June 12, 2024, Global Connections (GC) Executive Committee (EC) Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Voting members: Bruce Truitt, Debbie Leo, Marco Damasceno, Sunny Jiang, Yagmur Turker

Non-voting members: Bob Persiko

Call to order at 7:05 PM.

May meeting minutes were accepted as submitted.

Reports of officers:

Acting Vice President Bob Persiko

• Bob noted that he should be listed as a non-voting member due to his roles as past president and current interim acting president. He emphasized that he is a proposer and not a voter.
• Bob announced Kieran’s intent to resign, received via a brief message from Brazil. Details are scarce, but his letter of resignation is anticipated.

Treasurer, Bruce Truitt

Bruce highlighted significant financial contributions:

• A donation of $358.68 from the Center County United Way, attributed to Penn State employee deductions.
• An unexpected donation of $848.33 from a partnership involving Give Local and Kish Bank, related to credit and debit card processing fees at State College International Market. Bruce mentioned that the Give Local initiative might continue to provide similar donations annually unless there are changes in the partnerships or agreements.

• Bruce highlighted the significant financial outcomes from the recent Centre Gives campaign. There was an 80.22% increase in average per capita donations compared to the previous year. Total contributions increased by 65.2%, rising from $885 last year to $1,462 this year. The campaign also received stretch funds from the Hamer Foundation, which were distributed on a proportional basis among all participating organizations, leading to a total gift of $1,858.98 for the campaign.

• Bruce noted that these contributions broke the previous year’s record and expressed satisfaction with the results.
• Bruce mentioned that the campaign’s earnings represent between 25% to 33% of GC’s annual budget, which typically ranges from $5,000 to $7,500.
• The funds are critical for supporting the scholarships under the English Language Literacy Program.
• Bruce also informed the committee that the distribution of funds from the English Language Literacy Program set up at the Center Foundation is expected to occur in August. This timing aligns well with funding scholarships for the fall semester.

Public relations – Marco Damasceno

• Marco reported that he was finalizing the newsletter and coordinating with Bruce and Bob for content review and proofreading.
• Bob reported on the unsuccessful attempt to recruit a potential candidate for a PR position, noting that there had been no response to his efforts.
• Marco discussed another potential candidate he had considered for the position. She eventually declined the opportunity, citing inability to commit. Marco expressed his intention to remain proactive in seeking suitable candidates and to keep the recruitment process active. Consequently, the search for this position continues.
• Bruce proposed seeking an internship collaboration with Penn State’s marketing or advertising programs to attract social media and marketing volunteers.
• The committee discussed utilizing personal contacts and local educational institutions to recruit interns.

Small Groups – Debbie Leo

• Deb reported that book reading groups will have their last meeting on June 13^th before summer break.
• Bob noted that both English class and discussion group are going to have summer break, too. They will resume in August.

Unfinished business

• Bruce is nearing completion of the revisions to the bylaws and standing rules, with plans to distribute them soon for executive committee review.

New Business

• Discussion on managing the transition after Kieran’s resignation, focusing on maintaining leadership continuity and filling vacancies.
• Bob shared plans to draft an announcement for the general membership about the leadership vacancies and the process for filling them.

Action Items

• Bob will share the flyer of July 27^th
• Bruce will finalize and distribute revised bylaws for executive committee review.
• Marco will complete and share the newsletter.
• Marco will promote the July potluck event through the website and social media.
• Bob will prepare the announcement about leadership vacancies and recruitment strategy.
• GC will continue monitoring Kieran’s situation regarding his formal resignation.
• Deb will look into the possibility of a second poetry evening this year.

• The EC will further discuss a possible GC role in the July 10, 2024, Arts Festival Children and Youth Festival events five (5) different cultural performances and five (5) cultural tables from 10 am – 3 pm).

• Shannon will report back on her efforts to find a cultural event date acceptable to Ciara, Laura, Sunny, and her.
• Shannon will pursue and provide additional information on a Dominican, Iranian, and Scottish cultural event and on available dates at the Unitarian Brotherhood Church.

The next meeting was scheduled for the second Wednesday of the following month at 7 PM.

Meeting adjournment: 7:43

Minutes prepared by Yagmur Turker

June 14, 2023:  Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Voting members: Bob Persiko, Bruce Truitt, Melanie Miller Foster, Anna Borisova de Valdez, Deb Leo, Shannon Holliday.

Call to order at 7:09 PM. May minutes were accepted as submitted.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob

Bob reported:

1. Kieran attended a luncheon offered by the borough in which GC was honored. Moreover, GC got a $500 donation from the Borough for its excellent work. 
2. Bob has so far not succeeded in getting an Iranian team to cook at a possible Iranian luncheon. He’ll keep trying.
3. Rita stepped down from being the membership committee chair. Bob will be looking for a replacement. There are 96 members in WA, and 91 of them are active members, 188 contacts (250 is the limit).
4. Anna is going to step down from being the secretary in August/September 2023. Bob will be looking for a replacement.

 Vice President – Kieran – absent

Treasurer – Bruce

Bruce reported:

1. GC’s current balance in the checking account is $5,009 and $31,000 in the money market.
2. Major bills of GC have been paid.

Public relations, website, and social media – Marco – absent

Penn State Global  – Wenjie Fu – absent

Cultural Luncheons Committee – Shannon Holiday

Shannon has a negotiation with Unitarian Fellowship Church to utilize their facilities for GC luncheons with a feasible discounted rate.

2-3 luncheons are planned to be organized in 2023. The dates are still to be determined.

