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Minutes 04-09-03Present MXNUTES OF THE COMMUNXTY RELATZONS BOARD MEETING HELD ZN COMMZSSION CHAMBERS~ C~TY HALL~ BOYNTON BEACH~ FLORIDA~ ON WEDNESDAY~ APRIL 9, 2003 AT 7:00 P.M. Anna Marie Noe, Vice Chair Anne Centi Blanche Girtman .lose Rodriguez Clifford Royael Howard Solomon Brenda Lee Williams Sara P. Dye, Alternate Absent Dan DeCarlo, Neighborhood Specialist Eddie Mitchell Ron Washam, Chair Pledge of Allegiance Vice Chair Noe acted as Chair in the absence of Chair Washam and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Acting Chair Noe led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Roll Call - Regular Members and Alternates The Recording Secretary called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. III. Recognition of Visitors Acting Chair Noe recognized the presence in the audience of Mr. Wayne Segal, the City's Public Relations Director, Ms. Renal Collins, Community Relations Manager at Barnes & Noble, and Ms. Elizabeth .lenkins from the Senior Advisory Board. Ms. Nueve Skaggs was visiting to learn about the Board. IV. March 12, 2003 Minutes Approval Motion Ms. Williams moved to accept the minutes as written. motion that carried unanimously. Mr. Solomon seconded the Meeting Ninutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 9, 2003 V. Agenda Approval Iqotion Ms. Dye moved to adopt the agenda as presented. that carried unanimously. Mr. Solomon seconded the motion VI. Correspondence and Announcements Ms. Williams mentioned how much she had enjoyed the recent Advisory Board Dinner at Benvenutos Restaurant. The rest of the Board members echoed her comment. Ms. Girtman commented on the wonderful singing presentation offered by the Boynton Beach High School Chorale. VII. Old Business A. PATCH Activities Update Mr. DeCarlo reported that the PATCH group met on the third Wednesday of each month and was very active. A very exciting project is in the works between PATCH and Bethesda Hospital and Mr. DeCarlo hoped to be able to announce the details at the Board's next meeting. VIII. New Business (A) Ms. Renai Collins, Community Relations Manager, Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble and the Anti-Defamation League are involved in a joint campaign to break the cycle of hate through reading. Mr. Wayne Segal, Director of Public Relations for the City, distributed their brochure, "101 Ways to Combat Prejudice" to the Board members. They were trying to distribute the brochure to as many people in Palm Beach County as possible. Barnes & Noble was trying to launch this program in the schools of Boynton Beach and had already partnered with Rolling Green Elementary, Congress Middle School, and various other schools in the County. Since they want to include businesses in the distribution, they had also partnered with companies like Pratt & Whitney and the Multicultural Education Department in Palm Beach County. Their partnership with the City of Boynton Beach would be the first of the municipalities that they hoped to bring on board. The brochure includes a number to call if an individual believes that he or she has been a victim of a hate crime. It also has suggestions of things that can be done at home, at school, and in places of worship to create a more loving environment. Ms. Collins told the Board about some upcoming events that might be of interest to them. Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 9, 2003 On Tuesday, May 20, 2003 frem 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at 333 North Congress Avenue in Boynton Beach, there will be a Book Review and Discussion of a book entitled Hate Hurts: How Children Learn and Unlearn Prejudice (A Guide for teachers and parents that offers practical tips and advice that teach children not to hate.), with special guest Caryl M. Stern, co-author of Hate Hurts, and Executive Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). She will be conducting two workshops, one geared towards parents, teachers, and students, and the other will be a community forum. Most of the workshops are discussions where they talk about what they were actively doing in the communities to make a difference regarding hate and tolerance. Another initiative is with Dr. Laurence Miller, who is the trainer for the West Palm Beach Police Department. Dr. Miller will be at Barnes & Noble in Boynton Beach on May 8 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the book, School Shock: Preventinq and Respondin.q to School Violence. Ms. Collins drew attention to the back of the "101 Ways to Combat Prejudice" brechure where there was a reading list of fiction, non-fiction, photography, and poetry that emphasize the importance of valuing diversity for both children and adults. The Barnes & Noble store hosted a discussion in February on