HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/15/2008 SCC minutes
MOUNT PROSPECT SISTER CITIES COMMISSION
Minutes
Mav 15. 2008
Members Present:
Janice Farley
Skip Farley
Lorrie Huber
Mike Karsen
Cindy Kiel
Dorothy Kucera
Denise Rano
Maura Reschke
John Sibrava
Mary Ann Sibrava
Judy Thorne
Rachel Toeppen
Irvana Wilks
Members Absent:
Felicien Sirois
Gary Randant
Felicien Sirois
Paul Seils
Staff Liaison:
Maura EI Metennani
The meeting was called to order at 5:35 p.m. by Chairperson Dorothy Kucera.
The minutes of January 17, 2008 were approved. With changes: Rachel was not the co-chair of the
Potluck. Alliance Franciase was misspelled.
It was requested that an item E. be added to the agenda - Applications for Awards.
Sister Cities State Convention Report
Several members of the Commission attended the State Sister Cities convention in Palatine. The
convention was very rewarding. They had a very nice dinner, met a lot of people. They did the parade of
the flags.
The Saturday program featured fabulous speakers. Rachel, Dorothy and Judy attended the Saturday
session. The Counsel General of Belgium spoke, as did someone from Switzerland. He brought today
into picture, how people are living today and the relationship between the countries and the EU. They
were very inspiring speakers. Jim Dumas from Sister Cities International spoke. They felt like they were
part of a larger organization and very proud to be involved.
The host city, Palatine had a raffle and items for sale from their sister city. Rachel set up a display of the
quilt exchange. Next year's convention is in Schaumburg.
Potluck Dinner
See attached report. Judy thanked Mike Karsen and John Korn for the raffle, Cindy and Brian for the slide
show and Denise and Lorrie for the clean-up. The only problem was in picking up the coffee. The
Commission thanked Judy for her efforts.
Upcoming events
Monday, July 14 - Mt. Prospect Community Band - Bastille Day Concert, featuring French music. 7:30
pm at Lions Park. Talked to MPTV about taping the concert.
Coupons for Oberweis
Oberweis will Donate a portion of their sales to Sister Cities on Thursday, July 17. Judy will have coupons
to pass out at the concert.
French Family Fest @ Mount Prospect Public Library, July 16, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm. Mary Ann Sibrava
reported that planning was underway. Publicity is in, planning meeting scheduled for the following week
with Language Stars. They are emphasizing the family/youth focus. Girl Scouts will be assisting again this
year.
Sister Cities Commission
May 15, 2008 Meeting Minutes
Page 2
7/3/2008
The ice cream is set with Capannari's. They will be developing a special flavor for the occasion. The
Commission approved $100 - 150 for ice cream (cost will be split with Library). Cindy will be helping with
event. They do need volunteers. Judy questioned Language Stars involvement. Members responded that
their involvement is worth it.
Musical Play - Denise
Monday, Oct. 27
Prospect High School Performance
Tuesday, Oct. 28
Fairview School
Lions Park School
Tuesday, Oct. 29
Brentwood School
Science & Math Academy
Thursday, Oct. 30
Our Lady of Perpetual
Northwestern University
Friday, Oct. 31
St. Raymond
Saturday, Nov. 1
FREE DAY
Sunday, Nov. 2
Forest View Theater (Open to the public)
They want the event to be free. The fee for renting the theater is approximately $1000, and District 214
said they would split it with us. Denise has tried to find sponsors, but has not had success. Cindy made a
motion and Rachel seconded that the Commission co-sponsor the event with Community Education. The
motion carried. Donations can be collected at the door. Denise will continue to seek donations that will be
applied to the entire visit (suggestion was made to contact service clubs).
Hosts are needed for the visit. Denise will email the schedule. Judy will form a subcommittee. Also need
drivers. The subcommittee will be: Denise, Judy, Maura R., Lorrie, Cindy and Mary Ann Sibrava. Rachel
offered her trailer if anyone wanted to stay in it.