Possible luncheons:

1. Scotland: the executive director of Hope Center County (Scottish) is willing to host, cater and provide a presentation.
2. Japan: the pastor’s wife of the United Methodist Church has agreed to host it in their facility and cater a Sushi bar.
3. Africa: working on

Small Groups – Debbie Leo

1. The book groups (beginners and intermediate/advanced level) are on summer break till the end of August.
2. Number of members this year increased, and each group will try to attain ten members.

Unfinished business:

Centre Gives: Bob proposed that GC will use the money received during the Center Gives to sponsor scholarships for English classes for immigrant family adults through the Mid State Literacy Council. GC will make those recipients members of GC. If this pilot is successful it could become an annual project.

Motion: Bob

Seconded: Shannon

Discussions: none

The Motion passes. Bob will negotiate terms with the Literacy Council and report back to EC members.

New Business

1. Bruce said that the Google Drive of GC needs to be put in order. Decisions need to be made: Who should have oversight of the site? Should we delete old documents? Should we limit what gets posted? Should we share links with EC/publish on GC Website? Bob offered to go through the documents and delete old ones. Melanie said that a previous secretary had culled a lot. Bruce said that it’s important to make one person responsible for maintenance. It could be a responsibility of the Secretary. Melanie cautioned that we not overload too much on the Secretary. Anna agreed that this could be assigned to the Secretary, but she noted that a new Secretary would not know what is important. It was decided to assign this as a secretarial responsibility. Access to all documents needs to be given to all EC members. Make the Drive a repository of all key documents. The Bylaws and Standing Rules only provide vague guidance on such responsibilities. Bob will draft a list of duties and responsibilities of the secretarial position and circulate it to the EC members for consideration. Bruce will review the Standing Rules to see how they can be amended to reflect what the Secretary should do.
2. Discussion on Membership Picnic was tabled to a future meeting.
3. State College Spikes baseball home game on June 21. Need an event reminder to be sent to all members.

Meeting adjournment: 8:15

Prepared and submitted by Anna Borisova de Valdez 06/25/2023 with edits by Bob Persiko, 6/26/23.           

The following GC EC meetings will be in August.

May 10, 2023: Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Voting members: Bob Persiko, Kieran Holland, Bruce Truitt, Marco Damasceno, Anna Borisova de Valdez, Deb Leo, Shannon Holliday.

Call to order at 7:10 PM. April minutes were accepted as submitted.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob

Bob reported:

1. Discussion group (members + families and friends) held a picnic and went hiking on Saturday, May 6, at Stone Valley Recreation Area/ Lake Perez; around 30 people attended the event. Marco will post pictures in GC’s social media after the Centre Gives campaign ends.
2. Bob is regularly receiving and responding to emails with requests for help with translating and other services.
3. There was a meeting of the ad hoc committee (Bob, Bruce, and Kieran) working on archiving inactive members in Wild Apricot. WA:188 contacts, 96 members with 91 active members. They have been emailing many of them, asking them to renew or let the GC know that their membership can lapse. Then, as the committee gets their answers, decides their status. Some remain active, some stay non-member contacts, another 100 or so are archived, and others have been deleted altogether. The committee is still defining criteria for these categories and is working on recruiting a person to help monitor members’ status as their circumstances change.
4. In the summer, GC EC meetings will be in June and August.

Vice President – Kieran

Treasurer – Bruce

Bruce reported:

1. GC’s current balance on the checking account is around $4,600.
2. Saudi Arabian Cultural Luncheon resulted in a $530 loss.
3. “Central Gives” $260 (6 donors) – as of that moment.

Public relations, website, and social media – Marco

1. Marco launched an advertising campaign for “Centre Gives” and will reinforce it before the end of it.
2. Sabrina posted a newsletter with the information “CG.”
3. Bob passed the Penn State Global newsletter to Marco.

Penn State Global  – Wenjie Fu – absent

Cultural Luncheons Committee – Shannon Holiday

1. Shannon met with new GC member (Ciara Halloran), who expressed an interest in being on the committee and assisting with organizing future cultural luncheons.
2. After the Saudi Arabian Cultural Luncheon, GC needs to reconsider the parameters of the next luncheons (additional discussion is pending!)
3. Cheaper venue (work on cost efficiency in general; think about Borough Building as a venue)
4. Time (evenings?)
5. Day (weekends?)
6. Advanced advertising/marketing budget. Kieran offered to print flyers for luncheons (2 weeks prior) to distribute at Ten Thousand Villages.
7. Separate payment of membership and payment of attending the luncheon at the luncheon itself (see new business).
8. Themes being considered for next luncheons:
9. Scotland
10. Japan (Shannon is exploring the basement of United Methodist Church)
11. Iran

Membership – Rita– absent

Small Groups – Debbie Leo

1. The book groups (advanced and intermediate level) will have a summer break.
2. Number of members this year increased.
3. Bob said the discussion group and English class will meet periodically in June and August and likely take a break during July.

Unfinished business:

Centre Gives (see discussion above)

New Business

Proposal:  Increase the price of membership for 2024 (January 1^st of 2024) from $10 to $20 per regular member.

Reasoning: economic situation, inflation, insufficient revenue from other sources, etc.

Motion: Bob

Seconded: Kieran

Discussions: none

The motion passed unanimously.

Discussion on incentives and discounts related to GC activities was tabled to a future meeting.

There’s a State College Spikes baseball home game on June 21. Bob will write the note for the May newsletter, website and social media posting.

