World War I Task Force: September Meeting Minutes – Sept. 12, 2017
August meeting notes were accepted.
Topic #1:
County Car decal competition:
Pitch was made to Carla de la Pava regarding the importance of WWI and the intersection with the Car Decal competition (which is yearly). There are many creative ideas which draw on WWI themes.
Frank volunteered to speak with the teachers and visit Arlington schools on their schedules/availability.
Determined we would use the talking points from the County Fair as a starting point. Frank will write-up the pitch and work with Allison to promote it to schools with associated images from WWI.
Possibility to use the WWI theme as either the overall competition theme, or as a subset of decal options (encourage the students to use WWI as inspiration). Possibility of having at least one finalist selected from the WWI subset.
We are asking task force members to volunteer for the citizenship committee to judge decals and select the finalists.
Timeline: for 2018-2019 competition cycle (carrying forward past Armistice centennial)
- Decal submissions start December 2018
- Winner is chosen and announced publicly January/February 2019
- New decals issued in May 2019
Frank is set to start meeting with teachers soon.
Topic #2:
County Fair post-mortem:
Big thank you to the library, Susan, and all our volunteers
Set-up of the booth materials—Allison reorganized the layout on the first shift so that everything was more visible. We had good materials, but hard to see everything in the original set-up.
Quiz had a positive reaction from attendees—they were excited about the book selection; good community participation. For next year was need more child-level books and a broader range of book types across the board.
- There was some early confusion about how many books to hand out, and on what criteria (how many correct answers, participant enthusiasm, etc.)?
- 3 books were returned to the library after the Fair
Candy was a good call- need more candy for next year.
- Peanut chews, and other WWI-era candy was a big hit.
There was some confusion between the Task Force and the Center for Local History. We need to do a better job distinguishing ourselves from them for next year. Be more distinct.
WWI/WWII bus of memorabilia from the state commission—target this for next year at the fair. County is starting to make these inquiries and fill-out the application for our preferred dates (late August for the fair). The bus will require full-time staffing for all fair hours next year.
We need one fair coordinator for next year—a point person for everything.
Should we do a quiz again next year? Same questions vs. different questions?
Should we try a different activity instead of a quiz?
The inside table location worked-well. If we have the WWI/WWII bus next year then we will need an outside tent, next to the bus. The large bus will be the draw/attraction.
If we have the bus, then we will need a lot more volunteers, covering more hours. Will need to recruit volunteers from a wide range of activities—pull in a wider net.
Next year: we need to start planning for the Fair by March 2018. Discussed possibility of getting space on the stage (Cultural Affairs Stage) for WWI themed performances in 2018.
Topic #3:
JBMHH Retiree Appreciation Day: October 6th all day
The Task Force will be sharing tables with MVAC; similar to the Fair set-up, but on a smaller scale.
We need volunteers, especially people with Base access.
Joe Simonelli has Base access and offered to help transport other volunteers.
Point of Contact: Col. Wilner and Leah Rubacalva
Location: in-door at the Community Center on Base.
Tom, Frank and Dan will also assist with arrangements.
Supplies from the library: will loan us plastic frames, WWI poster/banner, and books for Retiree Fair.
- Put fliers announcing upcoming film series in the frames.
- Poppy flier
- QR code
We will focus on announcing upcoming events.
Allison will send out announcement with the details about Retiree Day, location and timing to the whole Task Force.
Task Force has been invited to participate in the JBMHH Fair through MVAC.
Topic #4:
Constance Potter Lecture: November 28th
WWI Genealogy lecture; researching the names on the Clarendon Memorial
- Using Ancestry.com (library access, free through the library)
- Constance will discuss available records, resources for ancestry research
Records:
What is available? There was a fire at the records hall in the 1970s lost a lot of WWI records
Creates limits on finding/tracking down records. Burial Case Files are now located in St. Louis (moved there from College Park, MD).
Constance is trying to get burial case files for us for free or low cost, but there are limitations. Is any funding available to pay for this? Probably approximately $50/record. The library can assist with funding.
Lecture location: either Central Library or perhaps historic location (Woodlawn School?)
Promote the lecture to respective associated groups: yield a bigger turnout.
This will be a skills-based lecture—not just useful for WWI research, helpful for all genealogical research
Engage with other local genealogical groups—promote to similar interest areas.
Look for groups on “Meet-ups” to promote too also
Fairfax Genealogical group?
Depending on what materials we get from the burial case files—we might have materials that we want to show in a visual display at the library. Display for the lecture? Afterwards?
Topic #5:
Michael Kazin Lecture: Scheduled for September 14, 2017
Promote this with the Arlington Historical Society (AHS) and genealogy groups
Announced on Library website
Topic #6:
Arlington “Citizen” Newspaper—sent to all Arlington households, includes announcements about upcoming WWI events (movie series, etc.). Peter is working on getting our events announced in this publication.
Movie Series:
6:30pm: speakers
7:00pm: movie
Possible donation component to this event? Food drive? Toiletry drive?
Toiletry drive:
- Suggested in association with the Dorie Miller auxiliary
- Support local military families at the Veterans Hospital in DC
- Opportunity to promote the drive on social media
- Set out a box for collecting items at each movie screening
Dan volunteered to bring the collected items to the Dorie Miller Post
Topic #7:
Tourism Brochure:
Courtney will have brochures ready to share by late September. 3,000 brochures will be available for our upcoming events.
Topic #8:
Planting Poppies:
Master Gardener’s Club: Dan reached out but hasn’t heard back.
OAR: Offender Aid Restoration program—possibility to get program participants to help with our planting project as part of restitution.
Who is a contact person at OAR?—check website
Another possibility- look for community service volunteers. Perhaps volunteers from Brendon’s Post?
Topic #9:
Community Service Idea: Suicide Prevention Awareness
In conjunction with March (Suicide Awareness Month) – plan events for March 2018
Include local military and veterans
Host a panel on PTSD
- History of “shellshock” from WWI and current PTSD
Can event be hosted at Dan’s Post?
- Event needs to be ADA accessible—the Post is not currently ADA accessible
- Speak to Human Rights Office at the County: speak to someone about accessibility needs
Other items:
November 14th Meeting: Allison has a conflict, Sara will lead the meeting
December 2017: meeting will likely be cancelled to accommodate holiday travel for Task Force Members
Meeting Times: should we push meetings back to 5:30pm to accommodate more schedules?
- Encourage members to come late if that is the best accommodation.
- Same number of people have conflicts later as earlier if we move meetings to after dinner (7pm or later)
Brainstorming:
Comcast Local Channel: “Local Edition”
- Discuss WWI on the local show: interview Task Force members (Allison?)
Fundraising:
Frank wants to raise money through local community banks. County could open a bank account for the Task Force. Get a tax deduction through the Arlington Community Foundation?
Money could be used to support the County Fair (buy candy, etc.).
Frank wants to offer a room at his friend Sonya’s bank to promote the Task Force and help us raise money
- Possibility to host a WWI speaker and accept donations
We need to get the County Manager’s Office on board—are we allowed to set up a funding stream?
Frank has set up special accounts before.