Puheenjohtajan Palsta Sain Tuula Beckeriltä meilin, jossa hän pyysi kirjoittamaan viimeisen puheenjohtajan palstan. Reippa-Leenana lupasin hoitaa jutun nopeasti. Vuosikokouksen pöytäkirjan tarkistaminen oli vielä helppo nakki, mutta istua nyt alas ja kirjoittaa viimeiset ajatuksensa kokonaisesta vuodesta? Enpä taida osata muuta sanoa, kuin että vuosi 2012-13 hurahti nopeasti. Jään haikein, mutta samalla helpottunein mielin pois puheenjohtajan tehtävästä ja luovutan valtikan eteenpäin Tuula Beckerille. Tuula on ollut mukana AFS:n tehtävissä pitkään, ja hänen tieto-taito-osaaminen on ihan omaa luokkaansa. Uskon vahvasti, että tästä vuodesta tulee menestyksekäs jo vuosikokouksen puheensorinan perusteella. Mitä mahtavia ehdotuksia lentelikään puolin ja toisin, ja hallituksen ikähaarukka senkun laajeni entisestään. Mikä rikkaus on aloittaa vuosi näin! Toivotan sydämeni pohjasta uudelle hallitukselle onnea uusiin haasteisiin, ja toivon, että ihmiset arvostavat tätä vapaaehtoistyötä osallistumalla ahkerasti järjestön tapahtumiin ja menoihin. Leena Ringvall President of Atlanta Finland Society 2012-13 Atlanta Finland Society Annual Meeting Place: The Field Club at Riverfield, Atlanta, GA Date: October 13, 2013 starting at 3:00 pm. Participants: Margareta Martin Katriina Naukkarinen Arja Hänninen Tuula Becker Valtteri Tamminen Matti Kivijärvi Paula Kivijärvi Linda Pouttu Anne Hämäläinen Leena Ringvall 1. President Leena Ringvall opened the meeting. Katriina Naukkarinen was chosen to serve as a secretary for this meeting. 2. Auditor Arja Hänninen went through the balance sheet from the past fiscal year which shows negative Net income of $2,067.60. For the future events and liabilities AFS has a balance of $5,500. During the year 2012-13 AFS had 47 paid members. Arja Hanninen suggested not letting the balance drop under $5,000 during this current year 2013-14. 3. AFS is suspending the Finnish School until further notice due to lack of school aged children. Leena Ringvall suggested making a note of this to our web page. If the school is to open again in the future, she suggested adding a small fee for school participants. Tuula Becker President 4. Board of Trustees was released from its duties. Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 1
New Board of Trustees was elected as follows: President, Tuula Becker Vice President, Anne Hämäläinen Secretary, Valtteri Tamminen Treasurer, Jaana Leskinen Chair Person, Ilkka Kauppinen Auditors, Arja Hänninen and George Lane 5. During discussion of the future events it was decided to host a Christmas party. Reservation for the venue has already been confirmed. Committee for this event will be named in the near future and will be organized by Anne Hämäläinen. Finnish Labor Day (Vappu) Party was suggested to take place early May of 2014, person in charge Arja Hänninen with Katriina Naukkarinen assisting. Under discussion was also organizing Ego Design Forum in co-operation with other Atlanta based Scandinavian Organizations. For future consideration was suggested to host a Meet and Greet event to celebrate Margareta Martin's book of Atlanta Finns' history and to give members a chance to get to know the new board members and other new society members. Other possible event idea was a movie night. 6. Leena Ringvall concluded the meeting at 4:30 pm. Respectfully submitted by Katriina Naukkarinen Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) Organizational Update and Membership Rosters I would like to update you of few changes in our Pasadena office and who is responsible for what. Christina Lin, who worked for us for almost 10 years (she started in the spring of 2004), decided to leave us and moved recently to the East Coast where she is from. She did a great job and we will miss her. She had grown into the job. After a careful search, we have chosen Maria Kizirian as the Assistant to the Board of Trustees, responsible for the Pasadena office. You may know Maria as the FFN Performer of the Year in 2012, but she is a multitalented person and has the qualities and experience we need for this job. She is Finnish born which is useful for those who want to communicate in Finnish with the office. Maria and we all look forward in working with you. We have a great task in supporting and strengthening our Finnish and Finnish-American culture. With best regards, Ossi Rahkonen FFN President Finlandia Foundation National Mailing Address: P.O. Box 92298 Pasadena, CA 91109-2298 Phone: (626) 795-2081 Fax: (626) 795-6533 Email: office@finlandiafoundation.org web site: http://www.finlandiafoundation.org Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 2
