Town of Cary

Minutes of January 17, 2002 Meeting.

Meeting called to order at 6:35pm.

Present: Mary Lou Addor, Scotty Elliot (Town of Cary), Sharon Hannigan, Tom McCuiston, Barry Mitsch (Chair), Steve Morrison, Sarah Sheffield, Janice Stolzenberg and Nadette Welterlin-Hugg.

Guests: (1) Ian Henshaw: considering appointment to join Sister Cities. Attending as visitor to develop a better understanding of the Commission, roles and responsibilities; (2) Luiz Mineiro: interested in submitting information on a Brazilian city wanting to locate a Sister City. Luiz will contact Barry with further information.

Approval of December 20, 2001 Minutes: Sarah Sheffield motioned to approve minutes & Barry Mitsch seconded motion.

Treasurer's Report - Tom McCuiston

Nothing new to report: $500 refund still due Association from Ireland trip. Current account balance is $1,800.

Applications for Sister City Association membership were passed out. Also located on the web. Each commission member should be a member of the association.

Orientation Dinner - Scotty Elliott

Orientation, appreciation, and recognition dinner for board and commission members, Thursday, February 7, 2002. Barry requests that each commission member attend if possible. Formal letter being sent to all Town of Cary Board and Commission members.

Sister City Association's Database and Website - Steve Morrison

A Handout was distributed by Steve of the Access model. Steve developed an Access Database to catalog the SC Assocation membership. Directory includes contact information, geographic location, language skills, and other activities members are willing to participate in. Current entries include names from former lists and raffle ticket names. Steve requests any suggestions or changes to the database be sent to him soon. Association is the citizen arm of the commission--a separate entity charged with fundraising. Members pay annual dues.

Steve will review SC Website and provide suggestions on improvements. Some discussion occurred about the SC website and the Town of Cary Boards and Commission website. Does the commission want to upload pictures on the SC site? Can we? Can we mount a camera at some designated spot in town to take real-time pictures? (Discussed not adding a camera, pictures only, due to cost of camera and concerns of time management). Link up Commission to Association's website? (Association can have a common link to Commission's website but Commission cannot). Scotty will find out particulars to questions posed on website. Commission members requested to take time to look at SC site and see if there are suggested changes. May want to visit other sister city sites.

Commission Legal Documents - Barry Mitsch

Barry to distribute legal documents to new commission members.

Sister Cities Catalog - Sarah Sheffield.

Catalogs distributed online by Sarah, printed off with illegible font for several commission members. Sarah intends to reprint Catalog in Adobe Acrobat Reader and distribute again by email.

Lazy Daze - Sharon Hannigan

Sister Cities Association will have a booth all day, April 27th. Sharon manning entire shift, requesting support. Mary Lou will work 2-hour shift. Other shifts available. Scotty to provide table and tent; Barry to bring banner.

Sister Cities Update:

LeTouquet, France - Nothing to report

Hsinchu City, Taiwan - Nothing to report

Markham, Ontario - Barry Mitsch.

Markham Intercity visit scheduled for April 25-28, 2002. Focus is on how to do business in Canada. Cary Chamber of Commerce distributing Registration Flyers.

County Meath, Ireland - Sharon Hannigan.

Sharon distributed handouts: DRAFT of Bid requests to Travel Agencies and John Crosson's resume. Resolution not received from Meath but being looked into.

Travel Agency letter:

Trip to Ireland planned during the fall, Oct 4-13, 2002. Sharon drafted a bid letter to distribute to travel agents. Selection Committee consisting of Sharon, Sarah, and Mary Lou. They will review returned bids based on determined criteria and report back with recommendations February/March. Main idea is to select a travel agency willing to coordinate all the logistics, work with the liaison, and provide the best deal to the Association members.

Suggestions to include in Bid Letter:

1. Use best rate days: Sat- Sun;

2. Include 1 to 2 days in sister city by having travel agent work with destination sister city liaison;

3. Work in one complimentary air package for commission member;

4. Have one month to respond;

5. Will need to offer two packages: discounted package to SC Association members and regular fair to non-members; and

6. Travel Agent will also need to be a corporate member of Sister City Association.

ST. Patrick's Day

Event planned for Tuesday, March 12, co-sponsored by the commission and the association. An evening with Jack Crosson on the Irish experience: an overview of Ireland, immigration, and Meath (slide show presentation). Public service announcements will be placed in Cary News Paper, the Bud newsletter, NBC17 community calendar, and on the Town of Cary Time-Warner access channel. Cost for speaker is $150, and would like to provide refreshments (Cultural budget may be able to cover these costs). Scotty also will reserve space for event. Opportunity to provide a cultural event for Cary citizens, to publicize the Meath trip, and to educate citizens about sister cities, the commission and association. Membership application will also be on hand.

Draft Agenda:

7:00pm Open with reception and live Irish music

            Intro to Sister Cities Commission and Association

            Intro to Jack Crosson

7:30pm Program (last about 45 minutes)

            Next Meeting is February 21, 2002, 7:30pm.