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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Sister City Committee - 05/03/2021SISTER CITY PROGRAM COMMITTEE Regular Meeting * Monday, May 3, 2021 12:00 p.m. Webex MINUTES I. Call to Order by Chairperson Melody Cooper at 12:05 p.m. II. Roll Call of Members • Present: Melody Cooper, Luis Cabrera, Valerie Harbolovic, Almira Flores, Mark Arnold, Fernando Moral-Iglesias, Susane Horn, Mirza Pearson • Absent: • Quorum was met. III. Public Comment • None IV. Adoption of Minutes • Regular Meeting – Adoption of Minutes from January 4, 2021: Minutes from January 4, 2021 were passed unanimously. V. Discussion / Action Items • Introduction – Melody Cooper: Introduced new members Valerie Harbolovic and Mirza Pearson. • Sister City Exchange Program – Discussed desire to have materials to potential exchange students earlier than usual due to impacts of COVID-19. Student Exchange Program being led by Almira Flores, Luis Cabrera, Valerie Harbolovic and Susan Horn. Luis indicated previous files should be updated for current distribution quickly. Suggested that packets go out to exchange students in November rather than the usual December or January distribution. Discussion had regarding current budget for Sister City Committee to determine amounts to be provided as scholarships for students to participate in the Student Exchange Program. Shelly Rios indicated that there may be funds that roll over each year, based on descriptions in previous minutes. Shelly Rios tasked with performing more research on the topic. • Cultural Exchange Program – Cultural Exchange Program being led by Melody Cooper, Valerie Harbolovic and Mirza Pearson. Discussed previous engagement to host an event with representatives from Agen, France which was unable to occur due to COVID-19. Now looking at participating in a joint meeting with members from Agen, France for the June 7th SCC meeting to discuss future possibilities. Potentially looking at artist exchanges and other art exchanges. Further discussed virtual concerts, art exhibitions, and testimonials from students from other countries about how COVID-19 has impacted their lives. • Distribution and management of funds – Shelly Rios tasked with researching topic, as previously discussed. Hoping to revamp the Cultural Exchange Program with funds. Last year there was around $11,000 to $12,000 for the Student Exchange and Cultural Exchange programs that was left unused due to COVID-19. Currently looking into funding to offer scholarships for the Student Exchange Program. Luis suggested focusing on helping parents feel comfortable with the Student Exchange Program due to the events of COVID-19 causing significant discomfort and safety concerns. Shelly Rios suggested contacting other Sister City organizations to understand the procedures they are using and potentially have an outline to follow and build from. Almira will reach out to other Sister City organizations. Melody specifically requesting to reach out to Agen, France, Yokosuka, Japan, and Keelung, Taiwan. September 30, 2021 is deadline for using funds. SCC most likely will not be able to use the funds for this year, but hoping they roll over. If funds do not roll over, committee members will research utilizing those funds for this year and refocus on preparing for events scheduled for next year. Could potentially use current funds for marketing, virtual concerts, purchase of air fare mileage, etc. Research will be performed for legal uses of funding and included in the financial report. • Proposed events commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Corpus Christi, Texas and Yokosuka, Japan – Michael Crowley expressed interest in having an event between Yokosuka and Corpus Christi. Crowley has reached out to several companies in Yokosuka for this event and Mirza Pearson had a meeting with Crowley. Yokosuka hoping to establish a joint business with Corpus Christi for resource trading. Could potentially tie into the 60th Anniversary event. Would plan on holding a reception ceremony with cultural exchanges. Susane Horn, Mirza Pearson, Luis Cabrera, and Almira Flores to lead the 60th Anniversary event. The event will occur next year and will potentially be hosted summer, 2022. Will be looking into what type of event can be held and organizing the event. Arlene Medrano suggested finding a roster from previous events and offering invitations for them to provide testimonials on their experiences from the Student Exchange Program. VI. Items to be placed on June 7, 2021 Agenda – Committee Member Comments/Announcements/Agenda Requests • Student Exchange Program Report • Cultural Exchange Program Report • Financial report VII. Adjournment at 1:21 p.m.