1. Call to Order
Chair, Ross Berenson, called the meeting to order at: 6:02pm pm Eastern
2. Roll:
Present: Afton Benson, Ross Berenson, Sofia Noethe, Jake Darrow, Benjamin Domask-Ruh, Luther Bangert, Noel Yee, Erin Stephens (+ tiny Kitten)
Absent: Niels Duinker, Asylnne Howes
Recorder: Sofia
3. Approval of Agenda
Motion: Benjamin
Second by: Sofia
Discussion:
Vote: Passes
4. Approval of Minutes:
Motion: Benjamin
Second: Noel
Discussion:
Vote: Passes
5. Reports
Please keep verbal reports to 5 min or less except for festival discussion.
2024 Festival Report (Afton Benson & Noel Yee)
Discussion:
IJA marketing team added new members who are already providing some new good ideas
Got the Green Bay Tourism Grant!
Noel – let us know if there are things the board wants advertised
Close to finalizing venue for fire night
Re: marketing: Ben – just digital? Afton – yes. Noel – they will each post once a week personally.
Ross: Any local marketing? Afton: yes, Jake. All posters are getting distributed to every library in WI.
Noel: Digital flyer given to Kenzey and Lisa so they can match branding as needed
Luther: Are pre-reg numbers as expected? Afton: We’ve never opened this early so somewhat hard to tell, but fairly on par with early bird numbers
Martin – we should talk about Neils book idea – need to reconsider method. Ross – not approved yet – Afton: We’ll talk through it later more thoroughly but it’s not approved yet.
Current role missing: Volunteer coordinator.
Matt and Lisa can do workshops/ Lisa & Emily working together
Noel: If you know anyone with a really good special show…send ideas along.
Afton: Joggling is on Thursday this year.
Financial Report (Afton Benson)
Discussion:
Luther: Are scholarships a set amount? Afton: Depends on the person – not a set amount. Case by case. We don’t pay ahead of time, pay scholarship out on site.
Future Festival Site Report (Mike Sullivan and Jake Darrow)
Discussion:
Afton: Out of curiosity, have any places said we’re booking too far out?
Jake: No, but many are asking what we’re doing this summer!
eJuggle Report (Scott Seltzer)
Discussion:
Ross: Still thinking on how to make eJuggle drive towards revenue and memberships
Membership (Marilyn Sullivan)
Membership Data
Discussion:
Marketing Report (Matan Presberg)
Discussion:
Afton: Talked with Matan at Game of Throws. He needs support, Afton and him brainstormed on some ideas for support.
Ross: He’s been looking for a replacement for a while, if anyone is interested put them in touch.
IRC Report (Erin Stephens)
Discussion:
[ Martin joined @ 6:07pm et ]
Erin highlighted her goal as outlined – training up other people and teams to run IRCs.
Mentioned previous “world cup” idea – current focus is to build back up slowly and sustainable, and focus on financial stability.
Ross- will the people who are being trained to run IRCs be able to train others and fully run their own IRCs?
Erin-Yes, that is the plan. Moving from training just individuals to local groups to help avoid burnout factor.
Noel: Wondering what Erin’s involvement in the 2024 IRCs and moving forward will look like?
Erin: Still has a lot of work to do as far as communications, operational, and quality management tasks for organizing IRCs. Still plans to attend first time IRC host festivals/countries (like Honduras) and still needs to finalize and fine tune training process.
Noel: where do you see yourself down the road? And how can we get IRC trainees more tied into IJA involvement?
Erin: Long term hasn’t felt clear since pandemic, but getting back in person was motivational. Needs to keep burnout factor in mind so growing smartly is a priority to keep it sustainable, figure out what she can take off of her plate to pass on to the hosting groups.
Noel: Just wants to bring up future state to ensure longevity of the program.
Ross: For the future upcoming IRCs that we have planned, what’s the financial strategy?
Erin: Big goal of 2024 is to explore fundraising as it’s a huge time commitment. Erin talked through some options as outlined in the provided IRC report.
Ross: We should think of other idea for revenue
Erin: Paid entry fees could be an option, merch, etc. Requests carryover from ‘23 – Afton is close to having that. Was doing an annual fundraiser for three years but wasn’t very sustainable.
YJA Report (Benjamin Domask-Ruh)
Discussion:
[ Noel left the meeting at 7:02pm ET]
Current printers that the team is in talks with are also able to handle distribution for booklets
OpsO Report (Ross Berenson)
Discussion:
Afton: back to the drawing board for web designer
Ross: more vision meeting items: past member postcards, etc. a lot in progress.
6. Motions for Consideration
- Motion to approve hosting the IRC Centroamérica 2024 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on May 31, 2024.
Author: Erin Stephens
Motion: Benjamin
Second: Luther
Discussion: Afton: travel stipend is slightly higher but these are within the usual realm.
Vote: Passes unanimously
- Motion to approve hosting the IRC Sudamérica 2024 – Colombia at the Manizales International Circus Festival in Manizales, Colombia, April 22 – 28, 2024.
Author: Erin Stephens
Motion: Ross
Second: Benjamin
Discussion:
Vote:Passes unanimously
- Motion to Approve Logan Pearce 2024 IJA Flamingo Club Award
Author: Afton Benson
Motion: Sofia
Second: Benjamin
Discussion: Logan fulfills the categories the Flamingo Club looks for, she shows up at festivals, is stepping into Atlanta jugglers organizational capacity, and made an app for juggling festival organization and scheduling.
Vote: Passes unanimously
- Motion to Approve the 2024 IJA Honorary Awards
Author: Eric Shibuya
Motion: Benjamin
Second: Sofia
Discussion:
Vote: Passes unanimously
- Motion to Approve the 2024 IJA Sky King Award
Author: Paris Tucker
Motion: Luther
Second: Sofia
Discussion:
Vote: Passes unanimously
7. Varia:
Ross for Niels – Bobby Jules Book for the first 100 registered attendees.
Logistical issues with first 100 since people have already registered…other ideas could include everyone who registers gets the book? $4/book.
For further discussion at vision meeting.
Jake: will be updating wikipedia page for IJA, may reach out for some historical context and verification
8. Confirm Next Meeting
Next meetings will take place on…
Feb 5, 2024 @ 6pm ET for the next vision meeting
Feb 26, 2024 @ 6pm ET for the next business meeting
9. Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 7:26pm Eastern.