Our theme this month is . . . .Building Bridges Between Northwest Indiana & The World.
At our May 18, 2007 networking breakfast, our special guest is . . . .International Speaker, Founder and
Executive Director of Hearts In Motion, Karen Scheeringa, a woman of faith, passion and seemingly unlimited energy.
She will discuss her efforts. . . .
Hearts in Motion: "Providing Health Care Services
to the Impoverished in Central America"
Ms. Scheeringa is the mother of ten children, nine of whom were adopted from the Philippines,
Korea, Mexico, Guatemala, and the United States. In 1982, while picking up her adopted daughter from Korea,
Karen met with people who specialized in providing needed surgeries for children from all over the world and
immediately became involved as a volunteer in their work.
By 1986, Ms. Scheeringa realized that the number of children in developing countries needing medical attention
required a more aggressive approach. In 1990, Ms. Scheeringa incorporated Hearts In Motion (H.I.M.) and began
taking medical teams to children in need.
Karen's efforts have been concentrated on Central America, especially Guatemala. She has worked effectively
with medical specialists and other volunteers to establish a significant presence. Karen has also developed and
maintained important contacts with medical and political leaders in Central America and throughout the United
States. She has received Honorary Doctorates and numerous awards from countries around the world.
The networking breakfast will be held at The Patio, 7706 Broadway, Merrillville, Indiana. The cost for this
event is $13 members with reservation, $15 at door, non members, or if invoiced. Please RSVP by Monday, May 14, 2007
by calling the Council at (219) 670-3018.
Other new programs are being planned. If you have a suggestion for a topic, please let us know! Call us at 219.670.3018 or send us an email.
During the past three years we have re-established ourselves as a viable organization
with intriguing programs, a unique Annual Gala, networking opportunities, faithful members and an active
board of directors. We have more clearly defined our direction, yet there are needs we are not serving.
Our membership has also grown, but not to our goal level.
We are a membership organization that is measured by the contribution and participation of our constituencies.
Our success is dictated by our impact in the community, but we are dependent upon our members and friends
telling us what we need to do. In other words, you are an asset to our organization, and your support and
input is vital.
Therefore, we asked every member and friend of the World Trade Council to join us for a very important
Annual Meeting which was held on Monday, April 23, 2007 from 12:00pm - 1:30pm at the Avalon Manor,
3550 East U.S. Highway 30, Merrillville.
Understanding China: Economic, Political & Religious Notions was the topic of the March luncheon, and the guest speaker will be John Abbott Worthley, Ph.D. This event was held at Ming Ling Chinese Restaurant, 566 South Lake Street, Gary, Indiana. Tickets were $10 members with reservation & payment and $12 non-members or at door.
Special guest speaker, John Abbott Worthley, Ph.D., has just returned from key world
events and talked about China's economic, political and religious notions. He has been involved in recent
talks on North Korea with six nations. In addition, he plays a key role in on-going Vatican-Beijing diplomatic
discussions.
Dr. Worthley is a provocative presenter and astutely aware of key world issues. He has been a visiting professor
of management in China for twenty five years teaching at universities in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan, Wuhan, Lhasa
and Hong Kong. In 1984 he published the first article in western literature on Chinese government administration.
Over the years he has served as a China consultant to corporations such as Charles Schwab Company and the National
Broadcasting Company, and to universities and governments. Dr. Worthley holds degrees in diplomacy from Holy Cross
College, in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia, and in public management from the State University
of New York.
The Digital Age in Globalization: Challenges & Opportunities was the topic
of the February luncheon held at The Patio, 7706 Broadway, Merrillville, Indiana. The luncheon speaker was
Purdue University Calumet Professor, Yahya R. Kamalipour, Ph.D., who shared the key advantages of
the internet in networking, communication, publication, and information distribution in the Digital Age.
Dr. Kamalipour will discussed and illustrated his acclaimed online global projects that were conceived and
developed at Purdue University Calumet.
