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Minutes 06-24-98 wkshp MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD WORKSHOP MEETING HELD IN CONFERENCE ROOM A, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1998 at 7:00 P.M. PRESENT Ron Washam, Chairman Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant to the Maynie L. Boles City Manager Brenda Lee Williams ABSENT Belky Cruz Joy Currier Blanche Girtman Stephanie Mingo-McCoy Eric Schnetzer Sheilah White, Alternate I. ROLL CALL Chairman Washam asked everyone present to state his or her name for the record. The meeting convened at 7:10 p.m. II. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS Stephen Waldman , Alternate Member of the Advisory Board on Children and Youth Lenora Waldman , former University employee in a tutoring and counseling program Charlie Fisher , Member of the Advisory Board on Children and Youth Meredith Savits, affiliated with United Cerebral Palsy David Fellows , Member of the Education Advisory Board III. OPENING REMARKS Chairman Washam thanked everyone for coming to tonight’s workshop and introduced Ms. Meredith Savits to the meeting. Chairman Washam stated that Ms. Savits has worked with him on various programs at Royal Palm School. Ms. Savits also works with students with disabilities and is embarking on becoming involved with supportive employment. Chairman Washam stated that Ms. Mingo-McCoy could not be present this evening due to the fact that her father took ill last week. Our wishes go to Ms. Mingo-McCoy and her father and extend our hopes and prayers for her father’s recovery. MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 Chairman Washam reminded those present that the regularly scheduled meeting of the th Community Relations Board will be held on July 8 at 7:30 p.m. At that meeting, there will be another formal presentation by a person who would like to address the Board on the job fair. IV. JOB FAIR PRESENTATION Chairman Washam stated he has contacted approximately 20 businesses in Boynton Beach and Lantana and there is excitement about the job fair. The purpose of tonight’s workshop is to establish the time, date, place and format of the job fair. There was previous discussion that the actual job fair would be held on one day and a week before the job fair, a workshop/seminar to prepare the students (and anyone else seeking employment) would take place. Mr. Fisher stated that not only is a job fair being discussed, but other related issues such as how to dress, how to fill out an application and interview preparation will be addressed. Chairman Washam stated that although it originally started out that the job fair would be youth oriented, a lot of the parents of these students are also in need of employment and these people are also being encouraged to participate. Chairman Washam said that he has counselors from the school district lined up to assist with the job fair and Ms. Savits has offered her assistance. Chairman Washam suggested that each of volunteers would work with two-three students, obtain the phone numbers and addresses of the students and assist in any other way that may be necessary. Then Chairman Washam stated the following week when the employers were present, the students that each of these volunteers counseled and worked with would be introduced to the prospective employers. Some employers will interview that day and others will not be interviewing. Ms. Waldman stated that the last time this committee met, the discussion was about a workshop. Now, it seems Chairman Washam is pursuing individual counseling in its place. Ms. Waldman asked Chairman Washam how he would address counseling if a very large number of prospective job seekers showed up. Ms. Waldman felt that a lot of the issues that had been discussed should be handled in workshops in order to accommodate a greater number of youths at one time. Further, Ms. Waldman stated that most of the information that would be disseminated at these workshops is standard information and there actually would not be a need for individual counseling. Ms. Waldman suggested that after holding the required workshops, if there were some students in need of mentoring, at that point individual 2 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 counseling could be provided to those students. Ms. Waldman did not think that there would be enough people for individual mentoring. Chairman Washam agreed with Ms. Waldman’s assessment of the training, but did restate that he has a lot of counselors lined up for mentoring. Chairman Washam said it is important to come up with a format this evening. Also, it is important that the students (and all others seeking employment) at the end of the workshop give their name and telephone number to a counselor in order that they could be contacted the night before the job interview is held. Also, Ms. Waldman suggested that the students might be more comfortable in groups rather than on an individual basis. Mr. Fisher inquired if the categories that will be discussed will be determined tonight? Also, Mr. Fisher inquired how many guest speakers have been scheduled? Chairman Washam stated it was important to keep the workshops simple and not too complicated. Most of the people Chairman Washam has scheduled to participate in the job fair are mostly business people and there may be three or four professionals from the school district. Mr. Fisher suggested having more human resource professionals participate as well. Chairman Washam stated that the jobs that will be offered at the job fair would more than likely be low-end jobs and with a little assistance, these students can meet the needs of these employers. Mr. Hawkins said that a lot of these types of jobs furnish uniforms and the employee does not have to wear a tie. They need only to show up groomed and ready to work. Chairman Washam agreed with Mr. Hawkins assessment of the jobs and further stated that these jobs are being geared to students who have difficulty getting jobs, due to many factors, including lack of transportation. Mr. Fellows suggested that this Board contact Chik-fil-a, as that company gives out college scholarships to students who work for this company. Also, Mr. Fellows stated that last year 25% of the arrests in Boynton Beach were juveniles; therefore, finding jobs for these youngsters is very important. Chairman Washam thanked Mr. Fellows for coming to the meeting, as Mr. Fellows had to leave. 