MINUTES

2007 MARKHAM CANADA DAY COMMITTEE

2007-07-16

Meeting No. 7

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Attendance

Members Jeanne Bowman James Bush Mitch Reiss Samuel Carr Council Councillor Carolina Moretti Councillor Alex Chiu Regrets Sam Sahoy Councillor Logan Kanapathi Bob Walter, Operations Rob Hincks, Operations Todd Bailey, Operations (Milne) Matt Vetere, Financial Analyst Marjorie Rebane, Manager, Corporate Communications

Staff Steve Matunin, Supervisor, Operations Joanne Olson, Councillor’s Assistant Olivia Bella, Event Mgmt & Outdoor Sport Coordinator Wendy Lucas, Assistant to Councillor Moretti Sandra Sealy, Assistant to Councillor Kanapathi Cynthia Taylor-Huff, Assistant to Councillor Chiu Bev Shugg Barbeito, Committee Clerk Absent Everest D’Souza Antoinette DiNova Javaid Khan Shahid Mahmood

The seventh meeting of the 2007 Markham Canada Day Committee convened at 6:00 p.m. with Councillor Carolina Moretti in the Chair.

1. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 25, 2007 MEETING

THE MARKHAM CANADA DAY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS:

That the minutes of the Markham Canada Day Committee meeting held on June 25, 2007, be adopted as distributed.

CARRIED

2. 2007 BUDGET

No report was available; Councillor Moretti will follow up with Matt Vetere.

3. COMMITTEE REPORTS

Councillor Carolina Moretti warmly thanked all committee members for their help in making the 2007 Canada Day event the best ever that the Town of Markham has hosted, as evidenced by the appreciative comments about the venue, food and entertainment from seniors who attended the Mayor’s Luncheon, as well as the large turnout at Milne Park for the Children’s Activities, entertainment and fireworks.

a) Media Launch – The media launch was successful: the hall was nicely decorated and the flag dancers were very entertaining. Councillor Moretti will discuss with Marjorie Rebane the idea of portraying next year’s event as a “preview to Canada Day” rather than a media launch.

b) Food Vendors – Joanne Olson reported that Sam Sahoy advised that there had been no problems with the food vendors.

It was noted that more food vendors are needed for the event. Options to consider might include Tim Horton’s, pizza slices, and candy floss. Committee members were asked to email ideas for other food vendors to Councillor Moretti or Wendy Lucas.

Feedback from some vendors indicates they have chosen not to participate because of the perception there would be little opportunity to make a profit. This might not be the case if future Canada Day events are able to attract attendance levels similar to that of the 2007 event.

In future, vendors selling clothing or items other than food would be asked to leave the park grounds.

c) Sponsorship – Councillor Moretti reported that she would confirm with Matt Vetere that the total sponsorship target was met and she thanked Councillor Chiu for his efforts in reaching the target.

Recognizing that an earlier start to sponsorship efforts could lead to greater success, the sponsorship package for the 2008 event will be prepared and distributed to prospective sponsors in Fall 2007.

d) Advertising/Posters/Invitations –

The poster contest was very popular and should be repeated; the possibility of promoting and implementing the contest earlier will be considered.

Postcards advertising the event were distributed at several locations in Markham and this initiative was extremely successful. Other advertising included five radio spots on Jewel 98.5 and space on the Town of Markham page in the “Economist & Sun” - once to promote the poster contest and three times to promote the Canada Day activities. It was noted that the Markham Canada Day event should also be advertised in the York Region Visitor’s Guide.

Efforts will be made to distribute invitations for the Media Launch earlier for the 2008 event.

Committee members were asked to email ideas of themes for the 2008 event to Councillor Moretti or Wendy Lucas.

e) Mayor’s Seniors Luncheon – Councillor Moretti reported that she had received many compliments about the lunch and that many felt this had been the best Mayor’s Luncheon ever.

It was recommended that whoever manages the logistics for the luncheon must also manage the volunteers for the event. Cynthia Taylor-Huff, who managed this year’s event, will create a template for others to follow.

Other discussion points included:

Management of the event

- A more detailed script of the event would assist in the proper introduction of dignitaries and generally having the event run smoothly

- A table should be reserved for Veterans, Hall of Fame and other award winners, the Canada Day Poster winner should be invited, and their names should be included in the script

- To welcome the seniors, a receiving line should be set up and Canada flags distributed to seniors at the start of the luncheon event

Entertainment

- Reconfirm in advance the participation of the Town Crier to open the luncheon

- Entertainment by “Melody Mist”, the Huff sisters and the slide show was appreciated by the seniors

Lighting and sound

- Samuel Carr and his staff did an excellent job with the lighting and sound for the entertainment

- Some modifications might be considered to minimize lights shining in anyone’s eyes

Décor

- The signs were very professional

- The red and white tablecloths and flowers on the tables gave a festive touch to the event

Lunch

- The food was appetizing, an excellent job by the caterer

- To speed up the process of serving the lunch to the seniors, consideration should be given to using other methods e.g. trays, trolleys

Set-up and clean-up

- Additional helpers would be required for these duties

- An organized garbage collection system would be needed, e.g. use of trolleys for collection

- More bins for garbage and recycling is recommended

Transportation

- Consideration should be given to using a combination of large transit buses and smaller shuttle buses in order to prevent seniors from having to walk a great distance if large buses are unable to access a given area. James Bush will provide information about locations and numbers of seniors involved where difficulties arose this year.

