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Home My WebLink About7. MEETING NOTICES 3/16/04 ,,", ,J , Mount Prospect Sister Cities Commission 100 South Emerson Street Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 (847) 392-6000 AGENDA SISTER CITIES COMMISSION March 18, 2004 Village Hall Conference Room 100 S. Emerson Street 5:30 p.m, I. CALL TO ORDER II. OLD BUSINESS A. Report on Orchestre Visit - Judy Thorne (please see enclo~ed) III. NEW BUSINESS A. Support of Community Band trip to Sèvres B. Fundraising Committee Report - Carole Bloomquist & Irvana Wilks IV. SCHEDULE A. 2004 Meeting Schedule June 17,2004 Sepiember 9,2004* (changÐd fronl Sept. 16) December 16, 2004 V. ADJOURNMENT \ CONSERVATOIRE DE SÈVRES VISIT TO MOUNT PROSPECT October 25-31, 2003 ' Bonjour! Au Revoir! Sounds of the beautiful French language were )1eard throughout the halls of RecPlex during the last week of October when the Mount Prospect Community Band hosted the 50 members of the Orchestra and Chorus of Sèvres, France, the Sister City of Mount Prospect. The week was a very successful exchange of cultures, languages, customs, and, most of all, music. The French ensemble gave a wonderful full-length performance of French classical music at Trinity United Methodist Church in Mount Prospect on Sunday, October 26, at 4:00 p.m. Arrangements to profressionally record this outstanding concert were made by Jim Uszler of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce, and CD orders for $15 each were taken for deli very the next month. Shorter concerts were performed during the following days at DePaul University Music Martdowntown and at North Park University in Chicago. Their final performance was at the "Thanksgiving in October" banquet organized by the Special Events Commission chairs, Lil and Leo Floros, and Sister Cities Commission member, Carole Bloomquist. This occasion also showcased the Mount Prospect Community Band in a spirited performance of American music to a new audience. The evening ended with the moving arrangement of "Let There Be Peace on Earth" written for combined band, orchestra, and chorus by community band member, Adam La Spata. Judy Thorne, Dorothy Kucera, and Ralph Wilder arranged these concerts. During the rest of the week, the French visitors did a lot of sightseeing in Chicago and Mount Prospect. The Chicago sightseeing was led by a French-speaking professional guide, and, in addition to a bus tour of the Loop, included stops at the Sears Tower, Art Institute, Navy Pier, Uni versity of Cbrago campus, Chinatown, North Michigan A venue, and Andy's Lounge on Hubbard Street for dinner and jazz. On Tuesday the group traveled through Mount Prospect, visiting St. Raymond's church and school and enjoying a 2-hour visit at Prospect High School to tour the school and hear the orchestra and choral rehearsals. The visitors were able to choose their lunch that day from the various cuisines at the Picnic restaurants, compliments of Randhurst Shopping Center; and at the grand opening celebration of The Villas of Sèvres, new condos on Northwest Highway, our visitors were treated to crepes and apple pancakes, and the opportunity to climb onto an old fire engine and sit in the Blues Brothers police car. Janine Palmieri, the official Sèvres council representative, cut the official red, white and blue ribbon at the ceremonies. The day concluded with a complimentary ice cream cone at Capannari' s Ice Cream in the historic reconstructed Moehling General Store building on Pine Street. Leo Floros organized and led this wonderful tour, but, regrettably, stops at the library and Mount Prospect Park District Conservatory were omitted due to lack of time. Bill Blaine made the arrangements for the Prospect High School visit, and also arranged for the two French elementary teachers to visit Fairview School on Thursday morning. Mark Thorne provided transportation to the school and, afterwards, drove them to North Park University to meet the group for the lunch hosted by the university and the afternoon concert. Each day different members of the Sister Cities Commission and host families volunteered to accompany Judy Thorne in escorting the group. Chef Charles Tual, Melanie Karsen and her French-speaking friends, Janet Evans, Gail Benedetto, and Louise Quinn also helped out during the visit to translate at the welcome pizza party and on sightseeing days. The evenings were spent in various