September Executive Committee Meeting; September 8, 2020, 5:00-6:00pm

In attendance:

• President: Melanie Miller-Foster
• Vice President: Bob Persiko
• Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
• Membership Committee Chair: Daniel Foster
• PR Officer: UB Bakker
• Secretary: Sarah Knorr
• Book Group Chair: Susan Steinberg
• Cultural Luncheon Committee Chair: Shannon Holliday

Location:

• This meeting was held via virtual method (Zoom) due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic

Topics of Discussion

Agenda Items:

• Online membership and application process
  • Bruce sent email detailing options for online payment
  • What do we want/need from the electronic collection software?
  • Admin tasks: processing membership fees, processing donations, processing payments, fundraising (additionally: ticket sales for cultural luncheons)
  • What platform will the membership base feel comfortable with?
    • Preference for automatic user input for database dump capabilities
  • Daniel: Membership Drive in October
    • Goal to renew members
    • Need ability to reach out and collect fees/donations digitally
  • PayPal vs Quikbooks: Bruce and Daniel decide on online system for membership drive in October
  • Credit cards and online payments may suffice for right now

• Review new member onboarding procedure
  • How are we orientating them to our organization?
  • Daniel to draft standing rules for membership onboarding procedure
    • Forward new members to UB or other members to welcome

• Book group budget and book policy
  • Book choices average $10/book (including shipping)
  • May be short on budget this year
  • Susan requesting no more than additional $500 until end of year
    • Bruce motioned
    • Bruce requesting numbers to consideration
    • Motioned to postpone this decision to next EC meeting to October meeting
  • To discuss policy at another time and change budget for next year
  • Motion made to allocated additional $500 until end of year
  • No objections to tabling until October EC meeting

• Officer elections
  • Elections in November
  • Process can be found in bylaws
  • Daniel: proposes electionrunner.com to create ballot
  • Send out open call to membership list for President, PR, and VP positions in separate email
• Welcome to our new Cultural Luncheon co-chairs!
  • Shannon Holliday and Tony
  • No in-person luncheon planned due to Covid pandemic

Other items:

• Global Conversation Events
  • Bob: Encourages members to promote event
  • Encourage use of Facebook (personal and GC page) to share events and increase audience
  • Two platforms available: Public can watch via Facebook; GC members via email link
• Standing Rules
  • Daniel emailed Standing Rules draft
  • Encourages reading and sending edits before October EC meeting

May Executive Committee Meeting; May 12, 2020, 7:30pm-8:30pm

In attendance:

• President: Melanie Miller-Foster
• Vice President: Bob Persiko
• Public Relation Officer: U.B. Bakker
• Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
• Membership Committee Chair: Daniel Foster
• Secretary: Sarah Knorr
• Book Group Chair: Susan Steinberg

Location:

• This meeting was held via virtual method (Zoom) due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic

Topics of Discussion:

Agenda Items:

• Financial items – irreconcilable transactions and assets requiring disposition
  • Bruce sent out email re: missing financial transactions pre 2019
    • Should we have an aging period for transactions?
    • Standing Rule: Any transactions pre August 2019 (start of current Global Connections), should we write off?
    • Secondary to business no longer operational, etc
    • Motion to write off transactions pre 2019, passed
    • Bruce to archive transitions
  • Material assets
    • Melanie has HP laptop
    • Salua has disposable items designated for Cultural Luncheons
    • Susan has disposable party goods from past events stored in own home
    • Bruce has PA gear
      • Will take HP laptop from Melanie and store
      • Will email Wenjie from PSU Global Programs re: other electrical devices and will create excel sheet listing items
    • Discussed liability insurance
      • Currently have $1,133.00 premium
    • How GC will proceed during COVID-19
    • Activities in the future
      • GC had 3 luncheons planned: currently postponed until further notice due to pandemic restrictions; church has payment which would be credited
      • Discussion groups on Tuesday are still taking place via virtual methods (Zoom)
      • Book Groups continue to operate via virtual methods (Zoom)
      • ESL classes: Bob will look into
      • Should we have a general membership meeting online?
        • How to we invite members?
        • What will be the speaker/event
        • General organizing logistics
      • Change scope of outreach to community
        • Global Connections can facilitate:
          • Encourage members to take action in the spirit of GC
          • Highlight members doing individual events
          • “Actions of Love” by GC
        • Membership Engagement
          • Survey
          • “What do you think GC should do during this time”
          • Online events, committee meetings, maintenance stage, promote individual actions, etc
          • Bob/UB to follow up with Community Diversity Group re: cook book, could GC be sponsor?
        • No online monthly meetings: postpone until Fall semester?
        • Make strategic plan for future
          • Annual general membership meeting and elections will be in November
          • Touch base with members in August/September?
        • Until next month
          • No special events
          • Communicate to membership
            • Send out newsletter via MailChimp
            • Survey members to see how GC should progress-Bruce will draft
            • Spotlight on things members are doing in spirit of GC-Susan (book groups) and Bob (discussion groups, etc) will provide Melanie information by Tuesday, May 19

