Community Relations Commission

APPROVED MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMISSION NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS JUNE 7, 2012 The meeting was called to order at 7:09 p.m., in the Civic Room, at the Northbrook Public Library, by Chair Ray Wehr. Members Present: Nafisa Choudhury, Bruce Doughty, Dale Duda, Scott Gertz, Sue Huang, Jim Hyun, Bob Lozaro, Ron Mantegna, Rochelle Singer, and Chair Wehr. Also Present: Liaison Jason Batalden, and Recording Secretary LeeAnn Artstein. Excused Members: Linda Goldsher, Chris Kosla, and Nancy Stoddard. Welcome Chair Wehr welcomed everyone to the meeting. Approval of the May 3, 2012 CRC Meeting Minutes Member Hyun moved, seconded by Member Doughty to approve the minutes of the May 3 meeting, with the following revisions. Page 1, under Asian Heritage, 3d line, change “…dance, storytelling and other performances. There will be arts and artifacts on display.” Page 1, under Asian Heritage, 6th line, change “donators” to “donors”. Page 2, 2nd line, change to “..Korean American women…”, and on 3d line, change the sentence to read, “The presentations were well prepared.” Page 2, under Northbrook Trivia Planning, remove the 2nd sentence. Page 3, under News from Schools, 2nd bullet, change name “Ramsey” to “Ramsay”. On voice vote, the revised minutes were approved. Member Lozaro stated for the record that Recording Secretary LeeAnn Artstein does a terrific job recording the minutes. Approval of the May 23, 2012 Asian Heritage Celebration Subcommittee Meeting Minutes Member Singer made a motion to approve the minutes. It was seconded by Member Lozaro. On voice vote, the motion passed. Approval of the May 15, 2012 Trivia Challenge Subcommittee Meeting Minutes Member Singer made a motion to approve the minutes. It was seconded by Member Lozaro. On voice vote, the motion passed. Asian Heritage Celebration Wrap Up (Theme: Taste of Asia—A Celebration of Asian American Heritage) May 6 (Panel Discussion—The Role of Korean Women, Past and Future in America) April 30 Member Huang reported that this year’s Taste of Asia event on May 6 had a large turnout. There were over 500 people in attendance. The decision to have the Celebration event at the NSYMCA proved to be a good idea. The Y was able to accommodate a larger crowd than the Nbk Public Library location. The area that was set up for the food vendors, art vendors and artifact displays felt like a real bazaar. The entertainment was held in the gym which provided plenty of room for the stage area and a large audience. There was a good mix of Asian and non-Asian attendees. The 40 survey results ranked the event an overall success. Sue thanked the CRC for its continued support and to those members who came and interacted with the guests. She thanked everyone on the subcommittee, the NSYMCA, Allstate, the sponsors, Maple School International Club, and everyone else who helped. Her summary of the event is in the May 23, Subcommittee Minutes. It contains feedback on such things as the new location, ways to improve the event, publicity, and the need for more volunteers. The CRC discussed the event and members provided feedback. Everyone enjoyed the event and thought it was a big success. Members Huang and Hyun emceed the event. Member Hyun led the Trivia Challenge and gave away donated prizes to the winners. The food vendors did well and expressed an interest in returning next year. Some ideas for next year are to increase the number of food and cultural activity vendors. The vendors need to keep focused on our local event and not promote outside groups or events. It was noted that our costs were $200 under the $1800 budget. The rental of the stage was $650 and well worth it. Sponsorship protocol was discussed. In conclusion, the CRC provided three separate events for the Asian Heritage Celebration: April 30-Panel discussion at the Public Library which was educational and informative May 6-Taste of Asia at the Y, which was cultural and festive, (including Maple School International Club participation), and May 31-Professional Storytelling event at St. Norbert School. Chair Wehr thanked the subcommittee for taking a chance on trying a new venue and to everyone involved for doing an excellent job. WTN/Flamingo Friday Wrap Up Member Duda recapped the May 18 combined event. There was a good turnout for the Welcome to Northbrook/Flamingo Friday Kick Off event. She saw a developing concept that many residents are starting to think about getting involved in the community. She thanked Member Lozaro for taking photos of the event and to those Commission members who attended and helped welcome the residents. It was great to see Village President Sandy Frum at the event. Thanks to Ron Bernardi from Sunset Foods who came and provided refreshments. The event gave a feeling that it was a picnic. Families were sitting on the Village Hall lawn, and kids were playing with the plastic flamingos. Member Duda was glad to report that all the plastic flamingos were given out. It was decided to wait until next year to purchase more flamingos. She would like to do the combined event again next year. Member Gertz reported that the combined event was successful, and he received a lot of positive feedback. He thanked his daughter Sophie, whose bat mitzvah in February was the reason the WTN event needed a scheduling change. As a result, the WTN and the Flamingo Friday Kick Off events were combined and held on May 18. Members felt there was a lot of synergy with the Flamingo Friday Kick Off feeding off the WTN event. The NSYMCA, Library, Park District, Police & Fire Departments were in attendance to offer information about their services to new and seasoned residents. Member Gertz thanked Members