Chairman's Report

by Perry Rubenfeld, IJA Chairman

 

For those members who were able to be part of the 48th Annual Festival in Las Vegas, I am sure that you would all agree that it was a great time. It is hard to compare one festival to an­other as they each have been excellent and had something special to offer participants!

 

The Rendezvous Dinner Party and Awards the first night was a wonderful first-time event. The ultraviolet "Glowing Experience" always seemed to have people juggling in it as well. We hope that this tradition will continue for many years to come.

 

Those of you who were fortunate to be around to see Tommy Smothers, Penn Jillette or the Qian Brothers perform were indeed lucky. As usual, Dan Holzman put together an excellent championships program Wednesday evening and a superb "Cascade of Stars Show" on Thursday night as well. I had the great pleasure of working backstage with Dan both nights.

 

I want to thank Ginny Rose for the great job she did in putting the festival together again this year. It truly is a full-time job that not many people understand or appreciate. I also want to thank the many, many volunteers who helped out from a few hours to the entire festival making sure that a good time was had by all! I'm sorry that space does not permit me to name you all!

 

A special thanks to the Shriners who sold blocks of tickets for the Cascade of Stars Show, allowing many children and adults to attend who may not have otherwise been able to. We are very excited about working with the Shriners for next year's festival in Rapid City!

 

I am happy to welcome Braidy Brown to the Board of Directors and to welcome back Deena Frooman and Art Jennings, who were re-elected for two-year terms. Braidy has been in charge of the IJA Auction these past two years and has done a fantastic job in raising funds for the archives. Our long-term plan is to raise enough funds through the auction to find a suitable home for IJA memorabilia and other collections that may come into our possession in the future. Braidy has had a long career in business and we look forward to his expertise on the Board. Deena and Jerry Carson have been doing a wonderful job keeping the affiliates updated and reporting on their activities via the newsletter. Art Jennings, one of the founding members of the IJA, has always been a source of knowledge and information that is second to none when it comes to the IJA. His experiences are a valued asset to the organization.

 

The IJA has a new modern computer system generously donated by one of our

 members which will make tracking of members, renewals, roster entries, etc. easier and more efficient. We are also connected via e-mail. You can now contact secretary/treasurer Richard Dingman for renewals, changes of address and comments.

 

Although much was decided at the Board of Directors meetings in Las Vegas, minutes of those meetings have not been transcribed yet. A report of decisions of the board will be forthcoming in my next report in juggler's World.

 

I look forward to the upcoming year working for the IJA and the Board of Directors and with our members in the organization. Together we can continue to improve the IJA. I hope you all have a great year!

 

CAO's Report

by Norm Schneiderman, Chief Administrative Officer

Well, the dust is slowly settling from the desert juggling extravaganza and things look good. I will have more details in the next issue, as we are still settling accounts on that one, but we know from a "good time perspective" that it was great. Administratively, all is running smoothly thanks as always to our untiring and dedicated staff and volunteers.

 

Thanks to all. And special thanks to the many volunteers and workers who made Vegas a wonderful party, including Dina Scharnhorst (my right hand there), Bill Ritchie, all those wacky registration folks and and all the many burly security guards who undauntingly staffed the doors and earned the niftiest hats yet.

 

As always, write, call or e-mail with any questions and or suggestions.

 

IJA Roster Wants Your New Address

If you've changed your address lately, please let us know the new information by December 1 so that we can include it in the 1996 IJA Roster.