Applications for Awards - Rachel
Rita Brudd strongly encouraged Rachel to submit an application for an award through Sister Cities
International for the Quilt Exhibit. We will know by the end of May if we were selected.
Dorothy stated that this is the third time the Commission has applied for an award. The process is
exhausting and completed, and believes they should not charge money to apply. Rachel said she would
call to follow up on the application. John Sibrava moved, Lorrie seconded that Dorothy be reimbursed for
the application fee. Motion carried.
4th of July Parade
Maura will do flyers featuring Bastille Day concert and Family French night. Talk to Public Works about
cart. Cindy might be able to help that day.
Travelogue
Felicien researched having a travelogue speaker. The fee would be around $220. Denise said that she
could do a similar presentation. The Commission decided to pass for now. The item was deferred to the
next meeting for future consideration.
French Market
Gary has contacts with the Lions Club.
Sister Cities Commission
May 15, 2008 Meeting Minutes
Page 3
7/3/2008
Memorial Day
Mayor Wilks announced that she will be reading her poem that she read at Normandy at the Memorial
Day ceremony at Lions Park. The parade begins at 9:35 am at Busse and Emerson.
Letter Exchange - Judy
Lincoln JHS did not respond. Maybe the Girl Scouts would be interested.
New Business
Downtown Block Party - 7/26 ?
Wine Tasting - Maura R. will do it again in November.
Publicity - Press Releases should be sent to Arzelle.
Meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.
Mount Prospect Sister Cities Commission
Community Potluck Dinner
April 24, 2008
General Information:
The fourth annual Sister Cities Potluck Dinner was held on Thursday, April 24,2008,
at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Mount Prospect Village Hall. Registration
maximum was set at 100 with 95 registered that morning, but due to walk-ins the
number of people attending was over 100. Registration was handled by Maura EI
Metennani, who also provided blank stick-on name tags, pens, and sign-in sheets.
Attendance was free with a dish-to-share, and donations were accepted in a container
at the name tag/sign-in table in the lobby which was supervised by Skip Farley. The
Health Department was notified and the special liquor permit was obtained.
Publicity:
Maura EI Metennani produced the bulk of publicity:
· Article in spring Village Newsletter
· News releases to newspapers, radio, village TV channel
· 25 Posters and 100 Flyers
· 150 Post cards for mailing from database
Members were asked to distribute poster and flyers. Rachel Toeppen submitted an
article to Jean Murphy for her column in the Daily Herald.
Dinner Purchases:
Judy Thorne purchased buffet plates, dessert plates, plastic utensils, napkins, table
cloths, and beverage cups at Party City at a 10% discount for those items not already
on sale at Buy 1/Get1 Free. Judy also purchased 2L bottles of Coke, Diet Coke,
Sprite, Diet Sprite, and lemonade, all of which were consumed.
Setup:
JUdy Thorne coordinated setup with Village staffer Carol Baldini, who used the floor
plan for seating 100 people which she has on file. The theme of red, white, and blue
was used with French/American flag sets on each table along with bright bouquets of
flowers donated by Paul Seils of Busse Flowers. American and French flags and two
Sevres banners were brought over from Public Works and placed along the east wall.
A lectern and corded microphone were positioned at the front of the dining tables.
The Sister Cities foam display boards made by Dorothy Kucera were placed on the
beverage counters and on the desk and easel in the desk area in front of the kitchen.
Rachel Toeppen displayed the Tree/Forest challenge quilts from Sa-vres and Mt.
Prospect on easels in the closet area.
Scott Russell set up a laptop computer and LCD projector on a table in the middle of
the dining tables to project the students' slide show on the northwest wall.
Unfortunately, people walking around before dinner obstructed the view. A large
screen brought by Dave Toeppen was set up front and center after dinner for the slide
show by Cindy and Brian Kiel.
