Community Relations Commission

Meeting minutes of the Community Relations Commission Asian American Heritage Subcommittee February 5, 2013 6:00 PM - Northbrook Public Library Present: Sue Huang, Robert Lozaro, James Hyun, Wileen Hsing, Fidel Garcia, Nancy DeJuses, Julie Kim Excused member: Nafisa Choudhury Discussions: 1 – The committee welcomed Julie Kim who is the President of Korean American Parents Organization (KAPO). KAPO serves teachers and PTOs in the schools in District 30 for about 10 years. The committee gave Julie a briefing of the Asian Heritage celebrations held in the past. The annual celebration is not new to KAPO. The group had participated in the celebration event at the library several years ago. The return of KAPO to the subcommittee will help us locate Korean programs and serve as a bridge with the schools in District 30 as well. 2 – Members updated the status of programs, food vendors and artists: Performance Programs Sue reported that she has recruited a couple of Chinese and Thai programs and is waiting for confirmation. The participation of Filipino band has been confirmed. Sue will reach out to an Indian dance group and a Japanese singer. Sue is also talking to a Russian volunteer. Wileen confirmed the participation of Asian student group at Niles West High School including fan dance and will check if one of her students can perform YO-YO at the event. Julie will meet with her peers at KAPO and confirm the participation of Korean Children’s Choir and Dance groups. Nancy will get the confirmation for the Filipino dance program. Food Vendors Sue confirmed that Thai and Chinese restaurants that participated in the event last year will return again. Bob confirmed the Russian restaurant; Pavilion will return as well. Wileen has located an Indian restaurant. Bob will send her a copy of application form required to secure a Village food permit. James will look for a Korean restaurant. Sue will check with the Filipino restaurant that participated in the event last year. Other Items Sue reported that Bob and Sue met with the representatives at YMCA and discussed the decoration of the gym. One suggestion is using screens. Members discussed where we can borrow screens for the event. James will check if there are any resources available from the Korean Culture Center in Wheeling. Bob reported that he had contacted the Director of Asian American Student Affair at Northwestern University to see if any Asian students may be interested in participating in the event. Most likely, they won’t participate since the students are very busy during school year. Bob is meeting the superintendent at District 30 to discuss the possibility of school’s participation. Sue suggested that we update the flyer now and distribute it at the Black History Month event on Wednesday, 2/13. Wileen volunteered to update the flyer. Members discussed whether we should also utilize the ABC room for the event. The decision is that we will wait and see how many vendors we get. We would like to place as many of the vendors as possible in the gym. Sue suggested that we conclude the programs and secure the vendors by the end of February so that we can present the budget at the March 7th CRC meeting and focus on the promotion and marking for the event in March. Next meeting is scheduled at 6:00 pm March, 5th at the library. Respectfully Submitted, Sue Huang Chair, Asian American Heritage Subcommittee