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Letter to IJA Members
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July 7, 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. There are two discussion boards online to find out more about the relevant issues. The IJA's site is www.juggle.org (discussion forum open to members only), and the "forbidden forum" is at www.juggling.org/discussion.
Dear Members:
Directors and Staff of the International Jugglers' Association (IJA) have been
asked to explain "our" side of what has gone on and why various actions were
taken. Our reluctance to comment has been due to an ongoing threat of litigation
and our involvement in a lawsuit filed by David Davis and Ben Schoenberg,
directors elected to the Board last July.
David Davis' first threat of a lawsuit was related to calling a Board meeting on
a date that he was unable to attend due to a previously scheduled campout.
Members of the Board and staff have been threatened by David Davis with
lawsuits, termination, removal and/or criminal prosecution on a regular basis
for the past ten months. IJA members have been misinformed and misled during a
public smear campaign directed at helping David and Ben achieve their goals of
firing the entire staff, disposing of Art Jennings (IJA's Founding Father) and
taking complete control of the Board of Directors of the IJA with their friend,
Andrew Conway.
David and Ben filed a lawsuit against the following individuals in the Delaware
Court of Chancery in May:
Paul Richmond, Volunteer Director and Former Chairman of the Board
Bill Ritchie, Volunteer Director and Chairman of the Board
Jaye Butler, Volunteer Director
Braidy Brown, Volunteer Auction and Archives Coordinator
Ginny Rose, Festival Coordinator
Norman Schneiderman, General Manager
Richard Dingman, Secretary/Treasurer
We tried to negotiate a settlement with David and Ben in order to protect the
IJA from being joined as a party to the lawsuit that they filed, and to try to
make the Reno festival less about politics and more about juggling.
Negotiations broke down when David and Ben required that Bud Markowitz (Founder
of "Bud's Kids") and other candidates for the Board withdraw their names from
the ballot. We did not believe it was fair to any of our members to be denied
the right to select the candidates of their choice. This is not about retaining
some type of power in this organization. The staff has been pleading to leave
for some time, but we have encouraged them to stay in order to assure that the
festival in Reno is of the highest possible quality.
The IJA's attorney waived $5,000 in legal fees so that no funds would have to be
paid to cover the insurance deductible for the lawsuit to date. The IJA's
insurance carrier has provided attorneys for the defendants. Legal fees and
expenses could exceed one hundred thousand dollars to defend this lawsuit. The
court has ordered Dave and Ben to amend their complaint to add the IJA as a
party to the lawsuit by August 15, 2003. The IJA will be required to retain
its own attorney to represent it in the litigation.
Art Jennings founded the IJA in June 1947 to promote and protect the art of
juggling and foster friendship between jugglers. Each person becoming a member
pledged to render assistance to fellow jugglers. Our mission was clear. During
the course of the past few years, however, the IJA lost its focus. Our mission
has been clouded with politics and divisiveness. As Art watched his life-long
dream for juggling and jugglers slipping away, he asked us to try to return the
focus to juggling. Jugglers are now pitted against jugglers in a legal and
political battle that does not belong in the organization that our founders
created. Art won't be joining us in Reno this July. Perhaps the synopses that
follows will help you better understand why many of us are upset.
During a Board meeting in Reading last July, David Davis led an effort to elect
a new chairman of the Board due to what he identified as rumors of impropriety
associated with Paul Richmond. No evidence was offered to support this
allegation, and Paul was re-elected as Chairman. Only David Davis voted for
Andy Ford. Andy Ford abstained. David questioned the validity of the election
results and then on September 19th David Davis and Ben Schoenberg sought to
remove Paul from office. Beyond an ongoing effort to remove Paul Richmond,
David Davis sought support to remove Art Jennings as a Board member. David
described our founding father as a puppet who is not capable of having an
opinion of his own. Unable to secure support to remove Art Jennings, David
telephoned Art at home to pressure him to resign on two separate occasions.