Meeting adjournment: 8:02

Prepared and submitted by Anna Borisova de Valdez 05/12/2023 with edits by Bob Persiko, 5/14/23

September 14 Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Voting members: Bob Persiko, Bruce Truitt, Shannon Holliday, Melanie Miller Foster

Non-voting members: Marco Damasceno, Anna Borisova de Valdez

Call to order at 7:09 PM. September minutes were accepted as submitted.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob

Bob suggested organizing more:

1. In-person activities with members, like the picnic + hiking on October, 8.
2. Revenue-generating activities for the organization (indoor events).

Annual meeting will consist (45 min):

1. General report – Bob
2. Finance report – Bruce
3. Election
4. No cultural presentation this time

Melanie suggested to use agenda from the previous year annual meeting because that meeting was organized well.

Melanie asked to put a specific call to show members what needs are and how can people contribute. Bob suggested to ask members to join committee and committee will divide rolls.

Bob commented that small groups work very actively. There are two new members who came from English group.

Vice President – Kieran Holland – absent, doing the telephone duty at WPSU for fundrising

Treasurer – Bruce Truitt

Bruce reported:

1. $6 000.00 in a checking account
2. Paid annual subscription of WA – $648.00+around $5-$10 per month of transaction fees
3. Bruce asked about the disposition of several gift certificates and gift cards. There are three certificates (2017) from the Rey Azteca Mexican Restaurant, which are still valid. Two of them were presented to one member and Marco for their great help during the work at the Multicultural Unity Fair. There is one more certificate is available and 3-4 gift cards. Shannon suggested using it as a present in some ruffle.
4. Bruce announced the need of making a decision about increasing the plan of contacts in WA due to Rita’s concerns. Were decided that Rita should be present to clarify the situation. Melanie thinks that WA makes easier for volunteers doing administration work and cheaper in comparison with the salary of an employee. To make a decision it should be a quorum. Melanie noted that GC should think about to opportunity to share tools for taking responsibility and rights to some members, who want to be more active. Bob suggested arranging a meeting with Bruce and Rita to discuss some unclarities about WA and after to organize a vote with executive members, probably via E-votes between meetings.
5. Bruce submitted request: one member requested assistance with CHIP application for the child. Bob will try to ask help of
6. Membership renewal notice will go automatically to the members on WA in December and be affected on January 1st, 2023.

Secretary – Maryam – absent. Anna Borisova de Valdez

Public relations, website, and social media –Marco

Will be a post about the picnic and the hike of the discussion group. Marco will photoshop a person, who asked to not publish him on social nets. Information about candidates for election is prepared. Need to be ready before October, 25^th

Anna suggested using statistical information of contacts from WA making a post with numbers: how many men, women, nationalities, and how many languages members speak to show how GC is global. 

Bruce noted that Wenjie could provide this information about the university and Rita could clarify do we have this statistics on WA.

Penn State Global  – Wenjie Fu – absent, submitted report

Here are the updates from Penn State Global, and please let me know if you have ay questions.

1. Penn State community is invited to a conversation with Qatari energy minister on Friday, Oct. 14, 12:00 – 1:00 pm at HUB 132 Flex Theater.

2. Community Engagement Programs – Book Group Discussion (virtual) on October 19, 4-5 pm. This month’s theme is Memoirs! Bring your favorite memoir to join our virtual roundtable book group discussion.
3. Conversation Partners Program – Pumpkin Decoration and Craft on Wednesday, October 26, 4:00 – 6:00 pm at State College Borough Building, Room 201.

Decorate pumpkins and make your garlands to celebrate the fall!  Come join us to have a fun time with your assigned conversation partners and other CEP participants. Friends and family members are welcome to join too! Bring your own pumpkins! We will provide all the necessary supplies and baby pumpkins (while supplies last.

4. Global Sustainable Action: It Starts with Us!

Penn State Global is currently looking for volunteers to join our planning committee and to help on the day of the conference. The conference will be held at University Park on November 5, 2022, as part of International Education Month. If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out the form : https://forms.office.com/r/avgqHKxTik

5. Join OLLI at Penn State and Penn State Global for culture and conversations from around the world on Thursday, November 3, 1:30 – 3:00 pm at Penn State Outreach Building, room 121 G&H.

Small Groups – Deb Leo,  absent, absent, submitted report.

The intermediate/advanced Women’s Book Group that Sharon and I lead is up and running with 5 new members and new interest every week. We have begun in-person meetings on Wednesdays at noon, and the participants are so happy to meet in-person. We are still welcoming new members so please refer any interested to Susan at [email protected]

Reports from the standing committees:

Cultural luncheons Committee – Shannon Holiday –

1. Luau party

Expenditures and incomes

Was received good feedback from the attendees. Anna suggested to organize payment for the next for all participants: members with discount, other – full price.

Bob will share with Shannon information from previous years events

1. Shannon asked to send her any suggestions/ideas of the cultural lunch of the next year. Bob offered to think about the organization earlier this year: to recruit more people, etc. To think again maybe to cooperate with Nittany Methodist church, to have more volunteers (not members), but who can help during the event (who will serve, who will clean).
2. There is a opportunity to take part in the Boalsburg farmers market on Tuesdays (from State College community Land trust) with no cost (indoor in winter). They provide table and chairs. GC can stand there with it’s information. Bob offered to discuss with member committee.

Anna suggested thinking strategically about the goals of the organization and from that to decide in what promotion activities GC should take part.

