Lawrence Sister Cities Advisory Board
July 11, 2007 minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Nancy Bjorge , Stuart Boley, Kathleen Hodge, Linda Hyler, Michael Kennedy, Graham Kreicker, Bob Moody, Gina Ross, Bob Schumm |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Lynn Ground, Jon Josserand, Karen Swisher, Andrew Tsubaki, William Keel |
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STAFF LIAISON PRESENT: |
Michael Tubbs |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Ken Albrecht, Co-Chairs of Friends of Eutin and Frank Baron |
Sent Monday, July 9, 2007 ~ revisions sent July 12, 2007
LSCAB Members,
This report is submitted in advance of our meeting in order to save time at our meeting on Wednesday.
2007 Eutin Delegation Report
Our 2007 delegation to Eutin was comprised of 19 adults and two children. Most of the delegates were in Eutin from Sunday, 3 June until Friday, 8 June.
It is unfortunate that our Chair, Gina Ross and her husband, David Collins, were unable to join us for this special occasion. We were well received by our host families and city officials and enjoyed a well-organized itinerary that was less hectic than the last one.
This year we incorporated important visits to the two high schools to meet with the principles and teachers and to observe classes, thus showing continuing support for this segment of our partnership. I also met privately with both principals, with Andreas van Zoest who is Director of the Guitar Orchestra and with Bastian Walkhoff who administers the internship program at the Sparkasse Holstein.
Jan Gaumnitz, the artist that created our gift sculpture, Eternal Spring, won the hearts of the local folks and the press with her superb design and her dedication statement that was translated for the Eutin officials and guests by Phyllis Farrar, the teacher in charge of our high school exchange students this year. With the beautiful, solid granite base and prime location in the lakeside flower garden, it will become a significant reminder of our partnership throughout the coming decades.
Things were actually quite hectic for those involved in the preparation of Kansas Night food. Bob Schumm, assisted by Tom Hodge selected the cuts of meat and then spent the better part of two days overseeing the smoking of the brisket, pork shoulder and ribs at a country butcher's facilities. The results were very impressive! Meanwhile, Sandy Schumm and Kathleen Hodge utilized the kitchen of the school for mentally handi- capped children to prepare the cole slaw and potato salad. They could not get into the kitchen until after the school ended for the day. Then, they worked like demons, assisted by other delegation members and volunteers from the K.U. summer institute, led by Scott Seeger. You would need to have been there to see how much cole slaw and potato salad they turned out. Thanks to Helmut Scheewe, a friendly local baker baked the corn bread for us at no charge. And, lots of the fresh vegetables came from their farmers' market at very favorable prices, thanks to our friends, Brend & Anka Ditscher.
In spite of an hour's worth of unexpected speeches by local officials, the Kansas Night was a great success, with about 200 people being served. You can't imagine what an impression it made on all the guests to realize that we actually came all that way to prepare and serve with our own hands an authentic meal for their enjoyment. Although the event was paid for by the K.U. German Department and individuals who contributed to the Department, the invitations stated that it was a joint effort of LSCAB and K.U. A complete accounting for the event has been forwarded to the K.U. German Department.
Altogether, our participation in the official observance of the 750th anniversary of Eutin's founding was a total success, as reported in their newspapers and in ours.
Of special note is the fact that we got lots more people involved, new faces that will become the backbone of our partnership in the coming decades.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this report or the actual events.
Frank Baron is preparing a brief PowerPoint presentation with colorful scenes to be shown on Wednesday.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this report of the actual events.
Graham Kreicker
Meeting called to order at 5:40 by Ross.
Kreicker moved. Hodge seconded that the minutes from May be approved. Motion assed.
Ross presented the financial reports. Kreicker will talk with Ground about moving $49.84 from the Eutin trip expenses to the appropriate line item. This amount was really a gift from the Board to the President of the Friends of Lawrence after his heart attack and should not come out of the Eutin trip expense account. Kreicker will also will also visit with Ground regarding the absence of the $600 check for the sculpture base. Boley also noted that the expense of the airline tickets for the Hiratsuka trip has not been entered in the Hiratsuka account. Boley noted that the Hiratsuka class codes need to be reviewed and a code entered. These reports were tabled for the next meeting. The revised reports will be reviewed at the next meeting.
Under Old Business, Ross announced Russell Blackbird had been appointed by Mayor Sue Hack to the SCAB. He has not yet been contacted about meeting dates or times. Tubbs will see that this is done.
Ross reported she had submitted the 6-month report of our activities to the city.
Ross has sent a thank you to Helmut for the hosting of the Lawrence delegation in Eutin. She also sent a thank you to Linda Davis for the Jayhawk bead pins she made that were used as gifts in Japan by our delegation to Hiratsuka.
Moody moved and Kreicker seconded that we accept the change to the ByLaws. Motion passed. They amendment reads:
ARTICLE III. Membership
Add Section 9
Any member who has three (3) consecutive unexcused absences from regularly scheduled board meetings shall be determined to be disinterested in membership on said board. The Chair shall contact board member to see if special considerations exist for excessive absenteeism. Lacking such considerations, the Board may request that the Mayor appoint a new board member.
