Connections Weekend Planning Meeting           Sept. 27, 2017

Agenda

In Attendance: Jen Allerding, Kyle Baughn, Jim Grubbs, Rick Maddox, Steve Melchior, Sandy Powell, Dave Spraw, Marilyn Stepro, Brian Treisch & Andee Wildenthaler

Financial Report: Fundraising totaled $7,187; donations are down from last year's donations which were $14,027;

Review of Minutes - Minutes were approved;

Committee Updates:

Bonfire/Pep Rally - Cheerleaders, Marching Band & Alumni Band will be present; Bonfire to begin at 6:50 pm; Kyle will contact Pioneer's security class to help with crowd control; Rick Maddox will bring the sound system to the park area @ 6:30 pm;

Pancake Breakfast - The Kiwanis breakfast will be held from 7:00 - 10:00; Sarah will be speaking with Katherine Nutt & Ric Walker about student performance times; Kiwanis volunteers will arrive @ 6:00 pm; No Donley Ford or 5K participation will occur on Saturday morning; Signs need to go up from Kiwanis;

Alumni Band - Rehearsals have been ongoing during the summer and are looking forward to attending the bonfire and homecoming game;

Hall of Fame Nominations - 2017 honorees include - Judy Beers, Arthur Poister, Dr. Paul Kim, Mark Enright, Matt Smith, Dr. Lee Burkam & Dr. Chris Bailey; Dr. Kim is not able to attend this year, but will come next year to receive his award;

Dinner Banquet - Marilyn announced that reservations grew to approximately 50 attendees (last year's reservations were approximately 90 guests); MS students will serve dinners and Marilyn has spoken w/the MS Asst. Principal to confirm their participation; 4 MS Leader In Me students will greet and seat honorees and families, Sarah will coordinate their participation; centerpieces will be for sale @ $10 each; reservations are needed by Friday, September 29th @ 4:00 pm; Rev. Roy Hughes, pastor of Well Spring Church, will be giving the invocation and Rev. Rick Maddox will give the benediction;

Fund Raising & Promotion -  The banner up is up at the intersection of Heise Park Lane; Jim also stressed the need for help with external communication to HOF members, current and past; 

Program - Dave is receiving bios and photos to begin building the program w/ A-1 Printing; Dave will coordinate with Kyle the number of program inserts for the game;

Awards - Miranda shared that the awards are in for the career day speakers and HOF recipients; Dave is working with Dean's Trophy house for the awards;

Career Day - Jen has been working with Sarah Wegesin and Tracie Wittibslager for Career Day speakers; food service will have refreshments ready at registration; so far, this year's speakers are - Miranda Monk, Colby Bright, Dr. Bailey, Lee Ann Ivy, Jeff Zeisler, Brady Wegesin & Abby Phelps; there will be 6 to 7 speaker rotations for grade 8 students; luncheon will be served after the morning presentations; if committee members would like to attend, they could come between 8:00 - 8:30 am on Friday morning and check into the MS Office; Rick suggested that Tanner Guinther, a state highway patrolman be considered for next year's speaker's group; Austin Chaplin was also recommended to represent law enforcement from Galion City;

New Business - Ash Welch ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) will be the GAMA representative as Rick will be stepping down as president; Thank you RIck for your years of support; Next year's Homecoming date is October 12, 2018; the city is looking to rezone the campus following a presentation from Mr. Grubbs at a recent city meeting; Brian recommended that a part-time Connections Weekend staff member be hired to begin in 2018 with a minimum of a $1000 contribution offered from the Galion Alumni Association to help support this position; Jim recommended that someone with strong communication and technology skills be considered;

Next Meeting - Wednesday, October 25th @ 7:30 am @ The Galion Schools' Administrative Center;

Meeting Adjourned @ 8:00 am;