3 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 Also, Chairman Washam suggested that the students be encouraged to ask questions of possible employers that would have a bearing upon them accepting employment with that particular company at a particular location. Mr. Waldman stated that the exact format of the job fair should be determined. Chairman Washam also stated that preparation is going to have to be in place for students who cannot speak English; that Hispanic and Creole speaking students will be in attendance and this type of situation can be dealt with more easily on a one-on-one basis. Mr. Hawkins went over the minutes from the last meeting that listed five categories that would be addressed at the job fair as follows: 1. How to fill out an application 2. Dressing for success 3. Interview techniques 4. Job retention 5. Resume writing Discussion ensued regarding the types of students that this Committee wants to target for the job fair. Should it remain for a particular group or should it be targeted towards the community as a whole. Mr. Hawkins inquired if the “at risk” category of children were being targeted for the job fair? Chairman Washam stated that they were. Mr. Hawkins stated that if the job fair were targeting this particular group, that their attention span is limited and group sessions would have to be limited time wise and also size wise. Mr. Hawkins suggested that the groups be kept small (about 5) and that one person address all the categories with their group. Or, Mr. Hawkins suggested some of the issues could be handled in a large group, like how to dress for success, in which the students could participate. Mr. Hawkins also stated that some of the categories will have to be dealt with on a one-on-one basis or at least in small groups regarding how to fill out an application and interview techniques. Chairman Washam stated that he has two facilitators who will be present to assist with the Hispanic and Creole students. Chairman Washam restated that the job fair would be open to anybody who wanted to attend, but it is being targeted at students who are having difficulties and need help. Ms. Williams suggested that both types of formats could be used if enough volunteers were available to be facilitators. 4 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 Ms. Waldman also said that some type of RSVP must be in place in order to anticipate how many students will be attending the job fair, so that we can be prepared. Ms. Waldman stated it was important to make the workshops fun to keep the attention of the students and that is why it is important to have people experienced in job fairs participating. Just because someone owns a business, does not necessarily mean that he could run a successful workshop and speak in front of a group of children. Ms. Waldman also suggested that Macys could be contacted to see if they would like to have a fashion show for the youngsters and that the workshops really don’t have to be much longer than 20 minutes to be effective. Ms. Waldman suggested holding 20-minute workshops in small groups and when the workshops were completed, individual students could sit down in a one-on-one situation to go over everything that they have learned during the day. Chairman Washam stated that at the end of the day it was important that someone sits down with three to four students and get their name and phone number for follow up for the next week when the actual job fair takes place. Mr. Fisher also felt a professional speaker would be important, since they are experienced in holding the attention of an audience and creating enthusiasm among those present is very important. Ms. Waldman asked for suggestions for workshop titles. Then, decide on how many children will participate in a workshop. Also, Ms. Waldman asked if Chairman Washam had any idea how many children and their parents would show up at the workshop? Chairman Washam stated that many factors have to be considered. One would be when and where the advertising will be done and the location of the workshop. Should the workshop be held in three different locations? Chairman Washam suggested that the workshop be held either in the Hester Center or the Civic Center. These are the two prime target areas of the job fair. Also, transportation is an issue. Mr. Fisher inquired if the Shopper Hopper bus could be available to get the people to the job fair. Mr. Hawkins stated that if the job fair was held in the evening, there is a possibility of pick up points throughout the City. Mr. Hawkins stated that the Shopper- Hopper is being used during the day and would only be available in the evening. Chairman Washam stated that the job fair is targeted for Saturday during the day. 5 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 Mr. Hawkins felt that the Civic Center would be the best place to hold the job fair. If the Job Fair were to be held at the Hester Center, you would be limiting the job fair to a targeted population. Ms. Waldman asked for clarification since she was new to the area. Mr. Hawkins stated that the children needing the job fair are mixed between white and minorities. The location of the job fair should be comfortable for everyone, and a central location should be determined. Chairman Washam stated that the Civic Center would be the best location. Discussion continued on how the different language barriers would be dealt with. It was suggested that when a student comes to the job fair that he or she be asked what language they would prefer to hear the workshops presented in and that persons speaking these languages would be in place to handle the needs of these students. Chairman Washam stated he felt that between 25 to 70 children will show up and everyone’s needs can be addressed at one workshop and there would not be a need to hold separate workshops in separate languages. Mr. Hawkins stated that the workshops should be presented in English. The individual mentors will deal with the language problems after the presentations for anyone in need of assistance with language. Going back to the workshop topics, it was determined that the following four topics will be addressed: 1. Dressing for an Interview 2. Filling out an Application 3. Getting through the Interview 4. Keeping your Job Chairman Washam asked the Committee if it was anticipated that four different persons will each run a workshop or would one person run the four workshops. Ms. Waldman stated that four different people would be better and it would keep the workshops moving so that four workshops could be held simultaneously. Also, Ms. Waldman stated that the workshops have to be scheduled and given a specific time. It was determined to have four different people with each conducting one workshop. 