Greetings from the President Claudio Riedi |
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A Word From The President
It has been 202 days ago that South Florida shut down for business due to the Covid-19 pandemia. Many of us thought the GABC had just hit the iceberg, and our wonderful organization would sink within hours, with all our members on board.
The GABC did not sink. To the contrary. Read below how many activities took place in those 202 days. Our organization retooled and became virtual, and in some way, we soared. Without personal meetings, the board began to meet virtually. Happy hours moved to zoom, and so did seminars. Member no longer passed out business cards, but actually began to introduce their companies to swarms of other members on zoom, who gave them undivided attention online. No more new visitors standing alone in the corner of business card exchanges, while everyone talks to old friends they already know. No more car-trips and parking hassles for get togethers. In a funny way, the Covid crisis, and the forced change from personal to virtual meeting, brought instant gratification and greater efficiency to our organization.
Read below and previous newsletters what other members have done to be featured. You may become inspired to present a feature on your company, or to claim your minute of fame at a happy hour. You may consider presenting a GABC Webinar, or at least contribute to a Webinar. We can feature your company online in many ways. In some ways, the GABC can offer you more than it ever did. And we can do so quickly, directly, and without great costs.
Our membership remained strong and stable. Our ship stayed afloat (I am personally grateful, since I am the captain and would hate to go down with the boat).
I thank all members who have renewed their memberships for the coming year. You all recognized how crucial it is during those difficult time to maintain a public profile. The GABC will be your ship for as long as you allow us – you vehicle to stand out from the crowd.
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The GABC is Happy for Contributions |
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In the past months, we have been working on a lot of campaigns and alternatives to events in order to represent and promote your business as much as possible and we keep working on new ideas in order to keep your membership beneficial and valuable.
We also offer social online events and an educational webinar series to keep you all updated on travel restrictions, real estate, and covid-19 learnings.
We want to continue suport you and we hope to be able to lean on those of you who can continue to help keep the GABC active. All your contributions will support to cover the essentials and keep the GABC running. Any amount is appreciated and your donations may be anonymous.
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In return, we are more than happy to acknowledge your generosity publicly and offer some valuable PR for you and your business. |
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What have we done in the last six months? |
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As mentioned, we at the GABC worked on a lot of campaigns to provide you with alternatives to our usual networking events and business seminars.
During current times, brand awareness for your company is crucial and where would be a better place for this if not as a member of the GABC and the world of online marketing?
Our members are our focus and the following examples were some of our actions to support them as much as possible:
Personal Video Messages from our President:
Claudio Riedi, GABC President, recorded regular video messages for you with motivational tips and tricks on how to make most use of your time during the lock-down and how to stay strong during these challenging times.
Cyber Networking Campaign:
If you can't meet to get to know each other, we share your information for you: We collected information from our members and created a little "Cyber Networking Mailing" in which you could read about our members, their businesses, their main focus areas and even watch some videos about them
"Today's Featured Member":
As we have received a lot of information from our members, we wanted to make sure that none of them gets overseen. Hence, we created the weekly "Today's Featured Member" on Social Media, which introduced one member each week.
Status Quo of our Members:
In order to still keep our readers in the know about our members, we again collected member information which focused on their current main focus, updating our readers about projects and new developtments.
Social Media:
We became very active on sharing our member's posts and updates on our own social media. This was another way of creating awareness for our members and their business. In fact, we have increased our social media activity by 43% (and we will keep doing this).
Members for Members Promotions:
Under the Motto "we are in this together" many of our members offered special promotions and discounts of their services especially for our other members.
"Connecting People":
The GABC was in high demand referring certain members and requested services to other members. The GABC is here to help you find the needed contact and this is what we have done during the past months.
Facebook Communication Zone:
Not only did we try to stay very closely in touch with our members during the past months, we also created the weekly communication zone on facebook, which should enable our facebook connections to get in touch with each other. If anyone needs a good doctor recommendation, has a question about certain events or just wants to introduce themselves - the communication zone is here to make this exchange possible.
The communication zone is being posted weekly. Just use the comment box on each post to reach out to the fellow facebook connections.
Webinar Series:
"Zoom is the new Seminar Location" and who hasn't created a zoom account in the past months? We held many interesting and educational webinars on all different types of subjects. Sharing knowledge of our experts is key and you can be one of them. If you are a member, just reach out to us if you would like to be the next speaker at our webinars.
