MINUTES

2008 MARKHAM CANADA DAY COMMITTEE

2008-2-04

Meeting No. 2

__________________________________________________________

 

Attendance

 

Members

Samuel Carr

Antoinette DiNova

Mitch Reiss

 

Council

Councillor Alex Chiu

Councillor Carolina Moretti

 

Regrets

Councillor Logan Kanapathi

Jeanne Bowman

Javaid Khan

Sam Sahoy

Rob Hincks, Operations

Joanne Olson, Special Events Assistant

Staff

Steve Matunin, Supervisor, Operations

Bob Walter, Operations

Todd Bailey, Operations (Milne)

Matt Vetere, Financial Analyst

Wendy Lucas, Assistant to Councillor Moretti

Sandra Sealy, Assistant to Councillor Burke

Cynthia Taylor-Huff, Assistant to Councillor Chiu

Bev Shugg Barbeito, Committee Clerk

 

Absent

 

 

 

The second meeting of the 2008 Markham Canada Day Committee convened at 7:10 p.m. with Councillor Carolina Moretti in the Chair. 

1.      ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 21, 2008 MEETING

 

THE MARKHAM CANADA DAY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS:

 

That the minutes of the Markham Canada Day Committee meeting held on January 21, 2008, be adopted as distributed, with one addition in italics:.

Theme

   There was considerable discussion about possible themes: diversity, environment, Olympics, support for our troops/firefighters. Committee members agreed on the theme of family with these possible slogans suggested by Cynthia Taylor-Huff: “Celebrate the Family” or ”One Family, One Markham”, One Canada” or ”One Canada, One Markham, One Family”.

CARRIED


2.      2008 BUDGET

         Mr. Matt Vetere distributed a document entitled Town of Markham Canada Day 2008 Preliminary Budget as at February 4, 2008 for the committee’s review. All members were encouraged to review costs for their budget items, so the committee can finalize the Canada Day budget soon.

 

3.      PLANNING FOR CANADA DAY 2008

 

a)      Theme

The Committee was asked to consider the possibility of branding future Canada Day events with an ongoing theme, similar to how the Milliken Children’s Fest is branded. Such branding would facilitate recognition of the Canada Day events by residents and would reduce costs by allowing the use of event materials and signs from year to year.  It was also suggested to include a symbol or emblem as part of the branding. To obtain input on a potential slogan and logo, Councillor Chiu will consult with Town of Markham Corporate Communications staff and Bob Walter will consult with Town of Markham Printing staff.

 

Support was expressed for the theme ”One Family, One Markham”, One Canada”. A one-year theme may be approved by the Canada Day Committee but any long-term branding initiative will need to be approved by Town of Markham Council.

 

b)      Timelines

This item will be discussed at the next meeting. The only imminent deadline involves having the theme branding ready to meet the print deadline for the Town of Markham Summer Recreation Guide.

 

c)      Media Launch

               The theme will be incorporated into the planning for this event. A variety of entertainment will be planned to include youth, seniors and Town of Markham staff. Other suggestions should be sent to Sandra Sealy, the coordinator of this event. She will put all ideas together and make a presentation to the committee. Ms. Sealy will consult with Town of Markham Corporate Communications staff to ensure the list of media invited to attend is inclusive.

 

d)      Food Vendors

Samuel Carr will work with Sam Sahoy to coordinate these plans. A number of possibilities for food vendors were suggested: Tim Horton’s, Boston Pizza, Longo’s. Samuel Carr will consult with Sara Sterling, Town of Markham Special Events Coordinator, to ensure there would be no conflict with existing Town of Markham contracts if the Committee were to approach these potential food vendors. If deemed appropriate, Samuel Carr will approach Boston Pizza and Antoinette DiNova will approach Tim Horton’s.

 

There may be a need to limit the number of food vendors. Samuel Carr will work with Joanne Olson to compile a list of vendors from the past year and proposed new vendors. The Committee will discuss this item further at the next meeting.


 

e)      Sponsorship

               This item will be discussed at the next meeting.

 

f)        Advertising/Posters/Invitations

               Wendy Lucas will coordinate the plans to have the Canada Day event ad ready for the print deadline for the Town of Markham Summer Recreation Guide. If the theme branding is not ready at that time, last year’s pictures will be used in the ad.

