HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-05-07-MMC-min.docxMonuments and Memorials Committee
Minutes of Meeting
May 7, 2026, 2026 By Zoom Teleconference
Attendance: Nick Wong, Chair; Avram Baskin, Vice Chair; Glen Bassett, Linda Dixon,
George Gamota, Leslie Masson, Regina Sutton
Guests: Bill Poole, Wei Ding, Ana Meli Olivia, Ian Wang
Absent: Liz Huttner
Business
Chair Nick Wong opened the meeting at 4:05 pm , welcomed everyone, and declared
that a quorum was present.
Approval of Minutes of April 2, 2026
On motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of April 2, 2026 were approved
unanimously by roll call vote.
Update on STEAM Team by Wei Ding
Dr. Wei Ding, mentor to the STEAM team, gave a brief review of recent team activities
and described their latest venture. She introduced Ana Meli Olivio and Ian Wang, who
are working with the team. The STEAM Team has steadily gained expertise through
the development and presentation of several projection mapping events. Their latest
venture, planned for May 30 in collaboration with the Munroe Center for the Arts, will
focus on showcasing Lexington's contemporary heroes, volunteers from the town's
many committees and non-profit organizations, through projection mapping. It will be a
combination of slide show and animated story board, with help from design professional
Ana Meli Olivio. The STEAM team will produce the slide show, and Ana will intersperse
animated story boards. Ana's presentation is called Illuminating Heritage: Lightscapes
of Lexington. The group has received a $1000 grant from the Community Endowment of
Lexington (CEL) to support production costs. In the fall, they will conduct an aggressive
fundraising campaign.
Wei requested group photos of the Monuments Committee at work, to be used in the
slideshow. Glen offered to send Nick photos from Town events over the past several
years. The group developed a list of town organizations that might be helpful for Wei to
contact as well, and Nick will send this list to Wei along with Glen's photos.
Al is becoming a controversial and emotional issue. The STEAM Team will focus on
real people and real photos for their slideshow, vs. AI -generated content. Wei Ding
plans to run a seminar on the ethics of Al in the Fall.
Review of the Database
The group discussed the current database status. Nick will send out the list of needed
writeups again to all committee members as a reminder. He asked members to check
their files for any photos that could be added to the database.
Inviting Guests to Future Meetings
Doug Lucente, Committee Liaison; Cristina Burwell, Executive Director of Munroe
Center for the Arts; and Trenton Carls, Executive Director of the Lexington History
Museums, will be invited to meet with the committee in the near future.
Elections
Nick reminded the committee that annual elections would be conducted at the June
meeting. In response to questions, Nick Wong, Avram Baskin, and Linda Dixon
affirmed their willingness to continue in their current offices of, respectively, Chair, Vice
Chair, and Secretary.
Adjournment
The committee voted to adjourn by roll call vote at 4:55 p.m.
Next meeting: June 4, 2026, 4:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Dixon, Secretary