December 11, Global Connections (GC) Executive Committee (EC) Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date and Time: Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 7:00 PM
Location: Zoom
Officers Present
President: Bob Persiko
Vice President: Ciara Halloran
Public Relations Officer: Rose Sharp
Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
Secretary: Alexandra Persiko
Committee Chairs
Deb Leo
Shannon Holiday
Penn State Global Representative
Wenjie Fu
Call To Order: 7:05 PM
August 14 EC meeting minutes were accepted as submitted.
Reports of Officers & Standing Committees
President – Bob Persiko
- Bob mentioned that minutes are not available for every meeting such as for September and October 2024, when the focus was on the revised bylaws.
- The vacancy for the membership coordinator has been posted on the Volunteer Centre County website.
- There are 71 active members. Bob will review the membership website (Wild Apricot) for potential renewals, but overall, we are in good shape.
- Bob asked for feedback on the program descriptions on the website and that the EC communicate potential updates to Rose.
- Deb was asked to find a description for the reading groups, and Rose was asked to update the email address on the website.
- Bob proposed that we add a mission statement on the landing page of the website and add the names of Executive Committee members with photos. Rose offered to look into the idea of headshots while Bob will draft a mission statement and circulate it for feedback.
Vice President – Ciara Halloran
Ciara shared her efforts to attract new Nigerian members.
Treasurer – Bruce Truitt
Bruce reported the current financial status of the group, with an operating account of $6,445 before posting of recent membership dues. All bills have been paid, and GC is in good shape.
Secretary – Alexandra Persiko
- Alexandra reported on the GC website and familiarizing herself with the new layout and updates of WordPress. Rose has been instrumental in teaching her.
- Alexandra posted the November general membership minutes. The challenge now is to ensure that prior minutes can be posted in sequential order, which Rose will further look into.
- Per paragraph 5508 of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, GC is required to post all records such as minutes and make these available to its members. Global Connections became an all-volunteer organization in March 2019; thus, Bruce and Bob will try to retrieve past minutes. Bruce emphasized the importance of minutes as the official record of the organization’s actions and decisions.
- Once available, Alexandra and Rose will post all minutes. Bruce suggested using agendas as a backup if minutes were not found.
Public Relations – Rose Sharp
- Rose said she and Alexandra met to discuss the website. A bit of a cumbersome site.
- We are making headway and will try to figure out minutes and agenda postings that do not interfere with the blog posting location on the website.
- Rose will furthermore work on cleaning up the website and looks forward to posting information on the next cultural event and creating media postings.
- She also proposes combining WordPress and Wild Apricot, using Wild Apricot for its capabilities. Bob and Bruce agreed, provided this does not require additional payment.
Penn State Representative
- Wenjie shared updates about her transition from the position of External Relations Coordinator at Penn State Global to Global Engagement Coordinator. She mentioned that her role would no longer involve providing tax workshops for students, as Penn State Global is working with experts from Vitam to support students. However, she will continue to manage the Conversation Partners Program and International Speakers Bureau.
Membership – vacant
- Sunny Yunjuan Jiang notified the EC after the general meeting that she would leave her membership chair position.
Cultural Events – Shannon Holliday
- Shannon noted that a cultural event is still ideally planned for January or February but will need to confirm the date with the host. Ciara offered to assist Shannon in arranging venues.
Small groups – Deb Leo
- Deb reported on the progress of the reading groups, mentioning that the beginner group, led by Becky Misangyi, meets on Saturdays and has 4 to 5 attendees. The intermediate advanced group, led by Sharon Hyde and Deb, meets twice a month and has 9 or 10 active members.
- Bob’s discussion group, which meets on Tuesdays, had its last session of the year and will resume in January. The Thursday English class has been suspended for now due to low attendance.
- Deb expressed interest in reviving the poetry night for the spring. She will meet with Elaine Meder-Wilgus at Webster’s Bookstore Café to arrange a date. Deb also suggested collaborating with the Career Pathways Program.
Special Orders – None
Unfinished Business
Covered above: GC website and Wild Apricot and WordPress website combination
New Business
- Automated messages: The EC discussed automatic thank-you messages for dues renewal as well as a tax deduction notification. Bruce will talk to Wild Apricot and inquire about options.
- Alexandra also suggested adding a direct link to the website in that same notification.
- Relationship with Penn State Global: The team discussed the ongoing connection between GC and Penn State Global, particularly concerning email addresses and website links. Bruce clarified that while GC has an active email address under Penn State’s domain, we have sought to direct traffic away from it.
- Bob suggested that once the old Penn State email address is removed from the website and replaced with the new one, there should be no further connection.
- Bob and Alexandra agreed to check the old email address to determine if there is still traffic on it. Rose raised a question about potential implications for GC’s rates on base rentals if the Penn State email address is still linked. Bruce clarified that the team is not discussing programmatic collaborations but rather administrative, technological, and financial matters. Wenjie confirmed that the only two Penn State-related elements currently in use are the website and email address.
- Updating Global Connections Contact Information: The team discussed the issue of outdated contact information for Global Connections, which has been causing confusion and miscommunication. Wenjie shared her experience of receiving calls and emails from organizations with old contact details. Alexandra and Bob helped a student who was struggling to find the Global Connections office.
- Ciara raised a concern about the lack of contact information on the website, suggesting adding a phone number or text line. Bruce and Deb argued against having a phone number due to rotating leadership roles. The group discussed potentially having a chat feature on the website or a transferable business line but recognized the need for consistent monitoring.
- Bruce proposed sending a press release or some form of communication to known channels to update the records. Bob agreed to double-check the postcard GC has been using for accuracy. Bruce committed to researching the list of communication channels and distributing it among the team for revision and addition.
- Effective Communication with the younger generation: The team discussed the need to effectively communicate with a younger generation who prefers text messaging over email. Bruce emphasized the importance of not losing track of this issue, suggesting it be revisited in future discussions such as using a link or information via text for events.
- The team also discussed the need for new flyers once the website and email issues are resolved
Action Items
- Rose to update the GC mail address on the website.
- Print new flyers with GC email address.
- Bob to review and update contact information on the GC website.
- EC team to review website entries for programs and check for accuracy and completeness.
- Rose to investigate combining WordPress and Wild Apricot functionalities.
- Rose to create a page for Executive Committee members’ photos on the website.
- Bob to review the membership website for potential renewals.
- Bruce to research and distribute list of communication channels for GC.
- Deb to organize the poetry night event for early April.
- Bruce and Bob to send all available meeting minutes dating back to March 2019 to Alexandra.
- Alexandra to post minutes to website sequentially.
Next Meeting: TBD
- Next meeting: discuss social media usage – communication to a multi-generational group. Best communication tools.
Meeting adjournment: 08:15 PM
Submitted By: Alexandra Persiko Date of Submission: December 12, 2024