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CHAIRMAN'S
REPORT
By
Perry Rubenfeld, IJA Chairman of the Board
Unlike
my last letter in
the last Juggler's World, where I reported on the poor state
of affairs the IJA, I am very pleased to report that decisions
have been made and actions taken by the Board of Directors
which have put the IJA on the right path again.
Richard
Dingman, our new secretary/treasurer, has caught up with a
backlog of five months of data entry and it's "business
as usual" now. Memberships are entered and updated as
they are received. Requests for information, videos etc. are
sent out immediately. Financial year-end statements have also
been produced and can be found below. All of this is due to
hundreds of extra hours put in by Richard Dingman.
The
Life Member Fund (LMF) is now being cared for in accordance
with proper business practices and kept in a separate secured
account. The
Las Vegas
and
Montreal
festivals were financial successes. Plans for the
Fargo
festival are well in hand under the direction of our festival
coordinator, Ginny Rose, who has been working tirelessly
throughout the year on
Montreal
,
Las Vegas
and
Fargo
! Publications editor Bill Giduz continues to keep us informed
through Juggler's World. By the time you read this you should
have received your 1993 Roster.
Norman
Schneiderman, our chief administrative officer, has been a
fantastic resource. Not only did he point out the problems
with the LMF, but he was instrumental in stopping the
snowballing debt and drain on our limited resources. Sound
business practices are in place, thanks to
Norman
's business experience! IJA liability insurance is now
available at a group rate for IJA members, thanks to the many
hours of work and phone calls by Paul Kyprie.
The
juniors video, which was an IJA in-house production, has
proven to be a great success. The time spent by Steve Salberg
in editing' generating graphics and manually duplicating each
one, has
paid
off with a financially successful, membership-pleasing
product.
The
past practice of monthly conference calls (there were actually
eight in 1991-92) has been cut to three this year, saving a
few thousand dollars for the IJA.
In
our conference call of January 19,1993, many decisions were
made which I feel will further improve not only our financial
situation, but our communication with our membership as well.
A report to our membership on the decisions of the Board can
be found in each issue of Juggler's World following our
conference call, and the report of the January call is
included below.
A
lot of talk has been going on regarding the financial reports
and minutes of the board conference calls. As in the past, if
you would like to see them, send a SASE to Richard Dingman.
(Further clarification in IJA conference call report below.)
I
would like to welcome Deena Frooman to the board. Deena will
be searching out corporate sponsors to further improve the
festivals and financial outlook of the IJA. Deena will also be
calling on affiliates for help in our presentations to
potential sponsors. Welcome aboard Deena!
As
you can see, there has been much progress since I last wrote
you. I recognize that we still have a great deal more to do
but we are on the right path. I want to thank the IJA Board of
Directors and its employees for their support and work during
the fall when things looked dim. We did not always agree and
we had to make difficult decisions in difficult times, however
we have stayed with what some would call a sinking ship and
made it seaworthy again!
FINANCIAL
REPORT
Overall,
the year produced a much needed profit of $23,861. The IJA has
healthy cash assets in excess of $108,321. Membership and
merchandise, including video sales, were down, but fortunately
festival income was up considerably. The total membership for
the year was 3,214 with 276 Life Members. At year's end we had
no liabilities to speak of. The outlook for 1993 is positive.
(see magazine for numbers)
IJA
Board of Directors Conference call, Jan. 19, 1993
Attending
were: Perry Rubenfeld, chairman; directors Art Jennings, Jek
Kelly, Paul Kyprie, Steven Salberg; chief administrative
officer Norman Schneiderman; and employees Richard Dingman,
Bill Giduz and Ginny Rose.
The
following is a summary of discussions and decisions that
occurred.
The
Las Vegas
festival was a great success. Motion to repeat it in 1994
passes unanimously and plans are under way. All the videotapes
that were ordered have been shipped. The Juniors tape has been
selling like hot cakes with the first run sold out. If a
second run also sells out, we will net $1,100.
Las Vegas
made $3,500, and
Montreal
's festival made $20,000. Moratorium on LMF is to be continued
for the time being. After a lengthy discussion, it was voted
to increase membership dues $5 in all categories.
The
board will work on a policy manual which would include all
decisions of the board and set rules to be followed regarding
policies of the IJA. It was decided after a lengthy discussion
that the minutes of IJA board meetings and financial
statements would be available to any IJA member who sends a
SASE to Richard Dingman. (Note: no change from past policy.)
Deena Frooman was elected to the Board of Directors to replace
Rich Chamberlin.
If
you would like a detailed copy of the minutes or the financial
statement, please send a SASE to Richard Dingman, IJA
secretary/treasurer; Montague MA.
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