IJA Board Meeting - July 27, 2001
Dining room, Hawthorne Suites Hotel in Madison, WI

Present: Paul Richmond, board chair; Art Jennings, Martin Frost, Ben Schoenberg, Todd Strong, Bill Ritchie, Andy Ford, and Katje Sabin, directors; Norman Schneiderman, general manager; Richard Dingman, secretary/treasurer; Ginny Rose, festival coordinator; about 20 IJA members/life members and past board members.

Meeting called to order: At 9am CDT by Paul.

Approval of the Minutes: The minutes of the July 26, 2001, meeting were distributed but not yet approved at this time. The minutes of the July 17, 2001, meeting were not approved at this time.

Agenda: Festivals (2002 site and Bahamas Winterfest)

2002 Festival Site:

Reno, NV, and Reading, PA, are the two choices at this time.

Ginny passed around a brochure and orally described the Reading site as 20,000 s.f. of cement floor with high ceilings (for comparison, the main gym at Madison was also 20,000 s.f.).

Board members asked about the theater, hotel accommodations, A/C, meeting room facilities, cost, recent construction on the site, dates, and camping availability.

Ginny told the board that the Rajah Theatre/Sovereign Center for Performing Arts is three blocks away and has over 1,800 seats. The closest hotel is three blocks away. One hotel wants 200 rooms blocked at a $69 rate, another wants 100 rooms blocked. Both have shuttles. She doesn't believe it will be a problem to fill those room requirements.

We would consider in good faith that we would try to return for another fest there within five years, at the same room and rental rates, but we wouldn't have to choose the second year at this time.

It has air conditioning and 5,000 s.f. of meeting rooms.

Ginny said that Reno wants $1,000 per day for use of the pavilion, not including theater rental. At Reading, the theater would be free on certain days.

Although the site has been under construction, Ginny says that the center is completed and the theater is ready.

Ginny stated that a Reno fest would start July 8, 2002, while the Reading fest would begin on July 15, 2002. Neither site has camping nearby, but she feels that there is a possibility of crash space with local jugglers.

Martin wanted to know if Reading is in a good neighborhood. Ginny says it is a downtown environment, calmer than Montreal. Past board member Braidy Brown encourages IJA fest in Reading.

* Paul moved that if the Reading site meets approval after Ginny visits, to hold the 2002 fest in Reading, PA, and to continue to investigate Reno for 2003. If the Reading site is not appropriate, hold the 2002 fest in Reno. Martin seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Bahamas Winterfest:

Ginny proposed the idea of a Winterfest in the Bahamas for this winter, perhaps the second week of January, 2002. We have been offered a $69 room rate with free meeting space (there is a 8.25 percent resort charge). She says this is a no-risk situation that could be a moneymaker for the IJA.

Norm encouraged the board to consider this proposal, because winter meetings have historically been a good chance for the board to get business done and that traditionally the attendance offset the costs of the event.

Ginny said that board members would have to pay all travel, board and lodging expenses, but that if the board didn't meet there, it would still be beneficial for the fest to occur. There would be no shows, workshops or other events, only open juggling. It would be open to all non-members. There would be no liability. She also feels it would attract European jugglers.

* Katje moved to proceed with plans for a Bahamas Winterfest. Ben seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Todd wishes the meeting minutes to reflect that he voted "aye" before any other board member.

Announcements:

Brochure: The membership brochure has arrived and is being distributed to vendors.

Membership Contest: Information is being handed out to members.

No date for the next meeting was set at this time.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 10:00am.