David Davis also called to inform Art that he wanted to take archive money and
put it in the general fund. When Art advised David that he couldn't do this
without his approval, David asked Art to resign. Art reports that David has made
it evident that he considers him nothing but a "corpse." In addition to
disposing of Art Jennings, David has stated that his plan for the annual meeting
in Reno on July 16 is to have the members remove one or more remaining Board
members (Scott Slesnick and/or Jaye Butler). This guarantees that David or Ben
will be elected Chairman of the Board. David has also claimed that they plan to
fire the Festival Coordinator and the rest of the staff during the annual
meeting and to take over running the last four days of the festival using the
program plans that Ginny Rose has prepared.
Paul Richmond had high hopes for the Board and the IJA last summer. He provided
a proposed agenda to the new Board several times beginning in August detailing
what he considered topics and issues that were important to the IJA (See
Attached). He asked Board members to modify and prioritize agenda items. David
Davis wanted his concerns addressed. When Paul asked him to add them to the
list that had been sent out and have the Board decide which items would be given
priority, David began to report to the members that his concerns were not being
addressed. David regularly noted that he was paranoid and publicly expressed
concerns regarding a cover up, financial mismanagement and dirty laundry. He
inundated the staff with demands for IJA documents and personal correspondence
between previous Board members, staff members and members of the IJA. When the
staff noted that they could not authorize some of the requests and referred
David to the Board, he accused them of wrong doing and publicly alleged that he
was being denied access. David was given the entire financial database, the
membership database and other information. He claims that he is qualified to
complete an audit, but he has not provided any information regarding his
educational and/or professional qualifications to do so. David and Ben opposed
a motion to have an independent certified accountant complete a review or audit
of the financial records of the corporation for the purposes of supplying
sufficient testing and verification. They further opposed having a clearly
legible copy of financial records of the IJA available for inspection by any
member at the annual festival. Why shouldn't qualified professionals be allowed
to put our members minds at ease that the funds entrusted to the IJA are being
handled properly?
On April 14th the Board of Directors removed David Davis from the Board at the
request of and with the blessings of our founder. Art Jennings appointed Braidy
Brown as his attorney in fact to act in his capacity to make a motion to remove
David for cause. His behavior has been so consistently disruptive that the Board
has been prevented from functioning effectively. David argued against meeting
times, tried to stop scheduled meetings and fought approval of minutes. Even
after draft minutes were prepared verbatim from tapes of the meetings, David
and/or Ben fought against using the actual wording of motions. Changing the
wording of motions would then change the intent of a motion and affect the
outcome of votes. David demanded to see all motions in advance, repeatedly said
shut up, interrupted speakers and interrogated Board and staff members. If we
refused to answer questions, he often claimed that we were then saying this or
agreeing with that. This was then reported to members as fact. David brought
Board progress to a crawl and then complained to members that nothing was being
done.
David also made accusations against the staff about wrongdoing without evidence
placing the IJA at risk of liability. He posted on the discussion forum many
accusations, insinuations and misinformation not supported by evidence. David
even went to the IJA's largest financial contributor and told him that the money
that he had raised was being mismanaged. He posted this on the IJA's web site
bringing damage and disrepute to the employees and the IJA. There was no
mismanagement found in the handling of these funds, yet David continued to make
this allegation. Would you want to donate money to any organization when a
Board member, one of the leaders of the organization, is claiming that donations
are not being handled properly? How does the rest of the Board pursue
donations, corporate sponsorships and grants? Would you want to pay a
membership fee to an organization that is being accused by its leadership of
mismanaging funds? How does the rest of the Board expand membership?
The annual festival carries this organization financially. Every year the IJA
depends on a profit to carry the organization into the next fiscal year. Given
the current economy, this practice is increasingly risky. Other revenue sources
needed to be explored. Grants and bequests could not be pursued for the reasons
described above. The contract with Stagewrite Publishing for JUGGLE Magazine
was costing us more than we brought in through membership dues. We needed to do
something. We could have raised dues, but this did not seem like a wise choice
for our members in a time of increasing unemployment and a declining economy.
