ISA 2011 Convention Meeting

    

                                               

International Steppers Association

19 May 2011

Dear ISA members,

We made it a full business year! Let me congratulate each of you for participating and supporting the effort to standardize, train, educate and promote community programming.    What we are doing is very important to urban dance.  If we look at Lindy Hop, Jitterbug or other legacy Swing dances the participants and culture does not look as it did over 60 years ago.  However, their history is well documented.  The difference in Steppin is that we continue to dance in our local neighborhoods and environment.  We cannot make the mistake of not writing down what we do.  If so, we may miss our opportunity to have a voice in the way our history is portrayed at the hands of others.  We also continue to miss out on the financial returns to our urban community which we must take full responsibility for missing.   

As Steppers continue to age and the lack of males and youth participants in our numbers, we must be responsible as dancers and senior leaders to ensure that the future includes a formal deposit and a legacy to those who have yet to be born.  The average age of Steppers is approximately 48-53 years of age.  Steppin is the youngest of all urban dances and we do not have any young instructors or dancers promoting the dance or competing.  Our future is in jeopardy of maintaining its indigenous culture if we are not actively involved outside of the social parties and fanfare.  The effort of the ISA is very important to this cause.  The ISA is the only professional organization with the urban dance genre of Steppin in mind.  Your efforts are admirable and will be appreciated long after you have stopped dancing.  In order for our efforts to become formalized with content and services we need your continued support and those of your local community.

On 24-26 June 2011 the ISA membership will be celebrating our 1st Annual Convention and Business Meeting in Chicago!  Hopefully, you have made plans to attend.  The event will be anchored by our annual scholarship and awards dinner and two busy days of business meetings.  If you have not made accommodations please do so as the Oak Lawn Hilton Hotel is sold out!  The ticket prices for flights and rental cars are increasing due to high gas prices.  You must be a financial ISA member to attend.  Each member will be provided an access badge to enter the meeting room.  If you are not registered at the hotel remember you will be paying $60.00 plus your 2011-2012 ISA membership fees.  If you have a hotel reservation your ISA registration fee is $50.00 plus your 2011-2012 ISA membership fee (don’t miss June’s meeting).  You can pay online or mail your payments to:

International Steppers Association

4303 West Village Avenue, Apt 2002

Suitland MD  20746

Please let us know if you are eating chicken or fish as seating will be reserved for ISA members and their guests. Registration is now being accepted online.

Finally, we would like all ISA members to call in on Sunday, 5 June 2011 at 7pm for our year end business meeting.  This will be the last meeting before we convene in Chicago.  There are a lot of details to cover that may impact your 2011-2012 membership.  The final items will be covered so please call in to cast your vote:

1.      Membership roll call

2.      Business Meeting Schedule of Events

3.      Scholarship and Awards Committee Report

a.       Charter Member Certificate Presentation

4.      Officer and Election balloting

5.      New Membership Fees  

6.      501 C 3 Non Profit Status

7.      Website update

8.      ISA Annual Survey and Study

9.      Chapter Update

10.  2012 ISA Convention Planning

Please call in Sunday, 5 June 2011 at 7 pm Eastern Standard Time.  Please dial in by 6:45 pm so that we can start on time. The dial in number is 1-218-862-1000 ACCESS CODE: 307375#. 

Very respectfully,

T. Dweylan Wilson, PMP

President

International Steppers Association

ISA Scholarship Advertisement Request

International Steppers Association


404 Investors Place, Suite 106

Virginia Beach, VA 23452-1171

May 10, 2011


The International Steppers Association will host a Scholarship & Awards Black Tie Dinner, on Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 6:00 pm. This event will be held at Hilton, Oak Lawn, IL.