An internationally noted scholar, Professor Yahya R. Kamalipour is head of the Department of Communication
and Creative Arts and Director of the Center for Global Studies at Purdue University Calumet. He has
published ten books, is founder and managing editor of Global Media Journal with ten established editions
throughout the world, and is the co-editor of Journal Globalization for the Common Good. He is editor of
two web portals Global Media Monitor, My Global Village, and also co-editor of the Global Media Studies
Book Series for the State University of New York Press.
A recipient of many awards, Dr. Kamalipour has given presentations in Egypt, Canada, China, India, Iran,
Kenya, Mexico, Slovenia, United States, and has been interviewed by numerous newspapers and broadcast media.
He has taught courses at universities in Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Iran, and Oxford (England).
Is Northwest Indiana a Global Community? was held at The Avalon Manor which is located at 3550 East U.S. Highway 30 in Merrillville. This networking breakfast was a follow-up book discussion on the novel, "The World is Flat." The cost was $13 for members and $15 for non-members.
"Beyond trying to retain the best of our own imagination, what else can we do as Americans and as
a global society to try to nurture the same in others? One has to approach this question with great humility." —
The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman.
You were invited to attend a follow-up discussion about this intriguing book. The conversation was facilitated by
Valparaiso University Professor Jaishankar Raman. You were encouraged to answer the question:
Is Northwest Indiana a Global Community?
The 2006 Gala: An International Evening was held on October 18, 2006 at the Indian American Cultural Center, 8605 Merrillville Road, Merrillville, Indiana.
Our Gala this year was great! We had an attendance of about 30 students from countries all over the world. Awards were presented to Tim Sutherland for his outstanding work to promote the World Trade Council and its goals. In addition, we recognized Dr. Yahya Kamalipour for promoting international awareness and understanding in NWI; Gary Kriadis from Coil-Tran Corporation for bringing the world to NWI; Miche Grant for contributing connections and business to NWI; and Karen Scheeringa from Hearts in Motion for building bridges between NWI and the world.
Our international hors d’oeuvres, catered by the Ivy Tech Hospitality Department, were mouth-watering and well varied, and our guests were fascinated with our performers from the Indiana Ballet Theatre who thrilled the crowd with several fascinating numbers from a Thailand folkloric dance to the famous French Can Can.
Thank you to our sponsors, our attendees and to those of you who helped before, during, and after the event. We could not have done it without you! Please visit the 2006 Gala: An International Evening page for more information about this year's award winners and sponsors.
The NWI World Trade Council held a luncheon program,
“World Resources in Our Back Yard" on Tuesday, September
19, 2006 at the Avalon Manor, 3550 East US Route 30, Merrillville from 12:00 p.m. to
1:30 p.m. The cost for the luncheon was $15 Members and $20 Non-members or at the
door.
Our guest speakers from the World Trade Council Chicago included Emily
Brinmoeller, Trade & Business Development Director, and Bilial Ozer,
Research & Program Coordinator. They discussed the different organizations in
Chicago and their offerings. !
Did you know . . .
NWI World Trade Council’s luncheon program,
“Opportunities for Investment in Belize" was be held on Friday,
August 11, 2006 at Radisson Hotel (Celebrity East Ballroom, 1st floor) 800 E. 81st Avenue,
Merrillville from 12:00-1:30 p.m. The cost for the luncheon was $20 Members and $25
Non-members or at the door.
Attendees met the Deputy Prime Minister of Belize, the Honorable John Briceno and
heard his story of how he is helping lead a nation!
John Briceno graduated form the University of Texas in Austin, earning a BA in economics.
He taught briefly at Muffles College then entered politics, winning election to the House
of Representatives from the Orange Walk Central constituency in Belize in 1991, a position
he has been reelected to (at five-year intervals) ever since. Mr. Briceno is also the
Minister of Natural Resources, Local Government and the Environment.
He has addressed the United Nations general assembly; negotiated with the European
concerning the African, Pacific and Caribbean (APC) countries' bananas issues; holds
ongoing environmental talks concerning matters stemming from the Kyoto Protocol; and
aggressively presented trade matters from the point of view of developing countries to
the World Trade Organization.
His address included a brief history of Belize; the country's economic climate and
investment opportunities in the aquaculture, agriculture, clothing, light manufacturing,
tourism and oil industries, being that oil was recently discovered in Belize and small
quantities are being exported to the U.S. and El Salvador.
