October 13, 2026, Global Connections (GC) Executive Committee (EC) Meeting Minutes
Meeting Date and Time: October 13, 2026, 7:00 PM
Location: Zoom
Officers Present
President: Bob Persiko
Vice President: Ciara Halloran
Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
Secretary: Alexandra Persiko
Public Relations Officer: Rose Sharp
Committee Chairs
Small Groups: Deb Leo (not present)
Membership: vacant
Cultural Events: Jordan Durst
Penn State Global Representative
Wenjie Fu: not present
Call To Order: 7:05 PM
August 11, 2026, EC meeting minutes were accepted as submitted.
Reports of Officers & Standing Committees
President – Bob Persiko
- Bob mentioned that he will send a draft agenda and notes about the upcoming annual meeting on November 12.
- Bruce clarified that financial reporting would occur at the end of the fiscal year in January, not at the annual meeting.
- United Nations Dinner, October 25: Ciara, Jordan, plus potentially Sukru and two Ukrainians in attendance. He suggested that Jordan bring GC postcards to display at the event’s round tables.
Vice President – Ciara Halloran
- Nothing new to report.
Treasurer – Bruce Truitt
- Bruce noted a checking account balance of $4,463 and $18,314 in the money market account. All bills have been paid.
- He has finalized a grant application for $2,370 through the Equitable & Inclusive Communities Fund to provide scholarships to non-native English speakers, emigres, and refugees to support their learning English through the Mid-State Literacy Council. These scholarships help remove financial barriers to education, employment opportunities, and greater independence in our community.
Secretary – Alexandra Persiko
- Nothing new to report.
Public Relations – Rose Sharp
- Rose confirmed that the Turkish dinner is scheduled for November 7th from 6-7:30 PM and discussed updates to the event planning, including creating a new Canva account under the organization’s name and renaming email templates in Wild Apricot for better organization.
- The link is active for RSVPs ($15 and $20 for non-members).
- Bruce provided comments for inclusion in the flyer.
- The team agreed that Rose would circulate the final flyer to everyone for wider distribution once completed.
- Bob asked that EC members formally register for the event and pay the $15 member cost for the event to ensure an accurate head count and adequate funding.
- The group addressed a request from the State College Area School District regarding distribution of an administrative directory card, with the district asking about the target audience and whether to include students. The group debated whether to include students as a target audience, with Ciara and Bob noting they typically do not target minors, though there was some discussion about potential exceptions for high school students with parental involvement.
- Rose reported progress on executive team spotlights shared on social media and planned to send out a current newsletter by the end of the week to both members and nonprofit organizations identified by Bruce.
- Rose noted they she has not heard back from Emily Ball regarding a potential role as graduate student assistant and discussed finding another candidate with proactive communication skills similar to Shea-Geneau Pasha. Bob sent a follow-up message to Emily, but she hasn’t responded.
Penn State Representative – Wenjie Fu N/A
Cultural Events — Jordan Durst
- Jordan reported reaching out to Mrs. Gibney about planning the upcoming Scottish dinner in January, aiming to have someone confirmed by early December. The team agreed to continue pursuing four dinners per year.
Small Groups – Deb Leo (written update)
- Deb reported that the intermediate book group has seven very consistent participants, and that they have been borrowing some discussion book kits from the library since this group has read all the books in the GC library already. The group really enjoys the discussions and book choices.
Special Orders – None
Unfinished Business — None
Action Items
Bob
- Send a message to all EC Members about the November 12th annual meeting, including roles needed, and the draft agenda for comments.
- Investigate if Wild Apricot can limit donations to members only and if alternative communication can be provided for non-members attempting to donate.
- Send the final Turkish dinner flyer to the team for distribution to their own contacts.
- Include the Wild Apricot registration link when sending the Turkish dinner flyer to contacts.
Bruce
- Follow up with Alix Crosswell re high school students’ involvement as members of Global Connections.
- Incorporate any final comments on the grant application by the October 19, 2026, deadline.
Alexandra
- Circulate the meeting minutes and upload them to the website.
Jordan
- Email Rose to set up a time to pick up the postcards for the UN Day dinner.
- Reach out to Mrs. Gibney again to start planning the Scottish dinner in January, with the goal of having someone set by early December.
- Explore getting the Turkish dinner event listed on WPSU’s community calendar and the Centre Daily Times.
- Work with Rose to create a Facebook event for the Turkish dinner.
Rose
- Finalize and send out the October newsletter by the end of the business week, including the list of nonprofit organizations provided by Bruce, and post it to the website.
- Create a new Canva account under the organization’s nonprofit status to replace the one attached to a former exec member’s email.
- Reach out to the graduate school team to ask for another candidate for the role Emily declined.
- Edit the Turkish dinner flyer.
Next Meeting: Annual meeting on November 12 (7PM on Zoom)
Meeting adjournment: 7:38PM
Submitted By: Alexandra Persiko Date of Submission: October 19, 2026