6 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 Mr. Fisher inquired how the workshops would be held. Would they be held for 15-20 minutes and then break out into individual mentoring groups, or would all the workshops be held and then break out into mentoring groups. It was agreed that all four workshops would be held and then the mentoring would take place. Each workshop would be held in a different room to break up the monotony. Chairman Washam stated that it would be necessary to secure donations of sodas and snacks for the students. The set-up of the Civic Center was discussed. The room is large enough that it could be divided into four areas for the workshops and dividers of some sort need to be in place. Discussion continued on how the workshops would be presented. Ms. Waldman inquired if it were possible to get a merchant from the City to stage a fashion show on teen attire. This would be a great way to attract the kids to the job fair. Mr. Hawkins stated he would discuss this with Ms. Horne, who is the Manager of the Boynton Beach Mall. The fashion show could be the first presentation of the workshop and why it is important to dress for a job interview. This would be the icebreaker to set the mood of the job fair. Chairman Washam stated that the job fair will be open to any business that wants to participate. A scenario of the workshop was presented: 1. A student enters the lobby of the Civic Center. There will be a table for signing in and completing a registration form, so that we have their name, address and telephone number, and the school they attend. A welcome banner could be hung with balloons, making the atmosphere pleasant and receptive. Music could be playing. 2. A tag with a number (color coordinated if desired) will be handed to the student, so that the student will know to which presentation they will go to after the fashion show. 3. The doors for each presentation will have a sign signifying the presentation assigned to that room. 7 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 4. Upon completion of the entire process, certificates will be handed out. Ms. Williams suggested that flyers be prepared and distributed to the Hester Center, the schools, the library, City Hall and the civic center with a registration form on the flyer. The registration form could be handed back in to where the flyer was picked up. This way, there will be some idea as to how many students can be expected at the job fair. Also, a deadline for turning in the registration form could be specified. It is important that when the flyers are turned back in, they are left with someone responsible for turning in the registration forms. Chairman Washam said that the dates have to be set and asked for suggestions. After the first job workshop would be held on discussion, it was decided that Saturday, October 17, 1998 and the job fair itself would be held on Saturday, October 24, 1998. Chairman Washam stated that he and Ms. Mingo-McCoy would be in charge of coordinating the four key speakers and the various facilitators. Discussion ensued regarding handing out the certificates. Should it be handed out after the first workshop or after the job fair is held. It was decided that the certificate would be handed out after the mentoring at the end of the first workshop when the entire group meets back for the conclusion of the workshop. Chairman Washam also stated that prior to the workshops, there will be many meetings held and a lot of these issues can be discussed and reviewed further. The issue of the time for the job fair was discussed and the following was suggested: ? Registration will be heldbetween 9:00 a.m to 9:30 a.m. ? Presentations will be held between 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ? Bring group back together will be between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. ? Mentoring will be between 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ? The job fair and would be over by 12:30 p.m. 8 MINUTES COMMUNITY RELATIONS WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 24, 1998 Mr. Waldman requested an overview of what has transpired this evening. First, Mr. Hawkins will speak with Ms. Horne regarding a 20-minute fashion show, which will be the dress for job interview portion of the workshop. When a student comes to the Civic Center, they will register and be given a tag indicating what room they would go to after the fashion presentation. Music will be played. At the completion of the presentations the student will be given a certificate and refreshments will be served. Mentors will be in place for the students. Make sure all phone numbers will be ascertained for follow up phone calls. Ms. Waldman suggested that the students be called twice before the job fair the following Saturday. Chairman Washam stated that the mentors that he has spoken to all stated they would continue to be in contact with the students during the week. Mr. Fisher stated his Board is working with America’s Promise Program which includes mentoring and this is very important. Chairman Washam stated he will be presenting the job fair to the Community Relations Board at the next meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, 1998 at 7:30 p.m., which will be a regular Board Meeting. There will be another presentation at the meeting at the request of Commissioner Denahan. At that meeting, Chairman Washam will ask the Board to vote on adopting the job fair as discussed at these two workshops. After that, another meeting can be planned to discuss strategies. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properlyadjourned at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _______________________ Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (two tapes) 9