Denise Rano, her husband, Maura Reschke, and Judy Thorne set the tables and
arranged the room in the afternoon. Commission members were asked to bring a large
entree. John Korn obtained a donation of French bread from Jewel Food store. The
loaves were cut up by Janice Farley and Harriet Scott to be placed on the tables in
baskets brought by commission members. Lorrie Huber, Denise Rano, Maura
Reschke, Mary Ann Sibrava, and Felicien Sirois were on hand to bring in the donated
food dishes and place them on the appropriate serving tables.
Bottles of wine donated by guests were attended by John Sibrava where the special
liquor license should also be displayed. The other beverage counter contained the
soft drinks, pitchers of water, a big bowl of ice, and the coffee containers along with
cups, napkins, sweeteners, and stirrers from Caribou Coffee.
The raffle display table was manned by Mike Karsen while John Korn sold tickets
around the room. Lists of the raffle donors were placed on the dining tables, and on
large poster boards on the raffle and name tag tables. Tickets were sold 5 for $5 and
15 for $10.
Program:
Judy Thorne served as emcee.
Ralph Wilder, Director of the Mount Prospect Community Band, and professional
pianist, Allan Kaye, a member of the band, provided a delightful selection of mostly
French music on clarinet and piano before and during dinner. Ralph had to leave at
7:15 p.m., but Allan played on through dinner. Their performance was gratis in thanks
for their opportunity to visit Sevres with the Community Band in 2004.
Mayor Irvana Wilks gave an opening welcome before dinner. Since some of the
American and French students had to leave early, they were introduced by Denise
Rano before dinner and asked to describe their exchange experiences.
After dinner the rest of the students gave an entertaining report of their exchange and
answered questions from the audience.
Announcements were made during the evening about the July 14 Bastille Day Concert
(Judy) and the French Family Festival on July 16 at the library (Mary Ann). Judy also
reported on the Girl Scout Exchange which is in the process of being formed.
John Korn and Mike Karsen conducted the raffle at the end of the evening with the
help of Mayor Irvana Wilks and three Girl Scouts from Troop 13 who attended with
their leader, Michele Runde. Donor list and database are attached.
At the end of the evening all members helped with the take down with special mention
for Denise Rano and Lorrie Huber who washed & dried the dishes and cleaned up the
kitchen. My thanks to everyone I
Judy Thorne
POTLUCK DINNER FINANCIAL REPORT
2008
INCOME: CASH
Donations $65.01
Raffle $525.00
TOTAL INCOME $590.01
EXPENSES:
Supplies (Judy) $51.27
Postcards $34.92
TOTAL EXPENSES: $86.19
NET PROFIT: J503.82
Page 1 of 1
EI Metennani, Maura
From: Felicien Sirois - LNF Translations [felicien.sirois@lnftranslations.us]
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 5:15 PM
To: EI Metennani, Maura
Subject: Travelogue
Pursuant to Dorothy's recommendation, I have inquired about upcoming travelogue presentations by Al and Gail Popowits.
The soonest date to view a presentation is June 11th at the Grayslake Public Library. I plan on attending, however, I would still
recommend arranging a date with our library as well as Mr. Popowits as soon as possible to ensure an event in the fall (i.e. mid-
September to mid-October). Marci said her schedule is already filling up for those months.
The cost for a presentation, which includes the speaker's arrival 30 minutes early to set-up and a 30-minutes Q & A session after
the program would be $220. As I mentioned before, this is mainly calculated by the travel time to the library from Mr. Popowits's
office.
Mary-Anne and John did recall his presentation from last year correctly:
On August 28, 2007, he did the program "Pack Like a Pro" at the MPPL for an audience of 108. In their evaluations they gave the
program an average score of 9.14 on a scale of 0-10.
Let me know what you and the Commission members think and I can make the necessary arrangements.
Thanks,
Felicien
"Transparent Translations"
LNF Translations
Mount Prospect, Illinois, 60056 U.s.A.
(847) 463-6374
www.1nftrilnslations.tls
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