 

g)      Mayor’s Seniors Luncheon

               Councillor Moretti and Councillor Chiu will confirm the venue of this event. Cynthia Taylor-Huff and Steve Matunin will coordinate all plans for the luncheon, including entertainment plans. Cynthia Taylor-Huff has confirmed a Filipino youth group will provide entertainment as well assisting with serving, set up and clean up functions. Tables will be reserved for veterans and seniors award winners. Plans for transportation to and from the event will be reviewed to ensure their efficiency.

 

h)      Parade

               Councillor Moretti advised that Town of Markham Council is excited about the Canada Day Parade and the parade will continue to be a feature of Town of Markham Canada Day events. The parade line-up will be easier to organize whenever Markville Mall is closed; should it be open for business on Canada Day, the committee could set up a booth in the parking lot to provide information for those taking part in the parade.

 

It was suggested to include more music in the parade. Cynthia Taylor-Huff will send the name of a Korean band to Antoinette DiNova. Steve Matunin will determine if Steve Lewis will participate with his horse and buggy and whether he’d agree to offer horse rides in the park after the parade.

 

It was agreed that the parade should only be made up of volunteers, or if someone wanted to be paid, then they should agree to provide some entertainment on stage or throughout Milne Park after the parade. It was suggested this be tried for the 2008 Parade and the results could be reviewed as part of the planning for the 2009 Parade. Mitch Reiss and Antoinette DiNova will investigate other parades, and Bob Walter will check with organizers of the Santa Claus parade, to determine their practice about parade participation. There will be further discussion on this topic at the next meeting.

 

i)        Fireworks  

      Plans for the fireworks display and the accompanying music have been arranged.

 

j)        Parking

      The parking arrangements have been made.

 

k)      Transit Arrangements

               Joanne Olson will coordinate these arrangements.


 

l)        Stage & Sound

               Samuel Carr will work with Willie Reiss, who will join the committee at the next meeting, to coordinate the arrangements.

 

m)    Entertainment

               Joanne Olson and Mitch Reiss will coordinate the selection of diverse entertainment. They will use the 2007 budget as a guideline for entertainment expenses. They were encouraged to begin booking preferred acts soon before they accept other commitments. Options will be investigated to spread entertainment throughout Milne Park.

 

n)      Children’s Activities

               The Children’s Activities have already been reserved.

 

o)      Signage

               Signs will be developed for the Parade information booth and to indicate entertainment throughout Milne Park.

 

p)      Security

               This item will be discussed at the next meeting.

 

q)      Radio Station Participation

               This item will be discussed at the next meeting.

 

r)       Heritage Grant

               The committee has applied for the $2,000 Heritage Grant.

 

s)       Volunteers

               This item will be discussed at the next meeting.

 

 

 

4.            OTHER BUSINESS

 

a)      New activities

      It was agreed that another venue would be more appropriate for holding a fund raising event.

 

b)      Membership

The Committee will welcome two new members, Willie Reiss and Ken Mack, at the next meeting. James Bush has resigned and, Everest D’Souza and Shahid Mahmood have been removed from the committee.


 

c)      Non-profit Vendors

      The Committee was asked to consider allowing a non-profit organization, As Good As It Gets, to have a booth at Milne Park where the organization could distribute information to raise awareness of the underprivileged situation of Guatemalans and to sell coffee beans and items made of natural fibres to raise funds. Following discussion, the consensus was:

-          There would be a limit of five non-profit vendors approved to sell items

-          The five spaces for non-profit vendors would be awarded on a first come, first served basis

-          Non-profit vendors would be charged a nominal fee of $25.00

-          The $25.00 fee would be waived, if  a group wanted to have a booth only for the display or distribute material to raise awareness

 

               Councillor Moretti will advise Olivia Bella about the decision and ask her for more information about As Good As It Gets.

 

5.            DATE FOR NEXT MEETING

The date of the next scheduled meeting of the Markham Canada Day Committee is

March 17, 2008, at 6:00 PM, in the Canada Room.

 

Town of Markham Corporate Communications department will be invited to send a representative to the meeting.

 

6.      ADJOURNMENT

The second meeting of the 2008 Markham Canada Day Committee adjourned at 8:45 p.m.