This year, we will honor two deserving youth, as well as leaders in the Stepping Community for their significant contributions, advancement and involvement in the world of Swing dance/Steppin and their local community. You can be a part of this celebration by purchasing an ad in the 2011 souvenir journal. Ad prices are:


Full page $100.00

Half page (1/2) $ 60.00

(Ads should be camera ready and electronically submitted) to

favorinkd@gmail.com and seanta@cfl.rr.com


Conference registration is $50/$60.00 ISA/Non ISA Member and includes one (1) dinner ticket. If the conference dates conflict with your schedule, please consider sponsoring a youth. Your generosity will be noted in the souvenir journal. Please return your advertisement and contribution to the above address by June 3, 2011. Checks should be made payable to International Steppers Association.


If you have any questions, please contact Chair Seanta C McClendon at (808) 780-6813

Thank you for your continued support and participation as we move forward One Step at a Time.



Sincerely,



Seanta C McClendon,

Chair, Scholarship & Awards Committee

Letter concerning standards and training...the time is now..

Jeff/Marc, I read your post concerning workshops, training and standards and the events that happened in Cleveland. I assume that what happened last weekend is happening at every convention/conference. That failed template has been consistently problematic for some time now. I think your open piece was honest and on point but we need to do more.

One of the goals of the ISA is to support the socialized system and culture that exist today. Many of the social articles I have read have a similar underpinning that suggests formalized professional training is not only needed but a requirement if students are to properly learn how to dance and repeat learning. This is obviously intuitive and can only be addressed in a classroom and learning environment and not on the dance floor. With the support of the GSDTA and their certification program we are one step away from getting there. We have to encourage our best social dancers to get involved now. Yes we all can and should continously learn more but that is a hard sell if that is not your true intent.

From a strategic vantage point Steppin has reached a point of diminishing return as it relates to teaching and learning. As you know socialized cultures do not teach a protocol which is why we all go to school to learn common principles from trained professionals. Likewise we do not ask or address cultural nuisances to solve advanced placement of our best students. Training modules, curriculums and standards are all set by those who are properly trained and specialize in this area. These agreed upon terms and standards are what leverages our youth to become seasoned students and go on to higher degrees of learning. Educators know that learning has to be repeatable and must have a common language. In our viewpoint GSDTA's Universal Unit System is the only dance language that has been proven to work across all dances. A right turn must be communicated consistently 100% of the time the same way no matter what city or instructor is teaching it as an example.

The ISA is committed to supporting professionalized training from certified professionals who have a proven record of training success. Whether it is GSDTA, Arthur Murray, Fred Astaire or a host of other dance schools, there must be professional training involved in all dancing. Every mature dance system that exists today has professionalized training. Without a system that works and has been proven the broader population will resent that they have been mislead by false advertisement and failed promises that systematically could never come to fruition. Additionally, they will never return to the level of financial support or trust once that has been taken from them ultimately ending in avoidance. Let the buyer beware is always the first defense but that seldom is a priority when family or the thought of integrity from family is the seller.

Successful education and training cannot be satisfied from a cultural perspective. Cultures are simply incubators of common likes and dislikes, myths and beliefs, norms and behaviors. That is about it. Cultures cannot and don’t teach advanced skills. We have been down this road as far back as the societal dance circles of the Yoruba and Ashanti tribes. These West African influences were heavily a part of the Congo Square circles in New Orleans in the early 1800s. This is well documented in historical accounts of the migration and Diaspora of dance. All of these are gone today because cultures change as technology and modernity changes. Yes we learned cultural stories and recited great local histories and songs. But the advancement of our culture and society then was slow and localized. Here we are in 2011 still trying to encourage others to change to a modern approach void of stereotypes, fear and skepticism. We either can stay here for another 50 years or watch our small contribution to dance go the way of Lindy Hop, the Charleston and the like. The culture icons of that day danced well but never organized or documented their story. Here we are about to repeat this mistake again. Outside of Frankie Manning most dancers cannot name more than five (5) dancers or five (5) fad dance movements that are parallel today (i.e. Snake Hips). The point here is that the dance must be first and foremost and not fixated on the individual. The promoter/promotion model can never support continued/sustained growth by the masses. The community is grown too large and too diversified in number. It is time to change the model to protect what we have built. Lastly, success is not about a city name or region. There are simply no dances that have a city name attached that equates to success. I am sure someone from Tokyo would resent calling his dance anything but his local culture. So the key there is to remain neutral and simply to call it Steppin.

