Minutes - January 22, 2008

SENA Minutes For Tuesday January 22nd, 2008

Those in attendance: JoAnn Morton, Matt Montesano, Pete Piazza, William Pendleton, Tanya Owens, Nellie Morton, Kazuko Walton, Robert Chaumont, Noriko Chaumont, Yoko Chaumont, Mark Beaudoin, Marie-Elise Beaudoin, Melissa Bucher.

JoAnn Morton (President) led the meeting.

Minutes for December 17, 2007 read and approved.

Scott Jarzonbek: The Howe Library will be closing in April. There will be a party and Silent Auction on the last day. The library will reopen in the Housing Authority Building on South Pearl Street. How much time between closing and reopening is not clear, yet. There is no written agreement. There is some possibility there may be story hours in the Schuyler Mansion. Two branches (Howe and Pine Hills) will be closing at the same time. Some 5,000 books from Howe will be going into storage. There was some discussion of the Howe library windows (whether they should be restored or simply replaced). For Scott, the #1 issue was being sure the windows kept out outside noise.
After the Howe Library closes, where should SENA meet? Would it be possible to have the April 22, etc meetings at Rev.Covington's church of which Nellie Morton is a member?

The major part of the meeting was devoted to planning for an upcoming Job Fair. Tanya Owens (of the Trinity Institution) explained about their upcoming job fair (to be held Thursday April 24th, 10am - 4pm). They are estimating attendance of about 20 vendors. Prior to the Fair, they have a "Job Club" giving training in job application skills: filling out application forms, the job search process, practice being interviewed, how to dress, etc. There should be interviews on site. Trinity is open to partnering with SENA, should SENA wish to participate.
Bill Pendleton and Pete Piazza discussed aspects to consider when planning a job fair, setting a date, etc. February (black history month) is probably not a good time. April might be best. Times Union is holding a big Job Fair on April 2nd. Organizations seeking to fulfill their diversity requirements may be attracted to come to a SENA job fair. In mid-March, NY State will be having a Career Fair at the Convention Center. The Urban League has a mentoring program (helping individuals prepare to get work).
Should the SENA job fair be held at Giffen Elementary? Mark Beaudoin and Tanya Owens would connect to exchange information, ideas, etc regarding job fair partnering.

Matt Montesano discussed car larcenies and prevention, and the usefulness of having a "neighborhood watch". He suggested inviting representatives from the DA's office and Dept. of General Services to our meeting.

Should we have a SENA outreach activity at the Library Closing Party?

An officer's meeting was proposed before the next general SENA meeting on Feb. 26th.