The NWI World Trade Council’s luncheon program, “The Secrets of
International Business Success" was held on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at The Patio,
Merrillville from 12:00-1:30 p.m. The cost for the luncheon was $15 Members and $20
Non-members or at the door.
Mr. Art Schmidt and Mr. Gary Kriadis, President of Coil-Tran Corporation, shared with
attendees what it takes to build a business in the global arena.
Northwest Indiana World Trade Council in cooperation with the Hammond
Rotary Club will have breakfast with a Brazilian group on Friday, April 21 from 8:00 a.m.
to 9:30 a.m. at Bakers Square, 8140 Mississippi St, Merrillville (on the corner of U.S.
30 and Mississippi St.) The cost for the breakfast is $10 with reservation and $12 at
the door.
You will not only have the opportunity to meet and talk with this group, but also see a
power point presentation that they will give about Brazil’s history and culture!
For more information, please call us at 219.670.3018.
The Northwest Indiana World Trade Council’s Annual Meeting was held on Tuesday,
March 14, 2006. This event was held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Avalon Manor in
Merrillville. The cost was $15 for members and $20 for non-members or at the door.
At the meeting, our members had the opportunity to network, to enjoy a delicious breakfast
buffet, to meet the current Northwest Indiana World Trade Council's Board and other
members, and much more!
A networking breakfast meeting was be held at The Avalon Manor, 3550 East US Route 30,
Merrillville, Indiana. This meeting included a provacative discussion of TRADE
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Turkey, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Jordan.
The cost was $12 with reservation and $15 at the door.
Lynn Douek, Associate Director at EDI, talked about the opportunities for trade in the
Middle East, more specifically in Turkey, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. She is
the liaison for the states of Georgia, Indiana, Delaware and Illinois. She works closely
with client companies providing intelligence on the regional marketplaces as well as
researching and developing trade leads. Lynn holds degrees from the University of New South
Wales and the University of Sydney. She has been living in Israel since 1987.
The EDI team is comprised of economic and trade development consultants born and trained in
the United States, headquartered in Jerusalem, with satellite offices in Istanbul and
Amman. EDI works with an international clientele interested in identifying and researching
business opportunities in the region. The company also serves as the regional representative
office for a number of U.S. states and bi-lateral Chambers of Commerce. EDI's other
services include development of feasibility studies and tailored research reports, as well
as identification of potential joint ventures for commercial clients.
A networking breakfast meeting was be held at The Patio, 7706 Broadway,
Merrillville, Indiana. This meeting included a provacative discussion of the novel,
The World is Flat. The cost was $10 with reservation and $12 at the door.
In his brilliant new book, The World is Flat, the award-winning "New York Times
columnist Thomas Friedman demystifies the brave new world for readers, allowing them to
make sense of the often bewildering global scene unfolding before their eyes."
"With his inimitable ability to translate complex foreign policy and economic issues,
Friedman explains how the flattening of the world happened at the dawn of the twenty-first
century; what it means to countries, companies, communities, and individuals; and how
governments and societies can, and must, adapt."
The Northwest Indiana World Trade Council held a book discussion about this popular
book, which was lead by Nancy Nye, Reference Librarian at the Hammond Public Library.
She answered the question:
What does this mean to Northwest Indiana?
The 2005 Annual Gala was a great success! Thanks to our sponsors for their support. Please visit the 2005 Gala: An International Evening page for sponsorship information, slide show of the evening, and award recipients and their bios.
Mary Kaczka discussed India After the Tsunami at a breakfast meeting which was held at Ludwig's Club Cafe Bistro, 7206 Calumet Avenue, Hammond. Ludwig's is located just 3 blocks north of Interstate 80/94 on the west side of the street.
Mary Kaczka recently lead a Rotary Study Exchange Team to Tamil Nadu in South East India. Her team was warmly welcomed, even though they arrived just two weeks after the tsunami. After her return, Mary used her pictures to prepare a PowerPoint presentation about her experiences. She discussed:
Mary is a principal in Leading Edge Development LLC, a start up consulting practice focusing on community and economic development in the areas of wireless broadband, community, internet, and a private equity capital network in Northwest Indiana. She is a certified economic development official, and has served in that capacity with the cities of Hammond, Michigan City, and East Chicago.
