Loading...
05/20/2003COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER May 20, 2003 Present: Johnny Long Chair Melissa Horwitz Board Member Pat Harney Board Member Absent: Capt. John Slack Non-voting Member Candace Gardner Vice-Chair E.J. Robinson Board Member Also Present: Eleanor Breland Equity Services Director Kathy Baird Senior Staff Assistant Ken Cissna University of South Florida Diane Wheatley-Giliotti League of Women Voters Roy Kaplan National Conference for Community and Justice To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. ITEM 1 – Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:40 P.M. ITEM 2 – Roll Call and Approval of Minutes from 5-1-03 Meeting Members introduced themselves. Member Harney moved to approve the minutes of the May 1, 2003 meeting. Member Horwitz seconded the Motion, which carried unanimously. ITEM 3 – Introduction of Guests The members welcomed Dr. Roy Kaplan of the National Conference for Community and Justice, Ken Cissna, University of South Florida, and Diane Wheatley-Giliotti, League of Women Voters. . ITEM 4 – Planning for Implementation of Study Circle Program Chairman Long asked if there were any questions or comments regarding the summary of the May 1, 2003 meeting that Roy Kaplan prepared. Melissa Horwitz asked how long the first meeting would last. Mr. Long answered that the facilitator would see that the meeting stayed on schedule. The members discussed items 1-10 of Dr. Kaplan’s summary. Johnny Long suggested adding “laws” to the list. Regarding Item #2, Roy Kaplan discussed the paradox our society is faced with in the aftermath of September 11: Just at the time when our society is becoming more diverse, we are being asked to be suspicious of one another. Pat Harney suggested selecting three of the items to be the focus of the study circle dialogues. Ken Cissna suggested that the more personal the topics are, the better. Diane Wheatley-Giliotti said that she thought that Pat Harney’s question (How has September 11 tested your tolerance?) would be a good question to include. Johnny Long suggested combining the first three sub-topics under item #1 (As individuals, In our families, In our community). Eleanor Breland suggested adding sub-topics F (economically) to that group. Ken Cissna suggested that a question such as “How has your life changed since 9-11?” be the primary topic and the other items be used by the facilitators to stimulate the discussion. He suggested narrowing down the study circle program title from “America After 9-11” to “Clearwater After 9-11,” in order to keep the focus more personal and close to home. Chairman Long called for a vote on Professor Cissna’s suggestions. All members voted in favor. The Committee’s guests were invited to vote on the suggestions and they all voted in favor as well. Pat Harney asked if only Clearwater residents would be invited to the dialogues. Eleanor Breland responded that non-residents would not be excluded, especially as the study circles “branch out.” It is possible then that our counterparts from the County may want to become involved in the program. Diane Wheatley-Giliotti suggested that the word “Clearwater” be changed to “Clearwater area.” The members and non-members all agreed to the following phrasing of the main topic and question: Topic: “Life After 9-11” Question: “How has your life changed after 9-11?” Locations for the study circle meetings were discussed. Locations discussed were: The Martin Luther King Center, the Long Center, the Countryside Rec Center and the Harborview Center. The members discussed the pros and cons of various scheduling possibilities. All members and guests agreed to holding the meetings on October 7, 14, 21, and 28. It was agreed that light refreshments should be served at the meetings. The members and guests discussed possible co-sponsors, such as NCCJ, the YWCA, The Chamber of Commerce, the Bar associations and the Board of Realtors. ITEM 5 – New Business The members agreed to schedule Board meetings for June 24, July 22 and August 26. For the next meeting, members agreed to discuss mailing lists for announcements and invitations. Roy Kaplan stated that he would assist the group in focusing in on the objectives for the program. ITEM 6 - Adjournment Member Horwitz moved to adjourn. Member Harney seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 7:05 P.M.