Thursday, July 16th, 7:00 pm EDT
1. Call to Order
Chair, Mike Moore, called the meeting to order and established Quorum at: 7:01 pm Eastern Time
2. Roll:
Present : Aslynne Howes, Eric Shibuya, Matan Presberg, Amy Wieliczka, Scott Steiskal, Mike Moore, Sofia Noethe, Afton Benson, Parliamentarian Laura Meade
Absent :
Recorder : Amy
3. Approval of Agenda
Motion: Eric
Second by: Scott
Discussion:
Vote: Motion passes unanimously
4. 2020 Reports
2020 IJA Festival (Amy Wieliczka)
Report: 2020 IJA Fest Report
Discussions:
Scott Cain asks about our usual anonymous Donor
Afton responds that iiWii has made their customary donation for brunch and has for this year only permitted us to use it at the discretion of the board.
Marketing (Erin Stephens)
Report:
Discussions:
IJA Regional Competitions (IRC) (Erin Stephens)
Report: The IRC plans completely changed for this year. Original plan was 12 IRCs with winners in the Juggling Cup 2021. Now we had 1 in New Zealand in January. The rest have been canceled. The plan is to do a re-do next year, if we’re at a point where traveling is possible. All the festivals have confirmed they want to host the IRC again next year. The IRC show for tomorrow night has gotten an amazing outpouring of support. The World Cup is in 2022 now on WJD. Also doing fundraising for the IRC as part of the IRC show tomorrow night. The IRC show will remain live past tonight.
Discussions:
World Juggling Day (WJD) (Josie Marks-McQuade)
Report: In the midst of the pandemic, Josie was really excited to have an online WJD – pushed 24 consistent hours. Partnered with the Cyber Juggling Convention and Marvin’s juggling events. Australia and New Zealand changed their restrictions and sent clips from in-person events. About 10 online events, Erin reached out to the Acrobatic Circus Troupe in Uganda. Instead of T-shirts, did Stickers with a community organizing design contest for the stickers. Social media team selected 3 winners. Because of coronavirus restrictions, it was $200 to ship something to them, so that is still pending.
Discussions:
Can we still order stickers? Yes!
Membership
Report: Down 336 members (as of July 1st 2020 compared to July 1st 2019, when we had 1119 memberships). Note that due to the benchmarks of the first of every month, any effect of the recent membership drive is not included in those numbers. A lot of people do get their membership for the festival.
Youth Juggling Academy YJA (Galen Harp)
Report:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x-3u1zBxIQoiIyFb9IhPEuwAiBLTpMqKjxaSBV6PTDg/edit?usp=sharing
Discussions:
eJuggle (Scott Seltzer)
Report:
eJuggle is the official publication of the IJA. It’s the ultimate juggling resource where you will find the latest juggling news, articles, videos, podcasts, and more.
Started in 2012, eJuggle has published nearly 1500 posts and is updated with new content every 2-3 days.
Our regular monthly subject matter includes several Tricks of the Months videos, Dan Holzman’s “Drop Everything” podcast, 4-5 articles by David Cain about juggling history and more, tutorials, current events, competitions, and other original content. Several posts each month are translated to Spanish.
Soon we’re going to start an “Ask David” series where David Cain will answer jugglers’ questions and offer advice. We’re in touch with Wes Peden and will hopefully get another exclusive video from him soon.
While most of the eJuggle content is freely accessible to the world-wide juggling community, there are many dozens of exclusive articles and videos for IJA members only, by the likes of Anthony Gatto, Wes Peden, Tony Pezzo, Jay Gilligan, and others. Members also have special access to IJA IRC videos and full annual IJA festival coverage, among other things.
eJuggle saves the IJA about $50,000/year compared to the print magazines that we used to publish. eJuggle is efficiently run and comes well under the modest budget each year.
eJuggle is always looking for contributors. If you’d like to write articles, fest reviews, show reviews, prop reviews, tutorials, interviews, theory/opinion pieces, or virtually any juggling/circus topic, we’d love to hear from you. We also need people to help create videos and podcasts, too. So, if you’d like to help, be in touch with editor-in-chief, Scott Seltzer. Contact info available on eJuggle (www.juggle.org/ejuggle).
-Scott
Discussions:
Thom Wall asked about talk about editorship changing hands sometime soon in the next 1-2 years. Any updates?
Mike Moore: The person considering it decided they needed a bit more time, so there has been no change in editorship
Martin: These ‘posts’ are actually full articles!
It would be nice to put the videos up for members from IJA 2020 Online
Afton: We’ll have to check with the performers.
Eric: Performers have largely requested their videos be taken down
5. Future Reports:
Board Member Nominees: Chris Garcia, Matan Presberg, Jacob D’Eustachio, Scott Steiskal, Mike Moore, Cindy Marvell.
If they are present they can speak on their own behalf. If not, the chair will read their candidacy statement.
Chris Garcia
Hi my name is Chris Garcia, aka Draco the Juggler. I’m a professional juggler who originally began juggling under the guidance of Matt Hall in 2003. Juggling has been a major part of my life and I have learned many different props including toss (ball/club/ring), cigar box, contact, yoyos, spin-tops, flow props (poi, rope dart), balancing props (unicycle, rola bola), and my all-time favorite prop the diabolo.
I’ve been a long-time follower of the IJA and feel that my efforts to spread the love of juggling is in alignment with the IJA’s motto “to render assistance to fellow jugglers”, and I would love to further be able to do so as a board member. I think my diverse skillset as both a juggling performer/teacher and engineer would prove valuable to the IJA.
In high school and college I was part of my schools’ juggling clubs as president, and in college the club and I organized the first 4 Santa Cruz Juggling Festivals. Upon graduating UCSC with a BS in Computer Science & Game Design I worked in the tech industry for a number of years as a programmer making video games, and doing juggling gigs on the side. Since 2017 I’ve pursued juggling and freelance work full time through my own business. To this day juggling still plays a major role in my life; I love performing, and teaching those around me how to juggle. I’ve won a few awards as a juggler, some being the CA diabolo champion, the Humboldt Juggling Fest most inspirational juggler, and the Pocono JuggleFest best trick award. I have also had the honor of being invited to perform & teach at various juggling festivals around the world, often go to schools to teach juggling, have taught as an instructor at circus camps, and more often than not have taught the interested spectator in the park. You can find out more about me on me websites www.dracothejuggler.com and www.cdgarcia.net.
Matan Presberg
My name is Matan Presberg, I have been working on the IJA Social Media team since the Fall of 2017, and have served on the Board of Directors for the last two years. I have found my work for the IJA to be one of the most fulfilling professional experiences of my lifetime, and feel that I have been able to provide a lot of value to the organization. For those two reasons, I am running for a second term on the board.
My passion for juggling, and what I have gotten out of being a part of the community motivates me to help organize within the community, and promote juggling outside of the community. The IJA as an organization has enabled that work in a meaningful way, and I intend to continue my volunteer work regardless of my status on the board. I think that the relationships I’ve built with other IJA volunteers, and my role on the Social Media team put me in a strong position to help move the IJA forward in a direction that is good for the organization and the juggling community at large.
Jacob D’Eustachio
When I first joined the IJA in 2001, it was the place for all things juggling. Through reading “Juggle Magazine,” I joined a juggling club, attended my first regional festivals, and learned about Kris Kremo, with whom I later apprenticed. Without the IJA, I wouldn’t have attended Ecole de Cirque de Quebec, performed in 15 countries, or competed in Moscow’s Nikulin Circus Festival. Right now, I don’t know if the IJA could do the same thing for a young juggler. I very much want it to.
If I were on the IJA Board of Directors, I’d work for outreach and social activism. On the outreach front, I’d work on editing our online content to be stronger all around and encourage the return of a printed IJA magazine, which would give our members the feeling of receiving a gift and would be a give away item to attract new members.
In terms of social activism, I’d build on what I learned in 2010 when I taught for South Africa’s Zip Zap Circus, which attracts students from the Townships as well as from wealthier backgrounds. Zip Zap students have competed in Paris’s Festival Cirque de Demain while the program has simultaneously improved the lives of Township students living with HIV. Through its clear goals and social outreach, Zip Zap is also able to attract the world’s best circus artists to coach for free.
Inspired by Zip Zap, the IJA could do more to reach out to the local community during festivals, for instance, by holding a parade through the host city, and teaching workshops in communities of color. By using our craft in part for social activism and community building, we would be giving professionals a reason to want to share their expertise and time with us. Awareness of having used their skills in juggling for the social good would increase our members’ pride in our organization. In turn, communities would be proud that they were chosen as IJA festival sites.
I would be honored to pursue these goals on the IJA Board of Directors. Thank you very much!!
Scott Steiskal
In 2014, a clown invited me to go to a juggling festival. So I begged the boss at my corporate job for a week off and drove down to Purdue. What I found was one of the most creative, inclusive, interesting and welcoming group of humans I have had the pleasure to know.
