Ethnic Community Committee

City of Sterling Heights ETHNIC COMMUNITY COMMITTEE Unofficial minutes of the Thursday, October 6, 2022 regular meeting. MEMBERS PRESENT: Abbott Basal Willie Dechavez Kozeta Elzhenni Naketa Jones Iqbal Singh Vipul Tripathi Carmen Williams MEMBERS ABSENT Mohammed Alomari Kelechi Anyaogu Dunia Arif Susan Kattula OFFICIALS PRESENT: Community Relations Services Specialist Sue Giallombardo Guest present: Gil Guevara, representing Artistas Latinx en Accion Siempre (ALAS) 1. Call to Order – Chairperson Kozeta Elzhenni 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda: MOTION by Williams, SECONDED by Williams. Approved 7-0 4. Approval of Minutes: MOTION by Dechavez, SECONDED by Williams. Approved 7-0 5. Communication from Citizens - None 6. Communications from the Sterling Heights Police Dept.-Sgt. Kevin Reese – None 7. Agenda A. Gil Guevara, National Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month  Giallombardo introduced Mr. Guevara. He thanked committee members for allowing him to speak at the meeting. Guevara stated that ALAS will be hosting the Day of the Dead Fiesta in Mt. Clemens, on Saturday, October 15, starting at 1:00 p.m. The event is being held to celebrate National Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month. Guevara added that it’s a family friendly, free event, and invited members and their friends and family to attend. He added that there will be local authors, live entertainment, food trucks, vendors and high school students will be selling their art.  Elzheni stated that she shared details of the event on the committee’s facebook page.   Guevara stated the Sterling Heights City Council showed their support by adopting proclamation celebrating Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month between September 15 and October 15; Guevara added that they appreciate the support of the committee and City Council. B. Building Bridges  Williams shared that she is actively working with the NAACP and her sorority to encourge voting in the upcoming election.  Jones stated that she has been volunteering with a homeless shelter.  Tripathi stated that he is working with SAAVI, helping individuals with their American citizenship paperwork.  Dechavez stated that he coordianted with the Mayor Taylor and City Council to adopt a proclamation celebrating Filipino History Month for the month of October. He added that he is working on others with the Governor and the city of Warren. Dechavez will be setting up a Filipino display in the showcase at the Community Center; and also created an updated “Getting to Know Your Neighbor” brochure for the Philippines which he shared with committee members.  Elzhenni said that she attended the Breakfast of Nations event, which included a panel discussion of three individuals that shared their immigration stories. The event was at the Chaldean Community Center, Elzhenni suggested that members take a tour of the building if they have the opportunity, adding that its beautiful and they offer a tremendous amount of services to the residents, regardless of their background and ethnicity. Elzhenni stated that the also attend the quarterly zoom meeting hosted by Metromode, and said that she is helping to coordinate a coat drive for Zaman International; anyone interested in making a donation can do so by visiting www.zamaninternational.org. Elzhenni said that she continues to administer the Ethnic Community Committee’s facebook page; any members that would like to share information or events can post to the page or forward the information to Giallombardo or Elzhenni. C. 2022 Diversity Distinction Awards Dinner  Giallombardo stated that the event went very well, and she thanked all of the members that played a part in making the event such a great success.  Williams said that she really enjoyed the guest speaker, Mr. Dawud Walid, and agreed with what he said about making the event more diverse. She suggested reaching out to more groups that haven’t attended past dinners Basal suggested expanding the outreach of invitees. Giallombardo stated that she sends invites/partipation forms to every group that has participated in previous events hosted by the committee. She added that members can forward any contact information to her for future outreach, and added that she will get the letters out earlier going forward, and try to send follow-up invites.  Jones stated that she felts that all of the awardees were very deserving.  Giallombardo distributed a profit statement for the event, which included total ticket sales, sponsorships and expenses. She added that while she enjoyed the live entertainment during dinner, the expense was too great for a 90-minute performance. She stated that she tried to offset the expense somewhat by purchasing the centertpieces from Eckert’s Greenhouse as opposed to using a florist.  Giallombardo stated that she will reach out to Larsa Palace for next year’s event, and shared that Alomari believes that they will offer a wide variets of menu options for a fair price. 8. Old Business:  Giallombardo reminded members that Schuchard Elementary will be hosting a Cultural Day on November 4th, and the principal at the school invited members to participate.  Giallombardo stated that the city’s Volunteer Appreciation Banquet is going to be held on Oct. 13 at 6:00 p.m. She added that the RSVP date has passed, but if members would like to attend, please let her know and she will add them to the list. 9. New Business:  Dechavez stated that he would like to host an event with an Asian group, and inquired about having it at the Community Center. Giallombardo said that he would need to contact the Commmunity Center and follow the guidelines in place for all events. 10. Adjournment. Meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.