Boley presented a working draft for the SCAB to use regarding the division our retained earnings monies. The judgment column reflects the initial work of the board during our meeting. Please review the following chart for the next meeting:
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History |
Judgment |
Totals |
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Retained Earnings |
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Scholarships |
14,399.51 |
5,165.88 |
19,565.39 |
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Hiratsuka Exchange |
3,827.47 |
1,000.00 |
4,827.47 |
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Eutin Exchange |
3,078.83 |
1,000.00 |
4,078.83 |
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Friends of Hiratsuka 5yr |
2,000.00 |
2,000.00 |
4,000.00 |
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Friends of Eutin 5yr |
2,000.00 |
2,000.00 |
4,000.00 |
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Friends of SC3 |
5,000.00 |
- |
5,000.00 |
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Friends of Hiratsuka Operating |
- |
1,000.00 |
1,000.00 |
|
Friends of Eutin Operating |
- |
1,000.00 |
1,000.00 |
|
Contingency |
- |
2,500.00 |
2,500.00 |
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Unrestricted (General) |
- |
|
- |
|
Other (Insert Description) |
- |
|
- |
|
Other (Insert Description) |
- |
|
- |
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Total Retained Earnings |
30,305.81 |
15,665.88 |
45,971.69 |
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Retained Earnings Balance 12/31/2006 |
45,971.69 |
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less: Historical Balances |
(30,305.81) |
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Balance to be Allocated |
15,665.88 |
- |
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Kennedy reported that the FoH plan to have an organizational meeting in September. Ross reminded them to notify those who had paid dues and expressed an interest in FoH. This list is available from Office Helpline. Kennedy, Becker, and Schriner chaperoned 22 students to Hiratsuka in June. July 24 at 4PM will be the Welcome Party at the Art Center. The following table is the schedule of their visit for 2007:
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Date |
Time |
Activity |
Location |
Note |
Who Attends |
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Tuesday 24 |
1:15 pm
4:00 pm |
Delegates Arrive Bus picks up
Welcome Party
Homestay |
KCI
Lawrence Art Center |
Homestay families will meet students at the Lawrence Arts Center.
Speeches by President of Sister City Board – Gina Ross and Hiratsuka leader. |
Everyone |
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Wednesday 25 |
9:00 am
9:45 am
10:00am
11:00am
12:30
1:30 pm
2:30 pm
TBA |
Train Depot Police/Fire Dept.
Friendship Park
Watkins Museum
Sunfire Ceramics
Lunch
City Hall/Mayor
Shopping Downtown
Royals Baseball |
South Park |
Drop off students at Depot
Lunch provided
Pick-up downtown
Not required to attend – if you want tickets let me know by 7/15 |
Hiratsuka students only
Lawrence Students
Everyone |
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Thursday 26
|
8:30 am
9:00 am
10:30am
11:30am
12:30pm
6:00 pm |
Leave from Holidome Capital Building
Topeka Zoo
Lunch
Shopping
Leave for Lawrence |
Gage Park
Westridge Mall |
Drop off by 8:00 am @ Holidome
Students need to bring a sack lunch
Pick-up @ Holidome 6:30 |
Everyone |
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Saturday 28 |
8:00 pm |
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Chaperone party 820 Ohio - Home of Dan Schriner....Sally Hare-Schriner was a fellow chaperone. Beer, wine and soft drinks will be provided along with some simple snacks as this will be afterdinner. Feel free to bring any beverages or food you wish. |
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Tuesday 31 |
6:30 pm |
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Farewell party on at Free State High School commons area. Families are bringing a side dish and drinks and we will provide the hotdogs/hamburgers. Feel free to bring a side dish and drinks if you like. |
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Tubbs will get an opinion from the city’s legal department regarding posting pictures of students under 18 on the Internet by name and without names. Also regarding the use of pictures and names in other promotional information such as newsletters, etc.
Ross asked for ideas to be brought to the August meeting for a scholarship fundraiser in the fall.
Ross also led a discussion about combining the farewell party for the German students with the Sister City membership event. We believe that the German students will leave on November 3 or 4.
Baron presented a brief report regarding the 750th birthday trip by our delegation. He shared a UDK article, a scrapbook with numerous articles and pictures. Ross and the board thanked Baron for his work and dedication to the FoE. More details can be found in Kreicker’s report submitted prior to the board meeting. Please check out the following website for more information: http://www2.ku.edu/~germanic/eutin.htm. There is also a link from the Friend’s of Eutin link at the city site at http://www.ci.lawrence.ks.us/. Scroll down to Advisory Boards, then down to Sister City Advisory Board and click on the Eutin link. (Is this really the F of E site??? Is this the correct link? Take a look. Also, I may have missed it, but I didn’t see a link to the site Frank shared with us.)
Discussion of newsletters and email blasts to help publicize SCAB events was discussed. Kreicker introduced Ken Albrecht, Co-Chair of Friends of Eutin. Likewise, he thanked all of those who helped with the BBQ night in Eutin. Schumm moved and Hyler seconded that the mayor be asked to send a proclamation certificate and thank you letter to those in Eutin who offered their services to help with the BBQ night. Motion passed. Kreicker and Schumm will supply the names and addresses to Tubbs.
Kreicker requested reimbursement of $163.00 for additional monies for the base of the sculpture. The original amount was $600.00. This brings the total for the base to $763.00.
Next meeting August 8, 2007.