Lawrence Sister Cities Advisory Board
April 13, 2011
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Linda Hyler, Jon Josserand, Ken Albrecht, Bob Moody, Kathleen Hodge, Bob Schumm, James Hilliard, Kelly Herndon, Gina Ross, Dennis Christilles |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Bill Keel, Lynn Ground, Darrel Ward, Michael Kennedy |
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STAFF LIAISON PRESENT: |
Cynthia Wagner |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Ginny Ellis, Chris Grolock, Amanda Puentes, & Ryan Childers |
The meeting was brought to order at 5:50 pm in the Lawrence City Commission chambers by Vice-Chair Hyler.
Introduction of Guests:
Ginnie Ellis explained that she and a group of other interested individuals have met in an effort to explore the establishment of a group similar to the Japanese “Jet Stream” youth group. These are individuals who have engaged in international travel, and work on a continuing basis with the city of Hiratsuka in promoting international friendships. Jet Stream youth clubs exist in many Japanese cities.
In Japan, these students assist with other education youth exchange trips. A number of Japan Jet Stream youth, who had visited Lawrence previously, visited Lawrence once again last summer with the regular youth exchange, but for a slightly shorter length.
Chris read a statement which reviewed their discussions and ideas so far. Another meeting has been scheduled at Ginnie’s house, 3409 W 28th, at 6:30 on May 1st. Anyone interested may attend.
Review of Minutes (Josserand)
The minutes were approved for the March 2011 meeting as previously distributed.
Treasurer’s Report (Herndon)
Herndon distributed a report of expenditures for the first quarter of the year. She mentioned she still has a year-end report to present, but would wait for Keel to be in attendance because of his interest in certain items.
Herndon requested permission to close the Eutin trip account at Mainstreet Credit Union, and to establish a similar account with Intrust Bank for Eutin trip purposes. This will ease work since all accounts will then be at Intrust.
A motion was made and passed approving this action.
Friends of Hiratsuka
& Hiratsuka - 20th Year visit – (Hilliard)
Hilliard indicated a recent meeting was conducted of the Friends of Hiratsuka. He will be submitting brief minutes for transmission to the general membership.
Four cancellations have been received from the 20-student Hiratsuka student delegation for next June because of the situation in Japan. Things are in flux in Japan, and we are unsure about the trip’s viability.
The drop-dead day for purchasing protected fare tickets is May 19, and after that time a $100 cancellation fee will be in effect.
Another factor in Hiratsuka is the upcoming city election on April 24. Personnel and planning are waiting for the election to occur, including planning for the 20th year visit, which tentatively would be in early October.
A letter has been sent from Mayor Amyx to Mayor Ritsuko Okura of Hiratsuka thanking her for her many years service to the City of Hiratsuka and her support of the Hiratsuka-Lawrence sister cities programs.
Hilliard & Herndon discussed the need to refund parents, and the DCCF Scholarship fund for the cancellations to date. Two scholarships amounting to $1,500 will need to be refunded from the city travel account to DCCF.
Scholarship Fundraiser (Hodge)
Hodge indicated she would be putting a committee meeting together soon.
Other Fundraisers (ad hoc)
An outgrowth of the recent Friends of Hiratsuka meeting were various proposals to raise funds for Japanese earthquake & tsunami relief and other fundraising. It was decided to consider these individually.
1)Ted Kuwana proposed to the FOH that individuals volunteer to raise money on a one-on-one basis. He was interested in obtaining volunteers who would agree to solicit pledges of perhaps $500, and bundling these together to the American Red Cross (or another charity of the donor’s choice). The Friends organization voted to support this effort, pending approval of the full advisory board, as suggested by Moody. In this effort, checks will be written directly to another valid charitable organization, and bundled for tabulation purposes, so that we can communicate the level of Lawrence giving directly to Hiratsuka officials. Ted already has already made preliminary contacts and obtained pledges. A thank you would be provided to donors on Sister Cities letterhead and checks would be directed to the sister cities P.O. Box. The board voted to support this effort.
2) An idea of a friendship 5K run/walk, starting or ending at the Japanese Friendship Garden was offered at the FOH meeting. Much planning would need to be done for such an activity, and some on the board thought it might be a good idea for a long-term ongoing fundraiser. The board voted to support this effort. Moody was appointed in charge.
3) There is a fundraiser (non-Japan relief oriented) scheduled by Ginnie Ellis and FOH to raise spending money for the Hiratsuka youth exchange this summer. It is scheduled at Montana Mikes on Monday, April 25 (when Montana Mike’s is normally closed). This year’s and last year’s student delegates will be the servers. This fundraiser is non-tax deductible and not being run through sister cities accounts. The board voted to support this effort.
4) A group of Japanese students from KU with other friends of Japan are planning activities on Saturday, April 16 in conjunction with Earth Day in Lawrence. They plan to have a booth in South Park, and activities also in the Japanese Friendship Garden (weather permitting). Donations would be directed to the Japanese Red Cross. Because so many recent newsletters have been recently issued, it was decided not to send a last minute newsletter regarding this item, but to support it through our individual contacts and efforts.
Friends of Eutin – (Albrecht)
There was a recent meeting by the Friends of Eutin. About 30 people were in attendance.
The highlight of the evening was a report from Professor David Neely at KU about his trip to Eutin over the Christmas break with several KU School of Music students. This trip was deemed a great success, and the outcome of this effort was an invitation and commitment by Eutin, and the state of Schleswig-Holstein, to support a visit this summer, by approximately 60-70 KU musicians, to travel to Eutin and perform for a summer music festival.
Jimmy Morrison gave a report on Eutin-Lawrence internships.
Twelve Eutin high school students are expected next fall. Six students at LHS, and six at FSHS. Elissa Schlump and Tom Lipp will be the high school faculty contact points. Herndon is working to coordinate the hosting of families for these visits. These will be approximately Sept. 10 to Oct 7. Stuart Boley will be directing and traveling with the students for the traditional “Chicago Experience” at the end of the exchange.
Bob Schumm – Point of Personal Privilege
Bob Schumm informed the board he would be resigning from the board and this would be his last meeting.
Schumm took advantage of the occasion to recall the start of the Sister Cities effort in Lawrence and to thank the other board members for their past and future efforts.