2012-11-25 Sister City Commission MinutesEdmonds Sister City Commission
Meeting Date: November 25, 2012 — Meeting Minutes
Pos. 1 Michelle Van Tassell
Pos. 4 Marlene Friend
Pos. 7 lyoko Okano
Pos. 10 Beth Fuhriman
Pos. 2 OPEN
Pos. 5 Kay Vreeland
Pos. 8 Kody McConnell
Pos. 11 Jill Van Berkom
Commissioners not in Attendance: Van Berkom, McConnell
Staff. Carolyn LaFave
Pos. 3 Yoshikata Inoue
Pos. 6 Rita Bailey Ikeda
Pos. 9 Joseph Fletcher
Pos. 12 OPEN
Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:04pm. Ray Olitt and Paul Anderson were
recognized as guests and soon -to -be -inducted Commissioners. All in attendance were asked to
introduce themselves.
Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted with the corrections having been
received via email and previously added to the document.
Treasurer's report: A treasurer's report was emailed to the Commission members by Kody. Further
discussion of the report will be held at a later date.
Correspondence: lyoko read a response from Mr. Nagasaki regarding the issues raised at the Skype
conference last month. The proposal to reduce the student exchange to every other year is acceptable,
but there can be no further reduction in the frequency. They are also amenable to sending both middle
school and high school students and will try to match our numbers in further exchanges. It was noted in
the discussion that information about the Croatia program was not available.
Old business:
Adult Delegation Update
Michelle received great feedback and many suggestions for additional members to be considered for the
delegation for next year. The list of names now contains between 150 and 200 entries. Some discussion
ensued on how to proceed in contacting and/or inviting community members. Several suggestions were
made to narrow down the list. One suggestion was to send an informational card promoting an
informational meeting though the cost of postage proved to be a barrier. Carolyn suggested that we
send an email from the city office expressing the invitation to the information meeting. Michelle will
draft the letter and it is to be reviewed by a number of other Commissioners. Members agreed to put
the email plan into action before December 151h for the first email. Additional reminder emails will
follow. Agenda for the information night will be decided at the next meeting. lyoko will contact Sankei
for travel information.
2013 Student Delegation Decision
The Commission discussed whether or not to change the frequency of the student delegation program.
This year's agenda is full with the adult delegation and the anniversary celebration. Concern was
expressed about the loss of momentum that will occur if there is no student delegation. Carolyn
suggested the avoidance of the term 'postpone' and promoted the claim that the next delegation is to
occur in 2014. During the break there will be benefit in the extra time to recruit students, raise funds,
have more pre -trip experiences and allow families time to save for the expense. A motion was made
that the next student delegations occur in 2014 rather than 2013. This motion was carried by the
Commission. Carolyn will notify Nagasaki-san of the decision.
Student Representative
A student representative form was emailed by Jill. The Commissioners will review the document and
submit any changes to Joseph and/Jill. The finalized version will be forwarded to Carolyn. Once the
application is completed, Carolyn will send it to any high school contacts. This is to be completed by
Wednesday (11/28) at 5pm.
Pamphlet
While reviewing the pamphlet, of which printed copies were available, a number of needed changes
were noted. Full discussion and revisions were tabled until the next meeting where it is hoped that Jill
will be able to attend.
Library Lobby/Senior Center Displays
Beth, Kay & lyoko reviewed the materials in storage. They will be submitting a proposal to the library
for a display in October 2013. Kay suggested staggering the display at the Senior Center in order to
increase exposure time. Others argued that the best time for the displays would be during the adult
delegation time. It was also suggested that we look into having a display at the Edmonds Historical
Museum rather than the Senior Center.
Doll Making Class
Marlene suggested postponing the class as she presently has too much on her plate.
Mariners' Excursion
Decisions about this activity will be tabled until the next meeting though Marlene is suggesting that we
forgo the next year as there is no student delegation and perhaps substitute another type of fundraiser.
Quarterly e-Newsletter for Beacon Update
Carolyn mentioned that the Beacon update is a willing outlet for dispersing information. Michelle
suggested that we strive to have something to send each month. Ideas came forth surrounding the
many artists that have contributed items to the Commission that were used as gifts. The Commission
decided to further discuss news ideas at the upcoming retreat. A motion was made to add a permanent
agenda item titled 'Publicity'. This motion was carried by the Commission. Ray offered to invite Pat
Ratliff (Editor of the Edmonds Beacon) to a meeting to discuss the nature of news contributions.
New Business:
aotraat )nl2
Yoshi and Michelle will brainstorm ideas for the retreat which will take place in January.
AET Recruit
The current AET will need to be replaced in Sept 2013. The contract length is 2 years with an optional
3rd year. The candidate must have a Bachelors' degree and should have experience teaching children.
The AET recruit team will consist of lyoko, Yoshi and Marlene.
Tabled:
Next Meeting: December 171h, 7 to 9PM — Bring a Holiday Treat!
Adjournment: 8:57PM