Chairman's Report

by Sam Kilbourn - Chair, IJA Board of Directors

 

Dear Fellow Jugglers: It's now my turn to preside at meetings of the Board and report to you what we are working on. So far I am still having fun (which you may recall was the platform I ran for the Board on) and I certainly had fun in Pittsburgh, although at times it was not easy to squeeze in between meetings.

 

THANKS

I want to start by thanking my predecessor, Perry Rubenfeld, for his many years of effective and dedicated service as Chairman of the IJA Board of Directors. Under his leadership, we have come a long way to our current economic stability. I also want to thank outgoing director Deena Frooman for her service on the board and particularly her work with the affiliates, which was an important focus of her tenure. My thanks also to Bill Giduz, the outgoing editor of Jugglers' World magazine, which officially ends with this issue, who has spent many, many years bringing Jugglers World from its more informal roots to its present glossy status.

 

And finally, thanks to Festival Coordinator Ginny Rose and her hardworking team of Chief Administrative Officer Norman Schneiderman, Secretary / treasurer Richard Dingman, Registrar Bob Mahler and volunteers for a fabulous Fiftieth Anniversary Festival. What an uplifting (!) group of people make up the world of juggling and how satisfying to partake in the full range of experience and ability from our founders to our newest friends.

 

NEW BOARD

You have elected Bill Giduz to the current Board of Directors, and re-elected Braidy Brown and Art Jennings. The balance of the Board consists of continuing directors Bud Markowitz, Perry Rubenfeld, Steve Salberg and me, Sam Kilbourn.

 

ANNUAL MEETING

The annual meeting of the membership at the festival in Pittsburgh was attended by approximately 100 members, and although it included some strong expressions of feeling, produced some satisfying and clear mandates as follows: First, a copy of the current financial report will be available to any member who requests the same in writing with a self­addressed, stamped envelope. Second, a Membership Director and committee are to address retaining and increasing membership and providing for membership benefits. Janelle and Tanner Lovelace volunteered for this position, and they and Dan Holzman, Perry Rubenfeld and Norman Schneiderman have been appointed by the Board as the membership committee. Third, the time period of the annual meeting of the membership at the festival will be kept free of any other scheduled events. Fourth, an official forum for discussion amongst IJA members on the Internet is to be set up.

 

JUGGLER'S WORLD

The Board of Directors, over the past year, has been working on the revamping of Jugglers World and are currently working with the editor and publisher of Magic magazine for the publication of ours. The new magazine would be structured as a juggling publication of interest to both the membership and the general public. We are impressed by the quality of Magic magazine and the abilities of Stan Allen, its editor and publisher, and are looking forward to a successful collaboration.

 

FESTIVALS

The Board is continuing to discuss membership growth, festival size and whether and how to accommodate a larger group than the turnout at Pittsburgh, (over 1,300 members) if that ever occurs.

 

The related discussion includes whether to continue with one major festival and the January mini-festival (supplemented this year by the micro-mini-festival noted below) or whether to look at smaller festivals in more than one location, or yet to evolve into a permanent annual location. Our survey of the membership at the Pittsburgh festival resulted in an overwhelming majority of respondents preferring to continue changing festival locations (survey responses continue to trickle in and we will report results later).

 

1998 FESTIVAL

The 1998 IJA festival will be held at Primadonna Casino at Primm, Nevada. Because some members have expressed dissatisfaction with this location, apparently due to its proximity to Las Vegas, a word or two about the process: In choosing a site, we are guided by geographic diversity, and ease of access, our basic festival requirements (including a long list of criteria each for the juggling facility, housing, food service, and theater venues), and above all, a bottom line based on the specific costs of the above as against our best estimate of turnout for the festival.

 

This is a demanding process and must be done well more than a year ahead to assure available space. As for Primm, although it is 30 miles from Las Vegas, it has easy air access and excellent facilities at a very reasonable cost that balances well with our projected turnout.

 

The 1995 Las Vegas festival turned out over 600 and received enthusiastic approval from the membership. The more feedback we can get, the better; but, there is no way to put on a $100,000 to $200,000 festival without complex advance planning.

It is, of course, the fiduciary duty of the Board to protect the financial viability of the IJA and we will continue to meet that obligation. At the same time we will continue to strive for a balance of the often conflicting desires of this amazingly diverse group of jugglers.

 

CLUB RENEGADE

The Club Renegade shows, or at least some of them, at the Pittsburgh festival have, in my opinion, crossed the line of acceptability to the IJA as a whole. As the negative feedback comes in, I would again point out that it is the duty of the Board of Directors to protect the interests of the IJA.

 

A number of issues will have to be addressed if the concept of "Club Renegade" is to continue. First and foremost, we must protect our members and anyone else involved with the shows, or in attendance, from personal injury. Secondly, we must protect ourselves from potential legal liability for injury and/or for acts that could cross legal lines of obscenity (a standard, by the way, that varies with the "community" in which we find ourselves). Which leaves the less forbidding, but no less important, question of good taste, fun and quality shows. As we look at these matters, a basic question has to be - "What does pushing the envelope of personal bodily risk, potentially obscene conduct, or taste have to do with juggling?" The Board will address these issues before the next festival.