Registrations

- It was felt the registration process should be fine tuned to minimize possible overlaps in individual and group registrations.

- Meeting with representatives from Seniors Centres, to involve them in the process, might assist the process to run smoothly

f) Parade – Joanne Olson, Bob Walter and Steve Matunin were thanked for their efforts in making the parade one of the best ever.

Discussion points included:

- Extra participants, who show up on the day of the event, are fit in where possible

- Ways should be investigated to include music in the parade

- Parade marshals should be given a copy of the parade schedule so they can better respond to questions; this year, since the mall was open for business, the parade floats had to share the mall parking lot with shoppers and this complicated parade communications and set up

- Councillor Moretti will remind provincial politicians that the event is a Town of Markham event which should not be used to advance provincial political agendas

g) Fireworks - The fireworks display and the accompanying music were tremendous; the same company is already booked for 2008. If the budget allows, consideration will be given to spending additional funds to have a longer fireworks prsentation.

h) Parking – The parking arrangements, including use of paid-duty officers, worked well. It was noted that permits are not issued for Milne Park on Canada Day.

i) Transit Arrangements – It was reported that there were problems with the bus queues for people leaving Milne Park, and one written complaint was received. Steve Matunin will work with York Region Transit staff to identify arrangements that will minimize such problems for next year.

j) Stage & Sound – Many compliments were received about the stage and sound presentation. Samuel Carr will work with Parks staff to find ways to expand the reach of sound from the stage.

k) Entertainment – The multicultural mix of entertainment pleased the crowd; all acts performed before a full audience. Joanne Olson was thanked for serving as emcee for the second half of the show.

l) Children’s Activities – Jeanne Bowman reported that the magician and clown provided excellent entertainment and that the volunteers recruited by Councillor Logan Kanapathi were most helpful.

She identified the following issues to be addressed for the 2008 event:

- Pins, tattoos, flags and other supplies should be available early enough for set up prior to the start of the activities at 3:00 PM

- Cell phone numbers of Parks staff should be available for volunteer use in case of problems, e.g. water not working, supplies not available

- The Jumping Castle should be set up before 2:45 PM

- The magician needs to have a screen that can be positioned behind him

m) Signage – Councillor Moretti thanked Bob Walter for the professional appearance of the signage for this year’s events at Le Parc hotel and Milne Park. A banner for the front of the stage at Milne Park will be requested for the 2008 event.

n) Security – The arrangements to hire an EMS ambulance and two attendants for the Mayors (Seniors) Luncheon, and the security plans for Milne Park, were appropriate for the events.

o) Radio Station Participation – Radio stations Z103 and Jewel 98.5 are willing to consider participating in the 2008 event. To ensure availability, requests for participation should be sent to the radio stations early in the year, e.g. January or February. Councillor Moretti and Mitch Reiss will finalize and send the requests.

p) Heritage Grant – Councillor Moretti and Steve Matunin will work with Olivia Bella to complete the final report due to Heritage Canada. The 2008 grant application will be submitted earlier in an attempt to receive the grant funds earlier.

q) Volunteers – It was suggested that volunteers be assigned to one of three functions: (1) Bus transportation to/from the Mayor’s (Senior’s) Luncheon; (2) Set-up/clean up for the Mayor’s (Senior’s) Luncheon; and (3) Children’s Activities. Councillor Logan Kanapathi was instrumental in providing many volunteers for this year’s events; it was suggested that he assume the lead for recruiting volunteers for the 2008 event.

r) Membership – It was felt that the size of the committee is appropriate. Steps will be taken to remove from the committee the names of members who have not attended meetings or otherwise contributed to committee activities.

4. OTHER BUSINESS

a) 2008 Canada Day Event - Councillor Carolina Moretti advised the committee that it would be important to start planning for the 2008 Canada Day event much earlier than had been done for previous years’ events. The committee will hold a preliminary planning meeting in November 2007 to discuss possible themes, and develop timelines for the 2008 event; regular planning meetings will begin in January 2008. Requests for radio participation and security arrangements will be sent, and children’s activities will be confirmed, early in 2008.

b) Thank You Letters – Heads of sub-committees were requested to submit lists of names and addresses to Councillor Moretti or Wendy Lucas so that staff can send letters of appreciation from the committee co-chairs to sponsors, volunteers, entertainment acts and others who contributed to the success of the 2007 Canada Day event.

5. DATE FOR NEXT MEETING

The next scheduled meeting of the Markham Canada Day Committee is November 19, 2007 at 6:00 PM to discuss possible themes, and develop timelines for the 2008 event.

6. ADJOURNMENT

The seventh meeting of the 2007 Markham Canada Day Committee adjourned at 7:45 p.m.