HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/21/2016 SCC Minutes (2)MOUNT PROSPECT SISTER CITIES
First Floor Village Hall Community Room
Minutes: January 21, 2016
Attendees: Evelyn Dorman, Janice Farley, Skip Farley, Mayor Arlene A Juracek, Judy McGinnis, Gary
Randant, Paula Randant, Denise Rano, Trustee Colleen E. Saccotelli, Paul Seils, John Sibrava, Mary Ann
Sibrava, Marianthi Thanopoulos, Patricia Usnik, Robert Usnik, Barbara VanArsdale, Steve VanArsdale,
Irvana Wilks
Not Attending: Lorrie Huber, Diana Sahakian, Rafi Sahakian, Elizabeth Theiss, Rachel M. Toeppen
Guests: None
I. Meeting called to order: Chair Robert Usnik called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.
II. Approval of the minutes: Denise Rano had a correction to the November 19, 2015 Minutes
regarding Trivia Night. Admission costs were corrected to $10 for adults and $5 for age 17
and younger. Skip Farley moved to approve the amended minutes and Paul Seils seconded
the motion.
III. Citizens to be heard: None
IV. Mayor's Comments: Mayor Arlene A. Juracek stated that she is happy with the direction
that the Mount Prospect Sister Cities Commission has taken making a priority of enriching
the cultural experience for the citizens of Mount Prospect and its French counterparts rather
than holding events for the sole purpose of raising money. Mayor Juracek highlighted the
following:
a. The Commission's plans to bring the D -Day movie to Mount Prospect and the Mount
Prospect Library's interest in partnering on this project.
b. Enhancing our presence in the village by appealing to younger, tech savvy people,
engaging them through our web site and Facebook page.
c. Focus on student and family exchanges, with thanks to Mary Ann Sibrava for her work
coordinating these exchanged.
d. Keeping up with the political changes in France, i.e. the changes of districts and voting
regions in and around Paris. Mayor Juracek would like to have the most recent articles in
Le Sevrien regarding the political changes translated to English so that we can better
understand what is happening in Sevres.
V. Chair's Comments: Robert Usnik stated that beginning the week of January 25, 2016 he
will begin contacting venues regarding bringing the D -Day movie to Mount Prospect. The
Commission would be making this a big event and would need to advertise in several places.
Licensing fees are €800 for the 3-D version. We will be working with Marilyn Genther from
the Library and Bill Starr, Commander of the American Legion in Mount Prospect to
generate interest. The event would be open to the community and not only veterans.
Regarding scholarships, Robert mentioned Denise Rano's idea to give a lump sum to the high
school and let them distribute for use within the exchange program benefiting both the Mount
Prospect students and the French students when they visit. It has to be determined what
amount of funding would be appropriate.
VI. Treasurer's Report: Skip Farley reviewed the Treasurer's Report which has a current cash
balance of $18,584.65, up from $16,123.07 on October 31, 2015. Robert Usnik mentioned
that the report now includes additional supporting information. Skip requested formulating a
standard procedure of submitting expenses so that everybody follows the same protocol.
Marianthi would like to receive the receipts first; she will give Skip a copy and keep a paper
trail for each expense. All that is needed is a document that states the event, and the dollar
amount submitted. Robert Usnik stated that he will design a standard form for submitting
expenses. Motion to approve the Treasurer's Report was made by Steve VanArsdale and
Gary Randant seconded.
VII. Committee Reports
a. Trivia Night — Denise Rano asked everybody to arrive at 5:30 pm to set up tables and
decorations for a 7:00 pm start. Denise provided floor plans and set-up instructions and
requested two additional people to collect admissions. MaryAnn Sibrava and Paula Randant
volunteered. This year the teams are limited at 10 members. Groups with more than 10
people would be required to form 2 separate teams.
Student exchange — Mary Ann Sibrava presented a draft of a letter with the application for
the student exchange. Teachers would like to include freshmen, sophomores and juniors at
Prospect High School who are currently taking French. Assunta Mesmin from Sevres is
actively searching for host families in Sevres and will be matching the families, Lengths of
stays are negotiable. Most seem to favor 10-14 days. Details are worked out between the
families. A request came from the Sevres library about a 14 year old boy who is looking for
an American pen pal. The exchange students are planning on doing a presentation at the Pot
Luck event. Family French Festival will now be Monday, July 11, 2016. Book Crossing
may look different in 2016 since Sevres did not give a strong commitment when our
delegation was there so we are unsure if they will be participating this year. Language Stars
has committed to participating again.
c. Communications — Robert Usnik stated that good progress is being made on the new
website. Rafi will report more detail at the next meeting.
d. German Sister Cities Subcommittee — No change.
VIII. Open Discussion — Barbara VanArsdale asked to be put on the agenda for the next meeting
to discuss changes for the 2016 French Market. Steve VanArsdale stated that Rafi's work on
the website has already paid off by bringing in 5 new vendors for the market. Robert Usnik
stated that he and Rafi consolidated all of the Commission's past paperwork by scanning
everything and storing electronically to better organize the Commission's ongoing business.
Denise Rano requested a standard template for reports
IX. Adjournment: Gary Randant moved to adjourn and Evelyn Dorman seconded. All
approved. The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 pm.
Submitted by Patricia Usnik, Secretary