Two years ago I joined the organizing team of my local juggling festival. The mondo juggling festival. One year ago I was appointed to a one year term on the IJA board.
During that year I have been exploring ways to increase the IJA’s capital. The first action I have taken is to create a merchandise store that will allow us to sell a t shirt for our online festival.
If re-elected I would have the following goals for a second term:
- Find additional ways to fund the IJA including; expanding our merchandise in the online store, adjusting our options for accepting payments in more countries and investing existing grant capital with the help of knowledgeable partners.
- Use what we learned this year in the online festival to continue offering parts of the festival online.
I am announcing my candidacy for the IJA board of directors because I want to help more people experience this wonderful community. I’m still at that corporate job and I want to use the skills I’ve learned in event planning, training, marketing and graphic design to make this community known to as many people as possible.
I would be honored to continue serving on the board and humbly ask for your vote.
Mike Moore
I’ve been an IJA board member for the last two years, and the Chair for the last year. In that time, my contributions have been both public-facing and internal.
I coordinated and directly contributed to the IJA tutorial series. While you’ve probably seen some of the 11 tutorials released, ranging from cigar box shuffle stacks to 3 ball inverted box to 4 ring kickups, you may not have realized that they are all available in at least four different languages! This involved recruiting and coordinating translators who generously donated their time to this great project. This unites our communities and benefits us all!
Internally, I’ve focused on fairness, inclusivity, and general administration. I developed a protocol for expelled members to re-apply for membership, and a metric for evaluating those applications. I’ve authored bylaw changes to reflect both technological shifts (email is finally official) and cultural shifts (dated gendered language is out).
Though I’ve made many administrative improvements, my greatest contribution in this area has been to empower other board members. This includes running meetings with due diligence (but without them going for too long!), refining ideas and motions put to the board, and helping on many committees.
I see the IJA’s future as more international than ever. Through breaking down language barriers, leveraging social media, and better utilizing our regional representatives, I believe we can provide better service to our community. Let’s learn from, teach, and celebrate each other!
Cindy Marvell
If I can use my experience as a performer, writer, competitor, coach and enthusiast to be of service to the IJA Board I’d like to give it a whirl!
I’ll start by sharing some ideas. Then I’ll tell you about what I’ve done. You can find more at my website, www.cindymarvell.com.
Here are some suggestions. Career Guide: a listing of professionals and what they offer (festivals, cruise ships, corporate work, parties, teaching). A reciprocal list of employers. There could be a charge to receive or be included in these. College Resource Guide: ways to utilize juggling in higher education. Study Guide for Teachers: ways to combine juggling with school curriculums.
Youth Column: articles written primarily by teenagers. Cyber Help Room: online responses for technical tips. Should a branch of the upcoming online competitions continue for those too far? A book about the IJA, its history and influence in the field. Skill Pods: teams of members to realize specific goals. Inclusion: What challenges do performers face when it comes to race, gender, orientation and other diversity? Business cards marketed with IJA inclusivity logo.
I got my start after seeing my Dad juggle 3 balls. Later I was coached by Tony Duncan and Michael Moschen, and by others who took time to throw things my way. I note the role we play for youth having been a young professional and Juniors competitor. As I graduated from Oberlin College with honors in English, the editor of “Juggler’s World” asked me to write stories by way of serving the juggling community. Soon I was subject also, winning the Lucas Cup in 1989.
In addition to working solo in Japan I became engaged in a series of teams from the Pickle Family Circus to champs Darn, Good and Funny, culminating in my work with Lazer Vaudeville for over 15 years. I represented the company at booking conferences. In 2004 we founded the Boulder Circus Center, a circus training studio in Colorado. I became a juggling Mom: my son Theo is 14. I hope I can use my experience to work on behalf of the IJA.
Future Festivals (Mike Sullivan)
Report:
73rd International Jugglers’ Association Festival July 13-18, 2020
submitted by Mike Sullivan Senior Future Festival Site Coordinator
At last year’s festival in Fort Wayne, I ended my annual Future Festival report by informing the Board and members of my intention to retire from the role after serving since 2007.
To my unending astonishment, an enthusiastic candidate came forward immediately, despite having heard me detail all the hundreds of hours of work, travel, aggravation and stress involved in the job.
Craig Lewis, a longtime IJA member, avid juggler and serial entrepreneur, had the mix of skills, free time and devotion to the mission to be a good replacement, and soon thereafter, the Board approved naming Craig as (for the time being) co-Future Festival Site coordinator, commencing with a six-month training period.
