Difference between revisions of "BJC 2014 Business Meeting minutes"

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BJC 2014 Business Meeting Minutes pdf

Wednesday 16 April 2014 at BJC 27 at Darton College.

Meeting held/chaired by Lorri

Initial attendance was 47 with 15 latecomers, giving total attendance of 62 (~7% of BJC attendees)

Meeting started at 3:07pm BST

1) Introduction

The meeting responded to the question asking if this year’s BJC was good with a resounding YES, and the venue was agreed to be very good.

Attendance (inc day-tickets) is 914 so barring any unexpected costs BJC 2014 will break even.

People were urged to buy raffle tickets and merchandise to help BJC and people were reminded that the BJC Bar profits go to BJC, not a penny goes to those who work on it (met with applause), so the audience were encouraged to drink it dry tonight.

It was announced food would be available till tomorrow.

2) Future Years

The question of who wanted to run BJC 2015 was met with silence.

The question was raised if not having a BJC in 2015 was a problem and most thought it was, but in a show of hands 6 people didn't. There was concern from some that BJC could lose momentum if it wasn’t annual while others said it would be a shame if there was no BJC but the juggling community needs teams to step forward and needs to realise the BJC needs new willing organisers.

Last year Jane offered to lead a team if no one else stepped forward and she again offered to be on any team that wants her. When the room was asked if anyone wants to be on a team (but not necessarily leading it) 15 people raised their hands. Pete offered to be an apprentice organiser but did not feel confident in leading the organisation of a BJC.

Caspar stated that this year proved you don't need a team from one location, it can be a joint effort from around the country. Natalie agreed, saying this year none of the organisers lived within 50 minutes drive of the venue. Mark asked would we come back to Darton? Those in attendance were happy to come back to Darton, if they would have us.

Ewan said that Jane has done an awesome job this year and has no complaints, but having the same organisers in 2015 means there aren’t enough people interested in running a BJC. Sam Preston said this is the same situation the BJC community found itself in last year and a longer lead time needs to be implemented.

Jane praised the work of this year’s extended team and said there was a lot of help out there for people who wanted it. When the question was asked again 20 people put their hand up to be involved with next year’s team. Jane agreed to mentor potential leaders for future years.

The meeting was then asked if anyone wanted to be assistant leaders – Abbi, Pete, Rainbow Tom & Sarah volunteered and will talk with Jane after the meeting about running BJC with Jane as mentor. Jak and Anna also offered to help mentor.

It was acknowledged that there are people not at this meeting interested in getting involved, with skills we don't know about, and a way of communication with them should be found. Facebook was suggested as an alternative although some people are not on Facebook. A timescale for the next stage was needed and posts were to be made on Facebook, Juggling Edge, Twitter and anywhere else people thought would reach the juggling community.

Jack commented that people aren't coming to the BJC Business Meeting and it was suggested that “Business Meeting” was not a very appealing, and potentially a misleading name.

3) BJC 2016

Ron stood up to express an interest in BJC 2016, to much applause. He has a core team of 5 people: Ron (lead org), Ewan (devil's advocate), Graham (silent partner), Ian Mrawa (show) and Dawn (marketing) and proposed three options:

1. ) Newcastle, which is local, but not found a venue yet. Will keep looking.
2. ) Duncan says Perth (2005 venue) wants us back, but Duncan has no team. Combine Ron’s team with Duncan’s venue.
3. ) Anyone else can put a bid in for 2016 if they want.

Ron wants two years to plan so he can shadow the year before and get experience. He explained that the core team were chosen because they are friends, trustworthy, experienced and knowledgeable. It was suggested by Kat that re-using old venues will make organising easier.

Ron will present his proposal for BJC 2016 at a central location/website once he has selected a venue.

4) BJC 2017

There were no expressions of interest in BJC 2017 yet.

5) Feedback on BJC 2014

Lorri asked people what they had particularly liked about BJC 2014. Responses included:

• The general feeling of love
• Toilets and showers

• Secret Post Office • Gala Show • Team Fabulous and points system • Good venue staff • Crew lunches • Ladybird fantastic for kids • Security amazing • Atrium a good space with bar/food/shows • Torwood Wheelers were great • Renegade has been amazing this year. The atmosphere was nice, community spirit/feeling • Fight Night was fantastic • Workshop boards are better • Nice to have plenty indoors • The ceilidh

Lorri asked for constructive feedback for future organisers, bearing in mind that a lot of things are dependent on the available/selected venue and the organising team. Feedback included:

• There were more live-in vehicles than expected this year – need to collate data and possibly pre-book only for live-in vehicles? • Pass on to next year the exact numbers of toilets and showers • More stuff happening at BJCs might lead to expectations and less un-organised time • Do new ideas need repeating the next year? No Circus School Show this year, not everything has to be repeated each year. Most people in the audience said they would go to a 3 day BJC or a BJC without a Gala Show • Don't schedule Renegade every night, it can be spontaneous • Too many shows & activities – no time to feed kids! • People have the option to go to the shows, they don't have to go, they can do their own thing • Some people missed the parade • Workshop boards for future days should be up early • Love Waffles Man felt outside the event because of the location of catering vans this year. BJC is too cheap – they are getting a lot for their money. Running it so cheap makes it stressful for organisers • Worrying how small margins are, especially if something goes wrong (eg weather/bar sales). People don't know how BJC is run, need to explain price increase when we do it. • Target audience are young people without much money • Some poor young people who “can't afford it” are paying £200 to go to a music festival. Suggested putting prices up by 25%. • Team should choose their price. BJCs have got longer. Can reduce length/costs rather than increase prices. Price should be based on costs. • Show people the accounts, at info point or during business meeting. There could be a pie chart to show people where their ticket money goes • People don't know where to look for accounts. Past accounts were viewable at Companies House • Do Gala Shows have to be at weekend? Wouldn't it be cheaper to have it midweek? • It is nice to have show at start. It is nice for show organiser and performers to get stress over early in BJC and nice to see jugglers inspired by Gala Show

Dave Jellybean is offering to loan money to help BJCs get started, as most of the BJC start up loans have now gone. There was lots of applause for Dave Jellybean’s kind offer.

6) Jack's BJ Guild Presentation (aka BJAG)

Jack updated everyone on the background to the BJAG and on the meeting he had held earlier in the week. He is not looking to fix BJC organisers’ problems, he is just creating a legal support structure at the moment. Later, those within that structure can focus on fixing problems/issues/etc.

A fuller description of the BJAG can be found at www.thebritishjugglingconvention.co.uk as well as on Juggling Edge and the BJC Facebook group.

7) AOB

The BJC 2013 team have successfully raised enough money to pay all outstanding invoices and the outstanding BJC loans, meaning there is no longer a debt from last year’s event.

Thanks from Lorri and another resounding round of applause for Jane and her team for a fantastic BJC 2014.

Meeting finished at 4:30pm