What a year this has been! Politically a new U. S. President (YES WE CAN), a new coalition in Germany (CDU/CSU and FDP), and economically the deepest recession in decades.
Especially during this recession, the German-American Business Association (GABA) has proven once again that it can offer unique support and added value providing the kind of community that helps professionals through difficult times. In reaction to the changed job market GABA offered a special job hunting series to help people reorient themselves and to use all channels including social media in their job search. With its 10 Industry Groups in place, GABA provided plentiful networking and training opportunities tackling business, technology, leadership and social topics. Some of them can be reviewed on the GABA Blog.
Despite the overall economic slowdown, 2009 was a very successful year for GABA. The association was able to grow its membership by 18% compared to last year. Now in its 7th year, GABA put together a total of 60 events: 40 in Northern California, and 20 organized by the Chapter in Southern California plus additional events in Munich and Berlin. The overall number of attendees exceeded over 3,500, a new record for us!
Another project GABA started in late 2009 is GABA TV. The weekly show is hosted by GABA's Media Co-Chair Pamela Lenz Sommer, and will air tomorrow for the first time: Starting December 19th, GABA TV airs every Saturday at 8:30 pm at KMTP TV channel 32. KMTP-TV32, Digital 33 reaches 1.9 million households in the San Francisco Bay Area over the air, via satellite and cable. GABA TV provides an additional platform for knowledge exchange, business and cultural topics and can be used as a venue to promote your business.
To all of you, who have experienced the value of our organization, please encourage your friends, business partners, colleagues and employers to Join GABA.
Especially after this challenging year, on behalf of the GABA Board, I want to thank our Executive Director Caroline Raynaud and her local team, the extended GABA team in Southern California, as well as the chapters in Germany for their work. And most of all, we give appreciation to our Industry Group Co-Chairs, and all our wonderful volunteers for a successful 2009.
GABA is driven by its members so please contact us with your ideas, valuable feedback and suggestions. We are always striving to improve.
Happy holidays and best wishes for a prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
Thomas Neubert
Chairman and Co-Founder, GABA
chairman@gaba-network.org
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