The ISA is one of many organizations that can help our Steppers advance to the next level (Yes there are many). Our approach is to centralize, organize, standardize and provide the necessary training required to ensure the future of Steppin is well documented and supported by the indigenous Stepper. There are a few times in a lifetime to take advantage of an opportunity. This is one of them.

The ISA is growing and certainly can grow faster if others like you join and support Steppin this way. We have a centralize agenda, budget and a growing following that can leverage the federal grant and private organizations in each city. Steppin is more than just selling products, having dancing sets for hours and hours or commenting on cultural challenges. This commentary seldom bares edible fruit. If anything it annunciates what is wrong with the existing aggregate approach. At some point we have to simply participate in the obvious. Let’s take out the local social labels (heavy hitters, out of towners, 6 and 8 count etc) and get involved by participating. I mean really participating by joining and lending a hand. We will find a better professionalized community of dancers and teachers in the very near future. One where our vendors, teachers and instructors will find better opportunities than $400 in cash for a weekend just to pay for the necessities of life. What good is it to fly to a city for a workshop and you cannot pay for a return ticket back home? This scenario happens frequently and it makes small chatter on the social network with names attached. Let’s end this practice and do much more collectively. Let’s take advantage of programs, academia and other institutions that are doing what we want for our own culture today. We are modern educated dancers who can and must contribute to the broader body of knowledge. The cost of organizing is low ($50 annually). The price of abstaining from participating in a formalized environment of learning is high as it relates to a loss of cost and time.

The ISA Convention is scheduled for 24-26 June 2011 in Oak Lawn, IL. We are inviting the entire Steppin community to join us for three (3) days of discussions about our community, business, training and standards. We are asking others to help broaden the agenda so that members can collectively brainstorm and advance the discussion. The business meeting means we will address the programs whereby all Steppers benefit. We are not having a dance or Steppers set. This is a time to lay to the side social commentary and dancing and get to work first. Everyone who registers has the same equal vote. Majority rules but the collective weighs in. That is the value of organizing. No one person should dictate the collective.

If there was a time to take this seriously now is the time. The future will judge us by what we do today and our youth will read about our decisions tomorrow.

I trust that you and others will not only join us but take an active role inviting others to participate in the ISA. If there is a format or forum required to extend the communication then let us take the opportunity to ensure that those who have a genuine interest in doing so take advantage of this open discussion. The ISA is open to the opportunity as we continue to build with the Stepper in mind.

Thank you for your assistance in spreading the word.

Timothy"

Timothy D. Wilson
President
International Steppers Association
http://www.internationalsteppersassociation.org/

ISA March Minutes

International Steppers Association

Join the conversation, the movement, the future!





The recorded meeting began with group prayer by Sis. Crystal Johnson. The February meeting minutes were approved by vote. The following members and guests were in attendance.



1. Timothy D. Wilson

2. Crystal Johnson

3. Victor James

4. Seanta McClendon

5. Joi Morris

6. Benita Williams

7. Mary Laidler

8. Kathy Bond

9. Crystal Johnson

10. Monnie Coleman

11. Rashad Coleman

12. Eric Bond

13. Nicola Thomas

14. Anissa Leigh



The following reports were provided:



• Treasurer’s report



Operations Fund Balance: $258.71

Scholarship Fund Balance: $575.00



* Membership report



The ISA has a total of 32 members. We have grown a little over 30% in the past 30 days due to membership increases. Please take a moment to congratulate our newest members, Aaron, Eboni, Julee, Jacqueline and Sheila. We are anticipating more members to join shortly.



* Public Relations report



The PR report was provided by the President. We continue to advertise utilizing the website. Our IT support staff is scheduled to send our recurring advertisement for the upcoming convention in June. We also need a VP of PR this coming June. All volunteers or nominees please forward your name so that you will be on the ballot.



