Plymouth's 400th Anniversary

Minutes of Public Meetings of the Plymouth 2020 Committee: 2009

MINUTES - Meeting of the Plymouth 400th Committee
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the offices of Plymouth Rock Studios, Cordage Park, North Plymouth

Committee members present: Peter Gomes, Chair; Kathy Babini; Jim Baker; Peg Baker; Ben Brewster; Tamson Burgess; Paul Cripps; Ellie Donovan; David Kirkpatrick; John Mahoney; Gary Marks; John McDonagh (by speaker phone); Enzo Monti; Patrick O’Brien; Paula Peters; Ed Santos; Ken Tavares.
Absent: Paul Bumpus; Tom Calter; Vinny deMacedo; Rodney Randy Joseph; Butch Machado; Monica Mullin for Therese Murray.

Invited guests: Darcy Lee; Noel Le.

Members of the public: Rev. Dr. William Fillebrown; Jeff Fischer.

Peter Gomes opened the meeting at 7:00 pm.
The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as written.

REPORT OF PETER GOMES
Committee membership: Ellie Donovan has been invited to join the committee.

Governor’s Commission: Patrick O’Brien will consult with Monica Mullin on the status of the appointments.

November Event: The Committee will hold an event on November 7, 2009, between 2:00 and 5:00; potential stakeholders within both the Town of Plymouth and the larger “Old Colony” area will be invited; the purpose is to introduce the plans for 2020 and the Plymouth 400th Committee. Ken Tavares has acquired the upstairs room at Memorial Hall as a venue; Gen Jaeger has agreed to serve as “Party Planner” and Darcy Lee agreed to be the coordinator/liaison with Gen. Peter Gomes will speak; all members of the committee should be in attendance. A program must be planned; the committee should think about what it wishes to accomplish, and how. Two lists of invitees have been assembled; one - representatives of Plymouth’s cultural, historic and civic organizations as well as those involved in town government; the second - historical associations and museums in the Old Colony area and throughout Massachusetts. There are, at the moment, approximately 1000 names. The lists have been emailed to committee members and it is hoped that they will send additional names and addresses to Peg Baker. Jim Baker passed around an invitation design for approval of the committee; no changes were suggested. Time is of the essence – invitation printing, stuffing and mailing will be handled through Powder Horn Press.

Mission Statements: The following 2 mission statements were approved.
The mission of the Plymouth 400th Committee is three-fold:

to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims in Patuxet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, through a series of historical, cultural and educational events welcoming a local, national and international audience through the year 2020 and occurring region-wide with Plymouth at the epicenter of the commemoration;
to promote the significance of Plymouth in the development of America and its diverse cultural heritage;
and to advise the Plymouth Board of Selectmen, the State Commission and all other entities involved in the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620.

The mission of 2020 Starts Now, Inc. is to support the Plymouth 400th Committee by developing a theme, organizational structure and method of delivery to carry out the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing in Patuxet, Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. As a not-for-profit corporation, 2020 Starts Now, Inc. is the official fiscal agent for the work of the Plymouth 400th Committee.

International Efforts: Peg Baker will continue to pursue information on the protocol for inviting royalty to visit Plymouth in 2020.

Report by Jeff Fischer: Jeff is chair of the Plymouth Visitor Services Board. It has made a recommendation regarding the disposition of the “found” $190,000 in town money; the recommendation includes $45,000 to the Plymouth 400th Committee (through its fiscal arm 2020 Starts Now). This recommendation has been endorsed by the Acting Town Manager. It will be discussed by the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, September 22, and by the Advisory & Finance Committee on Wednesday, September 23. It is part of Town Warrant Article 7 and will go before the October Town Meeting. Before that, it will be discussed by the Precinct Chairs and by the individual precinct caucuses. There should be representatives of the committee at all meetings regarding this matter. Enzo Monti will be at the Board of Selectmen meeting; Peg Baker and Darcy Lee will be at the Advisory & Finance Committee Meeting. Peter Gomes will attend Town Meeting on Monday, October 26; he will write to Steve Triffletti, moderator, and ask to be put on the agenda to speak on the matter. Darcy Lee will find out the schedule and locations of the caucuses and send the information to Peg Baker who will, through email, schedule committee representatives to be at the caucus meetings. Peg Baker will circulate electronically the list of Town Meeting members; anyone who knows anyone should call in support of the warrant article regarding the $45,000 out of the “found” $190,000 (Warrant Article 7). It is important that those representing the Committee or calling Town Meeting members have a focused presentation and a consistent message; one strong argument is that the Town MUST commit its support first or the Commonwealth, the federal government, corporations and granting agencies will not commit. Darcy Lee will prepare a single-page position paper that committee members can use when they speak to Town Meeting members and caucuses. The Visitor Services Board does ask that they be apprised of how this $45,000 is spent.

