Meeting Date and Time: April 14, 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 (not present)
Membership: vacant
Cultural Events: vacant
Penn State Global Representative
Wenjie Fu (not present)
Call To Order: 7:05 PM
March 10, 2026, EC meeting minutes were accepted as submitted.
Reports of Officers & Standing Committees
– Prior to providing officer and committee reports, Bob invited Destiny Angel and Grace Claus, two Smeal College of Business students assisting with a GC marketing plan, to provide an update. They reported on the following accomplishments:
– Cleaned up the website and made format images.
– Created flyers and posted events of the past years on the website.
– Analyzed survey responses, which reflected that a sense of belonging and human connections matter most when being involved in GC.
– Destiny and Grace suggested posting testimonials on social media to market GC’s mission, vision and why it is meaningful to get involved with the organization.
— This can be done by having flyers for tabling events (e.g., at schools, arts fests, other events, etc.) that feature testimonials and talk about who and what GC stands for, i.e., leaning into the human connection.
Examples could include showcasing what current members do, e.g., what to expect from volunteering. The intention is purposefully to explain and share experiences so that people can see themselves in these activities.
— Rose added that she feels this type of stance will help in advertising for the executive positions that are currently vacant and which we are trying to fill.
– When asked whether it makes sense to hire students again in the future and after Grace and Destiny graduate, both recommended doing so. Additionally, they are happy to provide a transition plan.
President – Bob Persiko
– Bob provided an update on the Kazakh cultural event, which is scheduled for 6PM on May 23.
– The committee discussed the pricing for the event and whether to receive a discounted rate if someone signs up as a GC member. The group deliberated about raising the price to $20 for non-members and $15 for members. After discussing whether to maintain or increase the current pricing structure of $15 and $10, the team agreed to revisit the pricing decision after Grace and Destiny’s report.
– He furthermore reported that he received an online interest from someone in the cultural events position. However, since reaching out, he has not heard more.
Vice President – Ciara Halloran: N/A
Treasurer – Bruce Truitt
– Bruce noted a checking account balance of $4,377 with all bills paid and $18,306 in the money market account.
– Bruce reported a strong fund performance of the Centre Foundation, including a $1,274 spendable balance in the English Literacy Fund and $2,470 in the Global Connections Fund. The Spendable Fund amounts to $736, which he recommended rolling into the operating account while leaving everything else as it is. The motion was approved by the EC. Bruce will therefore contact Krista Williams at the Centre Foundation to inform her.
— The discussion included considerations about tuition increases at Mid-State Literacy Council and the potential impact on future funding needs, with Bruce noting that if the account balance continues its current growth, it could support funding scholarships in perpetuity within 3 to 5 years.
– He reported that the Centre County nonprofit organizations list has been compiled and that he has started to compile an accurate contact point for each organization.
– He remarked that the Citizenship Test is ready to be deployed and asked Rose to assist in posting it on various media channels, including our website.
– Bruce suggested listing a recipe in newsletter editions, which would add a nice touch. Rose recommended a call for recipe submissions from potluck attendees.
– Bruce mentioned that the Harris Township Community Organization is no longer an action item due to their facilities not being large enough to accommodate GC meetings or events.
Secretary – Alexandra Persiko
– Alexandra said that Rose posted past minutes to the newly designed website. Rose confirmed that they go back to 2019.
– Alexandra and Rose will meet in order for Alexandra to learn about the posting of future minutes.
Public Relations – Rose Sharp
– Rose plans to compile a newsletter in early May, which will include highlighting the Kazakh cultural event on May 23 and Centre Gives information.
– She shared her thoughts on illustrating what a GC membership covers and what benefits members receive besides a cultural meal discount and picnic access. This led to an overall discussion about membership benefits and strategic direction.
— Points included intangible benefits and highlighting what might get new members excited about being part of GC, e.g., the mission, scholarship activities, philanthropy, the uniqueness of GC. We therefore need to have more spotlights and engaging stories.
— An additional takeaway is to focus on a fewer but more consistent events at predictable intervals during the year such as cultural dinners, picnics and the poetry evening, rather than expanding programming. Furthermore, this focus needs to be paired with an emphasis on a strong executive board to ensure organizational sustainability.
Penn State Representative – Wenjie Fu: N/A
Small Groups – Deb Leo: N/A
Special Orders – None
Unfinished Business — None
New Business – see Officer Reports
Action Items/Old
Bob
– Contact Claudia Wilson regarding her membership renewal and resolve the Wild Apricot transaction issue.
– Talk to Wenjie about planning the summer picnic (joint event) for July.
– Focus on a Scottish theme event in the future.
– Send information about host families for exchange students to OLLI (Adult Learning) and the United Nations Association for advertising help.
Bruce
– Complete development of active and accurate organizational contact points for the whittled-down Centre County nonprofit organization list.
– Look through historical program information for useful details to help define organizational identity and programming.
– Send information to Rose regarding financial transfer details.
– Request the transfer of $736 from the Centre Foundation in the Spendable Fund to our operating account. Note: completed as of 4/15/26.
– Continue monitoring the email account for traffic control (per George Rainey email account discussion).
Rose
– Newsletter: include the May 23 cultural meal and Centre Gives campaign. Advertize those via social media and flyers. Set up the Wild Apricot registration for the Kazakh event.
– Look up last year’s summer picnic date to help with planning this year’s event.
– Upload the citizenship test practice materials to the website.
– Add photos from the poetry evening to the website.
– Meet with Alexandra to instruct her about the uploading of minutes to the website.
Alexandra
– Circulate the meeting minutes and upload them to the website after meeting with Rose.
Grace
– Reach out to her MBA friend about potential interest in joining the marketing/advertising support for next year.
Next Meeting: May 12, 2026
Meeting adjournment: 8:18PM
Submitted By: Alexandra Persiko Date of Submission: April 20, 2026