In the six months that followed, Craig accompanied me to two industry conferences where we met with close to 100 potential future destinations. Along the way, he learned the myriad “ins and outs” of the conventions business: the power dynamics between the various players involved (planners [us], suppliers [convention hotels & convention centers] & CVBs [local tourism promotion agencies]); our requirements and show-stoppers; the bidding and qualifications process; contracting and negotiations; financial requirements; and much more.
From our conference activity last fall, we quickly qualified the host city of the second event, Green Bay, Wisconsin, as a very strong potential IJA destination for 2024. As Craig and I spent four nights in the convention host hotel (Hyatt Regency Green Bay), the convention center (KI Center), and the gorgeous performance theatre a short walk away (Meyer Theater), we thought Green Bay had everything we wanted in a festival host city.
We asked for and received the help of two IJA members from the Madison Jugglers, Mark Hayward and Melonhead, who made a second site visit for us. They confirmed everything we had thought: IJA will have a great, hassle-free festival week in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the week of July 8-14, 2024.
Contracts were signed early this year.
Next, Craig and I followed up on several leads for our festival in 2025, and after months of back- and-forth with several of them, we made a site visit to what we thought was our best prospect: Evansville, Indiana. We toured the city and our potential venues in early January of this year, with Craig taking the lead as his training in the role was progressing.
Along the way, Craig and I convinced the Board that the Future Festival Site Coordinator job demands too much time and expertise for just one volunteer, so we have agreed to share the role. The Board approved the arrangement, and Craig and I agreed on titles for those times when titles are needed: Craig is IJA’s Future Festival Site Coordinator, and I am IJA’s Senior Future Festival Site Coordinator.
After months more work, contract negotiations and various delays due to the pandemic, IJA executed contracts last month that will bring us to Evansville, Indiana for our 78th annual festival for the week of July 14-20, 2025.
Now that IJA is booked out for five years into the future, Craig and I are taking this year “off” from actively prospecting for our destination in 2026. We plan to kick back into action late this year or early in 2021, and we already have several good prospects in the works for our 2026 host city.
Looking longer-range, we expect to recommend to the Board that IJA return to beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana for our 80th annual celebration in 2027. They are very eager to have us back, and anyone who was in Fort Wayne last year will remember how perfect our week was in that beautiful downtown area.
As always, we urge all IJA members to let us know if they find a city that might be a good fit for our festival. After having done this job for over a decade, we’re pretty sure we have at least spoken to every city in the Lower 48 that has a commercial airport (and many without one!), but there are likely still some “hidden gems” out there that we need to investigate.
As we have always said, we will talk to anyone from anywhere who thinks they have what we need, at prices we can afford, in a place we can get jugglers to from all over the world.
Please send us your leads along with your thoughts on why the city would be a good fit for IJA — we promise we will follow-up on everything that comes our way! Email festivalsite@juggle.org.
To review our current RFP (Request for Proposals) document, click here. It’s the working document we send to prospective destinations so they have a very good idea of what we need in a festival host city.
And so everyone can make plans now, here’s the current schedule for the next five IJA festivals:
- IJA 74 – Wichita, Kansas — July 12-18, 2021
- IJA 75 – Historic 75th Annual Festival! – Cedar Rapids, Iowa — July 11-17, 2022
- IJA 76 – South Bend, Indiana — July 17-23, 2023
- IJA 77 – Green Bay, Wisconsin — July 8-14, 2024
- IJA 78 – Evansville, Indiana — July 14-20, 2025
Discussions:
Who will be the 2021 festival director?
Ross Berenson
6. Open Discussion
Discussions and Motions :
Overall Financials of the board:
Afton: The IJA was extremely fortunate in canceling the festival this year, we took a very small loss in canceling the site. We are still waiting on one more hotel. A lot of people have donated their festival packages or carried their festival packages over to next year. This is not taking into account the money from iiWii. Canceling the festival has a severe impact of $25,000 had we paid the venue fees, we’d be looking at $50,000-$60,000.
How many people at this meeting?
At one point it was 55, including panelists
Troubles renewing membership due to card processing.
Scott is working on an alternative payment processor currently with a roll out during the current fest.
Any possibilities for the fest to be held outside the US?
Yes: as long as it matches our RFP. The festival can happen anywhere that matches our fiscal needs as an organization. Send us a message and we can check it out.
How many members outside the US?
Number is very very small, but we do not know exactly. Can find that out and post it in the next board meeting minutes.
7. Adjourn the Meeting
Motion: Amy