Jeff also spoke regarding the potential increase in rooms tax (which has to be voted in by Town Meeting), of which 45% would go to the Visitor Services Board. He is making a personal recommendation that any additional rooms tax money received by the Visitor Services Board go to the Plymouth 400th Committee. There was considerable discussion on how the committee should approach this issue; the Committee does not wish to be in “competition” with other marketing initiatives that are essential to keeping Plymouth’s tourism industry strong. More thoughtful discussion is needed. Jeff Fischer will await both the vote of Town Meeting regarding the rooms tax increase as well as the Committee’s recommendation.

ONGOING PROJECT – OUTREACH, SPEAKERS & AUTHORS
Tamson Burgess is still (and always will be) looking for stories. Committee members should send her words or even just ideas. It is important to let people know what the committee is doing as well as why the individual committee members are involved. It is also important to let people know that it will cost money. An article should be at least 600-800 words and can be more.

PRESENTATION BY FUND-RAISING CONSULTANT DARCY LEE
Darcy has applied to Entergy for a $10,000 grant to fund the November 7th event as well as to fund planning activities. The “intent to apply” letter has been sent to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for a $5000 planning grant. Darcy composed a letter sent by Peter Gomes to the New York Times, congratulating them on their 400th celebration and drawing the connection to Plymouth’s future 400th. The feasibility and needs assessment is moving ahead; letters will go out by the end of the week to 90 to 100 people in the expectation of scheduling some 30 appointments.

The Chamber of Commerce has agreed to serve as the fiscal agent for 2020 Starts Now Inc. until the 501c3 paperwork is completed.

ONGOING PROJECT – BRANDING
The subcommittee (Darcy Lee, Paula Peters and David Kirkpatrick) has met. A draft RFP for “branding” services was presented. It was decided that the RFP should use the Chamber’s address; it should clearly state that the request is coming from 2020 Starts Now Inc.; a “generic” letterhead should be used. When proposals come in, the subcommittee will review and determine a list of finalists who will be asked to present to the committee as a whole.

It was MOVED and VOTED to approve the content and schedule of the RFP with the changes noted above and to authorize Paula Peters to proceed with issuing the RFP.

Paula will send the modified RFP to the committee through Peg Baker.

ONGOING PROJECT: NATIONAL PARK STATUS
Jim Baker will be prepared next month to present a synopsis of the various National Park designations and their parameters.

ONGOING PROJECT – LICENSE PLATE
David Kirkpatrick presented a semi-final design which (minus the 2 initials) has received approval from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The committee agreed that the initials to be used are “P” and “L.” Now the design needs formal approval from the printer, which is expected in a week or two.

The next step, after approval, is to get 1500 preorders and post the $100,000 bond. The November event will be a good time to launch the license plate and begin gathering preorders. Names should be taken but not credit card data.

John McDonagh reported that he had met with Sean Boucher from Eastern Bank; Eastern seems willing to work with the committee to accomplish the $100,000 bond. The exact mechanism is not yet certain; it partially depends on what the Registry needs. John will follow up on this. Eastern is interested in having the business; John has opened a new account with them.

ONGOING PROJECT – EDUCATION
Kathy Babini is working on activities for the Class of 2020, now second-graders. The Pilgrim Society’s annual Forefathers Day contest for ages 15-18 focuses on “Branding 2020” and should get some interest at the high school level.

ONGOING PROJECT – STAMP
Patrick’s work is at a standstill until the committee decides what it wants on a stamp. This should be coordinated with the branding effort.

