Ethnic Community Committee

City of Sterling Heights ETHNIC COMMUNITY COMMITTEE Official minutes of the Thursday, January 8, 2015 regular meeting. MEMBERS PRESENT: Sharron Allen Mohammed Alomari Omie Brooks Ann Jerzowski Susan Kattula Steve Naumovski Andrew Pulford Iqbal Singh MEMBERS ABSENT: Ike Cabase Doug Najor OFFICIALS PRESENT: Citizen Services Specialist Sue Giallombardo Community Relations Director Bridget Doyle 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda: MOTION by Allen, SECONDED by Jerzowski. Approved 7-0 4. Approval of Minutes: MOTION by Jerzowski, SECONDED by Allen. Approved 7-0 5. Communication from Citizens  Giallombardo distributed the sponsor programs for the MLK Jr. Holiday Celebration. Rev. Curro included an excellent, two-page article honoring Steve Guitar for his work and dedication to the Ethnic Community Committee. Copies were distributed to members. 6. Communications from the Sterling Heights Police Dept.-Sgt. Linda Deprez:  Deprez stated she has been out of town, and just returned from a vacation in Hawaii. She added that there are no significant incidents to report. 7. Agenda Items A. 2015 Cultural Exchange  Jerzowski said that she contacted Ford/UAW Local 228, located in Sterling Heights, seeking sponsorship. She said that she is waiting for the official election to take place next week, and will then follow up with the president.  Pulford said he has been talking with the Carpathia Club to secure their participation and possible sponsorship.   Giallombardo stated that she mailed participation forms to about 300 contacts and urged members to continue making contacts, and asked that members forward contact information for anyone interested in volunteering at the event.  Table displays and entertainment spots will be given out on a first come/first serve basis. Remember that table space is limited, as well as entertainment slots. Giallombardo added that ads will not be placed in the program unless payment has been submitted in advance.  Deprez asked if students were allowed to volunteer. Giallombardo replied yes, and added that students that have volunteered for past events said that they had a great time and the enjoyed themeselves. Deprez said she will talk to students at the Utica School Academy of International Studies.  Giallombardo explained that volunteers are mainly needed to assist with the entertainment line-up, welcoming guests, serving food, and event set-up and clean-up. Police usually provide CERT or COP volunteers to help with traffic control outside.  Doyle stated that it's a great idea to try to include more students in city events and Community Relations will help any way that they can with securing volunteers.  Naumovski stated that he will confirm Macedonian artists Riste and Alexandra Tevdovski to perform, playing the clarinet and flute. B. Election of Officers - Chair and Vice Chair  Giallombardo asked if any members would like to run or nominate someone for Chair or Vice Chair.  Singh acknowledged that Cabase was interested in running again as Chair. Singh added that Cabase has done an excellent job in the two years that he has served as Chair, and if he wanted to continue he had no objections.  Naumovski nominated Singh for Chair. Singh thanked Naumovski for consideration, but declined because he didn't want to divide the group during the voting process.  Allen nominated Pulford for Chair. Pulford accepted.  Pulford nominated Cabase for Chair. (Cabase, although absent from the meeting, had stated in an e-mail correspondence that he would accept.)  Singh nominated Naumovski for Vice Chair. Naumovski accepted.  Brooks nominated Singh for Vice Chair. Singh declined but declined because he didn't want to divide the group during the voting process.  One round of voting resulted in Pulford as Chair and Naumovski as Vice Chair.  Congratulations was extended by members to Pulford and Naumovski.  Pulford acknowledged the great job that Cabase had done as Chair for two years. 8. Receipt of Correspondence: None. 9. Old Business:  Pulford asked if members had any input in response to a recent e-mail that he sent, regarding the Getting to Know Your Neighbor panel discussion. The e-mail outlined a few of Pulford's suggestions for the event, which included: o A five-person panel, consisting of at least one immigrant, one native born resident and one student. o Topics could include, but would not be limited to, their religion, political views on a local and national level and relationships with their neighbors.  Naumovski said that he has a contact that may be interested: Mike Markovsky, who is a Sterling Heights resident, a teacher and an author of a book titled "The  Peace Perspective", and comes from the Macedonian community. Naumovski also suggested a princess from Lebanon that he knows.  Kattula said that she thinks the local residents and audience would be more interested in hearing stories and struggles from local Sterling Heights residents. Allen agreed.  A tentative date for the panel discussion is set for May 7th or May 14th, in the Programming Center of the libary. Giallombardo will finalize the date with library staff as soon as possible.  Giallombardo stated that she would send samples of an FAQ/Fact Sheet so that members could update copies of the "Getting to Know Your Neighbor" brochures. The fact sheets will be printed in a two-color format, but will be posted on the city's website with additional colors. Giallombardo apologized for the delay in updating the very out-dated tri-fold brochures, and stated the due to drastic staffing cuts, she has not had the time. Giallombardo stated that she will make the time over the winter months and will complete the project as soon as possible. 10. New Business  Giallombardo said that Doug Najor has resigned from the committee. She added that if anyone has a recommendation for a new member, there are now two openings, so pass the information along to friends and colleagues. Naumovski thanked Najor for his participation over the years.  Brooks said that she recently talked to former committee member Betty Rush, and she sends her regards.  Naumovski stated that he would like to see more episodes of the "Getting to Know Your Neighbor" show, produced through SHTV. Giallombardo stated that there is not sufficient staff at this time, but would keep the committee posted if that should change. 11. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.