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PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS,
James Doran
As we begin 2004, the IBO is planning another year of interesting programming, special events, and another Gala Ball. All of this is carried out by a great Executive Committee (Simon Pereira Shorey, Eileen Collins, Julia Connolly, and John Guerrera) all of whom volunteer their services to ensure that the organization continues to grow and serve our community. Our administrative support from the Clares at the Main Office has been nothing other than great.
Our January meeting featured Jack Foley of Aer Lingus, and everyone who was there found it to be a stimulating and informative session. February will focus on Homeland Security and how it impacts all of us. Our guest speaker, Sal Lifrieri, is President of his own security consulting firm, and spent many years with the NYPD. March will feature the Parade and a special event which will be highlighted in a special e-mail.
We encourage all members to become more involved with the organization, and you can do so by contacting Julia (juliac@ibo-ny.com). We also ask you to help us attract new members, since membership is our lifeblood.
James Doran
President, IBO
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IBO MONTHLY MEETINGS
February Meeting
Wednesday, February 11th - 7.00pm
Guest Speaker
Sal Lifrieri, President of Protective Countermeasures Inc.
The February IBO NY Meeting will be held on February 11th at the Shelburne Hotel- The Guest Speaker will be Sal Lifrieri who is President of Protective Countermeasures Inc. Mr. Lifrieri served as the Director of Security and Intelligence Operations for Mayor Rudolph Guiliani's Office of Emergency Management. In this role, he was responsible for the management of security, intelligence and counter surveillance operations for New York City. This included
- Crisis and contingency planning for the city and some of its larger corporate residents;
- Risk assessment and crisis/consequence planning for the city's key buildings and critical infrastructure;
- Coordination of intelligence and anti-terrorism operations with city, state, federal and international agencies/countries;
- Design and construction of New York City's Emergency Operations Center
February Meeting
Wednesday, February 25th - 6.30pm
Notes:
The February IBO Rockland County meeting will be held at Madden's Restaurant, 33 West Central Avenue, Pearl River, NY. Please contact Julia Connolly for more details (201) 446-7939.
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Simon Says
February 2004
So Julia turns to me and says "... and a column called 'Simon Says' would be a wonderful idea" ... so I guess that I have my very own soapbox.
I will endeavor to make it useful, thought provoking, and (moderately) erudite. Well, let's try for useful at least!
One of the main functions of the IBO is networking. Finding people who can help you with your business, either as customers, advisors, sources of information, etc. Now in the 21st century (I feel so old when I say that) we have, especially over the last few months, been bombarded with 'new and improved' methods of networking, using, what else, the power of the computer.
You will recall the character, Ouisa, in John Guare's play Six Degrees of Separation, who makes the claim that we are all separated by only six other people, whether the President of Ireland, a Bororo indian in the Brazilian Mato Grosso (yes, my relations), or a Japanese 'salaryman' on the 6.15 am train to work. So the phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "six degrees of separation."
Computer power is supposed to crystallize this interconnectedness; the next time that you walk into an IBO meeting recall that each of us, even the least 'networked' is supposed, according to the studies, to know at least 200 people, and the 'networked' amongst us often know well over 1,000. Now what if you not only were to know all of the people in the IBO meeting room, but also all of the people that they know.
That's what these programs are supposed to do.
I've begun to peer at them. Some are more socially oriented, some more business network oriented. There's Microsoft's Wallop, there's Tribe, Ryze, Spoke, EntreMate and Friendzy. There's Linkedin, and there's the behemoth of the group so far, Friendster, which has over 3,000,000 people in its system.
We at the IBO are going to evaluate these competing companies and see if they are all that they purport to be and, if so, whether we can make any recommendations in this regard for IBO members individually or as an organization.
If any of you reading this have experimented in this area and found success or failure, please write to me (simonps@ibo-ny.com) and let me know.
Each of us moves in so many business and social circles. Through work I have the security industry, the genetics/genomics industry and many African and African-American related organizations and individuals. I have friends and contacts from my past in business consulting and project management in Europe. I have friends from my schooldays in an English boarding school who now live scattered across the world, friends from both the University of Reading and the University of St Andrews. I have contacts who were once neighbors when I lived many many miles from where I do now. From my wife I have friends and contacts across the United States involved in the production of TV news and documentaries. I have family in Miami, Rio de Janeiro, France, England, … and Ireland. There are those who were once just 'friends of friends', who now have become close friends in their own right. And there is the IBO.
Most of these individuals do not know each other, and yet if I could put two of them together to help them make a 'good thing' happen, I would do it in a flash.
So if you want to network with someone in the IBO, don't just ask them what they do and tell them what you do. Ask them also which circles they move in, tell them which circles you move in, and ask if you can help them, or any of their friends.
If you have been, thank you for reading.
Simon Pereira Shorey
Email: simonps@ibo-ny.com
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Rockland County Meetings
The Rockland County chapter of the IBO began the 2004 year with its monthly meeting on January 28th. We were fortunate that IBO member Mick Daniels of MD Distribution, Waterford, Ireland was in the New York area on business. Mick provided us with a very informative presentation on the importance of websites. One of Mick's products, SLUSHEE, was discovered by New Line Cinema through his website and featured in the movie Dumb & Dumberer. Mick expanded on how his relationship with New Line has led to an increase in sales worldwide. The next Rockland County meeting will be held on February 25th, 2004, 6:30PM, at Madden's Restaurant, 33 West Central Avenue, Pearl River, NY. Please contact Julia Connolly for more details (201) 446-7939.
