NEWS

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

by Perry Rubenfeld, Chairman of the IJA Board of Directors

 

On behalf of the entire membership, staff and board of directors, I would like to extend to long-serving IJA board member Bud Markowitz and his family our sincerest condolences on the untimely passing of his daughter, Randi. Bud, our prayers are with you.

 

This report is being written the morning after the IJA's first conference call of the new board of directors, which took place on Dec. 10, 1996. My thanks to Bill Giduz for holding space in this issue for this report. Receiving Juggler's World magazine regularly is a concern to all members. We all want timely information. The same holds true for reports such as this. Writing a report that members will only see two or three months later is not in the best interests of the members. On the other hand, only once the minutes of IJA directors meetings have been accepted (in the following conference call) do they become official. So there is some delay time between what motions are voted on, approved and then reported to the membership.

 

The following motions were brought forward and carried at the March 26 board

meeting:

1) To accept the minutes of the IJA conference call of Nov. 27, 1995.

2) To have seven directors for the 1996-97 term.

3)That Kay Caskey and Laurie Young receive the IJA Education Award for 1996 at the Rapid City festival.

4) That the IJA contribute $75 toward the Education Award.

5) To accept and approve the 1996 budget as presented.

 

The following motions were brought forth and carried in the IJA board of directors meetings that took place in Rapid City this past summer:

1) To accept the minutes of the March 26, 1996, conference call.

2) That the Life Membership plan be shelved for two years.

3) To approve salary increases for the secretary/ treasurer.

4) To rehire Bill Giduz and Ginny Rose at their current salaries.

5) To increase the honorarium for the chief administrative officer.

6) To send a compendium/summary of the Rapid City Runaround to all members as soon as possible.

 

The following motions were brought forward and defeated in the board of directors meetings that took place in Rapid City this past summer:

1) To send all issues of the Rapid City Runaround to anyone who was not at the festival.

2) That the IJA donate $100 to the Benny Reehl fund.

 

Since Rapid City, many projects have been in the works and they continue to move forward. Members of the board and the staff are working on an endowment fund, premium membership fees, and a membership survey. As well, we are actively moving forward in our investigations on the feasibility of increasing the number of issues of Juggler's World. The IJA Roster should be coming out in late January. Plans for the 50th anniversary festival Aug. 2-6, 1997, were enthusiastically greeted by the board.

 

Awards, which are an important part of any organization, were discussed on the call. I am pleased to announce that Art Jennings has been nominated to receive the IJA Award of Excellence in Pittsburgh. The vote was unanimous! There are, of course, other awards that will be presented, but at the time of writing confirmation of acceptance is not official. I will report on these in the future.

 

The board will be meeting during the Las Vegas Winterfest and, although this report will not be read before then, I would like to invite and encourage members who are interested in helping out the IJA in any area, whether mentioned in my report or not, to please let one of the directors know. We are trying to form committees of interested members in hopes of accomplishing more. Although not a prerequisite, having access to electronic mail is a definite asset and tremendous communication can take place very rapidly this way.

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and will enjoy a healthy New Year.

 

Stuck without a quarter? Give us a call and from now on we'll pick up the tab! The IJA has installed a new t-800-free number for taking product and video orders, and new or renewal memberships. Call IJ A secretary/treasurer Richard Dingman to order a video or t-shirt.

 

You can also call toll free from Mexico and from Peru. Other countries will also receive the toll-free service soon, and those numbers will be announced as they are activated.

 

Remember that you can also reach the IJA office by e-mail.