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Concert in October 12, 2013 Finnish Conductor Susanna Mälkki was performing in a concert. Meet and Greet Susanna reception followed afterwards. Group of 12 Finnish-Americans attended the concert and had a good time at the reception. Marja-Liisa Rajala, Tiina Huoso, Aila Wartell, Susanna Malkki, Anne Hamalainen, Tuula Becker, Margareta Martin Ms Huoso visiting from Jyvaskyla, Sirpa Huoso, Susanna Malkki, Arja Hanninen, Sherry Quayle Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 3
Kuvassa vasemmalla lounaskutsujen emäntä Liisa Tervo ja Anne Hirvonen ihailemassa jälkiruokia. Suomalaisnaisten Nyyttikesti Lounas vietettiin Tiistaina Lokakuun 15 päivä Liisa Tervon kauniissa kodissa. Naisia oli mukana ennatysmäärä (23) ja lounaspoytä täyttyi suomalaisista kotitekoisista herkuista. Kiitos kaikille taitaville kokeille! Atlantaan muuttaneet uudet naiset saivat mainion tilaisuuden tutustua entisiin Atlantan suomalaisiin ja luoda uusia ystävyys suhteita. Seuraava naisten lounas on Marraskuun 19 päivä Anne Kohtalan kotona. Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 4
Ja meilla kaikilla oli niin mukavaa herkullista ruokaa ja iloista seuraa! Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 5
Scandinavian American Foundation of Georgia attended the Festival in a rainy day. Thanks to Margareta Martin, Erik Kind and Dennis Carlson for organizing the SAFG booth with information about the different Scandinavian countries. Anne Hamalainen and Leena Ringvall stopped by at the festival to represent Finland. Margareta Martin at the booth. Erik Kind was representing Norway and demonstrating Viking tools and telling about the Viking history. Michael Gustafson (Secretary of the SAFG) making friends with Morten Christensen from Danish American Chamber of Commerce (DACC Georgia) and a Danish Intern who works for DACC Georgia. Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 6
Member News Congratulations to George Lane and Barbara Kopanski for their marriage in October 6, 2013. Love may fill your hearts forever. We all are so happy for you both! Pictured from the left at the reception: Arja Hanninen, Karla Anderson, Dennis Carlson, Barbara Kopanski, George Lane and Margareta Martin Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 7
Tervetuloa Atlantaan! Antti, Noora ja Alexandra Kurvinen muuttivat Atlantaan vain pari viikkoa sitten. He tapasivat Kohtalan nuorison pelaamassa kickballia Atlantan puistossa aivan sattumalta. Kuvassa Mareena Kohtala toivottaa uuden perheen tervetulleeksi Atlantan suomalaiseen yhteisoon. Tulevia tapahtumia Upcoming events Suomalaisnaisten Marraskuun Nyyttikesti Lounas Tiistaina Marraskuun 19 päivä alkaen kello 11.30 aamupäivällä Anne Kohtalan kotona Osoite: 285 Camden Creek Ct NE Lawrenceville, GA 30043 Tervetuloa tutustumaan Atlantassa asuviin suomalaisiin naisiin ja maistelemaan kotitekoisia herkkuja. Ole hyva ja ilmoita Annelle tulostasi ja sovi mita haluat tuoda lounaspoytään. Anne Kohtala tel. home 770-682-1133 e-mail annekohtala@hotmail.com Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 8
