Town of Cary
SISTER CITIES COMMISSION
Minutes of February 20, 2003 Meeting

Present: Mary Brice, Jinnie Davis, Amy Feistel, Samuel Fudzie, Sharon Hannigan, Marythrease Harrell, Ian Henshaw, Steve Morrison, Sarah Sheffield, Jack Smith (Council Liaison), Darrell Stover (Staff Liaison), Nadette Welterlin-Hugg.

Absent: Mary Lou Addor

Guests: Sue Rowland (Town Clerk), Barry Mitsch (Sister Cities Association), Mike Ostrom (Cary High School Band Boosters)

Handouts: Sister Cities orientation notebook (Sue)

Steve Morrison called the meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. Samuel Fudzie will be unable to serve as secretary because of a busy travel schedule; Steve asked Jinnie Davis to take the minutes.

Sharon Hannigan made a motion to approve the minutes of January 16, 2003, and Sarah Sheffield seconded it. The minutes were approved unanimously.

Steve welcomed the four new members of the Sister Cities Commission (SCC), who described their backgrounds and interests. He also welcomed Jack Smith, who is replacing Julie Robison as the SCC’s liaison with the town council. Jack described his role as one of facilitator and advocate for the commission with the council and encouraged SCC members to call on him as needed. Returning members of the commission also introduced themselves.

Sue Rowland gave the group an orientation to commission membership, including a brief history of Cary, facts and figures about the town, its government and organization, and communications tools. Darrell Stover explained his role as staff liaison, helping to facilitate the means by which the SCC carries out its activities. The SCC recommends policy and the Sister Cities Association (SCA) implements it.He described various print and media mechanisms for publicizing SCC activities; his preference for personal communications is via electronic mail.

Jinnie asked when the SCC bylaws were drawn up. Sue responded that they predate her tenure and recognizes that they are probably outdated. Both she and Darrell are available to help the commission in updating the SCC bylaws; Darrell suggested identifying one member to coordinate revisions.

Nadette Welterlin-Hugg asked whether she must go through Darrell to make special arrangements for use of Town of Cary programs for visitors from sister cities. Darrell said that she would still have to register for the courses as usual, but he could handle the initial communication with the instructor and introduction to the facility hosting the course to ensure a fruitful experience for the exchange students.

Barry Mitsch gave a timeline for the establishment of Cary’s four sister cities and noted the role that personal relationships played in their selection. He reported that many additional places are interested in becoming sister cities as well, but the current priority is to ensure that all four current ones are up and running. The SCA, of which Barry is acting president, was first established as the fund-raising arm of the SCC and now has $2,780 in its account. Barry hopes to foster greater interest among Cary citizens in participating in the SCA.

Mike Ostrom updated the commission on the Cary Band Boosters’ plans. While the group is still interested in a trip to Ireland in spring 2004, the band has since been invited to perform at the sixtieth-anniversary celebration of D-Day in France in summer 2004 (which they would combine with a trip to Le Touquet). Mike and Doug Bozza will still travel to Ireland this May on a preliminary trip, and they would still like to pursue the possibility of town funding for a band trip in 2004. Darrell has been in contact with Doug about funding possibilities; requests will go from the Band Boosters to the town (i.e., not via the SCC). The trip to France would be more expensive, but the Band Boosters are researching funding support from civic and other groups (which is likely, because the Cary High School band would be the only one representing the state). The Band Boosters will need to make a decision by the end of May. Sharon has helped them with information on Ireland, and Nadette will help them with Le Touquet contacts.

Sharon still has no contact to replace Kevin Stewart. She reported that the trip to Ireland in May has been cancelled, and we have received a refund on the deposit. Those who still wish to go may make their own travel arrangements but are encouraged to schedule their trips to coincide with Jack’s presence in County Meath (May 27 and 28).

Sharon mentioned that the Newcomers’ Club has an International Club that might be a potential contact for the SCC. She also has two lawn tickets donated by Regency Park, which we will hold for a future raffle.

Nadette is working on a visit to Cary this summer (July 11 – 25) for about 10 middle- or high-school age French students and will be issuing a call for volunteers and for host families. Each student will fill out an information profile to ensure a good match with a host family. She described possible activities during their stay and other members gave additional suggestions. Darrell suggested using the Teen Council as a way of informing other young people about the visit. All SCC members were asked to e-mail their ideas to Nadette within a week.

Ian Henshaw asked about the process used to identify and qualify host families. Nadette explained that, because of the small numbers involved in the past, the host families have been personally known to commission members. Ian said it was relatively inexpensive to conduct background checks, and Steve asked him to look into costs.

Barry had to leave but encouraged SCC members to attend next month’s meeting, which will be a joint commission/association meeting, and to come with ideas for promoting the SCA.

Sharon volunteered to coordinate the review of the commission bylaws. Every SCC member should look over the document and e-mail their thoughts to Sharon.

Jinnie reviewed La Farm’s initial proposal for products to sell at Spring Daze; the list seems to include insufficient amounts of smaller items like cookies and bretzels and still includes loaves of bread (though in reduced quantity). SCC members agreed that our primary focus should be on promoting the commission and association and less on food sales. Steve noted, however, that we must find a balance between our needs and what is fair to La Farm.

Jinnie will discuss the food list further with Missy Eide and will send out to the SCC a volunteer sign-up sheet and list of supply items needed.

Ian has drafted a letter inviting representatives from each of our sister cities to attend Lazy Daze; it will be sent out via Sue from the mayor’s office. The letters will go initially to our liaisons to keep them informed and determine proper protocol to follow. Amy Feistel is pursuing a contact person for Hsinchu.

Sarah announced that we received a Lazy Daze grant of $500 for the vertical display banner that we will be presenting to Markham. We needed $850, so the SCA will need to vote on whether it will fund the remaining $350. Acknowledgement of the grant is required on promotional materials; it should be added to the association’s Web page. Sarah will handle the final reporting requirements for the grant.

Sharon reminded the SCC of the upcoming fund-raising ceili to raise money for the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Nadette asked for help in publicizing Le Touquet to the SCA. she would like to develop a Le Touquet Web page but is unsure of who would make decisions about what can go up on the SCA page. Steve encouraged her to proceed with her Web page; the March meeting will include discussion of a Webmaster.

Amy asked for a copy of the 2003 goals; Steve will send the document to SCC members and will place it on the SCA Web page.

Darrell reported on upcoming cultural events being sponsored by the Town of Cary (see also the "Special Events" portion of the Cary Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Program Brochure).

March 20, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. in Page-Walker.

Sarah moved to adjourn the meeting, and Sharon seconded it. The meeting was adjourned at 9:43 p.m.