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IJA Reclamation Project
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July 2, 2003 |
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Editorial Note: The Carmine Street Irregulars Juggling Club is not endorsing
individual (or slate) candidates in the upcoming International Jugglers
Association board elections, however we do encourage all interested jugglers
to make themselves aware of the issues and vote.
Your vote is crucial http://www.takebacktheija.org
The IJA is facing a crisis unlike any in its history and urgently
needs your help. The IJA has been losing tens of thousands of dollars
a year. The checking account ran out of money this Spring and the IJA
had to borrow from special funds. Staff members refuse to provide
full financial disclosure even to the Directors. The financial
figures they *have* published have been incomplete and inaccurate.
Now a small group of Directors has seized control of the Board and is
making decisions -- including getting rid of JUGGLE magazine -- that
we believe will result in the IJA ceasing to exist.
Solving problems
We at the IJA Reclamation Project believe there is one good chance
left to fix things -- this summer's election. We urge you to become
informed and to vote for:
Greg Phillips, Andrew Conway and Todd Strong
You can find out more at: http://www.takebacktheija.org
The IJA needs JUGGLE because it is the main reason many folks remain
members. We need financial controls and accountability. We need a
Board that will listen to and speak to the membership. We need to
reduce festival registration fees. We need to reduce expenses and to
make real use of readily available volunteers. The IJA Reclamation
Project candidates will do exactly that.
Most recent debacles
The small and unrepresentative group that has seized tight control of
the Board of Directors appears more concerned with consolidating power
and covering up for the staff than with solving the IJA's pressing
financial and organizational problems. In recent months, they have:
- Prevented further publication of JUGGLE by Stagewrite Publishing
(Stan Allen). As things stand, the May/June issue will be our last.
- Forced JUGGLE's publisher to remove his editorial, the
candidates' statements and the ballot from the May/June issue. This
censorship process delayed the May/June issue by more than one
month and the ballot by almost two months. The publisher has now
posted his censored editorial and the original candidates'
statements on the magazine's own web site: http://www.jugglemagazine.com
- Removed Dave Davis from the Board on the pretext that he was being
disruptive. In fact Dave was demanding financial details from the
staff that they were unwilling to provide. (The Chancery Court of
Delaware has ordered Dave Davis put back on the board in a Status Quo
order.)
- Closed down the Discussion Forum on the IJA's web site. This
closure suppressed debate, prevented protests against their actions,
and kept news and information from getting to members quickly.
- Started holding Board meetings in secret where formerly they were
open to observers.
- Passed a confidentiality rule preventing Board members who oppose
these actions and points of view from speaking out.
- Removed Ben Schoenberg from his job as JUGGLE magazine Liaison and
Martin Frost from his post as Webmaster, without giving any reasons
whatever for doing so.
Your vote is needed
Please vote for the candidates who will put the membership back in
charge of the IJA:
Andrew Conway
Greg Phillips
Todd Strong
You can vote by mail using the ballot the IJA sends you, or you can
vote at the fest in Reno. If you won't be in Reno and you previously
renewed at or before last year's fest, be sure to renew your IJA
membership so that your mail-in vote will count.
And if you're going to be in Reno, please make sure to come to the
Annual Meeting of the voting members at noon, Wednesday, July 16, in
the City Center Pavilion (the meeting is billed as the "IJA Forum").
This will be a very important meeting for the members to express their
opinions and vote.
Even before Reno, you can participate in an open discussion of all IJA
issues. Please join in -- or just peruse -- the replacement forum
that has been set up out of reach of the IJA censors, at:
http://www.juggling.org/discussion
("juggling.org" not "juggle.org")
Spread the Word
Please help spread the word about what has been going on with the IJA.
Tell jugglers you know how important this election is to the future of
the IJA, and ask them to vote based on the IJA's important issues.
Feel free to forward this email message to other jugglers, and please
ask jugglers you know to look at: http://www.takebacktheija.org
If you have questions or would like to help out, send email to: IJARP@takebacktheija.org
or call Joyce at 1-770-977-2558.
Take back the IJA now!
For the IJA Reclamation Project:
Bill Giduz, Former IJA President, Former Juggler's World Editor,
Life Member
Andy Ford, IJA Director
Ben Schoenberg, IJA Director, Former JUGGLE Liaison, Life Member,
Serious Juggling
Laura Green, Former IJA Director, Former IJA Festival
Coordinator, Life Member
Martin Frost, Former IJA Director, Former IJA Webmaster, Life Member
Sandy Brown, Former IJA Director, Former IJA Festival Coordinator
Katje Sabin, Former IJA Director, Former JUGGLE Associate Editor,
Damento Fest Co-Founder
Tripp Holmgrain, Former IJA Director, Life Member
Barry Bakalor, Former IJA Festival Coordinator, Juggling
Information Service
Jim Maxwell, Austin Jugglefest Co-Founder
Michelle &Steve Gerdes, Former Catalina Island Juggler's Jam Organizers
Andy, Joyce, Dan, Steve, Will &Wallace Howard, Life Members
Gregory Cohen, Infinite Illusions
Mark Hayward, IJA Teams Medalist
Jeffrey Daymont, IJA Individuals Medalist
Jack Kalvan, Life Member, IJA Teams Medalist
Rick Rubenstein, Life Member, IJA Teams Medalist
Robert Nelson, Life Member, Butterfly Man
Scotty Meltzer, Comedy Industries
Barry Friedman, Life Member, JUGGLE Contributing Editor, IJA
Teams Medalist
Jon Held, IJA Teams Medalist, Airjazz
Tim Furst, Flying Karamazov Brothers
____________________________________________________________________
To put the IJA membership back in charge, mark your ballot like the
sample below. Then follow the instructions received with the IJA
ballot itself about how to mail it.
Or come to Reno and vote there.
x Andrew Conway
x Greg Phillips
x Todd Strong
Vote on your IJA ballot, which should you should receive in the
mail during the first ten days of July. Mark it and quickly mail
it back as it instructs to make sure your vote is counted in Reno.
Before you vote, we suggest you look for possible late-breaking
news and voting suggestions at: http://www.takebacktheija.org
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