Bill Cosby's book, The Meanest Thinqs to Say, which was attended by 75 participants, including 43 educators, as part of the Character Education curriculum of the Palm Beach County School Board. Ms. Collins advised that on May 31 frem 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Barnes & Noble would be launching a Share a Story campaign, the brainchild of Lavon Burton and First Lady Laura Bush. They asked community leaders to come out and read to children during those hours. One of their partners in this was WXEL and another was Target, a national sponsor. Barnes & Noble wants to do more for literacy in the community. Acting Chair Noe offered to go to the event and read. Ms. Blanche Girtman expressed interest in the Close the Book on Hate discussion and inquired if it were for adults only. Ms. Collins said that it was for adults and teachers but that children could also attend. Ms. Girtman asked what Barnes & Noble had to offer pre-school children and Ms. Collins stated that there was a toddler pregram. Last year they had a Close the Book on Hate campaign at their store that was well attended. Also, they have a large greup of children, who come to a reading pregram with their parents at Barnes & Noble on Mondays at 10:00 a.m. They have books geared towards every age greup that deal with the subject. Ms. Girtman expressed an interest in having her childcare center go on a field trip to Barnes & Noble. Ms. Collins stated that this would be fine and invited Ms. Girtman to call her to set up a time for it. Ms. Collins stated that Barnes & Noble also conducted monthly "character visits" to some of the local schools where they bring a character like Clifford or Madeleine, and have a story time. She suggested that this might be something that they could offer to Ms. Girtman as well. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 9, 2003 Ms. Collins commented that Barnes & Noble had just started a new program called "STRAWS", Start to Read and Win, and were working on it with the Royal Palm School. This program is for disadvantaged or disabled children who come in twice a month for a reading group, discussion, scavenger hunts, and games. Board Discussion Acting Chair Noe thought that Ms. Collins' presentation was excellent and that intolerance was an underlying factor in many of today's problems. She asked Mr. DeCarlo if PATCH could undertake this as a mental health initiative. Mr. DeCado indicated that he could think of several applications for this information and offered to disseminate the information to the neighborhoods and to PATCH. Mr. Solomon suggested that the message and brochure could be distributed among the various civic organizations in the City such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary and Kiwanis organizations. He offered to take Ms. Collins to the Rotary lunch held once a month so that she could address the Rotary organization. Motion Mr. Solomon moved that the Community Relations Board would support this initiative as a priority and work to see that the message was spread throughout the community. Ms. Williams seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Ms. Collins also asked for an opportunity to pass on programming information to the City about workshops being held at Barnes & Noble. The normal events calendar is only available at the store. Mr. Segal stated that the City was going to be doing the program internally and that Mr. Bressner thought it was great. The brochures will be made available in City Hall, the Library, and City Hall in the Mall. Acting Chair Noe asked that this issue be put on next month's agenda so that people could bring more ideas of ways to support the program. B) Youth & Government Day, April 23, 2003 Mr. DeCarlo explained this program for the benefit of the new Board members. He invited the Board members to attend a luncheon at the Hester Center at 12:00 noon. They were also invited to attend the mock City Commission meeting at City Hall at 6:30 p.m. The members will be sent a complete packet of information before the event. C) The Great American Cleanup Mr. DeCarlo advised that the City participates with Palm Beach County every year in the Keep America Beautiful campaign. Between 100 and 125 people usually turn out from various civic organizations, church groups, and neighborhood associations. The City provides trash bags, gloves, and a tee shirt, and people decide where they want to Meeting Minutes Community Relations Board Boynton Beach, Florida April 9, 2003 go. The trash bags are returned to a central location. The distribution of bags will be at a tent set up at the community garden on the corner of 6th Avenue and Seacrest Boulevard, between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on April 12, 2003. IX. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (041103)