Present: Board Chairman Paul Richmond; Directors Martin Frost, Norman Schneiderman, Braidy Brown, Katje Sabin, Ben Schoenberg, Art Jennings; CAO Bob Mahler; Secretary/Treasurer Richard Dingman; Guest Stan Allen of Stagewrite Publishing.

Absent: Director Todd Strong (excused, not at fest and unavailable by phone); Ginny Rose, fest coordinator (excused, managing fest); Becky Schneiderman, notetaker (excused, working on producing championship show)

Call to Order: Chair Paul Richmond called the meeting to order at 2pm. Katje continued as temporary notetaker.

Minutes: No minutes were presented for approval.

Agenda: Agenda is still informal; board does not approve a present agenda at this time. Board agrees to the following agenda for today:

1. Meet with Stan (one hour)
2. Set priorities for upcoming year (one hour)

New Business:

JUGGLE Magazine Presentation: Stan Allen

Stan presents an overall marketing view of JUGGLE magazine and its growth in relation to the IJA, and suggested points to consider in a successful marketing strategy for the IJA as an organization. Some topics for consideration presented by Stan include:

1. Active promotion of juggling as a popular activity
2. Insider needs to become more fun and accessible
3. Festival needs to continue to maintain high standards
4. Website should be professional and fun, too
5. Web-based discussion forum perhaps should be members-only (but public are needs to be inviting and fun, too)
6. Take advantage of the tremendous potential of World Juggling Day
7. Research corporate sponsorship for IJA
8. Use the Clubs & Affiliates Program to strengthen IJA
9. Look into a member benefits program

Stan asked the board to appoint a new JUGGLE magazine liaison soon (past BOD member Perry Rubenfeld did this before, but is not on the board now).

The board asked several questions pertaining to the history and language of the current contract. Stan was able to clarify all points to the satisfaction of the board.

The pros, cons, and challenges of wholesale distributions were discussed.

(One hour break, reconvene at 4:20pm.)

Present at second half of meeting: Martin, Norm, Paul Braidy, Ben, Bob, Richard, Katje.

Meeting Attendance Policy: The board clarified its policy on meeting attendance. All recent past board meetings have been held in Executive (or Closed) Session (only board members and employees were allowed to attend). The board will now meet in General (or Open) Session at all times, unless certain sensitive topics are under discussion (this could include, but is not limited to, items such as contract negotiations, employee reviews, strategic planning, and so forth).

No motions will be passed in Executive Session.

While members of the IJA can be present at a meeting, it is important to note that only board members may make motions or discuss items. However, a public comment period will be scheduled for each meeting to allow members to be heard.

Board committees shall be formed where members can participate, present proposals, and join discussions. Also, any member can contact any board member prior to a board meeting for comments.

Executive Sessions shall be placed at the end of board meetings, if possible, in the future.

JUGGLE Magazine Contract: (The board moved into Executive Session without objection at 4:30pm. The board moved out of Executive Session at 4:37pm.)

(At this time, Bob and Richard had to leave.)

JUGGLE Magazine Editorial Liaison: Katje Sabin was appointed liaison.

Prioritizing Tasks: The board agreed that there are many tasks facing it. In order to avoid feeling overwhelmed, it was agreed to list the items of highest priority and then bring this list to the membership for feedback at the festival.

The highest priority items (in no particular order at this time) include the following topics:

• The Life Member program
• Family membership
• Web site
• Increasing membership
• Fundraising
• Magazine
• Member benefits
• Festival
• World Juggling Day
• Sponsorship
• Financial health

Paul agreed to prepare this list for the membership, and Katje agreed to copy it.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:05pm with no objection.

Next Meeting: The next meeting was scheduled for Friday, August 4, at 4pm at the festival. The agenda will include establishing new board committees, assigning tasks, setting expectation and timelines.

Respectfully submitted,

Katje Sabin