* Education and Training report



The ISA has contracted with GSDTA to provide 9 hours of training during the ISA convention. The Steppers Intensive course cost $299.00 before 1 June 2010. This course will teach you specifically how to count using the Universal Unit System. Mary Ann Nunez will be teaching. She is a multi-year World Swing Champion and is a member of the WDC Swing Hall of Fame. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn a wealth of knowledge from her.



* Committee Reports



Scholarship and Awards: ISA members are invited to assist Seanta McClendon in putting together the scholarship and awards program. She needs your assistance to make this a success.



ACTION: Scholarship Committee – Seanta McClendon (seanta@cfl.rr.com)



Old News



* ISA Convention and Business Meeting is scheduled for June 24-26. Details are posted on the website. Please make your reservations as soon as possible. We have a robust agenda of elections, training, an awards dinner and the 2012 Convention announcement. Topics on the agenda are Life Membership fee, certification and training, strategic planning and the State of the ISA.



* ISA Elections. The following positions are open for election. Nominees are due before 1 June 2011.



o ISA Elections

+ Vice-President

+ Vice-President of Public Relations

+ Vice-President of Education

+ Voting Board of Directors

+ Non-Voting Directors



* ISA Collaborative – the ISA is working with the urban dance community to produce a document that captures each urban dance identified as having a relevancy in our community. Various topics are begin approached for discussion. The lists of dances include the Bop, Hand Dancing, Steppin, the Strand, Beaumont, Texas Swing Out and others. The next collaborative is 10 April 2011. Feel free to join in and listen to the discussion.



* Chapter Membership – Local chapter membership is open. Please consider starting your local chapter. The benefits are numerous to include obtaining state and federal funds for community events.



* Logo restrictions – ISA members should request the use of the ISA logo on their websites. The ISA is a non-profit entity and should not give the appearance of supporting for profit activities in any manner. Obtaining a letter or correspondence is the best way to ensure you comply with federal copyright laws.



The meeting ending with prayer by Sis. Johnson. Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, 1 May 2011. Please call in by 6:45pm so that we can start on time. The dial in number is 1-218-862-1000 ACCESS CODE: 307375#.



Signed,





Mary Laidler

Secretary

International Steppers Association support World Dance Day

President of the International Dance Council CID

1 rue Miollis

FR-75732 Paris, France


Prof, Alkis Raftis 2 April 2011


On behalf of the International Steppers Association, its supportive membership, communities and over 14,000 urban dancers who participate in the urban dance experience known as Steppin, we salute the efforts of UNESCO and many others who continue to recognize the importance of dance internationally. On Friday, 29 April 2011, we all will take a silent moment to recognize the contributions of so many great communities who have a shared interest in the history of dance. The strength of the collective dance experience continues to be reflected in the diversity of its participants and the sharing of knowledge among dancers internationally.


The importance of World Dance Day cannot be underestimated. The ISA will continue to support all organizations, schools, professionals and individuals who share this common goal of recognizing the contributions of dance in our community.

Please accept this formal letter as our official support of World Dance Day 2011. If there is anything we can do to assist your efforts, please contact us on our website or email us at info@internationalsteppersassociation.org.

Signed,



T. Dweylan Wilson

President

International Steppers Association

ISA: February 2011 Minutes

Date: 27 February 2011

The meeting began at 7:03 pm with prayer by Sister Crystal Johnson.    There were a total of seven (7) callers who participated on the call.  Members are encouraged to call in each week to take care of the business of the ISA in an efficient manner.

Roll call produced the following member activity.

January minutes were approved as read.

Members present:

1.      Timothy D. Wilson, President – Washington DC **

2.      Anissa L. Guyton, Vice-President of Membership – Romulus, MI **

3.      Crystal Johnson, Treasurer - Virginia Beach, VA **

4.      Buford Collins (Education and Training) - Ferndale, MI *

5.      Donna Crite (Education and Training) - Odenton, MI

6.      Seanta McClendon (Scholarships and Awards) - Melbourne, Florida **

7.      Victor James, Sr.  – Indianapolis, IN

Guest callers:

1.      Nicola Thomas – St. Louis

2.      Hazel Proctor – Virginia Beach

* Charter Member

** Life Member

Officers Report:

Treasurer’s report (pre-written):

Operations Fund Balance $606.76 - $300* = $306.76

Scholarship Fund Balance $525.00

*still waiting for $300 check to clear to IRS for 501(c)3 application. 

