Nominations are open for four seats on the IJA Board of Directors that are up for election in the summer of 2008. The size of the Board will remain at seven directors for the 2008-2009 term. Please see the Duties and Expectations of Board Members below.

Nominations may be made by any IJA member in good standing for at least one year. The election will occur during the annual summer festival.  IJA members may cast votes by mail or in person at the festival.

Nominations as well as the candidacy statements of nominees must be submitted by email to nominations@juggle.org by the deadlines indicated below. No other form of submission is accepted.

For information on voting and finding the ballot in our magazine or online, see The Election: Voting below.

See the full IJA Pre-Election and Election Regulations

Board Candidates

The names of board candidates nominated are shown below, in the order nominated. Click on a name to go to their candidacy statement page. You may vote for up to four candidates.

• Richard Kennison
• Anthony Shave
• Mini Mansell
• Ken Farris
• Kevin Axtell

Board Candidates' Statements

• Ken Farris
  

  I am honored to have my name placed in nomination for the board. I value this organization and I would like the opportunity to represent the IJA membership.

  I would like to take this opportunity to share a little of my background. I work in the IT field and have done so for 18 years in both corporate and academic institutions.

  I have been juggling for 5 years, I learned later in life. Like most of us I found it extremely addicting.

  I have also performed in numerous "community theatre" productions and had the honor of having first place in the "Savannah Playwrights Festival" in 1996.

  I have volunteered in several non-profit groups including; Girl Scouts of America, and the Society of Creative Anachronism. I have received recognitions from the Girls Scouts for my volunteer efforts.

  As a result of this varied experience, I know the value of teamwork and good communication. I feel that this will be a great asset as we strive to meet the challenges face the IJA. Among them are the magazine, increasing membership and marketing our organization.

  I am not so self-deluded to think that I have all the answers to these challenges. The one thing that I can promise is that I will work with every board member to find good, workable, solutions.

  I hope I will be given the opportunity to serve on the board and assist in any way I can to help move the IJA forward and make the IJA the premier juggle community.

  Thank you,

  Ken Farris

• Kevin Axtell
  Background
  I have been juggling for 9 years and a member of the IJA for 4. I am the founder of the Mountain Mischief performance troup, we have been juggling, fire dancing, and teaching on the West Coast for 3 years. I am also an active and certified Firewalking instructor. I am relentlessly inspired by juggling and jugglers from all areas of object manipulation.
  Experience
  I have never before served on the B.O.D. I have been to 4 IJA festivals and over 25 regional juggling festivals where I have performed, taught workshops and helped to organize many different shows, games, and competitions. I am experienced and comfortable with many branches of the juggling family tree, including artistic/creative jugglers, sport jugglers, performers, hobbyists, fire dancers and circus artists.
  Challenges
  The IJA needs to work on;
  Improving and updating our "image"
  Increasing our presence and influence on the web
  Creating outreach programs aimed at the many juggling cultures in this country and abroad.
  (for example the fire dancing community has EXPLODED in the past 8 years and yet very few fire dancers/spinners have ever even heard of the IJA, the same could be said for contact juggling and even hackey sacking.
  Solutions
  Increase our online presence with active and dynamic networking.
  Create and maintain outreach programs to other "juggling" communities.
  Rethink and recreate our image.
  Final words
  Since my first festival in 2003, the IJA has helped and inspired me in countless ways and I am forever grateful. I am now ready to take the next step in service to my fellow jugglers. If elected, I will serve as a cooperative and progressive member of the B.O.D.

Duties and Expectations of Board Members

The IJA Board of Directors manages this nonprofit corporation for the benefit of its members. The board is composed of seven people, with elected directors serving two-year terms. Approximately half of the seats are up for election each summer.

The directors are asked to meet in person at the summer festival. Each board member sits on one or more committees, is expected to communicate regularly by email, must have web access, and will attend phone meetings about once a month. Directors should expect to spend some hours each week on behalf of the IJA.

In addition, all candidates should understand that the members of the Board of Directors are legally responsible as fiduciaries in setting the goals and policies of the IJA, managing its finances, overseeing its employees (if any), and administering its programs. At all times, the members of the Board of Directors must act in good faith and in the best interest of the corporation.

This is a great opportunity for you "to render assistance to fellow jugglers."

The Election: Voting

Your Summer issue of our magazine contains a ballot that can be mailed in (or copied and mailed in) to vote in the election. You can also download the ballot as a PDF file (you must have your own 7-digit IJA access code in order to mail the ballot in). Alternatively you can vote in person at the summer festival.

Each mailed ballot must be in its own separate, sealed envelope with the following written on the outside of the envelope:

1. the member's printed name
2. the member's signature
3. the member's seven-digit access code

The signed, numbered, sealed envelope containing one ballot must be mailed in another envelope (multiple family members may mail all their inner envelopes in the same outer envelope -- be sure to apply sufficient postage). Your seven-digit access code appears on the mailing label of your Summer 2008 JUGGLE magazine. (Note that your access code on the Summer JUGGLE will be different from your access code printed on previous issues. Access codes are changed for the ballot issue of JUGGLE each year.)