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<br />M I N U T E S <br /> <br /> <br />Eugene City Council <br />Regular Meeting <br />Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall <br /> <br /> October 9, 2006 <br /> 7:30 p.m. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papé, Bonny Bettman, <br />George Poling, Chris Pryor. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS ABSENT: Andrea Ortiz. <br /> <br /> <br />Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. <br /> <br /> <br />1. CEREMONIAL MATTERS <br /> Proclamation Honoring Holt International Children Services <br /> <br />Gary Gamer, chief executive officer of Holt International Childrens Services, introduced Pammy Chow of <br />Holt International Childrens Services, her daughter Jade Chow, and Jade’s grandparents, Mary and Jack <br />Karns. Mayor Piercy read a proclamation recognizing the work of Holt International, and proclaiming the <br />month of October 2006 to be Holt International Month. She called upon Eugene citizens to recognize the <br />work of Holt International. Mayor Piercy presented a copy of the proclamation to Mr. Gamer, who thanked <br />the Mayor and the City of Eugene for recognizing the agency’s work. He noted that the Mayor, an adoptive <br />parent herself, was very concerned with the issue of international adoption. <br /> <br />Mr. Gamer recalled the inception of the agency 50 years ago when founders Harry and Bertha Holt began to <br />work with orphaned children in North Korea. Over the years, there continued to be a need for the agency’s <br />services in many parts of the world, such as Africa. He said that Holt International was the pioneer in <br />international adoption and also helped with family preservation, domestic adoption, and crisis services in the <br />countries of children’s origins. He reported that in 2005, Holt International helped 30,000 children around <br />the world. Mr. Gamer said that Holt would soon commemorate its 50th anniversary and would convene a <br />conference October 18-21 with the theme “Looking Forward: A Global Response for Homeless Children,” <br />which he anticipated would be attended by people from around the world. The conference would include a <br />gala celebration on October 19 to which he invited the council and members of the community. <br /> <br />Jade Chow thanked the council for the proclamation making October Holt International Month. She asked <br />the council to imagine what it would feel like not to have a child to love or to be a child without love. She <br />said that would have been the situation for her and her mother if not for the work of Bertha and Harry Holt. <br />th <br />She was proud to be an adopted 8 grader from China. Ms. Chow said, “adoption is forever.” <br /> <br />Mr. Papé noted his and the Mayor’s tour of the Holt campus outside Seoul, and said that Holt was much <br />more than an adoption agency, as he personally witnessed. He commended the work of Harry and Bertha <br />Holt and wished the agency well in its upcoming celebration. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 9, 2006 Page 1 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />