February 18, Global Connections (GC) Executive Committee (EC) Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date and Time: Tuesday, February 18, 2025, 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
Small Groups: Deb Leo
Penn State Global Representative (not present)
Call To Order: 7:05 PM
December 11, 2024, EC meeting minutes were accepted as submitted.
Reports of Officers & Standing Committees
President – Bob Persiko
- Bob discussed the upcoming two-factor verification on Wild Apricot, set to start on March 31st, and the need for members to ensure their phone numbers are listed in their profiles.
- He reported on the lack of progress in filling the vacant Membership Committee chair position despite some initial interest.
Vice President – Ciara Halloran
See information under “Cultural Events”
Treasurer – Bruce Truitt
- Bruce reported that $6,200 is in the checking and approximately $18,000 in the money market account.
- Bruce also discussed the number of scholarships for the Mid-State Literacy Council
- He proposed sponsoring four scholarship recipients based on GC’s ability to sponsor them. Those present agreed.
- Bruce will coordinate the effort with Bridget Schell, Executive Director of the Mid-State Literary Council.
Secretary – Alexandra Persiko
- Alexandra reported that she uploaded all annual and EC meeting minutes in chronological order on the GC website going back to November 2019.
- She plans on deleting archived minutes that are duplicative for a cleaner look.
- Alexandra also offered help to Rose should she need any.
- She mentioned that Bruce and she monitor the email channel for any inquiries.
Public Relations – Rose Sharp
- Rose discussed her work on a mock flyer for GC that can be used as a table stand and the flyer for the International Poetry Night on April 3. Additional photos should be available on the Google Drive.
- She will release the newsletter, which will include the annual and financial report, by the end of February and plans on having a spotlight interview featuring Alexandra Persiko as GC Secretary.
- The team discussed the need for updating contact information on their website and creating a page for executive committee member photos. The executive committee is asked to send their photos to Rose.
Penn State Representative – not present
- The team discussed the challenges of the integration of Penn State’s WordPress site and the functionalities of Wild Apricot. They considered the possibility of having one website to manage but encountered limitations due to the connection to Penn State.
- Ultimately, this has not posed a real problem, and no action is currently required.
Membership – vacant
- Bob has reviewed and will continue to review the membership list, noting that there are 203 contacts and 48 active members (i.e., those who have paid their dues).
- He also mentioned the need to focus on the contacts list and will send out reminders to those who have not paid their dues.
Cultural Events – Ciara provided information in lieu of Shannon
- The Persian cultural event is scheduled for April 26 at 12:30.
- Two spaces are available:
- Center Lifelink (East College Ave), a large space where food, however, has to be cooked prior (i.e., not a full kitchen). Space is available for $50 for a three-hour time slot. In summary: convenient at a great price.
- Alternatively: Boalsburg Fire Company: space available for 50+ attendees, with a full kitchen at $100. The location is a great “event location.”
- Additionally, the Bridge of Hope space is a possibility for smaller events.
- Ciara proposed to create a regular schedule of events and book four dates in advance. Cancellations are possible without any penalty.
- Would Liqaa Hamzah consider helping/facilitating this event and maybe others? Ciara will reach out to her.
- Overall: create a regular schedule for cultural luncheons/events. Ciara will sketch out a schedule/dates. Center Lifelink sounds like the more opportune and conducive location. It can also be used for other social events (e.g., one-hour meet and greet/social events).
Small groups – Deb Leo
- Deb reported that she and Rose have worked on the organization of the upcoming Poetry Night to be held at Webster’s on Thursday, April 3, at 7PM. Bruce will be handling the audio, as in years past.
- The flyer looks great and is similar to last year’s.
- Rose will create the event on Wild Apricot for sign-up and post the flyer on Instagram, Facebook, the Global Gazette and other platforms. She aims to have the link ready by February 21.
- We will follow the same process as in the past by having presenters read a poem in their native language, provide a translation, and the rationale for having chosen the poem.
- Bob and Debbie will start reaching out to their groups for volunteers.
Small Group Discussion:
- Bob will meet with his group on the last Wednesday of February for a social gathering. While 20 are on the list, usually six participate.
Special Orders – None
Unfinished Business — None
New Business
- Enhancing Community Engagement: The team discussed strategies for engaging their community and enhancing membership. These could include hosting regular events, such as game or cultural nights, to foster a sense of community and encourage participation. Other ideas include the following: combining a membership meeting with a cultural tasting event, where members could bring and share dishes from their respective cultures; partnering with existing university clubs and organizations to host events, such as a tea ceremony or a cheese tasting night. The goal is to create a more consistent and accessible way to engage with members, reducing the burden of organizing large-scale events like cultural luncheons.
- Ciara suggested she meet with mayor Nanes re Ukrainian events given the partnership with the city of Nizhyn.
Action Items
- Ciara to send list on regular event suggestions – to be discussed at the next meeting in March
- Rose:
- Send out information about International Poetry Night via social media, news outlets and listservs and to send the press release to the board.
- Update the GC mail address on the website.
- Create a page for Executive Committee members’ photos on the website.
- Bob and Deb to recruit volunteers for International Poetry Night.
- Bob to review and follow up with members from the contacts list.
- Bruce to develop and circulate a draft of automatic thank you notes for dues renewal.
- Alexandra to clean up duplicative archived minutes on the GC website.
- All:
- Send a photo to Rose for the executive committee member page.
- Check profiles on Wild Apricot to ensure phone numbers are listed for the 2-factor verification.
Next Meeting: TBD
- Discuss regular event suggestions, cycles, and venues.
Meeting adjournment: 08:05 PM
Submitted By: Alexandra Persiko Date of Submission: February 20, 2025