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IBO
Mentor Program
Who Mentored You? Thank them...and pass it
on.
Introducing the Irish Business
Organization Mentoring Program …
No one succeeds alone. Behind all successful professionals,
there has been an assortment of individuals who believed in them, inspired
them and encouraged them to advance and accomplish their dreams. Numerous
stories of success are testimony to the long-lasting impact a mentor
can have. At a recent event, actor Martin Sheen reminisced about a Roman
Catholic priest who encouraged him to pursue a theatrical career, and
the rest is history. Later that evening, former basketball star and
U.S. Senator Bill Bradley recalled a fellow basketball player who reminded
him that when he wasn't practicing, someone else was, and gaining an
advantage in the process. He credits that advice with shaping his work
habits to his last days.
The word mentor conjures up many different images –
that of a caring father or mother, a favorite teacher, close friends,
or an older coworker. In its broadest sense, mentoring is about human
service, community involvement, and simple compassion.
These are just some of the ideas that were the genesis
of the IBO Mentoring Program, a new IBO initiative whose mission is
to bring members and professionals together to share business and leadership
skills through a mentoring relationship based on mutual learning and
growth.
Over the spring and summer months, the mentoring committee
reviewed several national mentoring programs and selected the best ingredients
of a select few to form the IBO program. The goal is to launch a miniature
program for members in January 2004 and grow it accordingly. Committee
members will soon be approaching a number of selected individuals to
discern their interest in becoming mentors. The committee is looking
for people who have excelled in their professions by hard work, perseverance,
and, most importantly, the helpful assistance of others.
The basic mentoring categories will be Personal (career
orientated) and Small- Business Mentoring. The committee will, upon
the launch of the program, allow IBO members to request a mentor, and
will endeavor to match the needs of the protégé with the
experience and abilities of a mentor. Areas covered through mentoring
will be professional development, business skills, personal development,
etc; specifically not to be covered are personal/relationship problems,
personal financial problems, asking for business leads, etc. The relationship
between the two parties will be strictly confidential. For small or
medium business management, it will be necessary to have an up-to-date
business plan prepared before entering the mentoring program.
There will be no charge for the mentoring program. The
initial mentoring relationship will be for a fixed term -- probably
three months. This term can be extended for further fixed terms by mutual
agreement and can be ended early if necessary. There will be a brief
orientation session for mentors at the onset of the program.
At some point in the voyage of our lives, most of us
have been affected by individuals who’ve made a difference --
their advice, guidance, and example have helped us to encounter the
world, so why not “thank them and pass it on!” Please stay
tuned as we “fine tune” this initiative and watch out for
more details this fall.
The IBO Mentoring Committee
Christine Ann Connolly - Maura Kelly - Simon Pereira Shorey - Paul Sullivan
For further information on the Mentoring Program, please contact;
Simon Pereira Shorey - Tel:(212) 208 2526, Fax: (212) 208 2527
Email: simonps@ibo-ny.com
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IBO CALENDAR
OF EVENTS
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February
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Feb 11th
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The February IBO NY Meeting will be held on February 11th at the Shelburne Hotel- The Guest Speaker will be Sal Lifrieri who is President of Protective Countermeasures Inc.
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7:00 PM |
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Feb 25th
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The February IBO Rockland County meeting will be held at Madden's Restaurant, 33 West Central Avenue, Pearl River, NY. Please contact Julia Connolly for more details (201) 446-7939.
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6:30 PM |
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March
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March 8th
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The March IBO NY Meeting a fundraising dinner
has been arranged with special guest speaker, Bronagh Hinds, 1999 European Woman of the Year, head of the the Northern Ireland Women's Initiative DemocraShe program and key negotiator in the Multi-Party Talks which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Subject to last minute availability, there may also be other surprise political guests. The dinner will be held at Eamonn's Bar & Grill, 9 East 45th St., New York, NY 10017, Cocktails 7.00pm for 8.00 pm Dinner.
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7:00 PM |
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April
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April 14th
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The April IBO NY Meeting will be held on April 14th
at the Shelburne Hotel - The Guest Speaker: TBD.
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7:00 PM |
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May
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May 12th
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The May IBO NY Meeting will be held on
Wednesday
May 12th at the Shelburne Hotel - The Guest Speaker: TBD
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7:00 PM |
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NOTICEBOARD
- Mayo Senior Football Team
For those with family from Mayo: the Mayo Senior Football team is travelling to the US on May 2nd to compete in the Connaught Championship. This is the first time in history that such a game will take place. There will be a huge gala ball on Sunday 2nd at the Astoria Manor in Queens, expected to sell out to capacity of 1,050 people. Latest figures from the County board is that between 650 and 800 people are travelling out to support the team.
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About The IBO:
The Irish Business Organization of New York, Inc. is an non-profit,
non-denominational organization, which seeks to promote, foster, and
advance the business interests of Irish and Irish American business
people in the tri-state area.
The IBO News
is the official newsletter of the Irish Business Organization of New
York, Inc. It is published 10 times per year. This newsletter is distributed
to members of the IBO, guests from recent IBO meetings, and other individuals
from the NY-NJ-CT business community.
Newsletter Staff
Editor: Simon Pereira Shorey, GeneAfrica, Inc. (212) 208 2526
Technical Support: Jim McGuire, Eric Elias: Teledotcom Inc., 212 675 6565
Contact Information:
The Irish Business Organization of New York Inc.
FDR Station, PO Box 6425
New York, NY 10150-1901
Tel: 212 750 8118
Fax: 212 747 1820
email: info@ibo-ny.com
www.ibo-ny.com
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