Ben Brewster asked if the Plymouth 400th should have a coin struck? There are two types of possible coins – legal currency and commemorative coins. Ellie Donovan will bring in some examples of modern commemorative coins.

ONGOING PROJECT – FORMATION OF THE 501 C 3
John McDonagh reported that he has received the draft Form 1023 which needs more work. John will carry on with this project.

OTHER
Ben Brewster pointed out that support is needed for the repair and restoration of the Pilgrim-themed stained glass windows at First Church.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Rev. Fillebrown noted that the churches could be of great help in disseminating information and raising awareness; he is very glad to participate with the group. Peter would like Revs. Fillebrown and Marks to start seriously considering the nature and timing of a religious event or component of the celebration. Rev. Fillebrown also raised the idea of involving a national celebrity such as Garrison Keilor.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on Monday, October 19, at 7:00 pm in the offices of Plymouth Rock Studios, Cordage Park, North Plymouth.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

TASKS
PETER GOMES
NEW TASK: Peter Gomes will attend Town Meeting on Monday, October 26; he will write to Steve Triffletti, moderator, and ask to be put on the agenda to speak on the matter.

KATHY BABINI
ONGOING TASK: Kathy will work with Tamson Burgess to promote the work of the “2020 Kids.”

JIM BAKER
TASK: Jim will arrange for the printing, stuffing and mailing of the invitations to the November event.
ONGOING TASK: Jim will be prepared at the October meeting to present a synopsis of the various National Park designations and their parameters.

PEG BAKER
ONGOING TASK: Peg Baker will continue to pursue information on the protocol for inviting royalty to visit Plymouth in 2020.
NEW TASK: After receiving the schedule of precinct caucuses for Town Meeting (from Darcy Lee) Peg Baker will, through email, schedule committee representatives to be at the caucus meetings.
NEW TASK: Peg Baker will circulate electronically the list of Town Meeting members; anyone who knows anyone should call in support of the warrant article regarding the $5,000 out of the “found” $190,000 (Warrant Article 7).

TAMSON BURGESS
ONGOING TASK: Tamson will work with Kathy Babini to promote the work of the “2020 Kids.”

RODNEY JOSEPH
ONGOING TASK: Peter asked Rodney to give some thought as to how the commemoration of the Treaty with Massasoit could play a more prominent role in the Thanksgiving events

DAVID KIRKPATRICK
ONGOING TASK: David will continue with the design of the license plate.
ONGOING TASK: David will consult with Kathy Babini on a video component to the Class of 2020 project.
ONGOING TASK: David will continue to pursue foundation interest in the “2020 Kids.”
ONGOING TASK: David will continue with the branding project.

GARY MARKS
ONGOING TASK: Gary will contact the Congregational Church association and other religious leaders about gathering in Plymouth in November of 2019 for the opening event in the 2020 celebration.

JOHN MCDONAGH
ONGOING TASK: John will carry through the idea of possibly participating in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, held on the Mall in 2019, as part of the kick-off of the celebrations.
ONGOING TASK: John will continue the work on establishing the 501c3.
ONGOING TASK: Ken Tavares & John will follow through with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and with Eastern Bank regarding the bond for the license plates.
TASK: John will seek funding for Officers & Directors Insurance for the 501c3.

MONICA MULLIN
TASK: Monica will speak to the various commissioners who are, by the Executive Order, members of the Commission.

PATRICK O’BRIEN
ONGOING TASK: Patrick O’Brien will proceed with the stamp.

PAULA PETERS
ONGOING TASK: Paula will continue with the branding project.

KEN TAVARES
ONGOING TASK: Ken & John McDonagh will follow through with the Registry of Motor Vehicles and with Eastern Bank regarding the bond for the license plates

DARCY LEE
Darcy agreed to be the coordinator/liaison with Gen Jaeger in planning the festivities for the November event.
Darcy will find out the schedule and locations of the caucuses and send the information to Peg Baker who will, through email, schedule committee representatives to be at the caucus meetings. Darcy will prepare a single-page position paper that committee members can use when they speak to Town Meeting members and caucuses.