Joulujuhla - Traditional Christmas Celebration is planned on Sunday, December 15, 2013 starting at 2:00 pm. Place: Cross & Crown Lutheran Church 4276 Chamblee Dunwoody Road Chamblee, GA 30341 Program and Invitation will be sent later on Last year s celebration was a big success and over 100 people attended the service. Event committee is exited to start planning this year s celebration and we need many energetic people to help in cooking and baking, setting up tables and cleaning the place afterwards. Please contact Anne Hämäläinen to sign up for a team. Share your Christmas spirit with volunteering and giving your helping hand. That s what Christmas is all about sharing! Ole hyvä ja ota yhteys Anneen ja lupaudu auttamaan joulujuhlan järjestelyissä. Tervetuloa! Email: annhamalainen@hotmail.com Phone: 770-330-1148 Year 2013/2014 AFS, Inc. Board of Directors Contact Information Past President Leena Ringvall lringvall@yahoo.com President Tuula Becker 678-296-5676 tuula.becker@gmail.com Vice President Anne Hämäläinen 770-330-1148 annhamalainen@hotmail.com Treasurer Jaana Leskinen 678-580-1906 jaanaleskinen@comcast.net Secretary Valtteri Tamminen walter_hockey@bellsouth.net Chair Person Ilkka Kauppinen ilkka.j.kauppinen@jyu.fi Auditor George Lane 770-965-7900 lane2445@bellsouth.net Auditor Arja Hanninen 404-317-5649 arja_hanninen@bellsouth.net Librarian / Kirjaston hoitaja: Verna Bush Phone: 404-434-4835 Email: verna@inspiratron2100.com Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Mailing Address: PO Box 768231, Roswell, GA 30076, USA Please remember to visit our website regularly and get the latest news and updates on upcoming events, etc Website: http://www.atlantafinlandsociety.org/ Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 9
AFS, Inc. Membership Renewal is due for a fiscal year August 2013 - July 2014 Many thanks to all new members who have already sent in the membership form with the payment after July 30, 2013. It covers the annual dues for fiscal year 2013-2014. AFS Inc. being a non-profit organization you can deduct your donation from your 2013 tax returns. Many of you are only on our email list and we have been unable to mail renewal invoices to your current address. Please fill out the attached Membership Form and update your current contact information to our records. Make your check payable to Atlanta Finland Society Inc. and mail the membership renewal form with your payment to: Jaana Leskinen / Treasurer Mailing Address: 1550 Wynridge Pointe, Alpharetta, GA 30005 As a member you will receive the quarterly published FINNEWS and several emails about upcoming cultural events in Atlanta area as well as news about Atlanta Finns and also news about Finnish-Americans living in the USA. As an active AFS member you will also get a member discounts to the FACC, Inc. sponsored events (Finland s Independence Day Celebration being one example. Stay connected is a hot topic nowadays! Important Note! As a member you will also receive in mail a Finlandia Foundation National (FFN) Newsletter. Their November newsletter is being finalized and we'd like to have your updated address information for that mailing as soon as possible. We appreciate your immediate attention. FFN is also sending a complimentary copy of the FFN history book "Black Ties and Miners' Boots, 2nd edition" to all members. Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 10
Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. (AFS Inc.) Membership Form 2013-2014 Family Name First Name Spouse Family Name First Name Street Address City State Zip Home Phone Cell Cell 2 E-mail Membership fees 1. AFS Family $25/year $ 2. AFS Student $10/year $ 3. AFS Single $20/year $ Make check payable to: Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Send payment with membership form to: AFS c/o Jaana Leskinen, 1550 Wynridge Pointe, Alpharetta, Ga 30005 I allow AFS to share my contact information with other AFS members. Initials Non-discrimination clause: Atlanta Finland Society, Inc (AFS) is a non-profit organization and admits members of any race, color, nationality, religion, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded to or made available to members of the organization. It does not discriminate on the basis of color, religion, national or ethnic origin in administration of its policies, membership policies, educational programs and other programs, or activities and events. Fall 2012 Newsletter of the Atlanta Finland Society, Inc. Page 11