Sister Cities Commission

SISTER CITIES COMMISSION MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2026 AL LARSON PRAIRIE CENTER FOR THE ARTS / CONFERENCE ROOM A NOTES MEMBERS PRESENT: Caren Chisesi Tom LaMantia Kazuko Mino Annie Miskewitch Kiran Nuthulapaty Suzanne Poeschel Bob Schmidt Jose Skrobot Ally Zinck MEMBERS ABSENT: Vandana Jhingan Neil Khot STAFF PRESENT: Tiana Weiler, Director of Cultural Services CALL TO ORDER: Suzanne Poeschel called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was made by Annie Miskewitch to approve the Sister Cities Meeting Minutes from November 11, 2025. Kazuko Mino seconded. MOTION CARRIED. NEW BUSINESS: A. Germany Subcommittee Report - SDAG visit to Schaumburg, IL 2025 No new report. As of now the April 2026 visit is still happening. Ms. Poeschel reported she is waiting for the exact dates to be confirmed for the three Mayors of the region to visit. Accommodation will be arranged and a schedule will be developed once the dates are confirmed. B. Japan Subcommittee Report No report. Ms. Mino shared New Year’s greetings sent by our friends in Namerikawa. Ms. Weiler reported that a delegation from the Village’s leadership would plan to attend, recognizing they would love if one of the people was Mayor Dailly. C. South Asia Subcommittee Report No report. Ms. Weiler reported that Trustee Patel is currently in India, and she hopes to have a meeting with the Vadodara city leadership. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: CONTINUING ITEMS:  1. Sister City Facebook Page Jose Skrobot reported that in the month of December he posted the photo of the Commissioner holiday dinner and Suzanne Poeschel making the Commission’s donation at the Schaumburg Township. Mr. Skrobot is always looking for new ideas for posts, and asked the members to continue to share and like the Facebook posts 2. Proposal for Use of Sister City Funds Mr. Skrobot provided an update on the scholarship proposal. He has talked with D211 about promoting the scholarship He will work with Katie Langston, in the Cultural Services department, to create the form for applying and will update the website with this information. Ms. Weiler mentioned we could get an article in the Progress Report and post a flyer at the Prairie Center. Ms. Miskewitch said the flyer could also be posted at the library. The deadline to apply will be March 31 with the students to be notified by June 15. 3. Brochure Ms. Zinck reported there are no new updates to the brochure. She was waiting on the website page to be updated before finalizing the brochure. DEFERRALS: No deferrals. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Ms. Denise Suender was in attendance. She mentioned that the Schaumburg Historical Society has been in existence for 62 years. The Society is happy to see the stone from Germany will be moved to the new Village Hall. She encourages the Village to have more historical items in the new Village Hall. She also wanted to invite the commission members to the Schaumburg Historical Society’s event on June 14, celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary at the Center School. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made at 5:58pm by Tom LaMantia to adjourn. Annie Miskewitch seconded. MOTION CARRIED. NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 5:30 pm