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What a tool TJ is:
Operating entity for new cross-Iowa bike ride was launched more than a year before RAGBRAI director left his job
Tyler Jett, Des Moines RegisterPublished 4:01 p.m. CT Oct. 22, 2019 |Updated 4:38 p.m. CT Oct. 22, 2019
More than a year before he left his job, the former director of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa helped start a nonprofit that is now operating his new, competing ride.
T.J. Juskiewicz's RAGBRAI alternative, Iowa's Ride, is organized under that nonprofit, the Iowa Festivals and Events Association, according to the ride's website.
An executive at Gannett Co., owner of both the Des Moines Register and the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, said Juskiewicz did not inform his bosses that he and his wife, Jodi Juskiewicz, were behind the nonprofit.
“T.J. never disclosed to us that he and his wife had formed the Iowa Festivals and Events Association," Gannett Chief Marketing Officer Andy Yost said in an email. "We have company policies in place that require our employees to avoid any activities that constitute a conflict of interest or any outside interests and associations that may interfere with their employment with our company or create the appearance of impropriety.”
Juskiewicz who left RAGBRAI on Oct. 14, has been president of the nonprofit since September 2018, according to filings with the Iowa Secretary of State's Office. Jodi Juskiewicz incorporated the nonprofit and serves as its director.
The Iowa Festivals and Events Association launched a two-day conference in Coralville on Tuesday.
In a statement posted Oct. 14 to RAGBRAI's social media accounts, Juskiewicz said he was splitting with RAGBRAI over the Register's coverage of racist tweets that Carson King, an Iowa State University football fan who raised about $3 million for the University of Iowa's children's hospital, wrote as a high school student.
Juskiewicz said RAGBRAI riders told him they were upset about the Register's coverage. He said he wanted to issue a statement distancing RAGBRAI from the Register, which is a separate entity, although both are owned by Gannett, but public relations officials directed him to stick to talking points.
He also announced the creation of Iowa's Ride, scheduled for July 19-25 — the same time as RAGBRAI.
The web domain for the Juskiewiczes' nonprofit was registered in April 2018, and Jodi Juskiewicz filed articles of incorporation five months later.
T.J. Juskiewicz compared his involvement with the Iowa Festivals and Events Association to other nonprofit boards he has sat on, such as the Iowa Sports Foundation.
“There’s nothing that I’ve done that’s wrong," he said. "I feel really good.”
According to its website, the Iowa Festivals and Events Association is a resource for organizers of large public gatherings. The association will feature events on iowafestivals.org for a fee. Memberships cost $49 for festival and event organizers, as well as cities, chambers of commerce and tourism organizations. Memberships for vendors and advertisements on the website cost $199.
The nonprofit announced in April its plans for the conference that began Tuesday. Tickets ranged from $169-$229. It also offered sponsorships for the conference that ranged from $1,000 to $15,000.
In addition to Juskiewicz, former RAGBRAI staffers Scott Garner and Andrea Parrott were scheduled to speak on panels at the conference, according to an agenda posted on the Iowa Festivals and Events Association website.
Operating entity for new cross-Iowa bike ride was launched more than a year before RAGBRAI director left his job
Tyler Jett, Des Moines RegisterPublished 4:01 p.m. CT Oct. 22, 2019 |Updated 4:38 p.m. CT Oct. 22, 2019
More than a year before he left his job, the former director of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa helped start a nonprofit that is now operating his new, competing ride.
T.J. Juskiewicz's RAGBRAI alternative, Iowa's Ride, is organized under that nonprofit, the Iowa Festivals and Events Association, according to the ride's website.
An executive at Gannett Co., owner of both the Des Moines Register and the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, said Juskiewicz did not inform his bosses that he and his wife, Jodi Juskiewicz, were behind the nonprofit.
“T.J. never disclosed to us that he and his wife had formed the Iowa Festivals and Events Association," Gannett Chief Marketing Officer Andy Yost said in an email. "We have company policies in place that require our employees to avoid any activities that constitute a conflict of interest or any outside interests and associations that may interfere with their employment with our company or create the appearance of impropriety.”
Juskiewicz who left RAGBRAI on Oct. 14, has been president of the nonprofit since September 2018, according to filings with the Iowa Secretary of State's Office. Jodi Juskiewicz incorporated the nonprofit and serves as its director.
The Iowa Festivals and Events Association launched a two-day conference in Coralville on Tuesday.
In a statement posted Oct. 14 to RAGBRAI's social media accounts, Juskiewicz said he was splitting with RAGBRAI over the Register's coverage of racist tweets that Carson King, an Iowa State University football fan who raised about $3 million for the University of Iowa's children's hospital, wrote as a high school student.
Juskiewicz said RAGBRAI riders told him they were upset about the Register's coverage. He said he wanted to issue a statement distancing RAGBRAI from the Register, which is a separate entity, although both are owned by Gannett, but public relations officials directed him to stick to talking points.
He also announced the creation of Iowa's Ride, scheduled for July 19-25 — the same time as RAGBRAI.
The web domain for the Juskiewiczes' nonprofit was registered in April 2018, and Jodi Juskiewicz filed articles of incorporation five months later.
T.J. Juskiewicz compared his involvement with the Iowa Festivals and Events Association to other nonprofit boards he has sat on, such as the Iowa Sports Foundation.
“There’s nothing that I’ve done that’s wrong," he said. "I feel really good.”
According to its website, the Iowa Festivals and Events Association is a resource for organizers of large public gatherings. The association will feature events on iowafestivals.org for a fee. Memberships cost $49 for festival and event organizers, as well as cities, chambers of commerce and tourism organizations. Memberships for vendors and advertisements on the website cost $199.
The nonprofit announced in April its plans for the conference that began Tuesday. Tickets ranged from $169-$229. It also offered sponsorships for the conference that ranged from $1,000 to $15,000.
In addition to Juskiewicz, former RAGBRAI staffers Scott Garner and Andrea Parrott were scheduled to speak on panels at the conference, according to an agenda posted on the Iowa Festivals and Events Association website.
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