ways. After the pizza welcome dinner at RecPlex on Saturday and the potluck dinner provided by the host families after the concert on Sunday, some families made a trip to downtown Chicago to see the city and skyline at night while others got together with neighboring host families or enjoyed getting acquainted at home. On Monday night the French musicians joined the Community Band at RecPlex for a joint rehearsal in preparation for the combinedbanquet performance and also enjoyed the activities available there such as swimming and basketball. After hearing the high school choir rehearse during the day on Tuesday, many families accommodated the requests by the French musicans to attend the choral concert at the high school that evening. On Friday morning, guests and host familie~ enjoyed a farewell breakfast buffet at Little America Restaurant. At that time, Dorothy Kucera and Judy Thorne gave each guest a farewell gift bag containing a gold filigree Chicago ornament, a Mount Prospect T-shirt, a Fannie May candy bar, and a beautiful pictorial book depicting works by state artisans entitled "Made in Illinois." The books and candy bars were donated, and the other items were purchased with funds raised for the visit. After the brunch each family took French guests to various sights and locations of their choice, including a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Oak Park, shopping at Woodfield, a ride on the "L" downtown for a repeat visit to the Art Institute, a visit to the lakefront, a picnic in a forest preserve, and lunch at Hooter's Restaurant! Everyone returned to RecPlex at 3:00 p.m. for tearful good-byes before the French group boarded the bus and returned to O'Hare Airport. Judy and Mark Thome accompanied them to help at check-in and to escort one young lady to Delta Airlines to meet her brother, who was flying in from Atlanta for a weekend visit with her, before her later return to Paris. This nearly week-long visit would not have been possible without the volunteer efforts of many people in the band and community. Local businesses, service organizations, and residents of Mount Prospect donated money to cover expenses, and band members, Peter Jacoby and Judy Thorne, and their spouses raised additional funds on Kiwanis Peanut Day. The very successful banquet raised a large sum of money, especially since attendees were given the opportunity to donate tickets for the French guests, which were fully funded. Mount Prospect Public Information Officer, Maura Jandris, supplied materials and French/American flag pins for welcome packets organized by Judy Thorne and given to the guests when they arrived. Maura also facilitated the communication with Sévres officials and made name tags for the French guests. As is customary wiUl Sister Cities visits, local residents opened their homes to the musicians from Sèvres. Besides members of the Community Band and the Sister Cities Commission, host families~llcluded George Street neighbors and friends of Judy Thorne and co-workers of Dorothy Kucera at Paradise Travel in Randhurst Shopping Center. The 22 host families provided lodging, all breakfasts. and 2 dinners, transportation to and from RecPlex, and, of course, their friendship. In addition to the host families, many other members of the Mount Prospect Community Band made contributions to the success of the visit. Bob Silverstein produced and donated the huge banner which hung over the RecPlex main entrance, welcoming the Sèvres musicians in French! The flute section, organized by Carol Keipert and Jennifer Klafeta, provided a wonderful reception after Monday's rehearsal, and many band members provided soft drinks for three different meals. Jim Weyrick used his professional skills in organizing the Chicago sightseeing, and was invaluable in setting up the banquet concert. Cheryl Lufitz, the Park District arts coordinator, handled the bills and acted as liaison with Cathy Miller at the MountProspect Parks Foundation, which handled the collection and disbursement of monies. Ralph Wilder helped in arranging concerts, communicated with the Conservatoire conductor, Gilbert Villedieu, through countless emails in French and English, provided different programs and posters for each concert, and hauled the percussion equipment and stands in his van to various concert venues during the week. The Mount Prospect Brass gave a pre-banquet performance, and all of the band members attended