Human Rights Commission

City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission (HRC) Minutes for the Special Meeting on November 9, 2023 Location: Morgantown Public Safety Building, First Floor Meeting Room, 300 Spruce St. Present: Chair: Annie CRONAN YORICK, Vice Chair: Bonnie BROWN, Commissioner: Danny TREJO (four commissioner vacancies) Ex Officio Liaisons: Tim Hairston, WVHRC, and Brian Butcher, Morgantown City Council Volunteer: Don Spencer Call to Order: Called to order by the Chair at 6:35 p.m. Minutes: No Minutes were presented for adoption Updates from the Chair:  This Special Meeting is primarily to plan the International Human Rights Day events.  The HRC will table at the National Christmas Tree Event on Saturday, November 11, 2023. Annie and Brian Hendricks will staff it. Annie already collected the equipment from storage at the City Administration Building. The sponsor, Downtown Morgantown, asked that we provide an activity to entertain children. We purchased colored construction paper and crayons for the kids to make drawings. ● Annie presented the HRC’s 2022/23 Annual Report at the City Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting on October 30, 2023. The City Clerk asked us to present earlier than the December 31, 2023, submission deadline; the Chair agreed. ● Budget Requests for FY 2024/25 are due by December 28, 2023. A new form is in development for us to complete; the requests are due earlier this year than in the past. The Chair will complete the form and send it to members for comment before submission. ● We secured the MAC for the HRC’s International Human Rights Day Poster, Flag, & Art Exhibition. The Awards Ceremony/Reception will be held there on December 10, 2023, from 4 to 6 p.m. ● City Council members and City Administrators have been formally invited to the Awards Ceremony and Reception. The Mayor has tentatively agreed to present the awards. Councilor Kawecki was the first to RSVP in the affirmative. ● Starbucks Store #29201 – Suncrest Towne Center generously offered to donate pastries and coffee for the reception. ● The Poster, Flag, & Art Exhibition will be displayed at the MAC from December 5 to December 20, 2023. It may include the drawings made by children at the National Christmas Tree Event. ● The Kingwood/Morgantown Chapter of the NAACP canceled its “Anniversary of the 13th Amendment” art competition due to a scarcity of entries. That freed the downstairs gallery for  the HRC to use. We invited the NAACP to add its entries to our exhibit. They will likely join us. If so, we can have the Mayor present a certificate of recognition to the art competition winner. ● We received several nominations from the community for Human Rights Awards. Priority Business: ● Volunteer Spencer presented his extensive research on candidates for the Human Rights Awards for an Individual and an Organization. Commissioners shared the nominations they received. ● We discussed the objective of conferring the awards. We agreed to use the awards to acknowledge and encourage people actively working to support and uphold human rights in Morgantown rather than give them to people who made longtime contributions but are now inactive. ● After much discussion, we settled on a candidate for each award. ● Commissioner Trejo motioned that we name Amanda Ray, Esq. for the Individual award; Vice Chair Brown seconded. Amanda Ray was selected by unanimous vote. ● Commissioner Trejo motioned that we name the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness for the Organization award; Vice Chair Brown seconded. The Coalition was selected by unanimous vote. ● We need to order the plaques for the winners in the next week. Don Spencer offered to contact the vendor we used in the past to see if it still has a template for our awards. He will also confirm pricing. ● The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for November 16, 2023. Adjourn: Brown moved to adjourn the meeting; Trejo seconded. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. [Minutes by Annie Cronan Yorick. Submitted for HRC adoption on February 15, 2024.]