We could have cut staff, but this placed the Reno festival at risk when we were
still dependent on revenue from the event. Volunteers could have been secured,
but the amount of commitment and time needed to run the festival and the IJA is
substantial. There have been repeated calls for volunteers. The response is
low. Although the majority of people who do respond are hard working, we could
not ignore the fact that our volunteers had previously voiced concern that the
demands of the paid positions were far too great for a volunteer staff due to
family and career responsibilities. National employment figures for comparable
positions support that the IJA staff is underpaid. We could not expect
employees to accept pay cuts when they have never had a cost of living increase.
Stan Allen, Publisher of JUGGLE Magazine, had still not signed a contract and
was asking if the Board was going to get some work done. After attending two
Board meetings, Stan Allen submitted a letter of resignation as publisher of
JUGGLE on January 28. This resignation terminated any written or verbal
agreements between the International Juggler's Association, Stan Allen
individually and Stagewrite Publishing. The May/June issue was to be the final
issue produced by Stagewrite. On March 20, Stan submitted a letter to the Board
expressing a desire to enter an agreement to publish JUGGLE Magazine for at
least three more issues. Entering any new agreement required a majority vote of
the Board. This did not happen.
The IJA did not have enough money in the general operating budget to pay for the
March/April issue of JUGGLE if the Secretary/Treasurer cashed his last two
paychecks. The publisher had previously resigned, and we could not afford to
bring Stan Allen back under the terms of the previous contract. The publisher
was also claiming that we had no right to place the covers of JUGGLE on our web
site, and there were arguments being made that the IJA would be sued if we
continued to publish JUGGLE under the same name with another publisher. This was
in direct conflict with the agreement between the IJA and Stagewrite Publishing.
We were paying the publisher $32 per member for six issues of JUGGLE (See
Attached). This number increased as our membership dropped below two thousand
members. The total cost of benefits is $38.46 per member, and this does not
include any administrative costs. Membership dues range from $23 to $30 per
year for youth and adults respectively. International membership dues only
cover increased postage. This means the annual festival has to subsidize your
magazine and pay all other operational expenses. It was fiscally irresponsible
to continue the relationship with Stagewrite Publishing no matter how much we
personally enjoyed Stagewrite's product. A publisher that does not retain
advertising revenue was being pursued. Per the proposed benefits of membership
proposal (See Attached), we learned that we could produce the same quality
magazine for far less. We also discovered that we could offer our members other
benefits of membership including a shorter magazine, two juggling DVDs and an
expanded web site for a price that the IJA could afford without raising
membership dues or cutting staff.
After David was removed from the Board, we finally started to get a number of
things done. We appointed a Finance Committee with three CPAs to supervise the
IJA's financial procedures. A Web Site Committee was appointed to secure and
develop the IJA's web site. This was a task that our former webmaster reported
he did not have the time to pursue due to work on a new book. We approved
minutes, and started to pursue a new publisher and printer. As we started to
move forward with IJA business, Ben picked up where David left off by blocking
and stalling progress in meetings. Legal action has further interfered with
forward progress. People are afraid to get involved in committees, offer
proposals or work on JUGGLE Magazine. They do not want to become a party to
this lawsuit.
We asked our attorney to meet with the judge and David Davis to restore the
status quo until the elections in July in hopes that this would help reduce
tensions at the festival. David is misrepresenting this action by claiming that
the judge granted him the relief that he was seeking in his complaint and
restored him to the Board. He is also alleging that he was removed because he
asked to see financial records. This is absolutely untrue. We believe that we
were fully justified in removing David from the Board for cause. David alleges
that he is now being unfairly denied access to the IJA's web site. The IJA has
evidence to support that David attacked the IJA's web site with a denial of
service attack. It is our understanding that the chances it was not David's
computer are forty billion to one. This matter will also be addressed by the
Court of Chancery.
Our experience throughout this past year was that no matter what we did we were
having our actions misrepresented, misreported and attacked. We have presented
an overview of the events and problems that led to where we are now. We continue
to feel anger and frustration as we watch the organization we love being taken
down by personal interests. We want the IJA to survive and grow, not suffer like
this. We want the IJA to be about juggling and friendship, not about politics
and lawsuits. You are the only people that can change the course of this tide.
