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05/08/2007 SISTER CITIES ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES CITY OF CLEARWATER May 8, 2007 Present: Robert Freedman Vice Chair Carlen Petersen Councilmember Nicole Scholet Youth Advisory Board Member C.E. Snedeker Board Member Richard Wisemiller Board Member Absent: Linda Damsky Chair Also Present: Margo Walbolt Division Manager, Cultural Affairs Marsha Beall Staff Assistant, Cultural Affairs Myrtle Sachs Clearwater Sister Cities, Inc. Vice Chair Freedman called the meeting to order at 4:10pm at MSB. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 2 – Appointment The floor was open to reelect the Vice Chair. Member Petersen moved to reelect Vice motion carried Chair Freedman. The was duly seconded and unanimously. 3 - Approval of Minutes of Sister City Board Meeting of January 30, 2007 Member Petersen moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 30, motion carried 2007 as submitted to members. The was duly seconded and unanimously. 4 - Old Business a. & b. 2007 February and March visit from Nagano Ms. Walbolt advised members that the last two visits were two of the most successful visits to date. The high school visit was successful due to more people being involved and/or connected to the program. Additionally, the Countryside High School students who have had past involvement in the program continue to support our efforts. The middle school program’s challenge was transportation. It was difficult to secure thirteen homestay families that reside near or around Kennedy Middle School. Ms. Walbolt spoke about the quality of the Sayonara Party entertainment. Nagano students raised the bar this year on their presentations at the party. Ms. Walbolt suggested it might be due to the exceptional program our high school students performed during their visit to Nagano last year. Additional, Ms. Blue Feliu from Ruth Eckerd Hall gave salsa dance lessons to our visiting guests. 1 Sister Cities 2007-5-08 5 - New Business – 2007 Schedule a. June 21 – July 19: Pinellas County Teacher Summer Exchange Two teachers will be visiting Nagano for four weeks: Magen Studebaker, Morgan Fitzgerald Middle in Pinellas Park and Melissa Anderson, Norwood High in St. Petersburg. b. July 5 – 19: Clearwater High School Students to Nagano Orientations are going on now to prepare four students for their upcoming trip to Nagano. Member Scholet and other high school students are sharing past experiences with these students. The students are: th Lucy Feigel, 10 grade, Countryside High School th Benjamin Popp, 11 grade, Lakewood High School th Joseph Stokes, 11 grade, Calvary Christian High School th Zachary Tranter, 9 grade, Palm Harbor High School Chaperone: Jane Hayes c. June 4-19: Clearwater Sister Cities, Inc. Young Ambassadors Trip. Eight students will be traveling to Nagano with 3 chaperones: Richard Wisemiller, Marilyn Hall, and Janet Clark (Ms. Clark is the first School Board member to travel to Japan). Orientations are being facilitated by Clearwater Sister Cities, Inc. Obtaining new passports have been much more difficult this year, but are getting completed. d. Clearwater Sister Cities, Inc. report – Member Wisemiller is stepping down as President of the CSCI organization. Ms. Lois Sewell will be incoming President. Member Wisemiller has submitted a resignation from the Sister Cities Advisory Board. The City will be accepting applications for his replacement and it should be placed as an agenda item in June. 6 – Items not on agenda The Sister Cities International Annual Conference will be held in Ft. Lauderdale this year from July 18-21. Registration fees are $450 and up. Ms. Walbolt will not be attending this year. If anyone is interested in attending they can register on the website: www.sister-cities.org. Ms. Walbolt submitted a Sister Cities-Cultural Affairs Task Matrix to members for their review. Ms. Walbolt commented on the tasks assigned to Cultural Affairs staff. Although these responsibilities are something Cultural Affairs enjoys doing, the reality is with forthcoming budget cuts and losing a staff member some of these tasks may not be attainable. Ms. Walbolt is in discussion with CSCI and the School Board for assistance. Plans for the 2007 Clearwater September Concert is in the works. It will be held at City Hall and then conclude at Peace Memorial Church. Additional support and opportunities are being researched to enhance the program. The challenge with including schools in this process is that this event occurs two weeks after the start of the school year. The next two Sister Cities Advisory Board meeting dates are August 14, 2007 and October 23, 2007. 2 Sister Cities 2007-5-08 7 - Adiournment Members adjourned at 5:00 p.m. The next Sister City Board meeting will be held Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at MSB, Room 130. Attest:. \ D, \<~\..' i~bJ'k \..~ ~~,~. Staff Assist " \ Sister Cities 2007-5-08 3