April Executive Committee Meeting; April 7, 2020, 5:00pm-6:00pm

In attendance:

• President: Melanie Miller-Foster
• Vice President: Bob Persiko
• Public Relation Officer: U.B. Bakker
• Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
• Membership Committee Chair: Daniel Foster (for 30 minutes)
• Secretary: Sarah Knorr
• Book Group Chair: Susan Steinberg

Location:

• This meeting was held via virtual method (Zoom) due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic

Topics of Discussion:

• What can we do now to serve our community?
  • Global Connections provides:
    • Tuesday Conversation groups: held via virtual methods (Zoom)
    • Book Groups: held via virtual methods (Zoom)
    • ESL classes: chatting through Epic
  • Connect with FSA-Foreign Student Associations
  • Provide community resources through Facebook, Mailchimp
    • Hang messages/signs around local international communities
      • Melanie to send out email to membership re: create, design, and implement posters/ideas to stay sane during this time
    • Information on local restaurants providing free food, food deliveries
    • Information on how to DIY face masks
  • Reach out to Penn State Global Programs: what are they doing for international students/community during the pandemic?
• List of Assests: What do we own?
  • Location of specific things, create paperwork
• Website details
  • List of officers
• Membership survey
  • Ask for top 10 priorities
  • Provide ideas for activities in coming months
• Membership engagement
  • Committee meetings via virtual methods (Zoom)
• No formal membership meeting for next month

Agenda Items:

• Develop a plan for GC functions over the summer months (MJMF)
  • Due to ongoing Coronavirus pandemic: There will be no formal general membership meetings in person until further notice
• What is the process for articulating and documenting standing rules? (BET)
• Revise the process flow and controls for simultaneous membership and cultural events (BET) – I either did not understand our solution or we didn’t finish the discussion or document it.
• Resolving in policy or procedure the gift card issue (BET) – As above.
• Specification in the record or a rule storage location of and maintenance responsibility for PA system (BET) – As above
• Development of written rule for PA system accountability (BET) – related to above
• Google Document for messages that are not of immediate attention (sk)

March Executive Committee Meeting; March 10, 2020, 7:30pm-8:30pm

In attendance:

• President: Melanie Miller-Foster
• Vice President: Bob Persiko
• Public Relation Officer: U.B. Bakker
• Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
• Membership Committee Chair: Daniel Foster

Location:

• This meeting was held at the COG Building at 2643 Gateway Drive in State College, PA

Topics of Discussion:

Agenda Items:

February Executive Committee Meeting; February 11, 2020, 7:30pm-8:30pm

In attendance:

• President: Melanie Miller-Foster
• Vice President: Bob Persiko
• Public Relation Officer: U.B. Bakker
• Treasurer: Bruce Truitt
• Secretary: Sarah Knorr
• Membership Committee Chair: Daniel Foster
• Cultural Luncheon Chair: Salua Kamerow

Location:

• This meeting was held at the COG Building at 2643 Gateway Drive in State College, PA

Topics of Discussion:

• Possible creation of committee specifically for editing Bylaws/Standing Rules
• Membership Records

Agenda Items:

• March meeting program (see attached draft agenda)
  • Salua will be sending out Global Connections Cultural Luncheon announcement
  • Daniel will be sending out Global Connections General Meeting announcement
• Clarifying membership records roles
  • Treasurer, Bruce Truitt, will take money and membership cards
  • Membership Committee Chair, Daniel Foster, will input information from membership cards
  • Secretary, Sarah Knorr, will store membership cards
  • Global Connections will retain membership cards for 1 year
• Development function in GC for 2020
  • Focus on 2020 revenue neutrality
  • Ideas:
    • Donation can at every Global Connections event
    • Create committee dedicated to fundraising
  • Developing a policy on complimentary admission to GC events
    • Standing Rule: Not provide complimentary admission to Global Connections events; add line item under PR role: Allocate discretionary funds up to $250 to use for admissions as PR sees fit—would need budget amendment
    • Standing Rule: Volunteers are provided free meal and admission to Global Connections events-provide them with shift hours
    • Charity Rule/Scholarship: for those members with limited funds to participate in Global Connections events
  • Process of referring ideas to a committee (ArtsFest/Lion Bash as an example)
    • Referred through committees
    • Email blast

