Business Board Meeting June 24th, 2024

1. Call to Order

Ross Berenson, CHAIR, called the meeting to order at: 6:02 pm Eastern



2. Roll

Present: Benjamin Domask-Ruh, Ross Berenson, Afton Benson, Mike Sullivan, Sofia Noethe, Noel Yee, Niels Duinker, Alex Larson, Martin Frost

Absent: Luther Bangert

Recorder: Noel

 

3. Approval of Agenda

Motion: Niels 

Second by: Benjamin

Discussion:

 Do we need a motion for Mike and Jake to move forward with a bid to move forward with South Bend- AB  

Still want to be careful about telling ok to south bend. Want to make sure the RFP is the same as it was prior to the survey results and action. – MS 

Vote: Motion Passes Unanimously 


4. Approval of Minutes: 

Business Board Meeting (LINK)

Motion: Noel

Second: Sofia 

Discussion: 

Vote:  Motion Passes Unanimously 

 

5. Reports 

Please keep verbal reports to 5 min or less except for festival discussion.

 

2024 Festival Report (Afton Benson and Noel Yee)

Discussion: 

Fire night secured, cost a lot of money! Hotels are secured and rooms have been cut. Everyone who is supposed to have lodging is lodged. Everyone is booked and secured for all shows except one person. Hotels are all sold out. Another person has cold contact the person at the hotel to see if they can film. 

Get a list of who all is involved with the film team. This will help us know what’s going on with different elements of filming. 

Need a person to help run elections. Greg Phillips is willing to help. 

 

Financial Report (Afton Benson)

Discussion: We will have about 7k when the CD matures. We might roll into another CD with the additional 7k to gain more interest. 

 

Afton – Might put on a workshop about the IJA Financials for attendees to learn more about how the org works, financially. 

 

eJuggle Report (Scott Seltzer)

Afton – We moved forward with the lawyer to tell the copyright image firm that we are not giving in so easily.

 

Future Festival Site Report (Mike Sullivan & Jake Darrow)

Report: Pending the release and conclusions from the future festival site member survey, we need to get moving on a destination for 2028, and just as quickly, 2029.

 

South Bend has been eager to bring IJA back in 2028 since before we concluded our festival there last year. I think we all can agree that South Bend had everything we wanted in a host city, and we should strongly consider a proposal for a return in 2028, especially since we have no other prospects in the pipeline, and 2028 is just four years away.

 

As reported earlier, we’ve seen everything we need to see to move further along with Little Rock for 2029. They appear to have the facilities and pricing we require, with the best airlift of any host city in decades, and the location is aligned with the Board’s goal to move the festival out of the Midwest. Jake and I are ready to move ahead with a site visit to Little Rock in late July or August, as well as contacting South Bend for an initial proposal, and are seeking the Board’s approval for both.

 

We brought Fort Wayne back to the table and were able to leverage better terms and plus a risk-limiting backstop for our rental of the Embassy Theater in 2026. This is the last best chance we have to get this beautiful venue under contract and not worry about finding another suitable theater in downtown on short notice. We urge the Board to approve the new deal and get the contracts signed before the end of this month, as our dates are at risk with no first-refusal in place.

 

Discussion:

 

Membership (Marilyn Sullivan)
Membership Data

Discussion: n/a

 

Marketing Report (Matan Presberg)

Discussion: 

 

IRC Report (Erin Stephens)

Discussion: 

 

YJA Report (Benjamin Domask-Ruh)

Discussion:  

YJA Badge Book is at the Printers!

Club YJA is set and ready to go!

Planting the Juggling Seed show is coming together! (Haven’t heard from the Library after reaching out twice… but we are on their calendar!)

Benjamin will be teaching a 4-Day Workshop on ‘How to teach a juggling curriculum’ – Will give out a certificate of recognition from the IJA to anyone that attends all four days!

Anything else, Afton?

 

OpsO Report (Ross Berenson)

Discussion:  

2025 Festival Directors: 

There were two submissions for next year’s festival directors, Jessica and Mike. We think we should have an interview with each of them prior to them taking on the role.  Ross will send out an email and check on everyone’s availability. 

 

RFP

218 entries for the survey. Summer appears to be the strongest time for the event.  Majority of people were members who filled it out. Festival location and costs of travel appear to be barriers for attendance. Most people said that the ideal cost of the event would be between 500-750- Might not include food, hotel and some other factors- AB Location is the most important factor. Desire for camping is low.

 

6. Motions for Consideration

Approval to move ahead with in-person site visit to Little Rock, AR as the prospective host city for IJA 82 in July, 2029.

Motion: Ross 

Second by: Noel 

Discussion: Travel for both Mike and Jake to go to AR for site visit. There is a budget for both to attend. Will be JD’s first trip as co-site planner. Would just be airfare for one of you. Travel planning late July early August. 

Vote:  Motion Passes Unanimously 

 

Approval to request preliminary bid from South Bend, IN for IJA 81 in July, 2028.

Motion: Sofia 

Second by: Niels 

Discussion: Would you want to ask for any big changes or other changes? – MS Is there an option for a different host hotel. More water stations and frequent cleaning of bathrooms. 

Vote:  Motion Passes Unanimously 

 

Approve the revised 2026 contract for the Embassy Theater, Fort Wayne.

Motion: 

Second by: 

Discussion: Gave slightly better prices than their last best cost.  The visit Fort Wayne committee will help pay for a certain portion of the costs. Cost is capped at 40K. 

Vote:  Motion Passes Unanimously 

 

7. Varia:

 

8. Confirm Next Meeting

Next meetings will take place on…

July 11, 2024 @ 1pm CT for the next business meeting (AGM at Festival)

 

9. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 7:31 pm Eastern. 

 

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