October 2025

Rose Sharp
Meeting Agendas and Minutes

Meeting Date and Time: October 21, 2025, 7:00 PM

Location: Zoom

Officers Present

President: Bob Persiko

Treasurer: Bruce Truitt 

Public Relations Officer: Rose Sharp

Secretary: Alexandra Persiko

Not Present

Vice President: Ciara Halloran

Committee Chairs

Small Groups: Deb Leo

Membership: Anisha Mukherjee

Penn State Global Representative

Wenjie Fu

Call To Order: 7:04 PM

September 16, 2025, EC meeting minutes were accepted as submitted.  

Reports of Officers & Standing Committees

President – Bob Persiko

  • Bob talked about meeting with two marketing students (Destiny and Grace) to discuss the GC marketing plan.  He had been joined by Rose and Alexandra at the meeting.
  • We have an interest in hosting a Sri Lankan cultural event by a community member who attended the October 4 picnic and proposed the idea to Bob.  He will follow up and asked for volunteers to take charge of organizing the event and working with the woman who made the suggestion.
  • Bob mentioned that he was approached by Kelly Kersten, who is currently hosting a student from North Macedonia who would be happy to do a presentation as part of International Education Week on November 19. Two other international students will also present on their countries. Bob will develop a plan to share with our members.
  • Bob shared details about a fundraising event called “Women Who Care” and mentioned meeting with Susan Steinberg on October 28 to learn more.
  • He reported on the upcoming November 12 annual meeting, which will require sending out save-the-date notices and follow-up reminders, as well as the agenda, bios, and minutes to members.  We will need at least ten members for a quorum. 
  • No EC meeting in November otherwise.

Vice President – Ciara Halloran

  •  N/A

Treasurer – Bruce Truitt

  • Bruce shared the current financial status, noting a checking account balance of $7,377 and $18,297 in the money market.   
  • Bruce presented a randomized civics test question generator that he created, which can be used to test knowledge of U.S. Naturalization Citizenship Test questions. The group discussed potential uses for the tool, including embedding it in newsletters and websites, and using it for tabling events with small incentives like candy. Bruce agreed to make some formatting adjustments to improve visibility, such as increasing cell sizes. He will report back with a revised tool.

Secretary – Alexandra Persiko

  • Alexandra reported on a meeting with Rose and Wenjie re a December engagement/holiday event.  See report by Rose.
  • She will continue to distribute the meeting minutes to the EC and post these once a new website has been launched.

Public Relations – Rose Sharp

  • Rose provided an update on her explorations into a new website.  Rose explained that she cannot create a prototype due to the website being in a published state and proposed to coordinate with the marketing students for a seamless update process.  This will entail a website downtime, most likely during December.
  • Rose and Wenjie discussed plans for a December 6/7th event collaboration between Global Connections and the Community Engagement Programs, featuring warm drinks and a dessert potluck. They had discussed the idea with Alexandra during the week.
    • They agreed to hold a raffle for a burr basket filled with items like candles, hot chocolate, and candy, with proceeds benefiting the Global Connections Literacy Fund.
    • The event will likely be held in the afternoon at a downtown venue, with Abba Java being considered as a potential host location. Ideally, this would be free or at a low cost, and in a convenient location.
    • Rose will create an announcement for the event to be included in the newsletter and post it on Wild Apricot for registration.

Penn State Representative – Wenjie Fu

  • Wenjie discussed the promotion of the Conversation Partners Program, which is struggling to find native English-speaking volunteers despite a long waiting list of international students. She shared that the Penn State Global Marketing & Communications team helped create a small advertisement on a CATA bus with a QR code linking to a sign-up form. Wenjie also mentioned plans to collaborate with local news companies for further promotion.
    • The number of Conversation Partners amounted to more than 300/year prior to the pandemic.  Nowadays, it hovers around 150-200/year.   

Membership – Anisha Mukherjee  

  • Anisha mentioned that she intends to go through the membership list on Wild Apricot by Thanksgiving break.
  • Multicultural Unity Fair: Anisha plans to have a table with items from the Lion Bash. The intention is to advertise what we do.  GC is table 10 on the second floor, with Penn State Global located on the first floor.  Note: unfortunately, GC will not be able to attend the fair after all due to unforeseen circumstances.

Small Groups – Deb Leo

  • Deb reported that the book group is going very well.   The intermediate group is full and there could be a need for a new co-ed leader.  Deb will follow up with a potential new member named Starla who will attend the next book group meeting on October 30th.
  • She mentioned that she sat next to the person interested in a Scottish cultural luncheon, and will contact Ciara about a venue (e.g., Centre Link).
  • Deb talked about the idea of collaborating with Elaine at Webster’s for an international fashion show.  This might be an idea for the future in the fall (e.g., 2026).

.

Special Orders – None

Unfinished Business – None

See Nov. 12 meeting items, website continuation, marketing plan.

New Business – see Officer Reports

Action Items

  • Bob:
    • Plan for the November 12th annual membership meeting and circulate it to the team.  This includes a save-the-date, agenda, minutes, bios, and a follow-up reminder.   
  • Forward contact information to marketing graduate students for interviews/surveys.
  • Ask marketing students to send interview protocol/questions in draft form for review.
  • Meet with Susan Steinberg next Tuesday to discuss “Women Who Care” fundraising event.
  • Continue organizing the November 19th International Education Week presentation with Kelly Kersten’s student from Macedonia.
  • Pursue the possibility of a Sri Lankan themed cultural event.
  • Bruce
    • Develop and embed revised citizenship test generator in a resource document in the newsletter and on the website.
  • Rose
    • Take down the website and announce a timeline for the upgrade after having talked with Destiny and Grace.
    • Send out the newsletter by October 28.
      • Include a reminder about the November 12th annual meeting, Linda Barton’s fund appeal, and Oct. 4 picnic photos.
  • Reach out to Abba Java, Common Space on Frasier and municipality building about a venue for the December 6/7th event.
    • Put the event announcement in the newsletter and post on Wild Apricot.
  • Alexandra
    • Circulate the meeting minutes and hold them for posting until a new website is activated.  
  • Anisha:
    • Review the Wild Apricot to update the contact list and archive inactive members by Thanksgiving break.
    • Attend the Multicultural Unity Fair on Saturday with promotional materials from line bash (Update: GC will not be able to have a table at the fair due to unforeseen circumstances).
  • Deb
    • Follow up with Ciara about Centre Link venue availability.
    • Talk to Elaine at Webster’s about collaborating on international fashion show.
    • Inquire further about a person interested in leading one of the book groups.
  • Wenjie
    • Forward physical mail from Pennsylvania Department of Revenue to Bruce.

Next Meeting: Nov 12 Annual meeting

Meeting adjournment: 7:55 PM

Submitted By: Alexandra Persiko                                Date of Submission: October 31, 2025