• Agenda items for meetings
  • Please place on Parking Lot on Google Drive
  • Blue highlighted items are for next meeting
  • Dump completed items into separate document
• Next EC meeting
  • Vice President, Bob Persiko resides over next Executive Committee Meeting

February Regularly Scheduled Meeting; February 5, 2020

1. Call to Order and Welcome

Starting at 6:30pm committee meetings were conducted for 30 minutes. A 42 minute presentation and Q&A session followed featuring Carson Letot, Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor from Michigan and Dr. Filiberto Penados, Professor and Founder of Study Abroad Programs, C.E.L.A. in Belize. The regular meeting of Global Connections was called to order at 7:42pm by Melanie Miller Foster, President. A quorum was noted as present with 16 members and 3 guests in attendance. Secretary, Sarah Knorr, was present and recorded meeting minutes. A door prize was awarded to a present member after a random ticket drawing.

2. Reading and Approval of Minutes

The December Minutes were presented to the membership in writing and were approved with no corrections and are to be filed for audit. President Miller Foster noted only committees met in January 2020  were treated as a work session only; a business meeting was not held.

3. Reports of Officers and Standing Committees

Officer Reports were provided:

• President Miller Foster: no report
• Vice President Persiko: oral report, encouraged members and guests to communicate to the local international community to participate in upcoming 2020 census and to reach out to Global Connections for census resources; announced he wrote a piece for ‘This I Believe’ titled Immigrants Make America Great which will air in near future on NPR
• Secretary Knorr: oral report, the Global Connections website is being updated to highlight the organization’s programs and activities; encouraged members and guests to forward media and information to be published on website and social media platforms
• Treasurer Truitt: oral report, notified the membership that the annual budget is drafted and will be sent to Executive Committee; financial statements can be available upon request
• Public Relations Officer UB Bakker: oral report, pictures of past events and activities are uploaded to Facebook
• Past President Steinberg: not present

Standing Committees:

• Membership Committee Chair D. Foster: D. Foster was not present at meeting, membership committee member Paige Castellanos provided oral report, organization met goal for recruitment; current membership stands at 79 members and membership committee has new goal of 100 members by April. Other goals include: (1) increase attendance by recruiting through advertisements, listserves, and social media, and (2) maintain membership retention through door prizes and personalized name tags

• Finance Committee Chair B. Truitt: oral report, announced draft of 2020 budget which will be presented to Executive Committee to discuss, adopt, and amend as needed. Provided members and guests with handout copy of budget. Stated if any committee had monetary overages outside of allotted expenditures, provide Bruce with receipts and member will be reimbursed. Motion was put forth to approve budget as presented; motion passed unanimously

• Cultural Luncheon Committee Chair S. Kamerow: absent for committee reports

• Activities Committee Chair B. Persiko: oral report, announced Global Connections t-shirts are available at Webster’s Bookstore & Café priced at $20. The International Poetry Night was held on Monday, February 10^th at 7pm. There were 14 poetry presenters from 10 different countries. President Miller Foster announced a new, upcoming event: Global Connections Member Social on February 17^th at 6:30pm at Little Szechuan in downtown State College. Global Connections will be hosting Penn State sophomore, Sihan Liu to share information about the food traditions of China. A signup sheet was provided for 5 open spaces (out of 12 total reserved spots) and members were encouraged to attend for dinner and discussion

• Book Groups Sub Committee Chair S. Steinberg: S. Steinberg was not present; Book Group member Deb Leo provided oral report, book groups are up and running with lively discussion; committee will provide information for book groups to be advertised on social media.

4. Reports of Special Committees 

No Special Committee reports.

5. Special Orders

No Special Orders reports.

6. Unfinished Business and General Orders

No Unfinished Business and General Orders

7. New Business

No New Business

8. Announcements

• The next meeting is on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 7:00pm. Committee meetings will begin at 6:30pm.
• Penn State Global Programs is seeking volunteers to help with assisting Penn State international students/scholars through the Annual Tax Workshop; those interested can contact Wenjie Fu at [email protected]
• The next Global Connections Cultural Luncheon will be Friday, March 27 from 12-1pm at the Mounty Nittany Methodist Church

9. Adjournment

• The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m.