Art Jennings is planning to resign from the Board and does not plan to attend
the festival. He went out and gathered jugglers to create the IJA fifty-six
years ago, and he does not want to watch his dream for juggling and jugglers
destroyed. The present staff has suffered verbal abuse and been personally and
professionally defamed. It has been extremely difficult to work in this hostile
environment, but they have never regretted serving you or the wonderful
friendships they have developed through the IJA.
Each one of us loves juggling and loved Art Jennings' IJA. We have made many
friends, and we appreciate your support of this organization. The actions of a
small, highly organized minority led by Andrew Conway and David Davis has
changed the IJA from the joy-filled association it used to be. It will take
able leaders to bring the IJA through this critical time. You need to decide
who will run this organization. We strongly urge you to elect the following
members to lead the IJA into the future:
Bud Markowitz
Stuart Celarier
Russ O'Brien
Your vote will impact all future actions and decisions taken by the IJA. By
voting or not voting, you will decide the future of the IJA. We encourage you to
speak up with your votes.
Respectfully,
Art Jennings, Founder and Director
Bill Ritchie, Chairman of the Board
Paul Richmond, Director and Former Chairman of the Board
Jaye Butler, Director
Norman Schneiderman, General Manager
Richard Dingman, Secretary/Treasurer
Ginny Rose, Festival Coordinator
==========================================
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
A subscription to the bimonthly JUGGLE magazine, featuring articles and pictures
of the world's great jugglers, reviews of juggling books and videos, interviews,
how-to sections of tricks to try, lists of juggling clubs, dates of upcoming
juggling events, and more.
The Roster of IJA Members, published annually, which puts you in touch with a
few thousand jugglers worldwide.
Invitation to the annual 5-day IJA Festival where jugglers of all levels
(beginners to professionals) enjoy workshops, shows, competitions, games and
camaraderie.
Your IJA membership card.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
REGULAR MEMBER:
United States $30
Canada $34
All Other Countries $39
YOUTH MEMBER (17 or Younger):
United States $23
Canada $27
All Other Countries $32
LIFE MEMBER $1,500
Old Life Membership Program $250-$300
FAMILY MEMBER $5
Members of the family of a regular or life member can be family members. Family
Members must live at the same address as the Regular or Life Member. All Family
Members except one must be 22 or younger. There is no age limit for the Regular
or Life Member(s) in the family. Family Members do not get a separate copy of
IJA publications.
COST PER MEMBER WITH 2,000 MEMBERS CURRENT PUBLISHER
The IJA currently pays Stagewrite Publishing $64,000.00 for 2,000 copies of six
issues of JUGGLE. The cost per issue is $10,666.66 for approximately 48 glossy
pages with a minimum of 8 pages in full color. Compensation includes all
mailing costs for domestic postage. The IJA pays the difference between
domestic rates and world distribution. The publisher retains any and all
revenue from advertising.
Subscription to JUGGLE
$32.00
World Distribution Services
.52
3/03 Canada ($0.65 x 6 Issues = $3.90 x 061 Members = $237.90)
3/03 All Other ($1.19 x 6 Issues = $7.14 x 112 Members = $799.68)
Roster of IJA Members
3.58
Data Design: $787.50
Layout and Editing: $2,000.00
Printing: $2,798.99
Postage: $1,567.15
Invitation to Annual IJA Festival Flyer
1.36
Design and Layout: $1,000.00
Printing: $742.50
Postage: $969.76
Membership Card Packet
.50
Card, 2-Sided Letter, Envelope, Sticker (New Members Only) and Postage
Renewal Reminder(s)
.50
TOTAL PER MEMBER
$38.46
TOTAL 2,000 MEMBERS
$76,920.00
COST PER MEMBER WITH 2,000 MEMBERS NEW PUBLISHER
The IJA will pay up to $41,498.64 for 2,000 copies of six issues of JUGGLE. The
cost per issue is up to $6,916.44 for 48 glossy pages on 70 pound paper with 8
pages in full color. Printing includes negatives, stripping, cutting, folding
and binding. Handling includes preparing address labels from a text file and
preparation for distribution. The IJA retains any and all revenue from
advertising. Projected revenue of $2,250.00 is included in the cost basis.