ACTION:  Treasurer

Membership report:  ISA President reported that the ISA received our 27^th member from Phoenix Arizona, Darnell Brown.  Please welcome Darnell to the ISA.  There continues to be a movement of inquiry to have an ISA chapter.  We anticipate increased professional membership with the establishment of chapters.  Members and non members are encouraged to log on our website to register for the 2011-2012 membership calendar.  All non Life Time members must pay $50.00 to be active members from 1 July-30 June 2012.  Non active members will not be able to vote for the upcoming elections or business of the ISA at the Convention.   Please contact Sister Anissa Guyton for all questions concerning membership 

For membership please log on and make payment on the website.

www.internationalsteppersassociation.org

ACTION: Anissa Guyton, VP of Membership - isa.vpofmembership@yahoo.com 

Public Relations report:   

Public relations:  The ISA is seeking leadership for the Public Relations position.  The treasurer has asked that we keep our focus on the loss of funds due to not maximizing our advertising account funds.  We lost $65.00 in opportunity cost because we did not advertise using our account. 

ACTION: Board of Directors

Education and Training report:  No report was provided however efforts continue to document the standards and curriculum of Steppin.  The GSDTA will continue our efforts to gather more information and codification of Steppin during our upcoming convention in Chicago.  The Vice President of Education and Training position is vacant and the ISA is looking for leadership in this position in June.  If you would like to nominate someone please forward the nomination in by 1 June 2011. 

ACTION: Buford Collins, Bonita Williams, Donna Crite, Lloyd Henderson and Darryl Wilder

Committees:  

The following committee’s need ISA members to volunteer to assist:  Please contact the committee chairpersons associated with each committee.  We need your support to make sure all ISA goals are successful.  Remember we are doing this on behalf of all Steppers and members of the ISA.  Please join and participate.

ISA Convention Planning – Volunteers needed to help finalize agenda.  Please email info@internationalsteppersassociation.org.

ISA Convention Planning – Sarah Teagle (mysteppersclub@gmail.com) – No report provided due to traveling. 

Website Management – Valerie Morman (Valerie_Morman@hotmail.com) – No report

Scholarship and Awards – Seanta Mclendon (seanta@cfl.rr.com) – Preparations continue for the Black and White Scholarship and Awards dinner.  She is putting together a superb program for recognizing ISA members and high school students.

ACTION: Oswald Cooper, Tracey Sisco, Brenda Foster, Patricia Alexander, Demaris Wooten

History – Victor James (vjsolo1@sbcglobal.net) – Brother James continues to research in preparation for his submission to documenting vernacular dance in the urban Steppin community.  His efforts will be a large part of our input to the overall ISA education manual.  Brother Victor James forwarded an email to look for others to help develop a paragraph or other contributions on the history of Steppin.  His effort will be reported by 1 March 2011.  This effort is important as we try to detail a centralized history of the Swing as it relates to Steppin.    The history is more concerned with dance as opposed to a cultural or local perspective.  Each community does highlight a local aspect however research is more centered on the development of dance as it relates to Steppin.  This effort will be also included in the training manual. 

ACTION: Darnell Brown, Zakeeyaw Toney 

Strategic Planning – Samuel Parker, Jr. (parkersam1@aol.com) – No report given.

ACTION: Scott Freeman, A.G. Dunn

Business Planning – Deborah Hunt (Deborah.l.hunt@att.net):  Congratulations to Deborah for acquiring over $5000 from the Susan B.  Coleman Foundation.  Her non-profit event will be held on 2 April 2011.  She has set a standard which we will follow.