A luncheon meeting, Restructuring New World Economies, was held at Bennigan's, 500 E. 5th Avenue, Gary (next to U.S. Steel Yard, the RailCats stadium). Tickets for the luncheon were $15 in advance.
Restructuring New World Economies speaker, Miche Grant, addressed the following questions:
Over the past five years Miche Grant (pronounced Mickie) has been involved in efforts to revitalize post-Soviet countries, a blending of economic development, economic renewal, and retraining. She has designed and implemented programs to address issues including new business start-up, enterprise privatization, workforce training, workforce redundancies, and targeted services. In her travels to Eastern Europe, she has been in Poland, Romania, Macedonia, and the former Yugoslavia/Montenegro, making at least 27 trips to the Ukraine alone. She has also brought these programs to Chile, and is developing internship programs for college students in South America. Miche has also been a consultant for the World Bank and the U.S. Department of Labor.
A breakfast meeting, "Canada, NAFTA and Indiana, was held at NIPSCO in Merrillville. Two top level presenters, Colin Barry and Michel M. Cloutier, talked about investment opportunities in Canada and Quebec, the impact of NAFTA on the North American Marketplace, the services offered to American companies by the Canadian government via the Chicago Consulae, among others. Download Michel M. Cloutier's PowerPoint presentation or view a slideshow of Mr. Cloutier's Doing Business in Quebec presentation.
Turkey: A Mirror to Europe's Future was the topic of the breakfast
meeting held at the Amerihost Inn in Hammond, Indiana. Cited by the U.S. Department of
Commerce as the 'export market of the month' in November, the Republic of Turkey is a rapidly expanding
gateway to new markets in central Asia and Russia. Turkey's geo-strategic position as a ink between east
and west makes it one of today's most exciting trade centers in the world. It is the connection between
Europe and the caucuses, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and East and Central Asia.
Harry Lepinske, chairman of the Central Asian Productivity Research Center, presented a brief overview
of the region. The Honorable Naci Koru, Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Chicago, discussed
the range of services offered to American companies by the Turkish government as well as
non-governmental organizations to encourage US-Turkish business, trade and investments.
Abdulla Akyuz, U.S. President of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association in Washington,
D.C. will discuss the possible impact of Turkish membership in the European Union.
The Honorable Narote Sangkamanee, Deputy Consul General for the Royal Thai
Consulate General in Chicago, presented A Timely Report on Thailand, briefly discussing
rebuilding efforts in Thailand after the recent tsunami.
Deputy Consul Sangkamanee explained the wide variety of services offered by the business friendly
"one-stop" shopping center, a merger of more than 20 government agencies into a single
trade center, located in the capital city, Bangkok. He also focused on the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) - China accord that will establish the world's biggest free trade area by 2020.
Narote Sangkamanee earned his BA in Political Science at Chiangmai University in Thailand, and his
MA in International Relations in the United States. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979.
He most recently served as Director, Office of the Permanent Secretary.
Journey to a Closed City was the topic of a buffet luncheon meeting at Buffington Harbor, Gary Indiana. The speaker was Russell R. Miller, author of two books about transition economies, "Selling to Newly Emerging Markets" and "Doing Business in Newly Privatized Markets", both published by the Greenwood Group.
His book discusses the International Executive Service Corps, and the opportunities it provides for volunteers to use their previously acquired skills in assisting developing economies. At the same time, the organization provides professional people expense paid travel to interesting foreign locations. "Journey to a Closed City" also discusses the problems in Ukraine and the difficulties faced by transitioning countries.
Russell R. Miller was the first American to work in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, a Soviet "closed city" due to secret defense plants in the region and intercontinental ballistic missille facilities in the nearby Carpathian Mountains. Mr. Miller discussed his experiences in the "closed city" and his observations of a changing region. A brief biography is available on the News & Media web page.
Northwest Indiana World Trade Council
Phone: 219.670.3018
Sycamore 314
3400 Broadway
Gary, Indiana 46408
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