Subscription to JUGGLE
$20.75
Publishing/Editing/Layout (48 Pages @ $40): $1,920.00
Professional Services (48 Pages @ $73): $3,504.00
Blue Line Proof/Printing/Handling: $3,052.44
Cass and Pave Certify Text File: $100.00
Postage (Nonprofit Standard Mail): $590.00
World Distribution Services
.52
Roster of IJA Members
3.58
Invitation to Annual IJA Festival In JUGGLE
.00
Membership Card Packet
.50
Renewal Reminder(s)
.50
TOTAL PER MEMBER
$25.85
TOTAL 2,000 MEMBERS
$51,700.00
==========================================
PROPOSED BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
A subscription to the bimonthly JUGGLE Magazine, featuring articles and pictures
of the world's great jugglers, reviews of juggling books and videos, interviews,
how-to sections of tricks to try, lists of juggling clubs, dates of upcoming
juggling events, and more.
Services on the Bilingual IJA Web Site for Members Only Including the Following:
Renewing Membership Online
Purchasing IJA Merchandise Online
Current JUGGLE Magazine Articles Available for Visually Impaired Members
Current JUGGLE Magazine Articles Translated for International Members
Live Chats at Designated Times with Jugglers Featured in JUGGLE Magazine
Live Chats at Designated Times with Coaches, Costume Designers and Other Experts
A Discussion Forum Addressing Topics of Interest to Jugglers
A Discussion Forum Addressing the Business of the IJA
Milestones (Births, Marriages, Deaths and Other Member News)
A Physical Education Curriculum Designed to Assist Teachers
A Juggling Curriculum Designed to Assist Clubs and Youth Group Leaders
Recommendations for Involving Individuals with Special Needs in Juggling
Programs
Photographs and Articles from the IJA Archives
Screen Savers of Special Interest to Jugglers
The Roster of IJA Members, updated biweekly on the IJA web site, which puts you
in touch with a few thousand jugglers worldwide. This roster will include an
optional member profile to help members locate jugglers with specific skills and
other commonalties.
Vendor discounts available to members listed in the IJA roster.
Invitation to the annual 5-day IJA Festival where jugglers of all levels
(beginners to professionals) enjoy workshops, shows, competitions, games and
camaraderie.
A DVD in one issue of JUGGLE Magazine (a $30-$35 value).
Your IJA membership card and a choice of one DVD will be mailed to you when you
join the IJA or renew your membership (a $25-$30 value).
COST PER MEMBER WITH 2,000 MEMBERS
PROPOSED MEMBERSHIP PLAN A
The IJA will pay up to $26,898.84 for 2,000 copies of six issues of JUGGLE. The
cost per issue is up to $4,483.14 for 32 glossy pages on 70 pound paper with 8
pages in full color. Printing includes negatives, stripping, cutting, folding
and binding. Handling includes preparing address labels from a text file and
preparation for distribution. The IJA retains any and all revenue from
advertising. Projected revenue of $2,125.00 is included in the cost basis.
