Youth Commission

APPROVED MINUTES OF A RESCHEDULED YOUTH COMMISSION MEETING VILLAGE OF NORTHBROOK COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS May 22, 2013 “Lead, Serve, Shine” Adult Commissioners Present (4) Carla Slawson-Martens, Chairperson Gary Moriello Michael Shore Kay Ellen Stein Student Commissioners Present (7) Andy Han, Co-Chairperson Grace Elisco Ethan Matlin Amanda Mawrence Ross Steinberg Adam Wagner Ryan Wagner Commissioners Absent (12) Zainab Ahmed Allison Kaplan Ethan Kirshenbaum Casey Luc Harrison Marick Danny Martens Lauren Schifferdecker Emily Schwandner Maddie Serota Kent Steinberg Peter Szemraj Josh Tolmatsky Village Staff Present Jason Batalden, Youth Commission Staff Liaison Stacy Seiden, Recorder Additional Attendee Joshua Handler, 2013 Youth Commission Film Festival participant and former Youth Commission member 1. Call to Order  Page 2 Minutes of the May 22, 2013 Youth Commission Meeting Co-Chairperson Han called the meeting to order in the Terrace Room of Village Hall, 1225 Cedar Lane, at 7:15 PM. A quorum was present. 2. Review of Minutes Commissioner Moriello moved, seconded by Commissioner Matlin, to approve the minutes of the April 17, 2013 Youth Commission meeting without corrections. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. 3. Public Comments There were no public comments. 4. 2013 Calendar of Events A. Film Festival – Monday, June 10 Chairperson Slawson-Martens reported that, thus far, the commission had received a total of two entries for the Fourth Annual Youth Commission Film Festival at 7 PM on June 10 at the Northbrook Public Library. Commissioner R. Steinberg stated that he also planned to submit an entry. After discussing the relevant pros and cons, the commission decided to proceed with hosting a festival, albeit simplified, this year primarily because of current student interest in the event and to encourage the future growth of the festival. Accordingly, commissioners identified the following tasks that needed to be accomplished and respective volunteers to make the June Youth Commission event happen. • Commissioners Moriello and Mawrence will give introductory remarks at the festival provided to them by Chairperson Slawson-Martens. Commissioner Mawrence will introduce each film and ask filmmakers follow-up questions (e.g., why they selected their film, what unique challenges they encountered, etc.), as necessary. • Commissioner Mawrence will follow-up with Todd Rubin regarding a possible Glenbrook North High School (GBN) basketball-related film entry. Commissioner R. Steinberg also will contact a friend who might be interested in submitting a film. • Chairperson Slawson-Martens and Commissioner Stein will distribute festival flyers in Northbrook. • Liaison Batalden will print the festival programs. • Chairperson Slawson-Martens will invite the Columbia College film professor who participated in the 2012 festival to participate in the event again this year. • Commissioner Shore will review film entries for appropriateness prior to the festival. • Commissioner Moriello will walk through the event with Steve Gianni of Multimedia Services at the Northbrook Public Library by June 3.  Page 3 Minutes of the May 22, 2013 Youth Commission Meeting • Festival filmmakers who have not already done so will provide a DVD version of their film to Liaison Batalden. • Each commissioner was encouraged to bring at least five attendees with them to the festival. Co-Chairperson Han suggested awarding “scholarships” to those who submitted films in lieu of cash prizes, as originally discussed. His suggestion was well-received and, therefore, the commission decided to distribute the original prize money equally among each of the filmmakers as scholarships. Commissioners expressed their excitement about hosting the upcoming festival and agreed that the Youth Commission Film Festival had the potential to be “the coolest” event. B. Film Preview Commissioners previewed two Film Festival entries—“keylog,” written and directed by Commissioner R. Wagner, and “Perfection,” by Mr. Handler. Both films poignantly addressed youth-related issues from a student perspective. Consequently, Chairperson Slawson-Martens will invite those who attended last week’s Youth Forum meeting to the festival. 5. Youth Forum Last week, the Village Community Relations Commission invited representatives from other commissions, including Chairperson Slawson-Martens of the Youth Commission, and religious institutions, as well as crisis hotline workers, psychologists, and others to a meeting to discuss organizing a Northbrook Youth Forum and other related issues. Chairperson Slawson-Martens reported that the Community Relations Commission felt compelled to respond to the recent loss of Northbrook youth. As a first step, the Community Relations Commission will host a Youth Forum in June 2013 to identify and begin to address the social service gaps for Northbrook youth and their parents. According to Chairperson Slawson-Martens, the Community Relations Commission envisioned providing youth and their parents with the necessary social services, so that no one in Northbrook reached the point where they felt helpless and wanted to take their own life. To that end, the Community Relations Commission was spearheading a campaign, “Northbrook Cares,” to educate the community about relevant available resources. Chairperson Slawson-Martens expressed her view that the campaign necessitated a marketing professional to develop a relevant logo. Commissioner A. Wagner commented that his mother worked with a talented marketing consultant, who might be interested in developing such a logo. Commissioner Moriello noted that the most recent Northbrook Tower featured the Youth Forum-related meeting attended by Chairperson Slawson-Martens. Co-Chairperson Han questioned whether there was sufficient time to effectively organize a Youth Forum next month. Chairperson Slawson-Martens reported that other participants at the meeting last week shared this concern. However, Commissioner A. Wagner observed that residents may be more likely to participate when the community losses still felt “raw.” Similarly, Commissioner R. Wagner noted that if students are in need, those needs should be addressed sooner rather than later. Commissioner Matlin concluded that if a Youth Forum will be held in June, the event should be kept relatively simple. Chairperson Slawson-Martens noted that Village Manager Richard Nahrstadt wanted to ensure that relevant professionals were involved in this effort.  Page 4 Minutes of the May 22, 2013 Youth Commission Meeting 6. Recognition of Graduating Seniors Commissioners recognized and presented parting gifts to Commissioners Mawrence and R. Wagner, who were graduating from GBN in June 2013 and, thus, stepping down as Youth Commission members. Commissioners Mawrence and R. Wagner will notify other seniors serving on the commission that they can pick up their parting gifts from the Northbrook Police Department. Chairperson Slawson-Martens reminded commissioners that the next Youth Commission event was the June 10 Film Festival, followed by an August commission meeting. 7. Adjournment There being no further business, Commissioner Steinberg moved, seconded by Commissioner Moriello, to adjourn the meeting. On a voice vote, the motion unanimously carried. Co-Chairperson Han adjourned the meeting at 8:40 PM. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Stacy J. Seiden Recorder