ACTION: Jim Berry, Pamela Dunn

ISA Convention:  The ISA will be presenting a weekend of business meetings, scholarship and training and recognition for the hard work we have shared with the Steppers community. As we gear up and begin laying the foundation for what is to come we are asking everyone to jump in and lend a hand. We will need everyone’s participation in the coming days to shape our event and to plan for 2011-2012. This is the second time that we will be in the same place at one time.  We are anticipating guests and attendees from various dance genres for the Urban Swing Collaborative.  Please register early to avoid additional chargers.

GSDTA Steppers Intensive (Cost $299.00):  The GSDTA forwarded a written proposal for the Steppers Intensive Training. Skippy Blair has assured us that we will have her best trainer in World Champion dancer Mary Ann Nunez. She is well respected in the dance community and brings a wealth of certification and training knowledge. Certainly our ISA members will benefit greatly from her participation. ISA member Buford Collins will be teaching in tandem for a total of 9 hours of training. For those that participate the hours will go towards your a GSDTA certification. If you do not know how to count using “critical timing” or understand the Universal Unit System this is the course for you. The system teaches instructors the universal language of dance using standard terms, definitions and techniques used by professional dance instructors worldwide. Instructors will see massive improvements in their ability to teach and student’s ability to understand and retain more knowledge. Buford is well on his way to certification and hopefully he will become the first Stepper to reach GSDTA certification. Our goal is to obtain enough certifiers to ultimately train ourselves in the long run. I will also be taking the class along with a few guests who you will read about below. The cost for the 9 hours is $299.00. Payments need to be made prior to 1 June 2011. A late fee of $20.00 will be added after the 1st of June. Please do not delay so that the ISA will be able to pay all expenses prior to the convention. Please log on www.internationalsteppersassociation.org and go to the shopping cart.

ISA Collaborative:   The ISA lead program is collaborating with Urban Dances (Hand Dance, Texas Two-Step, Texas Swing Out, Philly Bop, Detroit Ballroom, Cha Cha, Hip Hop and Line Dancing) to jointly write a single curriculum and syllabus for each dance. The ISA is sharing our corporate knowledge to build this effort with the other leaders of their dance. Thus far the Presidents/representatives from each genre have agreed to collaborate on this project. We have set aside 3 hours on 26 June 2011 to discuss and complete an intensive draft. This has never been done before so we are excited. Our next phone call is on 13 March 2011. If you are interested in participating please forward an email accordingly.

Upcoming elections:  ISA elections are coming up in June. We are now taking nominations for the following vacant offices. Please refer to your ISA Operations Instructions for roles, responsibilities and term limits. Officers must have membership of at least 1 year before serving prior to the election. Voting will take place by electronic voting.

Nominations end 1 June 2011.

1. Vice-President

2. Vice-President of Education

3. Vice-President of Public Affairs

New business:

ISA Advocacy:  There have been a few requests for ISA advocacy on behalf of Steppers. We are looking in to how much support we can provide (i.e. legal referrals, non-profit organization, union participation) to members. Our constitution does provide guidelines for a Code of Ethics however the topic of contracts and legal assistance seems to be the biggest challenge from those who are inquiring. The ISA may begin to play a great role in assisting Steppers help to avoid challenges they are facing. More to come on this topic during the meeting.

The ISA Operating Instructions are available to all ISA members. The integrity of what we are accomplishing shows in our work and continued growth.  Lets continue to lead the effort to expand the community by inclusion to the other 7 billion people on earth. Your commitment and purpose is more than sufficient to move this worth purpose forward.

The ISA convention planning will take place on bi-monthly meetings.  The ISA Convention planners will ensure that all efforts are taking place on behalf of the registered members.  The meeting times will be 7pm Eastern Standard Time.  The following Sunday dates will be the planning dates:

·         March 13 and 27

·         April 8 and 22

·         May 8 and 22

·         June 12

Elections:  The following positions will be up for election in June.

·         Vice-President

·         Vice-President of Public Relations

·         Vice-President of Education

·         Voting Board of Directors

·         Non-Voting Directors

Nominations are now open and will close on 1 June 2011

Scholarship announcement:  The ISA search for students to receive an ISA Scholarship continues.  If you know of a deserving student, please log on to the website and submit a nomination package. 

