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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/21/2016 SCC Minutes MOUNT PROSPECT SISTER CITIESCOMMISSION First Floor: Community Room Minutes: July21, 2016 Attendees: Evelyn Dorman, Gerald “Skip” Farley, Janice Farley, Mayor Arlene A. Juracek, Judy McGinnis, Denise Rano, Trustee Colleen E. Saccotelli,John Sibrava, Mary Ann Sibrava, Marianthi Thanopoulos, Elizabeth Theiss, Patricia Usnik, Robert Usnik, Barbara VanArsdale, Steve VanArsdale, Irvana Wilks Not Attending: Lorrie Huber, Gary Randant, Paula Randant, Diana Sahakian, Rafi Sahakian, Paul Seils Guests: None I.Meeting called to order: Chair RobertUsnik called the meeting to orderat6:00PM. II.Citizens to be heard :None III.Motion to approve minutes: Skip Farley moved to approve the minutes fromthe March 10, 2016 minutes; Colleen Saccotelli seconded. IV.Mayor’s Comments: a.Mayor Arlene A.Juracek discussed the Skype call with Assunta Mesmin and Charlotte Gavillet de Peneyfrom Sèvresregarding the visit by the delegation from France. They have some concerns about raising money. They are targeting mid to late October, 2017. There will be four representatives from the city government and three members from their Sister Cities Commission, age 20 to 21. They are focusing on the young people whichwillplay a major role in their visit. In this regard, we would like to do something similar to what we experienced in France in September 2015. b.Mayor Juracek commented that the French Market is coming along nicely, and that the D- Day movie event was a big success. She congratulated Bob Usnik for his work on the movie project. c.There will be some vacancies on the Sister Cities Commission. Lorrie Huber asked to not be reappointedand Rachel Toeppen has moved to Colorado, so we will have 2 vacancies to fill. We will continue to maintain our friendship and contact with Rachel Toeppen. V.Chair’s Comments: Rachel Toeppen. a.Whilewe plan on staying in contact with Rachel, we will remove her from general Sister Cities email. Whenever we are in contact with her, we should keep it personal and not talk about her past activities here. French Visit 2017. b.Mayor Grégoire de la Roncière will be in the delegation. He prefers to stay at a hotel, and we agreed to accommodate his request. Originally they wanted the visit to be for 1 day and 2 nights. We convinced them to visit for 2 days and 3 nights. FannyHervé, AssuntaMesminand CharlotteGavillet de Peneywill be the other officials from the village, accompanied by the 3 students, and they will all stay in homes Commission Vacancies. c.We have a couple of peoplewho areinterested in filling the 2 open positions on the Commission. We are hoping to find somebodywho is hi tech to back up RafiSahakian,and we would like them to be Mt. Prospect residents. VI.Treasurer’s Report: Skip Farley presented the treasurer’s reportand stated that $830.00 had not yet been disbursed.Skip Farley moved to approve and Barbara VanArsdale seconded. VII.Committee Reports a.D-Day Movie. Bob Usnik stated that there were 229 reservations and only a few no-shows. There were several inquiries on whether we would be presenting the movie annually. The original showing cost the Commission $3,637.00; to show it again the cost would be less, and it does not necessarily have to be on D-Day. A lot of people who attended commented that the movie provided an interesting perspective on this historical event and it was very educational. It was also suggested that we aim this event toward students as well, particularly history majors. b.July 4 Parade. Bob encouraged everyone who could to march in the parade. There was a possibility that the visiting French students may march as well. c.Student Exchange . Mary Ann Sibrava reported that the student exchange feature of the Commission is growing. Three students completed the exchange both ways. There was even a quilt exchange when the French students were here. Another student spent 2 weeks in Sèvresand her exchange student will come to Mt. Prospect in the summer of 2017.The French students who were here last summer marched in the July 4 parade and had a great time. There are 15 French families who expressed an interested in having students come here. There are Mt. Prospect students who attend Hersey and Rolling Meadows High Schools who would be eligible for the exchange. To further promote the student exchange, we will expand our reach by: i. Utilizingthe Mt. Prospect, and Library Newsletters as well as posters and flyers. ii. Using the website that would allow people to log on and ask questions. iii. Reach out to Middle Schools and Junior High Schools. iv. MarianthiThanopouloswill assist with social media outreach. v. On Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 7:00 pm a room will be reserved at the Library for an information session for interested students and parents for the next student exchange. vi. We will notparticipate in a post high school exchange. d.French Family Festival andFrench Culture WeekattheLibrary. Mary Ann Sibrava reported that the Library lobby had a display of French material the entire week. It included a large variety of books and DVD’s and they had a raffle. There was a large turnout for the children’s program with the Language Stars –who are movingto facilities inMt. Prospect. e.French Book Discussion .Denise Rano held a book discussion on Le Chapeau de Mitterrand (The President’s Hat)at the Library. Seven people participated. The event was posted on Facebook, in emails and in the July/August newsletter from the Library, and was on Experience Mt Prospectwith 2,000 subscribed members. Denise would like to include the book discussion event in the Mt. Prospect Newsletter in 2017 f.French MarketSeptember 18, 2016. Barbara VanArsdalesuggested getting an inexpensive paper sign to hang inside the tent. A banner would cost about $75. Barbara VanArsdale and Judy McGinnis are still accepting items to sell. A sign-up sheet was passed around to volunteer for working shiftsat the market. Seventeen vendors have committed to the market as of this date. Black Fin will be one of the vendors providing food. Vendors will be serving ice coffee, gourmet coffee, waffles with fruit and crepes. Looking ahead to 2017, we are consideringSeptember 10 or September 17and need to decide on a date so that the vendors can commit. g.Retro Bistro,October .Judy McGinnis reported that this event will not take place this year since Retro Bistro isopening a new restaurant in Crystal Lake. Judy was in touch with Dave’s Specialty Foods, but they are only ableto handle up to 30 people. Judy suggested an alternative event. There isa woman who dressesup as MarieAntoinette and presents a program about life in that era.Her fee to speak is$250,and Judy suggested that we could serve cake afterward.This would be fitting because Marie Antoinette lived at Versailles, and Sèvres is located very close to Versailles. Rob Roy is a possible vendor for this event. Judy suggested October 23, for the event with a$10 admission. Irvana Wilks moved to go forward with this event and Mary Ann Sibrava seconded. Trivia Night. h.Denise Rano suggested that Trivia Night be held on March 10, 2017 which is a Friday. VIII.Open Discussion. BobUsnik commented that when we make plans for 2017 events we need to keep in mind that we must work around the Centennial celebrations and coordinate the events. Marianthi Thanopoulos suggested using Mountprospect100.com that has an event calendar that we can use. There were discussions about planning French-themed events for the Centennial. IX.Adjournment. Skip Farley movedto adjourn; Elizabeth Theiss seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 7:17 PM. Submitted by Patricia Usnik, Secretary