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Dear Member,
Firstly, we wish to thank you for your patience and engagement over the past year. We had so much planned, and unfortunately, it all had to be adapted, postponed or even cancelled as lockdown hit in the middle of March 2020. However, it would be hugely amiss of us not to acknowledge the seriousness of what we have all encountered over the past year and that your health and well-being far superseded any events that were due to take place. We offer our deepest sympathies to members and family, and friends that have passed away through this period and wish all those affected by the virus, in some way, a special healing and a speedy recovery.
Secondly, we wish to thank the Board for keeping our fledgeling association alive through our virtual webinar offerings in July and November, the successful Operation Relief Fund that raised over R1 Million for Lebanon through August the planning for 2021.
However, the ‘rubber now hits the road’. We are approaching 2021 with renewed vigour and a focused plan to increase membership, improve communication, facilitate and arrange key events and maintain our fiscal discipline. There are also two important announcements that we need to highlight as we start the year:-
- We have two new Board members – Laila Slim, based in Cape Town (born in Senegal); and Michelle Azar-Hiridjee, based in Madagascar (born in Lebanon and educated in France) – thereby ensuring we grow our presence beyond Johannesburg and South Africa. We welcome them to the team, and they have already provided significant input into our various responsibilities.
- The Board resolution passed at our meeting in January 2021 was only to invoice current members, i.e. yourselves, on the 1st July for renewal fees. We feel that the benefits offered last year were limited for the reasons stated above, and therefore a further six months of your annual fee will not be charged in recognition of your early membership. Also, the fees will remain the same for 2021. New member fees will be increased and will be charged as soon as they join (www.salcoc.co.za for more details).
There will be a number of initiatives planned for this year, and here is a foretaste of what look out for:
- A SALCOC Business Directory will be compiled in the first part of 2021. We hope to have the most comprehensive list of Lebanese professionals, entrepreneurs, businesses and individuals accessible to members and non-members (for a fee) across South and Southern Africa.
- A monthly SALCOC News Flash (via social media) and SALCOC Quarterly newsletter (via email) will be compiled and distributed to all members.
- A website (www.salcoc.co.za), Facebook account, Instagram address and Twitter handle have been established for consistent and frequent communication to members.
- And several events are being planned for the 1st half of 2021 (please watch for details):
- 3rd March 2021 – virtual webinar on COVID-19 Vaccines with Dr Stavros Nicoloau, Dr Martin Lebos and Dr Azar Jammine – if you haven't yet registered, follow the link below to do so now;
- Annual General Meeting to be hosted by the Ambassador HE Kabalan Frangieh at his residence (date dependent on protocols and lifting of 50 member gathering);
- 5th May 2021 – Southern African Lebanese Golf Championship (venue to be confirmed);
- Early July 2021 – sponsored business breakfast on South African Political Landscape with either JP Landman or Dr Frans Cronje as guest speakers.
Please diarize the events listed above, and we look forward to your participation. We will finalize the 2nd half of 2021 events in due course.
Thank you again for your membership, and we trust that 2021 will see the continued growth of our membership and the fulfilling of your needs as a Southern African business community.
Yours sincerely,
Garth N Towell
Executive Director, SALCOC on behalf of SALCOC Board
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