Community Relations Commission

1 Minutes of a Meeting of the 2 Northbrook Community Relations Commission 3 Asian American Heritage Subcommittee 4 Thursday, January 22, 2015 5 6 7 Present: James Hyun, Bob Lozaro, Dan Moy 8 9 Guests: None. 10 11 Absent: Reemlee Chowdhury, Dr. Raymond Montoyo, Ray Wehr 12 13 Others: Staff Liaison Mike Strong 14 15 Call to Order & Welcome 16 Staff Liaison Mike Strong called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. in the Terrace Room at 17 Village Hall. 18 19 Hear from the Audience 20 None. 21 22 2015 Asian American Heritage Event Planning Discussion 23 Staff Liaison Strong welcomed the subcommittees and thanked them for their 24 commitment to the 2015 event. He stated that the subcommittee is undergoing some 25 transition this year due to the resignation of Sue Huang; however, that the Community 26 Relations Commission has remained committed to hosting an Asian Heritage Celebration 27 in 2015. 28 29 Staff Liaison Strong stated that discussions were held with the Community Relations 30 Commission during a regular meeting at the end of 2014, and that the general consensus 31 was to hold an event, but perhaps scale back on its scope due to resource challenges. 32 33 A discussion was held regarding the history of the event. James Hyun suggested that the 34 event be scaled back this year, because of the level of coordination that is required for all 35 the moving parts. He stated that over the last couple of years the subcommittee has had 36 difficulty handling the event’s growth due to the limited resources available in both 37 funding and personnel. He added that the subcommittee has also shown various levels of 38 commitment which has made it difficult to sustain the growth and delegate the 39 responsibilities necessary to host such a large event. 40 41 Bob Lozaro agreed that the scope of the event has evolved and grown, but that perhaps 42 better coordination among the subcommittee could help ease the difficulty experienced. 43 He added that the YMCA has also been an important partner in helping coordinate the 44 different event elements. 45  Minutes of a Meeting of the Asian American Heritage Subcommittee January 22, 2015 46 Staff Liaison Strong stated that a preliminary budget was approved for $2,500 by the 47 Commission during their regular meeting in December. Bob Lozaro stated that typically 48 the staging, tables, and chairs rental typically costs around $1,000. 49 50 There was a lengthy discussion concerning the format of the event that should be pursued 51 for 2015. James Hyun stated that it has been disappointing that the patrons at these 52 events are primarily Asian and that there seems to be a lack of interest by the general 53 public. A general discussion took place about what types of event elements might attract 54 a more diverse audience. Bob Lozaro stated that most of the attendance is made up of 55 parents and relatives of the performers. Some suggestions were to change the format to 56 focus on kid-related elements, such as music groups, dance troupes, or kid-friendly 57 entertainment. James Hyun added that the school districts host an international event 58 within their schools that celebrates various cultures, including those in Asia, and these 59 events have become very popular for both the students and children. He added that the 60 subcommittee had discussed expanding the Asian Heritage Celebration to become more 61 international in scope, but that it was never realized. He added that perhaps something to 62 consider is expanding the scope and reach of the purpose to attract more people to the 63 event. 64 65 Additional suggestions included focusing primarily on an educational event that 66 addresses current issues within Asian countries, such as a question and answer panel, or 67 round table discussion. 68 69 James Hyun stated that he was not sure the food vendors provided much value to the 70 event, since most ran out of food last year and only three vendors have committed in the 71 last couple of years. He added that the difficulty in securing food vendors seems to 72 demonstrate that they do not find much value in participating in the event. The 73 Committee agreed that having food during the event is a nice novelty, but only if more 74 vendors can participate. When the event was held at the Library, free food was offered to 75 patrons. 76 77 A discussion was held regarding the date of the event. Bob Lozaro noted that the month 78 of May is recognized nationally as Asian Heritage Month. The Northbrook community is 79 busy throughout the year with events and activities and May is no exception. The 80 Commission preliminarily selected Sunday, May 3, 2015, as the date for the event. Staff 81 Liaison Strong added that the YMCA has penciled in this date on their calendar as well. 82 83 The Committee inquired about the location and if the Village has “booked” the YMCA 84 for the event. Staff Liaison Strong stated that there has not been a formal contract 85 entered into with the YMCA, but that the date has been coordinated with them based on 86 the assumption that it would be held in that facility. He added that the Commission has 87 the ultimate authority to select a location that they feel is appropriate for the event. 88 James Hyun expressed concern that some people perceive Asian Heritage as a YMCA 89 event; and that this, in part, may be due to the way the event is publicized and the 90 YMCA’s view of partner versus host. Bob Lozaro questioned whether it would be 91 appropriate to hold an Asian Heritage event in a month other than May. General 2  Minutes of a Meeting of the Asian American Heritage Subcommittee January 22, 2015 92 discussion took place concerning the location and some suggested looking into the 93 Library as an alternate location. The subcommittee asked that Staff Liaison Strong report 94 back to the full Commission for their thoughts on the discussion. 95 96 Staff Liaison Strong stated that the library is still undergoing renovations, and the facility 97 may not be available until the fall of 2015, if at all this year. He added that he would 98 look into its availability. 99 100 A discussion ensued concerning the next steps for planning. James Hyun suggested that 101 each member of the subcommittee look into their network to see if they could recruit 102 more members to assist in the planning for the 2015 event. He stated that due to time 103 constraints and other commitments, he fears that the subcommittee will not be able to 104 devote the time and resources to the 2015 event as they have been able to in years past. 105 106 The subcommittee asked that Staff Liaison Strong report back to the Community 107 Relations Commission to seek more guidance on how they should proceed with the 2015 108 event. Bob Lozaro suggested that Staff Liaison Strong, Ray Wehr and he meet prior to 109 the February Commission meeting and define the 2015 Asian Heritage event objective, 110 scope and format and present to the CRC for approval. 111 112 Staff Liaison strong suggested that the subcommittee reconvene the second week of 113 February to discuss the outcome of that discussion. 114 115 Old Business 116 None. 117 118 New Business 119 None. 120 121 Scheduling of Next Meeting 122 Staff Liaison Strong stated that he would send an email out the first week of February to 123 confirm availability for a meeting the week of February 9, 2015. 124 125 Adjournment 126 A motion was made by James Hyun, seconded by Bob Lozaro, to adjourn the meeting at 127 6:55 p.m. On a voice vote, the motion carried unanimously. 128 129 Respectfully submitted, 130 131 Michael Strong 132 Staff Liaison 3