Chapter Membership:  Chapter membership fee is $100.00.  All local chapters require seven (7) ISA members to join.  Local chapters will be able to use the 501 c 3 number to help raise donations for local community programs.  All grants, projects and programs must meet approval of the ISA Board of Directors.  There is a small operation fee for usage of the ISA non-profit number.  Interested cities to date:

• Memphis, TN
• Los Angeles, CA
• Atlanta, GA
• Miami, FL
• Boston, MA

Logo Restrictions:  Not discussed

ACTION:  Tabled until 27 March 2011

Life Membership nominal fee:  Not discussed

ACTION:  Member should make a motion at next meeting for a vote

Urban Dance Collaboration:  Collaborative call will be on 13 March 2011 at 7pm EST.

ACTION:  ISA President, Education and Training Committee

The meeting adjourned at 8:00pm with closing prayer lead by the ISA Treasurer, Crystal Johnson.

The next ISA general meeting will be on Sunday, 27 March 2011 at 7pm Eastern Standard Time.  Please dial in by 6:45pm so that we can start on time. The dial in number is 1-218-862-1000 ACCESS CODE: 307375#.

Signed for,

Timothy D. Wilson

President

Letter to ISA Members

International Steppers Association

Join the conversation, the movement, the future!

    

                                                                                                                                                                                         

ISA Members,                                                                                     February 25, 2011

I am excited to announce our newest (#27) ISA member Bro. Darnell Brown from Phoenix area.  Please reach out and congratulate him.  It looks like there are more business minded people and regions who are interested in operating as a non-profit organization and benefiting from obtaining proper training and standardization techniques.  Like so many of the larger cities Phoenix would see the benefits of reducing their overall cost and expenses if they collaborated as an ISA chapter.  Facility space and material expenses become cheaper as an organization.  This is generally the largest part of depreciation for promoters.  Federal and state savings begin immediately and the community programs ultimate help the community and each Stepper who participates.  We trust that they will continue towards this goal in the future. 

Just a few thoughts as we count down to June 24-26, 2011; Oak Lawn Illinois.  The ISA will be presenting a weekend of business meetings, scholarship and training and recognition for the hard work we have shared with the Steppers community.  As we gear up and begin laying the foundation for what is to come we are asking everyone to jump in and lend a hand.  We will need everyone’s participation in the coming days to shape our event and to plan for 2011-2012.  This is the second time that we will be in the same place at one time and we don’t want to let the opportunity to pass us by.  So lets take advantage of the collaboration during our business weekend.  The attached agenda is our preliminary draft.  We will be adding a few other aspects but we are pretty settled at this point. 

The GSDTA forwarded a written proposal for  the Steppers Intensive Training.  Skippy Blair has assured us that we will have her best trainer in World Champion dancer Mary Ann Nunez.  She is well respected in the dance community and brings a wealth of certification and training knowledge.  Certainly our ISA members will benefit greatly from her participation.  ISA member Buford Collins will be teaching in tandem for a total of 9 hours of training.  For those that participate the hours will go towards your a GSDTA certification.  If you do not know how to count using “critical timing” or understand the Universal Unit System this is the course for you.  The system teaches instructors the universal language of dance using standard terms, definitions and techniques used by professional dance instructors world wide.  Instructors will see massive  improvements in their ability to teach and students ability to understand and retain more knowledge.  Buford is well on his way to certification and hopefully he will become the first Stepper to reach GSDTA certification.  Our goal is to obtain enough certifiers to ultimately train ourselves in the long run.  I will also be taking the class along with a few guests who you will read about below. The cost for the 9 hours is $299.00.  Payments need to be made prior to 1 June 2011.  A late fee of $20.00 will be added after the 1^st of June.  Please do not delay so that the ISA will be able to pay all expenses prior to the convention.  Please log on www.internationalsteppersassociation.org and go to the shopping cart. 