the banquet and participated in the concert. For all 440 people who were there, it was a night to remember! As arranged between Gilbert Villedieu, Sally Lutz, and Judy Thome in Sévres last May, this was the only the first half of the exchange. Plans are now in progress for the visit to Sèvres by the Mount Prospect Community Band from June 19-26,2004. Judy Thorne Sèvres Visit Organizer Mount Prospect Community Band '; MOUNT PROSPECT SISTER CITIES COMMISSION Minutes December 4, 2003 Members Present: Tokiko Blaine Carole Bloomquist Larry D'Urso Janice Farley Lil Floros Melanie Karsen Dorothy Kucera Adelaide Thulin Fred Thulin Judy Thome Rachel Toeppen Irvana Wilks Members Absent: Mark Miller Paul Seils Staff Liaison: Maura Jandris The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. Minutes of September 18, 2003 Lil F10ros moved and Adelaide Thulin seconded the minutes of Septembt:r 18, 2003 be approved. The motion carried. Recap of Orchestre Visit Judy Thorne reported on the visit of the Orchestre ITom Sèvres. She said she was very pleased with how things went. The visitors had fun and enjoyed their trip. The matches with the host families worked out very well. The visit took the help of a lot of people. The Mount Prospect Community Band plans to travel to Sèvres June 19-25,2004. Carole Bloomquist provided a report on the banquet (see attached). Winter Parade The Commission decided to have a table once again in the tent at the Winter Festival Parade. Initially, they planned to just have a display, but then discussed having cookies. Carole Bloomquist, Rachel Toeppen and Tokiko Blaine all offered to help with the display. Carole Bloomquist volunteered to get the cookies. Future Fundraisers Subcommittees for fundraising will meet early in 2004 to brainstorm. Other Business Dorothy Kucera discussed an initiative from Sister Cities International for future consideration (see attached). Tokiko Blaine asked about posting Sister City signs at the entrances to the Village. Staff reported that such signs are already in place. The next meeting was scheduled for March 18, 2004. The meeting was adjourned at 6: 1 0 p.m. ,. REPORT OF "THANKSGIVING IN OCTOBER" BANQUET OCTOBER 30, 2003 Mount Prospect entertained 50 musicians of the Chorus and Orchestra from the Conservatoire de Sèvres, France from October 25 - 3L The Sister Cities Commission hosted a "Thanksgiving in October" banquet in their honor on Thursday, October 30 at Avalon Banquets, 1905 East Higgins Road in Elk Grove Village. The price of banquet tickets was $25.00 with the meal actually costing $17.00. Invitations were sent to Village Officials, Commissions, Boards, and generally people who have attended Celestial Celebrations, Sister Cities organizations in neighboring villages and people who enjoy speaking French. The invitation letter suggested that attendees could help defray the cost of our French guests by purchasing a ticket for one or more of our visitors (56 tickets were donated). A total of 441 tickets were purchased. A committee consisting of Carole Bloomquist, chairman, Dorothy Kucera, Judy Thorne, Janice Farley, Lil F!oros, Paul Seils, Linda Hoefert, Laury Youngquist and Maura Jandris was formed. !..inde and Laury did the decorations and Paul Seils donated the centerpieces. Dorothy and Judy took care of the program. Janice received the reservations and made the table assignments. There was a whole turkey to be carved at each table. We were able to rent 30 carving sets and since we ended up with 44 turkeys we asked people to bring carving utensils for the remaining tables. The menu consisted of - hor d'oeuvres, fre$h fruit cocktail, chef's tossed salad with Ranch and Vinaigrette dressing, roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh green beans and carrots, tandied yams (these were added by Avalon), rolls and butter, pumpkin pie and whipped cream, coffee, tea and pitchers of soda on the table. The waiters paraded into the room to bring the first turkeys. They had the chefs hats on and it was very impressive. There were dishes of candy corn on each table, also. There was a cash bar and that stayed open until the program started. Bottles of wine could be purchased and served at a table Rachel Toeppen, J.L. Scott, Lil Floros, Janice Farley, Tokiko Blaine, Irvana Wilks, Linda Hoefert, Laury Youngquist, Yngve and Carole Bloomquist arrived at the Avalon cirol1nd noonto decorate the room. Maura J andris had made