1. Shannon noted about opportunity to be present GC at WPSU kids fair.

Membership – Rita absent, submitted report

1. Below is an overview of our membership/contacts in the Wild Apricot system:

– current total contacts: 250

-current members: 85

-new members in last 30 days: 4

2. I am very concerned that we have too small a plan in WildApricot for our most basic needs. Comparing our numbers to the limits of our WildApricot plan I would like to ask the team to consider and approve increasing our Wild Apricot plan to allow upto 500 contacts. Pricing can be found here: https://www.wildapricot.com/pricing-na

• We have maxed out the number of contacts at 250 total contacts…no new contacts may be added to the system at this time
• recruiting and converting interest in the organization into membership necessitates keeping a larger list of contacts than actual members, so we can capture interested prospects and send them info about upcoming opportunities that have them signup and become members.
• We have the interest that would warrant a “Community” plan option and our prospects look very promising:

  . 250 contacts

  . 192 event attendees

  . 132 email opens (of 220 sent)

• Though we do have some old/expired/no longer active contacts, I am not convinced that deleting a few will [delete “not”] provide enough “space” for managing our active and potential contacts.…in other words: we need to do this and there is no short term fix

Unfinished business:

List or action items from the August meeting and action taken or still pending:

• Bruce to continue organizing a team for the financial review. (Still pending).
• Wenjie to submit an item for the newsletter on tax workshops, Conversation Partners, and a call for volunteers (submitted for the September newsletter)
• Shannon to recruit volunteers for the September 18 picnic; Bob to include an item in the newsletter. (completed)
• Shannon to coordinate with Rita and the membership committee on GC representation at the September Multi-Cultural Unity fair. (completed)
• Deb to submit an item on book groups for the newsletter; also work with the PR team on advertising through social media. (completed)
• Melanie to check with Daniel on temporarily suspending the limit on the presidential term and report back to the EC. Daniel Foster said that he can write a proviso with an expiration date, which can be adopted by the membership in order to allow for an extension for the next year. 8/11/22
• Bruce to craft wording to change the bylaws provision on maintaining membership records. (pending)
• Maryam to change the standing committee choices in the member registration site in Wild Apricot. (Maryam/Anna to confirm)
• Bob to draft an appeal to members for the newsletter on more active participation and new project development. (completed)

There was a brief discussion about the proposed changes in the standing rules. A motion was made by Kieran and seconded by Shannon to accept the changes. The members present voted unanimously to approve. Bob noted that this is a work in progress and can be amended any time there is a need. Bob will put the document in final and distribute it.

New Business

The members agreed on Wednesday, November 9, for the annual membership meeting and election (via Zoom). Melanie noted that the slate of officer candidates needs to be sent to the members by October 9. Bob will write an item for the September newsletter (action item).

Meeting adjournment: 8:09

Prepared and Submitted by Anna Borisova de Valdez 9/14/2022 with edits by Bob Persiko  

August 10 Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Voting members: Bob Persiko, Shannon Holliday, Bruce Truitt, Deb Leo, Sabrina Lima

Non-voting members: Melanie Miller Foster, Marco Damasceno, Wenjie Fu

Call to order at 7:08 PM. May minutes were approved with suggestion to add attribution of preparation and submission.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob

• Bob has begun working with Hidayatullah Noorzai, a refugee from Afghanistan, to help him improve his academic writing in preparation for applying to PSU for a master’s in journalism. He was a journalist in Afghanistan. This may lead to other ways that GC can provide support for refugees.
• A student from SCAHS wants to create a Global Connections-like organization in the high school. Bob will work with her and hopes that this leads to a closer affiliation between our two institutions. Outreach to schools is a goal for GC – to be discussed at the next EC meeting.
• Bob needs to appoint three people to the nominating committee to put together a slate of candidates for the 2023 Executive Committee. He asked for help identifying volunteers.

Vice President – absent

Treasurer – Bruce Truitt – Bruce reported on the status of the bank accounts: We have $7,786 in our checking account and $30,709 in our money market account. Bruce has identified a couple of candidate auditors to provide financial review services. (Action item for follow-up) Bruce has arranged for future distributions from the Centre Foundation to be transferred electronically instead of via check.

Secretary – Maryam and Maria Antonieta were absent. 

Public relations, website, and social media – Sabrina and Marco – Sabrina suggested doing a profile for the newsletter on a US male member. Bruce was “volunteered” and accepted.

Penn State Global  – Wenjie Fu –

• 167 students and scholars from 34 countries were served in the spring tax workshops.
• Conversation Partners – restarting; asked for names of anyone interested.
• Wenjie to submit an item for the August newsletter (action item)
• International speakers day in November
• International student orientation next week.

Reports from the standing committees:

Cultural luncheons Committee – Shannon Holiday –

• Regarding the September 18 general membership picnic (Luau): Members will attend free of charge; guests will pay $10 to become members. Shannon will estimate costs and then work with Bruce earmark necessary funds. Volunteers – Bob suggested contacting people who helped with the Brazilian meal to serve and clean up. Include a standing request for volunteers in the newsletter (action item).
• Multi-cultural Unity Fair, September 17, Municipal Building – will be mentioned in the newsletter. Rita and her committee are responsible for setting up the GC table.

Membership Committee – Rita was absent.

Small groups –

• Book groups haven’t met since May. Will be advertising for new members. Meetings will be in-person. Sabrina will work with Deb and/or Sharon about social media advertising.
• Bob said the discussion group and English class resume this week.
• Shannon mentioned the availability of the Launch Box for meetings.

