member
IJA member since 1985
P.S. I am willing to further discuss the topics presented in this
post via return email or by telephone (530-758-6459)... but really, I
would encourage you to come join the discussion at
http://www.juggling.org/discussion/
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