the nçnne tags a.nd these were placed on tables in the lobby. Rachel and Janice and Maura were atthe tables " FINANCIAL REPORT FOR "THANKSGIVING IN OCTOBER" DINNER OCTOBER 30, 2003 AVALON BANQUETS -1905 EAST HIGGINS ROAD, ELK GROVE VILLAGE RECEIPTS - Ticket sales Donations Advance from Village of Mount Prospect Donation from Special Events Commission Ticket sales deposited directly to Park Foundation Total Receipts DISBURSEMENTS - Avalon Banquets Banquet deposit 426 meals @$17.00 (balance) 10 additional meals Rental of 30 carving sets Busse's Flowers - mum plants Laury Youngquist - straw & pumpkins Linda Hoefert - pumpkins Carole Bloomquist Gordon Food Services - 4 boxes hats @ $9.35 100 aprons plastic bowls plastic spoons 3 jars candy corn @ $5.45 Target - band-aids and candy Home Depot - peace pole Reimbursement of banquet advance to Park Foundation Total Expenses Balance ~~ .¡J&~ Carole Bloomquist, Banquet Chairman $1,400.00 5,842.00 170.00 -.2.00.50 37.40 20.85 6.29 3.79 16.35 5.78 1.61 $10,875.00 35.00 1 ,400~00 500.00 150.00 7,612.50 135.00 113.01 9.96 92.07 1.400.00 $12,960.00 $ 9.362.54 $ 3,597.46 !. Sister Cities International 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 850 Washington, DC 20004 ~....".~".",.. .... ' , , . ,. " ,.,' ~"-, - Contact: Matthew Corso Sustainable Development Coordinator 202-347-8636 me 0 rso@sister-cities.org S I Si:T E R .C ì TIE S HRi!idIOi!¡Ü. SCI AND STANDARD & POOR'SANNOUNCE P ARTNERSBIP AGREEMENT IN SUPPORT OFTHE SISTER CITIES NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (April 7, 2003)-Sister Cities International (SCI) today announced a grant from Standard & Poor's in support of its newly launched Sister Cities Network for Sustainable Development, aSCI program that engages communities worldwide in sustainable development projects. The gift will fund the creation of SCI seed grants to member organizations that participate in a program designed to promote many foI'IllS of sustainable development, including good governance and greater transparency and openness practices in public and private sector organizations. Through this Network, sister city partnerships are able to encourage participating local citizens to identify joint project areas that relate to sustainable development, such as good governance, ch~ar\ and renewable energy, safe drinkmg water, environmental protection and health issues of ínternational importance like IITV/AIDS. The Network promotes the principles outlined in the UrÜt~ri Nations' Agenda 21 and other global proclamations. "The overall miSSiOil of The Sister Cities Network for Sustainable Development is to help local communities establish a framework for addressing common issues and problems through mutual) cross-cultural dialogue and to promote global problem solving at the local COInmunity level)" said Tim Honey, Executive Director, SCT. "Given the extensive research and work Standard & Poor's has done in the field of corporate governance around the world and its global reputation in international fmancialcircles, we are delighted to have S&P become the charter corporate partner in this project and hope that its leadership will persuade more companies to support our efforts in sustainable development." "For many years, Sister Cities International has done a tremendous job bringing people toget4er on a citizen-to-citizen ba:sis to advance global cooperation, cultural exchange, and economic development," said Vickie Tillman, executive vice president, Standard & Poor's. "With the addition of sustainable development to its mandate, SCT has signaled its support of citizens, shareholders and other stakeholders in governments and companies throughout the world who recognize a connection between good governance and greater transparency and openness in the running of public and private sector institutions." (over) MAYOR Gerald L. Farley Phone: Fax: TOO: Timothy J. Corcoran Paul Wm. Hoefer! Richard M. Lohrstorfer Michaele W. Skowron Irvana K. Wilks Michael A. lade! VILLAGE MANAGER Michael E. Janonis VILLAGE CLERK Velma W. Lowe Village of Mount Prospect 100 South Emerson Street Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 COFFEE WITH COUNCIL March 13, 2004 9:00 a.m.-II :00 a.m. Mount Prospect Village Hall 100 S. Emerson Street *** Financial planning workshop at Police & Fire Building, 112 E. Northwest Highway, immediately following Coffee with Council. (847) 392-6000 (847) 392-6022 (847) 392-6064