Unfinished business:

• Nonmember contact list – It was clarified that this is for event attendees or are potential member candidates. Melanie reiterated that the Wild Apricot membership list is our main way of contacting members. Wenjie said that Mail Chimp and Survey Monkey are not viable alternatives. Bruce suggested having a sign-in sheet at all Nonmembers would get a follow-up email inviting them to become members (Membership committee responsibility). Wild Apricot will automatically purge people to a separate data file who are no longer active members – or list them as inactive. Bruce suggested prioritizing WA as the single source for member contact and keeping members and nonmembers separate.

 New Business

• Should we amend the bylaws to delete the one-year term limit on the president? Bob clarified that he would be willing to serve one more year and feels it would otherwise be difficult to find a replacement for 2023. Melanie thought that an alternative might be to temporarily suspend the bylaw. Action: Melanie to check with Daniel (parliamentarian) on this and report back to the Executive Committee. (action item)

• Proposed changes to the standing rules – The matter was briefly discussed and then tabled to the September EC meeting to give members more time to review the proposal. Bruce said that “maintaining membership records” is listed in the bylaws as the responsibility of the treasurer; this should be changed to the membership committee or secretary and may possibly require an amendment in the bylaws. The treasurer should be responsible for maintaining financial records. Bruce to submit rewording, which we will run by Daniel (action item). Melanie clarified that changes in the standing rules can be decided by the EC.

• Change registration format for standing committee choices in the registration site – Maryam to be tasked with this (action item)

• Fall projects – We need members to take responsibility for new projects. Bruce estimated 30-35% annual membership turnover, so a written appeal is a good idea. Bruce suggested having regular events each year. We should ask ourselves if they serve not only the members but also the community. Advertising them would help us establish our identity in the community. Bob to draft an item for the newsletter (action item).  Wenjie suggested arranging a guided tour of the Arboretum as an activity.

Meeting adjournment: 8:15

• Bruce to continue identifying candidates for for the financial review.
• Sabrina and Marco to work on the August newsletter with input from various people.
• Wenjie to submit an item for the newsletter on tax workshops, Conversation Partners, and a call for volunteers
• Shannon to recruit volunteers for the September 18 picnic; Bob to include an item in the newsletter.
• Shannon to coordinate with Rita and the membership committee on GC representation at the September Multi-Cultural Unity fair.
• Deb to submit an item on book groups for the newsletter; also work with the PR team on advertising through social media.
• Melanie to check with Daniel on temporarily suspending the limit on the presidential term and report back to the EC.
• Bruce to craft wording to change the bylaws provision on maintaining membership records – to consult with Daniel and resolve at the next EC meeting.
• Maryam to change the standing committee choices in the member registration site in Wild Apricot.
• Bob to draft an appeal to members for the newsletter on more active participation and new project development.

Summary of what should go into the August newsletter:

• Photo and brief description of the July 30 evening outing at the SC Spikes game
• Profile of either Kiyomi or Bruce
• Reminder of the September 18 member picnic and the need to register
• Mention of the September Multi-Cultural Unity fair
• Appeal for members to be active, participate in projects (Bob).
• An item that we are looking for members to serve in the Executive Committee.
• An item that Wenjie will write about Conversation Partners and the tax workshops that Penn State Global conducted in the spring.
• Item from Deb about reading group.
• Appeal for host families for local youth exchange organizations

Prepared and Submitted by Bob Persiko 8/19/2022  

April 13, 2022, Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Bob Persiko, Kieran T. Holland, Shannon Holliday, Sabrina Lima, Rita Graef, Bruce Truitt

Call to order at 7:03 PM. March minutes were approved with no correction.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob praised the success of the poetry event, and the close collaboration GC has with Webster’s Bookstore Café. He expressed satisfaction with planning for upcoming in-person events that mark our return to “normal.” He mentioned that the newsletter for this month will reflect how active our members are in contributing to the organization’s mission.

Vice President – no report.

Parliamentarian – absent. 

Treasurer – Bruce reported that all major bills have been paid, including the annual liability insurance premium. There are $4,178 in our checking account and $30,000+ in the money market account.

Bruce said the EC needed to make a decision on whether to take the $1905 return on the Centre Foundation investment or have it reinvested. When asked, Bruce suggested that the organization could use the money since GC has relatively few revenue-generating activities. Kieran moved that GC take the distribution; Shannon seconded the motion. Approved unanimously.

Past president – absent

Secretary – absent 

Public relations, website, and social media – Sabrina noted the activation of an Instagram account. Bruce suggested that in the future the EC should approve any new account. He noted how many accounts opened over the years he has recently closed that were no longer active. Bob thanked Bruce for handling that time-consuming task.

Penn State Global – Wenjie Fu was absent.

Reports from the standing committees:

Cultural luncheons Committee – Shannon and Kieran shared details of planning for a cultural luncheon on a Brazilian theme on May 5 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. They hope for a minimum of 30 attendees. Brazilian Munchies will be the caterer. In the ensuing discussion the following was approved:

• $100 donation to St. Andrew’s for the use of the facility to be taken from the admission fee. (Shannon made the motion, Bruce seconded; unanimous approval.) The church could become the new regular venue for cultural luncheons.
• $18 admission fee to cover $12 per meal cost (caterer), donation to the church, water bottles, and paper/plastic ware
• Registration for the event will be handled through Wild Apricots.
• The event is an occasion to recruit new members.
• Advertising through our normal channels. The timing is probably too late for ads in the press.
• Someone will be recruited to give a brief cultural presentation on Brazil.
• Bruce will provide live musical entertainment.

