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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - BT - 03-10-2014 BETTER TOGETHER Agenda March 10, 2014 Updates from the Meeting are Posted in Red Meeting Attendees – Listing of those Present and Guests Wayne Boston Lisa McGrath Sharon Branigan Sharon Lockwood Freeda Bush Karen Stanley Maureen Campbell Maddy Stanley Events and Activities (Past) –  Welcoming New Residents – Mailings (28) Completed for January It was reported that mailings had been completed to those who purchased homes in Milton during the month of January 2014. As was planned, the mailings included a letter from the Mayor and a Newcomer’s Guide. These mailings did go to those who purchased “detached” homes. In the future, we will also mail to those who purchase “attached” homes (townhouses, condos, etc.). We also discussed the possibility of including additional items in the package – perhaps a brochure from the Milton Recreation and Parks Department and more specific information on Better Together.  Planning for Earth Day Festival (MDAC Tent) – March 6 Wayne reported that he attended a meeting with several of the MDAC committee folks with respect to planning for the Earth Day event. Originally, Better Together and MDAC had been planning to share tent and table space on Earth Day; however, it has now been decided that MDAC will now occupy their own space. MDAC will be conducting three separate activities (wheelchair, hearing and assistant dogs) at the Earth Day event. Better Together will participate with the City at its 2 table. Because of the number of activities taking place at the MDAC tent, it was reported that they may need help. In this regard, we will be asking our Better Together group if any are available to assist.  Nothing Bundt Cakes Meeting – March 10 Our Better Together committee working on the “Connecting Businesses and Residents” initiative (Barbara Peck, Sharon Branigan, Freeda Bush and Wayne) met earlier in the day with the owners of Nothing Bundt Cakes (Gloria and Sergio Mattei) in order to begin planning for this first event. While final arrangements continue to be discussed, below is a brief summary of the tentative plans: o The tentative date for the event is April 15 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at NBC. Other dates discussed included April 8 and 16. o Each attendee will receive a coupon enabling them to buy one bundtlet and get one free. o The first 20 attendees will receive a free bundtlet each month for one year after making an initial purchase of one bundtlet. o Plans include the presence of an Easter Bunny and a magician. Pictures will be encouraged. o There will be a demonstration table showing attendees the ways in which various items are decorated. Also, there will be samples available for tasting. o With respect to advertising, there will be a press release distributed publicizing the event which also should be picked up by the local newspapers. Other advertising opportunities are to be considered. o A tent will be in front of the store which should help with space considerations. o The owners of NBC will notify the other tenants in the shopping center of the plans for the event. Events and Activities (Future) –  Communiteen Event – March 15 at Bethwell – 3 to 5 pm Wayne reported that he had been in communication with Ansley and all was in order for the Communiteen event scheduled for March 15. It was also mentioned that an article publicizing the event is in today’s Milton Herald. 3  Volunteer Appreciation Lunch – March 29 at City Hall – 12 to 2 pm All Better Together members and their families are encouraged to attend the Volunteer Appreciation Lunch scheduled for March 29.  Earth Day Festival – April 19 at Friendship – 11:00 am to 3:00 pm It was again pointed out that Better Together would be sharing space with the City in their tent. Volunteer help during the time of the event will probably be needed to staff the City’s table, as well as the MDAC tent.  Adopt-a-Road Clean-up – April 26 at Thompson Road – 9:00 am Originally, the clean-up activity was scheduled for April 12; however, because of various conflicts it is now scheduled for April 26. Our Better Together group is to meet at the site at 9:00 am that morning. Barbara Peck is organizing our activities.  Community Pet Day – Christ Community Church – May TBD Last year, Better Together participated in the Community Pet Day organized by Community of Christ Church located on Francis Road. Another Community Pet Day will be held in May and Better Together, along with Canine Assistants and a pet rescue group, will be participating. A date for the event (a Sunday afternoon) is expected to be selected within the next week or so. Welcoming New Residents – Plans for Future With regard to the monthly information to be distributed to new residents in the future, we discussed the possibility of perhaps delivering a few of the packets in person. We will continue to consider this approach as an alternative for a least a portion of the deliveries. Connecting Businesses and Residents – Current Status The Nothing Bundt Cakes event scheduled for April will be the first event of this type for our Better Together group. How we conduct this event is obviously a learning process. Hopefully, there will be many lessons learned that we can apply toward future events of this type. Open Discussion Our group discussed the possibility of perhaps devoting a few minutes from time to time at our meetings in order to learn more about each other. One suggestion mentioned was, for example, “10 things you didn’t know 4 about “Your Name.” Wayne asked the group to provide feedback on this idea. We ended the meeting by asking all that were present to mention the name of the most famous person they had met. Here are some of the responses:  Jimmy Carter (I think you all know him)  Gwen Verdon (movie star)  Dave Wottle (Olympic champion)  Joe Lockwood (our Mayor!)  Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (writer and historian)  Kyle Farnsworth (major league pitcher)  Magic Johnson (basketball)  Robert Kennedy, Jr. (brother of JFK and attorney general) Next Meeting – Bethwell Community Center – March 24, 2014 Debbie Daviadoff, founder of the Milton Veterans Project which honors veterans living in Milton, will join us at the March 24 meeting. Debbie will be giving us an update on this project.