Subscription to JUGGLE
$13.45
Publishing/Editing/Layout (32 Pages @ $40): $1,280.00
Professional Services (32 Pages @ $80.00): $2,560.00
Blue Line Proof/Printing/Handling: $2,238.14
Cass and Pave Certify Text File: $100.00
Postage (Nonprofit Standard Mail): $430.00
World Distribution Services
.52
3/03 Canada ($0.65 x 6 Issues = $3.90 x 061 Members = $237.90)
3/03 All Other ($1.19 x 6 Issues = $7.14 x 112 Members = $799.68)
Web Site Development/Maintenance
2.00
Roster of IJA Members Maintained on Web Site
.30
Maximum Per Month: $50.00
Invitation to Annual IJA Festival In JUGGLE
.00
DVD In JUGGLE
1.99
DVD NTSC Master (60.01-120 Minutes): $35.00
One Color Silkscreen Design Film: $35.00
Pressed and Labeled DVD NTSC $2,900.00
DVD Packaging: $500.00
Postage to Printer: $35.00
DVD Inserted in JUGGLE: $280.00
Shrink Wrapping: $200.00
Membership Card Packet with Choice of DVD
2.60
DVD NTSC Master (30:01-60 Minutes): $25.00
One Color Silkscreen Design Film: $35.00
DVD NTSC Master (120-180 Minutes): $45.00
One Color Silkscreen Design Film: $35.00
Pressed and Labeled DVD NTSC $2,900.00
DVD Packaging: $500.00
Postage to IJA: $35.00
Membership Card Packet: $1,000.00
Additional Postage: $625.00
Renewal Reminder(s)
.50
Postcards (i.e. Refer to Web Site and WJD Reminder)
.50
Program Development (Educational Programs and WJD) 1.14
SUBTOTAL
$23.00
REGULAR AND LIFE MEMBERS ONLY:
Operational Expenses
7.00
TOTAL
$30.00
COST PER MEMBER WITH 2,000 MEMBERS PROPOSED MEMBERSHIP PLAN B
The IJA will pay up to $21,173.88 for 2,000 copies of six issues of JUGGLE. The
cost per issue is up to $3,528.98 for 24 glossy pages on 70 pound paper with 8
pages in full color. Printing includes negatives, stripping, cutting, folding
and binding. Handling includes preparing address labels from a text file and
preparation for distribution. The IJA retains any and all revenue from
advertising. Projected revenue of $1,750.00 is included in the cost basis.
Subscription to JUGGLE
$10.59
Publishing/Editing/Layout (24 Pages @ $40): $960.00
Professional Services (24 Pages @ $83.34): $2,000.00
Blue Line Proof/Printing/Handling: $1,930.98
Cass and Pave Certify Text File: $100.00
Postage (Nonprofit Standard Mail): $288.00
World Distribution Services .52
3/03 Canada ($0.65 x 6 Issues = $3.90 x 061 Members = $237.90)
3/03 All Other ($1.19 x 6 Issues = $7.14 x 112 Members = $799.68)
Web Site Development/Maintenance
3.00
Roster of IJA Members Maintained on Web Site
.30
Maximum Per Month: $50.00
Invitation to Annual IJA Festival in JUGGLE
.00
DVD In JUGGLE
1.99
DVD NTSC Master (60.01-120 Minutes): $35.00
One Color Silkscreen Design Film: $35.00
Pressed and Labeled DVD NTSC $2,900.00
DVD Packaging: $500.00
Postage to Printer: $35.00
DVD Inserted in JUGGLE: $280.00
Shrink Wrapping: $200.00
Membership Card Packet with Choice of DVD
2.60
DVD NTSC Master (30:01-60 Minutes): $25.00
One Color Silkscreen Design Film: $35.00
DVD NTSC Master (120-180 Minutes): $45.00
One Color Silkscreen Design Film: $35.00
Pressed and Labeled DVD NTSC $2,900.00
DVD Packaging: $500.00
Postage to IJA: $35.00
Membership Card Packet: $1,000.00
Additional Postage: $625.00
Renewal Reminder(s)
.50
Postcards (i.e. Refer to Web Site and WJD Reminder)
.50
Program Development (Educational Programs and WJD) 3.00
SUBTOTAL 23.00
REGULAR AND LIFE MEMBERS ONLY:
Operational Expenses
7.00
TOTAL
$30.00
==========================================
PAUL RICHMOND'S PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS
TO BE PRIORITIZED BY THE BOARD
Web Page
Ads on Web Site
Member log in
Dealing with the Discussion page
New web master or group of people working on the web site
Other discussion topics / pages
What do we want on the web site?
What is a long-range plan for the Web? Credit Card acceptance
Selling pages to performers to list their performance schedule
Membership
Increasing Membership
Membership cards
Budget for raising membership
More Brochures will be needed
We will need members to seat at tables at various conferences that we have
made exchanges with ( more information to follow)
WJD possible members
Contact our mailing lists on non-members
A plan and program for reaching out to new areas for members
Clarifying member categories
Affiliates / Clubs what do we want from these projects
Financial
CPAs on financial committee
Going over Budgets
Going over monthly reports
Looking at ways for us to best invest / keep safe our various funds, ex. Life
Member etc
Festival Committee
So far this committee has tried to take all the various suggestion around the
festival and worked with Ginny. We need to have clearly stated goals, reasons
for the festival, so that we can evaluate the work being done.