Bob expressed hope that in the future we can return to our previous model for cultural luncheons wherein an international member and the CL committee prepare and serve the meal for a larger audience. Shannon noted her success in recruiting members to volunteer for set up, serving, and clean up. An active committee can work out event details for future luncheons without the EC needing to debate and decide them.

Membership Committee – Rita had to leave prior to this point in the meeting.

Program of activities committee (Kieran)- no report

Unfinished business:

Planning for the April 21 general membership meeting:

• Kieran will do the administration of the Zoom meeting.
• Bob will give introductory remarks
• Daniel will lead the discussion on the bylaws amendments
• Bruce will give a brief financial report
• Japanese member Kiyomi Masamune will speak for 10 minutes on her experience with cultural adjustment to our area, followed by Q and A.

Action: Bob will prepare an agenda to distribute to the membership.

Centre Gives – Kieran offered to craft a marketing plan with Sabrina. (action item)

New Business

Spikes game – Bruce said that the Spikes baseball team management is marketing opportunities for groups like ours to attend a game as an event. The EC members agreed that this is worth pursuing and then seeing if a sufficient number of GC members are interested. Bob said he thought that a minimum of 20 is needed to get a $1 discount on the usual $13 admission charge. Bruce to follow up. (action item)

Non-member contact list – The members agreed that having such a list would enable us to track people who attend events who are not members in the interest of expanding community outreach and recruitment. Perhaps this is something the membership committee could work on.

Meeting adjournment: 8:05

March 9, 2022, Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Bob Persiko, Melanie Miller Foster, Kieran T. Holland, Daniel Foster, Shannon Holliday, Maryam Barzegar, Sabrina Lima

Call to order at 7:30 PM by President Persiko. February minutes were approved with no correction.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob noted Sabrina is highlighting individual GC members’ activities, since we still have few in-person activities to report on. He asked members to share with him such activities and he will pass it to Sabrina for publishing in the newsletter. This month’s newsletter will feature Linda Burton and her ELL Fund, along with international children’s day organized by Penn State Global. He also emphasized that each of us can encourage and recruit people to join GC. He shared that he has encouraged people whom he tutors to join the GC English class or group meeting and to become a member. A recent example is a Japanese woman he has been helping with her paper who decided to become a member.

Vice President – Kieran- Shared that he is going to reschedule the event at the Makery for nicer weather. He also shared that there 2 events on the calendar at Ten Thousand Villages where GC could set up an information table. These events can be discussed at the next membership committee meeting (Rita to take note and follow up).

Parliamentarian – Daniel reviewed the amendments to the Bylaws that need approval in the general membership meeting, which had been discussed and approved in previous EC meetings.  He also proposed adding a no-notice amendment to the Bylaws for consideration to have built-in tools to make it easier for the organization to amend Bylaws in the future. Under this rule, amendments to the bylaws presented with no notice to the membership can be adopted if 90% of the EC members present approve. The members unanimously approved this proposal and the recommendation by Treasurer Bruce Truitt to (1) eliminate the audit committee from the proposed amendments and (2) substitute periodic attestation reviews (see note below). The package will be voted on at the April 21^st general membership committee meeting. 

Treasurer – Bruce was absent- no report.

Past president – Melanie- no report.

Secretary – Maryam- shared that the poster of the poetry night has been published in the GC newsletter and by Webster’s café, and the event will be held there on April 9^th at 7:00 PM. The event email will be publicized to all members via Wild Apricots. 

Public relations, website, and social media – Sabrina will post the poetry night event on GC’s Facebook page. EC members are encouraged to share this posting.

Global Programs – Wenjie Fu is absent. No report.

Reports from the standing committees:

Cultural luncheons Committee – Shannon shared that she is trying to find a way to collaborate with the Red Cross with fundraising for Ukraine. She is exploring when a good time would be for a Cultural Luncheon event in the spring or summer.

Membership Committee (Rita absent) – no report

Program of activities committee (Kieran)- See note on The Makery project above.

Unfinished business:

Action items from the February meeting:

• Bob to arrange with PSU IT for access to emails sent to [email protected] – Action Completed
• Bruce to complete application to the Centre Foundation for Centre Gives – Action Completed
• Bob to check for any requirement for an annual report in the bylaws. Action Completed: we do not need to file an annual report.
• Bob to work with Daniel to set a date for a general membership meeting to approve the amendments to the bylaws. Action Completed

New Business

Centre County Gives –Actions to be taken:

• Approve Bruce’s description of GC to provide to the Centre Foundation (see below)-Approved without objection
• Make a list of project ideas to promote donations for the annual Centre Gives event in May. Melanie crafted the words for “the ask” – what we want to use the donations for, along the lines of making our cultural luncheons accessible to a wider, more diverse audience by providing subsidized attendance fees. Shannon and Kieran will put together an event to stimulate donor giving during Centre Gives. Sabrina will attend workshops to develop PR tools.
• Decide how to publicize this. Sabrina will work on advertising on the GC Facebook page and informing current members.

Meeting adjournment: 8:50

Message from Bruce on the subject of an audit committee

My preferred outcome is that we drop the audit committee, authorize the Treasurer to determine the nature and scope of a periodic review that could be conducted by an outside firm of the EC’s choosing based on at least three candidates proposed by the Treasurer, that the Treasurer serves as liaison to the outside firm, and that the outside firm reports directly to the EC.

The main issue is that we have some $80,000 under the direct control of the Centre Foundation.  We cannot control or affect the uses of or access to this money without going through the Foundation and/or its Board, as applicable. Thus, there are compensating and superior controls over more than 90 percent of our assets, and these controls include routine financial opinion audits of the Foundation.

