Dear Members and Friends,
 
On behalf of SACC-DC, I hope each of you had a restful and pleasant summer. Our chamber has not taken much of a hiatus this past summer as we have geared up and already presented one terrific luncheon meeting, an exciting crayfish party, and have back-to-back events for the remainder of the year. If you haven't had the opportunity to attend one or more of our events so far you still have several opportunities to join in the fun.
 

First of all, I would like to introduce you to our newest intern, Ms. Malin Vikström, who joins us as a graduate student from Northern Virginia Community College and will be with us for the next several months. Note that Pernilla Jonsson, our membership chairperson, has been able to recruit two new corporate members over the summer-traditionally a slow period. Congratulations to Pernilla and welcome aboard to Finnegan and Pathfinder, I look forward to meeting your representatives at the next SACC-DC event.
 

As a recap, on September 14th our chamber in kind conjunction with Volvo Group North America's sponsorship, held our annual crayfish party event in traditional setting at the House of Sweden. Particularly notable were the hearty singing, good cheer and fellowship, along with plentiful icy-cold vodka snaps---and there just might be a connection between the three! Thank you to all of the dignitaries who attended and for the exuberant singing led by Amb. Hafström who, along with his lovely wife Eva, can always be counted on to attend and help celebrate this traditional event.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, DC, on September 22, our chamber hosted a luncheon for our corporate members to meet and discuss international trade issues with Dr. Ewa Björling, Sweden's Minister for Trade. Those who attended were treated to a lively discussion as well as getting first-hand information on the rollout of the Swedish-American Green Alliance initiative.
 

On the 13th of October, we held our annual Swedish Embassy Open Annual Golf Tournament at the prestigious Raspberry Falls Golf & Hunt Club in Leesburg, Virginia. The tournament was followed by an awards reception at the Washington, DC residence of Ambassador Hafström. Our executive director Maja Persson worked extremely hard making the tournament arrangements along with our golf tournament committee to put together a memorable event and show our appreciation to our sponsors and members for their continued support of our chamber. We ended up with an exceptional tournout alomst 100 players showed up to compete in the tournament. We extend our great appreciation to our Platinum sponsor, the noted Nammo AS group. Our Gold sponsors include (alphabetically): Saab North America, Inc., Skanska, Inc., and Volvo Car Corporation. Our Silver sponsors include (alphabetically): Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Embassy of Sweden--Office of Defense Cooperation; General Electric; Mercuri Urval; NetServer; Raytheon; R. J. Banks; and The Swedish School. The open beverage cart service to help maintain the vigor of our tournament players throughout the day was sponsored by Volvo Group North America, Inc. Moreover, a brand-new Volvo car was set aside as a prize for a hole-in-one at a specific hole by the generosity of our member company, Martens Volvo. On behalf of our chamber, I personally extend my appreciation to all of our sponsors for their kind generosity which once again has enabled SACC-DC to host a truly first-class golfing and social event.

On October 25 our chamber in conjunction with the Embassy of Sweden hosted His Royal Highness Prince Daniel of Sweden to attend a private meeting of selected attendees to discuss the role of the Swedish-American chamber network and how Swedish companies work within the U.S. business system to advocate their issues to domestic government representatives.

Mark your calendars now, as one of our most memorable events of the year will take place on December 1 at the House of Sweden where our corporate member Ericsson will sponsor and host in conjunction with our chamber our annual Holiday Event featuring guest speakers, a Lucia procession, and the ever-anticipated traditional glögg - sure to help keep you warm and kick off the holiday season. Note that other events too numerous to list here can always be found on our website at www.sacc-dc.org.  
 

On behalf of Maja, Malin and myself, we appreciate your continued support of our chamber and promise to continue to return your investment by endeavouring to provide you with interesting and relevant programs and ever-growing networking opportunities.

Best regards,
 
Bradley J. Olson
Chairman, SACC Washington DC and SACC-USA, Inc.