This past week the City and the Eden Prairie School District co-sponsored an event called The Gathering. The purpose of the event was to provide a comfortable and safe atmosphere for immigrants to the this country and to Eden Prairie to share their experiences with other immigrants, citizens, and community leaders.
The event drew a room full. I estimate that over 100 people attended the event, which was held in the Heritage Rooms of the City Center. In addition to the honored guests, the immigrants, there were also a number of community leaders in attendance, including the following: City Councilmembers Ron Case, Jan Mosman, and Phil Young; School Board Members Carol Bomben and Ann Haines; School Superintendent Melissa Krull; Chief of Police Dan Carlson; Director of Parks and Recreation Bob Lambert; and me.
The immigrants who spoke at the event were eloquent and emotional. To a person, they were glad to be in the United States. They recognized that the opportunities here exceeded the opportunites in their home countries. They all appreciated the safety of the United States, and especially of Eden Prairie. They spoke of their access to healthcare as being something very important to them.
The speakers gave us good feedback about the importance of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. They also told us about the importance of transit services and transportatin in general.
The room was full of life and languages. We had speakers and interpreters in Somali, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. It was a great evening and I learned alot. These folks are an important asset to our community. We are lucky to call them our neighbors.