 Also, our operating budget is around $5,000.  This means we would have an audit committee overseeing an immaterial amount that represents a percentage of directly controlled assets (6.25%) that does not even meet the IRS 10% materiality threshold for audit or change to even a Large Corporate Compliance Program (LCCP), is below the $10,000 deposit limit for IRS audit trigger, and barely rises above the GAO threshold of 3% for planning materiality.

Given these facts, I suggest a review engagement rather than a financial, opinion, or even financial-related audit.  A review engagement is the least expensive option under both Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and the AICPA Statements of Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE).  An attestation review would still provide an appropriate level of assurance, especially given the insignificance of the probability of control and compliance issues, the role of the EC in operating fund sources and uses control and the immateriality of the amount.

All we need is an external attestation, not an audit or any sort, every 3 to 5 years.

Description of GC for Centre Foundation

Global Connections is a community-based, member-driven organization that builds community across cultures. Together, we unite residents of our community, be they temporary or permanent, to support learning about other cultures, values, and ways of life. Our prime directive is to foster meaningful relationships through service, education, and partnership. Our outreach activities include cultural luncheons, free classes to learn English as a Second Language (ESL), book groups, discussion groups, poetry readings, and a wide variety of cultural, educational, and exchange activities and interactions. Global Connections has space for the creativity and innovation of its members to do worthwhile things to make our community a welcoming one we all are proud to live in.

February 9, 2022, Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting

Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Bob Persiko, Melanie Miller Foster, Rita Graef, Shannon Holliday, Maryam Barzegar, Sabrina Lima

Call to order at 7:30 PM by President Persiko. January minutes were approved with no correction.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob shared a brief report on outreach and inquiry activities. He also announced that Ray Bilger, the new member of the GC organization, has offered his home for an event. Mr. Bilger would like to organize an event at his house in springtime for 20-25 people. He is going to arrange for a cater. More information about his event will be provided.

Vice President – Kieran was unable to attend, therefore there is no vice president report.

Parliamentarian – Daniel was unable to attend. No report

Treasurer – Bruce was unable to attend.

Past president – Melanie shared that she is still checking the old Penn State email (gc/[email protected]), however, she asked Bob to add that email to his outlook to not miss any messages or inquiries.

Secretary – Maryam shared activities for organizing the Poetry Night event. Bob and she had a meeting with Webster’s bookstore Café manager and set the event there. The International Poetry Night will be held on April 9^th at 7:00 pm.

Public relations, website, and social media – Sabrina asked for some help or idea about how to encourage GC’s members to share their stories for the GC newsletter. Bob mentioned that the objective of this project is to highlight what individual members are doing. He also suggested that this month she can share Deb Leo’s story of her past activities with global connections and Susan Steinberg is going to have a report on book groups for the coming newsletter. Sabrina would like to have any contribution for sharing in the newsletter at the end of the second week of the month.

She also would like to have any ideas or contributions from members for the March newsletter for international women’s day.

Global Programs – Wenjie Fu was unable to attend. No report

Reports from the standing committees:

Cultural luncheons Committee (Shannon)- She shared that she has been spreading the word about Global Connections. Bob shared that he contacted Anthony Sepia about the Brazilian lunch that he is going to organize to keep the Brazilian festival alive as soon as we have the opportunity to do it outside in warmer weather.

Rita shared that the membership committee met on Thursday, January 20^th, and set regular meetings going forward. She has been sharing with all committee members that WildApricots can help us to find members who are interested in a community and make sure that we are promoting the community meeting to them, we also can use WildApricots to post an event. She also reported that there are ever changing member numbers; we currently have 98 members in total in January of which 46 are “active” and that includes 9 new members from last month.

Program of activities committee (Kieran)-No report

Unfinished business:

Changes in the Bylaws – Action required:

• Add the Executive Committee recommendation to each of 3 amendments

– All three amendments were unanimously recommended for approval.

2) Share with the membership 30 days prior to a meeting that they would be voted upon

Bob as the president will propose a time for that (probably in the

next 2 months) and probably do it through Zoom.

3) Schedule a membership-wide meeting with a quorum (i.e., w/ 10 people) with a 2/3 vote.

New business:

• Membership directory availability to members

The registered members cannot see a directory of all members; however the individual member can update their own profile and they have control of the settings that general members have access to. Bob suggested that we can inform people in the newsletter that they have control over the data we have on them.

Rita also suggested having a website manager for our website.

• Phone numbers in WA

Phone number is a required field in the form. Although anybody has access to see members’ names, only members can see other members’ email and phone number

• Responsibility for transmission of donation acknowledgment letters

Bob will work with Bruce to acknowledge and thank people who donated to our organization.

• Whether to apply for funding under the annual Centre Gives campaign

Bob mentioned that we had made the decision back in June that we will move forward to do that. Bruce is making an application so we can qualify for donations to Centre Gives. He will take responsibility for the action on that.

• Should we prepare an annual report?

Since we have a monthly newsletter for keeping in touch with our members, Bob will check on Bylaws whether it requires us to have an annual report or not. (Bob subsequently confirmed that the bylaws do not mention an annual report.)

Adjournment at 8:30 PM.

January 12, 2022, Global Connections Executive Committee Meeting

Minutes

Members in Attendance:
Bob Persiko, Melanie Miller Foster, Bruce Truitt, Rita Graef, Maryam Barzegar, Wenjie Fu

Call to order at 7:00 pm by President Persiko. November minutes were approved with no correction.

