[jja-announce] Interim Board of Directors, and committees

[Jazzmandel at aol.com]

Hi Folks -- 

you can vote for Interim Board Directors at Jazzhouse.org until 5 p.m. 
Monday, tomorrow. Please vote -=- at last look, we had 87 of our more than 450 
members voting, and if half the full members don't vote, I get to choose the board. 
Which would be ok, and I appreciate the vote of confidence, but still . . . 
if you need the username, its jja and the password is buzz. Only full members 
(not support members or corporate members) may vote. Jazzhouse can tell who 
votes, and who gets the votes, but not who votes for who.

 I approve of all the nominees, and I nominated several of them. The point of 
having a board is to have a group of people who can guide the JJA for the 
next year or so (the Interim Board will expire on the last day of IAJE, Jan 2006 
-- it will be replaced by a membership-elected board) as they draft new, 
longlasting, comprehensive ByLaws and otherwise formulate directions fof the future 
of the JJA. 

This is not glamorous work,  but it is necessary. It requires some detailed 
attention to legalese, and I think experience with not-for-profit boards is 
valuable to the effort.. Susan Fox, a Chicago photographer who has vast 
experience with these issues as exec. director of the American Association of Law 
Libraries; Yvonne Ervin, who has been exec director of Western Jazz Coalition (I've 
probably got her official title and the organization's name, too, wrong) as 
well as an invaluable member of the team that works up the annual Jazz Awards 
event, and is also day job an experienced fundraiser working w/not-for-profits, 
and also JJA VP Williard Jenkins, one of the organization's founders, a force 
behind the TriC Jazzz Festival (Cleveland), formerly of the Nat'l Jazz 
Service Org. and newly appointed pointman (head? chair? I don't know) of the NEA's 
new jazz touring program, all have the experience, and are all standing for the 
two seats of "at large" directors, along with Matthew Sumera, a new JJA 
member but an enthusiastic and knowledgable one, who is active in jazz education. I 
am sure that whoever does NOT get voted/appointed for an at large seat will 
accept other responsibilities with JJA initiatives -- already Willard has 
agreed to work on a lasting mentorship program administered by the JJA.

Attorney Steven Robinson, who drafted the Interim Bylaws, will be in 
consultation with our interim board, as will JJA officers now in office -- that means 
me (though I'm on the board automatically as new Interim Executive Director), 
Willard, Arnold Jay Smith (treasurer) and Jerry D'Souza (membership 
secretary). I'm sure David Adler, editor of Jazz Notes will be in consultation, too. 
Other JJA members actively offer consultations, too. 

All of the nominees in the photography, broadcaster and writer chais for 
Interim Board have the qualifications we need -- which are essentially to be 
responsible to the JJA from an overview perspective, and to be collaborative, 
imaginative, diligent. There will be no losers in this election, least of all the 
JJA (even if I get to pick the board -- and that's my campaign promise). 

upcoming JJA initiatives include, besides the aforementioned 
"mentorship/scholarship" program, the institution of a membership survey to assess what 
members want; the investigation of the potential of a day-long JJA intensive seminar 
for members and curious outsides, probably to be held in NYC; further 
outreach to associations such as the Music Critics Assn of North America, to see if 
the JJA might participate in the first nat'l conference of arts journalists 
(essentially, the MCANA, the Dance Critics Assn. and the Theater Critics Assn) at 
the Annenberg School in SCal next May), further work with IAJE/JAI, and 
planning of the 2005 and 2006 Jazz Awards (2006 will be the 10th annual -- we hope 
that will be a special occasion, even as the Jazz Awards have each been 
special). 

The JJA is wide open to members' ideas. We will have more online interactive 
forums; we have some employment-oriented activities in the works, and we want 
to encourage chapters to start and maintain their own programs. What do you 
want? Who will you vote for for Interim Board Directors? Results of the vote, or 
my decisions, will be reported via e-mail and at Jazzhouse on Tuesday next. 

best, Howard