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Friday, March 29, 2024

A note from Jody Victor:

They were the Fabulous '50s, when cars had fins, kids had hula hoops, and families with television sets welcomed Ed Sullivan and Ozzie and Harriet into their living rooms. Near the end of that decade, the Business was starting to take off in some of those living rooms. And from the beginning, the entrepreneurs who embraced the Opportunity have had a strong, active voice in the Business.

Today that voice is the Independent Business Owners Association International, Inc.® (the "IBOAI"®)—a clear, open channel of communication with Amway North America and an Association that any IBO can join. Guided by your elected Board, the IBOAI provides ongoing interaction and partnering with Amway™ to make the Business the best it can be.

The Association (now known as the IBOAI) was born in 1959. Its seven original Board members supported five key principles in developing their Business. These five principles remain as true today as they were then:

  1. The Business offers a universal Opportunity, available to people from all walks of life.
  2. Success is based on repeat business and long-term relationships. There's no room for shortcuts or fly-by-night operators. Your word is your worth, and your worth is your word.
  3. The Opportunity offers potential without territorial restrictions. Intangible benefits include supportive relationships and the fact that it's well-suited to participation by the whole family.
  4. The Business offers products that people always need and use. This was very significant to the original Board members who had personal memories of the Great Depression.
  5. The Business is the perfect embodiment of the free enterprise concept.

What's so remarkable is the vision with which those first Board members set forth these enduring principles. People and their needs have always come first.

The IBOAI is becoming more effective than ever at working for improvement in a rapidly changing business environment. It is an organization with an independent Board representing independent entrepreneurs in the Field. Thus, the IBOAI and its Board appreciate your ongoing support to continue to serve as the voice of all IBOs.

Send us your ideas and concerns, either through your upline or directly to the IBOAI office at the following address:

IBOA International
220 Lyon Street NW Suite 850
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Your financial support is critical, too, for the Board and the IBOAI to continue to address all aspects of the Business. In 1959, it cost one dollar to support the Association. Today, a small, voluntary contribution beginning with your second Amway contract year for just $16 per year will aid the Board's efforts.

Since 1959, the Opportunity has only improved. I say that as an IBO leader and longtime Board member with early memories of the IBO Business and Compensation Plan being presented in one of those 1950s living rooms. Our work together today to strengthen the IBOAI will help ensure that the Opportunity continues to improve for generations to come!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor's father, Joe Victor, was one of the seven original Board members, and Jody's son, Stephen, was the first third-generation Sapphire IBO. In 1982, Jody began his Association Board service, which has included several terms as president and many years as on officer on the Governance and Oversight Committee.