Reports of officers:

President – Bob shared that he has been conducting outreach and developing project ideas and speculated that members may not have signed up for the activity at Makery due to Covid concerns. The continuing pandemic makes it difficult to plan indoor in-person events. He suggested to have outdoor activities in spring or summer.

Vice President – Kieran was unable to attend, therefore there is no vice president report.

Parliamentarian – Daniel was unable to attend. No report

Treasurer –  Bruce indicated that the current First Commonwealth checking account balance was $5,673.25, an amount that reflected most of the material operating expenses for the 2022 Fiscal Year – Wild Apricot, AffiniPay, and QuickBooks – with the exception of property and liability insurance.  He added that the First Commonwealth Money Market account holds $30,701.94.  He further stated that Global Connections funds held by the Centre Foundation total roughly $67,000.  Thus, our financial position is solid and remains generally stable at the levels of the previous fiscal cycle.

Past president – Melanie- No report

Secretary – Maryam shared that she has been conducting outreach to the manager of Sower’s Harvest Café for organizing the Poetry Night event. The possibility of working with the Iranian Students Association on their Nowruz planning was also discussed.

Public relations, website and social media – Sabrina was unable to attend. No report

Global Programs – Wenjie Fu shared information about the upcoming Tax Workshops by Community Engagement Programs and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA).

Reports from the standing committees:

Cultural luncheons committee (Shannon)-Not present

Rita talked about membership and mentioned that GC has already 98 members of which 49 members are active and 42 have paid their dues for 2022s the membership committee will meet on January 20. In the ensuing discussion, concern was raised about duplication names in Wild Apricot and how payments are synchronized with Affinipay. It was agreed that it would be good to hold a separate EC meeting for the members to tackle this. Bob will set one up.

Program of activities committee (Kieran)-No report

Unfinished business:

Bylaws changes – Daniel will provide an update message to the EC members.

New business:

• Whether when and how to hold the next general membership meeting. The consensus was to wait until we have something to tell the members such as planned programs. Also, it would be good to wait for warmer weather and then hold the meeting outdoors.
• Project planning – Bob referred to his email of Dec. 21, 2021, describing several initiatives that are in the planning stage. Covid may have an impact on their implementation. An alternative model of the cultural luncheon could be a take-out meal where people can hear live music when they pick up the food (e.g., Brazilian theme and Bruce playing/singing.) Or wait until the event can be held outside.
• Bob to propose a special EC meeting to review how Wild Apricots manages membership and payment issues.
• The topic of whether or not to have GC represented at the June meeting of the Community Diversity Group was tabled until next time.

Action item:  Bob to set up an EC meeting to discuss synching membership and payment issues in Wild Apricots.

Adjournment at 7:55.

November 2021 General/Annual Meeting Minutes 

Meeting time:                7:00 pm, Tuesday, November 30^th, 2021 

Location:                         Zoom

Officers present:

President:  Bob Persiko

Vice President: Kieran Holland

Public Relations Officer: Sabrina Lima

Secretary: Sarah Knorr

Treasurer: Bruce Truitt

Past President: Melanie Miller Foster 

Call to order at 7:03pm with 18 members present

Welcome                       

Reading & Approval of Minutes

• No minutes to approve as this is the first general membership meeting

Reports of Officers & Standing Committees

• President – Bob Persiko
  • Overview of ongoing and Covid-era Global Connections activities including digital educational series, small groups, social media updates, collaborations of other organizations
  • Expressed the hope that GC could return to in-person meetings in 2022 and that individual members would become more active in participating in programs and initiating new ones
• Kieran – Vice President
  • Overview of upcoming Global Connections events, including an arts & crafts project in conjunction with The Makery
• Sarah – Secretary
  • No report
• Bruce – Treasurer
  • Overview of financial statements including current monetary accounts, investments, and funds
• Sabrina – Public Relations
  • Ongoing work to social media platforms to promote member and non-member engagement, outreach
• Past President – Melanie
  • No report
• Nominating – Melanie Miller Foster
  • Overview of officer elections, see below under Special Orders
• Finance/Audit – Bruce Truitt
  • Bruce provided report under Treasurer report
• Program of Activities – Kieran Holland
  • Provided report under Vice President

• Membership – Daniel Foster (represented by Rita Graef, the newly appointed chair of the membership committeee)
  • Rita not present for report; President Bob Persiko provided report
  • Currently Global Connections has 90 registered members; renewals in process
  • Overview of Membership Committee meetings and outreach
• Cultural Luncheons – Shannon Holliday
  • Overview of membership picnic, plan for future Cultural Luncheon activities

Reports of Special Committees

• No report

Special Orders

• Election of 2022 Officer Team chosen by unanimous vote
  1. President, Past President, Secretary, Public Relations and Past President positions open for new officers. New Officers elected:
     1. Bob Persiko, President
     2. Kieran Holland, Vice President

• Maryam Barzegar, Secretary

1. Sabrina, Public Relations
2. Melanie Miller Foster, Past President

Unfinished Business

• Not Applicable

New Business

• No Report

Announcements:

• Notice of Bylaws Amendments
• Per Shannon: Community Diversity Group’s Holiday Celebration event (Virtual only)
• Wenjie from Penn State Global looking for Conversation partners volunteers

Adjourn at 7:41pm

Next Meeting:        TBD

Stay connected!

https://www.gc-cc.org/                             @GlobalConnectionsCentreCounty                           @GCdashCC