Meeting Date and Time: August 11, 2026, 7:00 PM
Location: Zoom
Officers Present
President: Bob Persiko
Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
Secretary: Alexandra Persiko
Public Relations Officer: Rose Sharp
Not Present: Vice President, Ciara Halloran
Committee Chairs
Small Groups: Deb Leo
Membership: vacant
Cultural Events: Jordan Durst
Penn State Global Representative
Wenjie Fu: not present
Call To Order: 7:02 PM
July 14, 2026, EC meeting minutes were accepted as submitted.
Reports of Officers & Standing Committees
President – Bob Persiko
- Bob mentioned a potential security issue with Wild Apricot where someone was attempting to access the platform through donation transactions. Bruce confirmed that none of the attempted transactions were successful as they were double-entered and offsetting, and the system appears to have stopped these attempts after high traffic on August 4-5. Bob agreed to investigate limiting donations to members only as a potential solution, though the team noted this might affect member registration processes.
- Bob noted that Ciara will be stepping down as Vice President and that GC will need to find a replacement.
Vice President – Ciara Halloran, N/A
Treasurer – Bruce Truitt
- Bruce noted a checking account balance of $5,732 and $18,312 in the money market account. All bills have been paid.
- Bruce also confirmed that a previous transaction issue with the Centre Foundation had been resolved.
Secretary – Alexandra Persiko
- Nothing new to report.
Public Relations – Rose Sharp
- Rose shared that the reservation for the September 27 picnic is all set and that she updated the original flyer. She will furthermore advertise the event on social media.
- She mentioned that she changed the heading on the website from “Meeting Notes” to “News and Notes” and that she will start posting all newsletters on the website with the August 2026 edition.
- She also told the group that the newsletter will be sent to organizations that Bruce had culled.
- Rose presented a double-sided flyer design created by Grace for tabling and events, featuring a postcard-sized format with information about joining and programming details. The group discussed revisions to postcard content and event terminology.
- Book groups: Deb recommended that GC should use “ESL Women’s Book Groups” rather than just “Women’s International Book Groups,” as currently shown on the website.
- Change “Cultural Luncheons and Dinners” to “Cultural Events” and add “Social Gatherings” as another category. Rose suggested including language about member involvement similar to the book group section.
- Keep “Poetry Night” as a separate highlighted item rather than incorporating it into the cultural events category.
- The team also discussed updating the postcards with additional contact information, including the GC email and potentially the P.O. box address in small print.
- Rose suggested placing an initial order of 50-100.
Penn State Representative – Wenjie Fu N/A
Cultural Events — Jordan Durst
- Jordan shared that she has a Ghanian colleague who may be interested in hosting an event. She also offered to reach out to the Penn State African student organization about future events.
- She mentioned “Co-Space” (https://thecospace.com), a group from diverse backgrounds that lives in an intentional community, as a group that may be interested in collaborating with GC for cultural events and dinners.
- Bob suggested aiming for an October luncheon date, and Jordan agreed to provide this timeline to the CoSpace manager. Bob offered to send Jordan Ciara’s contact information to check with her on her Scottish contact for a potential Scottish event.
- Debbie agreed to follow up with Fatma about a potential Turkish meal event after school starts.
Small Groups – Deb Leo
- Deb reported on the book group naming and expressed preference to keep her existing women’s group exclusive, citing cultural comfort levels and past experience with only two male inquiries over years of leading. After debate, the executive committee agreed to rephrase the description as “ESL book groups” with specific mention of “women’s beginner group” and “women’s intermediate group,” while also adding language about opportunities for new book group leaders to accommodate future co-ed or men’s groups.
Special Orders – None
Unfinished Business — None
- The team reviewed outstanding action items from the July meeting, including archiving newsletters starting with the August issue and posting selected newsletters on the website, which Rose confirmed was already in progress.
- Bruce reported that the postcard development was addressing flyer distribution needs for the school district.
- Debbie confirmed she had sent poetry event photos to Rose for uploading.
Action Items
Bob
- Look into whether donations can be limited to members only in Wild Apricot and implement the change if possible.
- Investigate if Wild Apricot can provide an alternative communication for non-members attempting to donate.
- Send Jordan the email contact for the Scottish contact.
- Set the date for the annual membership meeting for November 12, 2026, which will entail a general meeting and election of officers. Provide language for advertisement in the newsletter.
- Approach current officers individually about their willingness to continue for the next term.
Bruce
- Provide information on the Central Ukrainian festival to Rose, who will advertise the event in the newsletter.
Alexandra
- Circulate the meeting minutes and upload them to the website.
Deb
- Follow up with Fatma regarding contacts for a potential Turkish meal.
Jordan
- Follow up with the CoSpace house manager in early September regarding potential Cultural Events and share information about the picnic.
- Reach out to the African Students’ Association at Penn State for potential collaboration on a cultural event.
Rose
- Finalize and send out the August newsletter by the end of the business week, including the updated picnic flyer and information about the Central PA Ukrainian Festival.
- Update the new Global Connections postcard with agreed-upon changes (e.g., “ESL Book Groups”, “Cultural Events”, etc.) and order a small initial print run (50-100 copies).
- Add the organization’s email and P.O. box to the new flyer.
- Upload the August newsletter to the website once it is sent out.
All
- Send the newsletter to personal contacts when it is released.
Next Meeting: October 13, 2026
Meeting adjournment: 8:02PM
Submitted By: Alexandra Persiko Date of Submission: August 21, 2026