Have you heard of the ISA Collaborative?  The ISA lead program is collaborating with Urban Dances (Hand Dance, Texas Two-Step, Texas Swing Out, Philly Bop, Detroit Ballroom, Cha Cha, Hip Hop and Line Dancing) to jointly write a single curriculum and syllabus for each dance.  The ISA is sharing our corporate knowledge to build this effort with the other leaders of their dance.  Thus far the Presidents/representatives from each genre have agreed to collaborate on this project.  We have set aside 3 hours on 26 June 2011 to discuss and complete an intensive draft.  This has never been done before so we are excited.  Our next phone call is on 13 March 2011.  If you are interested in participating please forward an email accordingly.

Upcoming elections:  Don’t forget, ISA elections are coming up in June.  We are now taking nominations for the following vacant offices.  Please refer to your ISA Operations Instructions for roles, responsibilities and term limits.  Officers must have a members of at least 1 year before serving prior to the election.  Voting will take place by electronic voting.  Nominations end 1 June 2011.

1. Vice-President
2. Vice-President of Education
3. Vice-President of Public Affairs

In an effort to ensure all ISA members are involved the following committee assignments have been developed.  Each committee chairperson will be contacting you so that your groups can set committee agendas accordingly.  Please contact your committee chairperson for more information.  If you want to switch, please contact the committee chairperson to make an equal change.

Education and Training – Buford Collins (mistalocks@yahoo.com)

• Donna Crite
• Bonita Williams
• Darryl Wilder
• Lloyd Henderson

Scholarship and Awards – Seanta Mclendon (seanta@cfl.rr.com)

• Oswald Cooper
• Tracey Sisco
• Brenda Foster
• Patricia Alexander
• Demaris Wooten

History – Victor James (vjsolo1@sbcglobal.net)

• Darnell Brown
• Zakeeyaw Toney

Strategic Planning – Samuel Parker, Jr. (parkersam1@aol.com)

• Scott Freeman
• A.G. Dunn

Business Planning – Deborah Hunt (Deborah.l.hunt@att.net)

• Jim Berry
• Pamela Dunn

ISA Convention Planning – Sarah Teagle (mysteppersclub@gmail.com)

Website Management – Valerie Morman (Valerie_Morman@hotmail.com)

There have been a few request for ISA advocacy on behalf of Steppers.  We are looking in to how much support we can provide (i.e. legal referrals, non-profit organization, union participation) to members.   Our constitution does provide guidelines for a Code of Ethics however the topic of contracts and legal assistance seems to be the biggest challenge from those who are inquiring.  The ISA may begin to play a great role in assisting Steppers help to avoid challenges they are facing.  More to come on this topic during the meeting.

Congratulations to Sis. Deborah Hunt whose non profit organization was awarded $5000 for her upcoming non-profit work with cancer.  She is a part of a large group of African-Americans women in the Norfolk, Virginia community who concentrate on building community programs for those who are less fortunate.  The ISA is encouraged to stay on course to seek organizational funding for our scholarship and training programs.  This is the language of philanthropy and the ISA will benefit likewise.  We will certainly need volunteers to assist us as we continue to develop the scholarship and award programs. 

Public Affairs and media support:  We will be seeking a new Vice President of Public Affairs in June.  In the meantime, we are looking for an ISA leader to volunteer and help design media packages and interviews to talk more about the ISA.  We will begin to do more interviews, publicity days and press releases in 2011-2012.  If you desire to participate please email info@internationalsteppersassociation.org and let us know.

The ISA Operating Instructions are available to all ISA members.   The integrity of what we are accomplishing shows in our work and continued growth.  Lets continue to lead the effort to expand the community by inclusion to the other 7 billion people on earth.  Your commitment and purpose is more than sufficient to move this worth purpose forward. 

Please call in this Sunday, 27 February 2011 at 7pm Eastern Standard Time.  Please dial in by 6:45pm so that we can start on time. The dial in number is 1-218-862-1000 ACCESS CODE: 307375#.  The ISA is open to anyone who is interested in moving Steppin towards a broader and more professional nature.

Signed,

T. Dweylan Wilson

President

I have one yardstick by which I test every major challenge - and that yardstick is:  Is it good for Steppers internationally?