Duda, Goldsher, Huang, Kosla, Lozaro, Stoddard, Wehr and everyone else who helped and came out to the event. Chair Wehr thanked Members Duda and Gertz for deciding to combine their events on the same evening which turned out to be a good idea. He thanked everyone for doing an excellent job. Senior Services/CRC Subcommittee Update Members Lozaro and Mantegna reported that as of this morning Liaison Batalden had received 437 responses to the senior survey. They are hoping for more responses before the June 15 deadline. Once the information is processed, Senior Services Commission Member Lona Louis will prepare a white paper. The subcommittee will report back to the Commissions before giving their findings to the Board of Trustees. Trivia Night Planning Update 2 Member Lozaro met with the subcommittee on May 15, and the meeting minutes are attached. The Trivia Night event is planned for Sat., October 13, 7–10 pm, at the NSYMCA. The Y plans to host their open house between 5 and 6:30 pm. Members Lozaro and Singer subsequently met with the Y organizers to discuss their part in the event and to discuss the use of the gym. The next subcommittee meeting will include discussing how to handle a possible no show situation for a reserved table. The Commission will be responsible for renting a sufficient number of tables and chairs for the event without going over the budget. Publicity and advertising will also be discussed at that time. Member Singer raised questions concerning Village guidelines for our Commission to follow. The CRC events are reaching into new territory for us. We are sharing the events with groups that are separate and apart from our Commission. The CRC does not make money from any of its events. We need to know what we can and cannot do regarding money. The Commission requested Liaison Jason Batalden check with the Village on proper guidelines and procedures that we need to follow. Commission Review Discussion Chair Wehr asked the commissioners to start thinking about events and ideas for the upcoming year. At future meetings, we will take a look at: Agendas Review events How events are organized Who is organizing the events Workloads A discussion followed which included some ideas which need to be considered for next year. The Commission needs to put forth agendas for events that merit what the Village needs. We need to identify any gaps or overlaps that may exist with the events. The CRC events offer opportunities for residents to socially interact. We need to find ways to get residents from various ethnic groups to attend and feel comfortable at our events even though English may not be their first language. A replacement for Member Sheila Bass will be approved in the near future. We need to encourage our school and clergy representatives to attend meetings and to get involved in our events. The CRC is an events driven commission with highly successful events. Do we want to broaden our events which will mean a larger budget and a greater workload? Do we want to broaden our audience with more ethnic groups? Do we want to think beyond an events driven agenda? President Sandy Frum supports what our Commission is doing. She comes to our events. We need to look at the structure of the other Village commissions and find some synergy. Member Duda did attend other Village commission meetings and invited their members to our meetings. Member Singer hopes all the Village commissions will sign up for tables at our Trivia Night event. News from Clergy Association and Houses of Worship Member Goldsher was not present at tonight’s meeting. The clergy did not meet last month. Rabbi Aaron Melman, Congregation Beth Shalom, and CRC member, gave the invocation at the U.S. House of Representatives on May 31. The Village Presbyterian Church is hosting the North Shore Chamber Music Festival which continues this Friday and Saturday, June 8 & 9. It is a wonderful community event. 3  Pastor Tom Moran, Our Lady of the Brook, gave an invocation in Springfield last month. News from Schools There were no reports from the schools. GBN, Districts 27 and 28 are already done for the year. Old Business There was no old business to report. New Business a. Meeting Schedule A discussion was had regarding which month the Commission should take off during the summer. Member Doughty made a motion that the Commission cancel the July 5 meeting, and schedule the next meeting for August 2. It was seconded by Member Lozaro. On voice vote, the motion passed. Eyes & Ears on the Street The Northbrook Farmers Market will open on Wed., June 20, 7- 1 pm, at Our Lady of the Brook and continue every Wed. thru Aug. 15. The Market will relocate on Aug. 22-Oct. 10 to the Northbrook United Methodist Church. Posters and cards list the weekly event schedule that includes educational and fun programs provided by different groups and sponsors. The North Suburban Genealogical Society meets monthly at the Northbrook Historical Society. St. Norbert’s annual Block Party is Sat., June 9, with a certified 5K run, family activities, food, drinks, and entertainment. North Suburban YMCA Dance recital Sat., June 8, at GBN. Nbk Artist Antonio Salterio has an oil painting display June 4-29 at the Nbk Public Library. Nbk Tower wrote a nice article about him. He is Bruce Doughty’s father-in-law. North Shore Korean Women’s Association will have a Meet and Greet with Village President Sandy Frum on June 28 at the home of Jim Hyun. Commission members are invited. Next Meeting – July 5th or August 2nd, TBD The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 2, 2012. Adjournment At 8:31 p.m., Member Hyun made a motion to adjourn, and it was seconded by Member Singer. On voice vote, the motion passed. Respectfully Submitted, /s/LeeAnn Artstein Recording Secretary 4