When the staff gives the report on how the festival went. Set up clear
procedures for how suggestions and what was learned can be worked on and
implemented for Reno and beyond
Do we do another festival?
A security system that is good at keeping out crashers, is easy to monitor
and ID's that are easy for the participants to wear.
Having a stage / a space for people to perform and be critiqued by other
performers Like Motion Fest (have a report on talking to Michael)
Championship What is our goal, how many different kinds of Championships?
Team juniors? Championships based on the same props
Magazine
Liaison is Ben (to be clear, Ben you would like to do this job for the year?
I ask because there was confusion if you were just taking it on until we meet.
I thought you had accepted the job.)
We accepted the contract (Did Stan sign it)
We need to address getting more members / bring in more money to cover the
cost of the magazine. Stan has also stated that he is feeling that he has to
look at how long he can really do the magazine if it the numbers don't increase.
There was some talk of other groups who might go in on the magazine with us
Add pages to the magazine
What is the purpose of the Magazine in communicating to member? What should
go in the Magazine? What goes on the web? (If we want information both places,
it was felt that the Magazine should be the first place things are announced so
as to give the magazine some worth)
WJD
Bill Giduz and Martin have taken this on
Bill said he was on for the long haul
I will check with Martin, but I assume he will still be involved
What is the purpose?
What is the budget?
What do we hope to get from it?
There has been talk of changing the date. The idea is to have it during the
school year, possibly May, so that the schools could participate, and we could
get more student involvement. Bill said that he would go with a date change.
He didn't think it could happen this coming year but if we decide this we could
start advertising it now for the next.
By Laws / Polices & Procedures
You all have the By Laws, polices and procedures (We need input on what needs to
be changed, and any changes accepted). (These were all emailed to the board.)
By-laws
Four areas that I saw that need work, clarification
- Number of votes to be elected (at present if there are three opening and
there are only three candidates then even if no one votes for one of the people
running they are elected if they vote for themselves. Most organization I know
of have a % of votes a candidate must get in order to be elected. It is based on
the number of votes that were cast. So that if 200 people voted and the % was
10% you would have to get 20 votes to be elected. Some think that by not voting
for a person you are not electing them but that's not true if it is not
contested, which it often isn't. I think this needs to change
- Clarifying how we can communicate and if "meetings" can take place on the
Web, by email, etc
In the By Laws state:
13. Participation in Meeting or by Telephone. Any director may participate in a
meeting and/or hearing of the Board of Directors by means of a conference
telephone
Or other similar communications equipment, if all of the persons participating
in such meeting and/or hearing are able to hear each other and the director
participating
By means of telephone or similar communications at the same time. Participation
by such means shall constitute Presence in person at the meeting and/or hearing.
- Clarify Code of Conduct, What constitutes reasons for losing membership
- Member Nomination (right now you don't have to be a member to be nominated.
To clarity what we want the nomination process to be.)
Nominations
We need to be constantly looking and encouraging our skilled membership to run
for the Board
Elections
This was a short-term committee. Do we want to continue this committee and if
so for what purpose?
It would be great if any of the new board members who just went through the
process have any suggestions of what works best.
Policies are needed as to how much space to give nominees on our web site
such as photos, links to web sites, etc.
Volunteers
We are always looking for volunteers and we need to be more active in
attracting willing people
The jobs volunteers do need to be clear and the experience of working with
the IJA should be a good one
We need to have some policies about what's expected and what we offer
volunteers
IJA Office
Staff Job descriptions (Will sent out Norman's, Ginny's and Richards)
Evaluations
Office
We need clear expectations and clear communications between the board and
staff regarding what jobs are to be done, what is expected and the process that
goes on for more or new work that is asked of the staff. (I would see the
process being a board member brings up information / projects they want the
staff to take on and the board needing to agree that, that is a priority for the
staff)
Donations / Sponsorship
We have a number of possibilities to discuss.
Long Range Plan
Most organization work up a long range plan, of about 3-5 years
We need to be setting up some kind of vision as to what we are working
towards
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