In order to spice things up, we did not only focus on educational webinars but also focus on inspiring, motivational and cultural online events.
Social Events - Our Biweekly Happy Hour:
As we can't offer in-person networking events, we offer a biweekly Zoom Happy Hour where everyone (if member or no member) can simply join. Everyone is welcome and by this we try to connect more and more people. The Happy Hours are hosted by the Executive Director, Leonie Vallerius, or one of the GABC Board of Director members.
In order to keep a better conversation flow, we keep the groups smaller and "more personal", so that everyone gets a chance to speak.
"One Minute of Fame":
Each online Happy Hour session, one of our members gets the chance to briefly introduce themself and their business to the other event participants. We use every opportunity to promote our members and create visibility for them, be the next one to speak about your business!
Of course we will keep offering all of the above, hence whenever you have anything you would like us to share - tell us and we will spread the word for you!
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UPDATE ON TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
Date: Thursday, October 8th, 10am EDT
This is a follow up on our last webinar. The travel restrictions are still in place. However, there are additional exceptions to the various travel bans.
- Which travel bans are still in effect ?
- Who can apply for an exemption ?
- What are the requirements for a national interest exception ?
Ellen von Geyso will explain the requirements and focus on how business travelers can find help to go to the United States.
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Biweekly Zoom Happy Hour
Date: Thursday, October 15th, 2020,
6pm EDT
A virtual meet to have a good talk together!
Just prepare your own drink and snacks.
!!!NEW!!! The One Minute of Fame!
Each happy hour, we will have a 5 minutes "Open Mic" for one designated member to introduce themself and the business.
AND YOU CAN BE THE ONE!
Tell us about yourself, your business or show us a little presentation!
Just e-mail us and we explain how it works!
Requirements: You need to be a member with the GABC!
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Discussionround on the "New Normal - Learning from Covid-19"
Date: Thursday, October 22nd, 10am EDT
Speaker:
Alexandra Peters, Realtor and founding member of THE TEAM
Coming from different industries, they will speak about how they had to adjust their businesses during and post lock-down times, applying all necessary precautions.
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You want to be a Speaker at one of our Webinars? No problem!
Just reach out to us and we can work on a joint Webinar!
The GABC is also focussing on supporting local artists.
We are committed to bring you closer to more virtual cultural events, as long as 'stay home' is still in place and crucial in order to win the fight against the spread of Covid-19.
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Together with the GABC, the Peter London Global Dance Company introduced us to the world of Dance, followed by video performances, a life class and a Q&A.
Watch yourself:
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Benefits of Medical Marijuana
Dr. Fernando Fandiño Sende from LifeCann MD explained to us what exactly Medical Marijuana is and how it benefits us, followed by a Q&A.
Watch yourself:
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Biweekly Happy Hour
A virtual meet to have a good talk together! Make new contacts virtually and expand your network during times of staying home.
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Welcome Our New Standard Member! |
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Adrian Frehner
Born and raised in Switzerland, Adrian worked for 12 years at UBS and 15 years at Morgan Stanley in institutional equity trading and sales in Switzerland, New York and Paris. He moved to Florida in 2018 to be closer to our sons and in fall 2019 became a Realtor where he strives to help clients find their dream property or sell their existing property in South Florida.
Adrian is a Swiss native and speaks English, German and French.
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click on name for the website link:
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Why Becoming a Member Now?! |
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Why becoming a member during Covid-19 times?
In-person events are a "No Go" right now. However, it doesn't mean we still should lose touch with the world. Here at the GABC, we continue to be an important platform to our members, now more than ever. As you probably know, in the past few weeks we have been spending a lot of time online, and this is where we create visibility for your business and for yourself.
How do we do that?
- Visibility on Social Media (450 views per post)
- Special Promotion through E-Campaigns (5,500+ readers)
- Shout out's in our Newsletter
Just send us the information you would like us to share and we will publish it for you!
What else do we offer?
- Social Online Events
- Educational Webinars
As a member, you always have the chance to also be a speaker at our webinars! Share your knowledge with our community. Whether you share your business expertise, or some interesting Covid-19 best-practices, we all want to hear about it!
Just reach out to us and we explain to you how it works!
We promise to continue to bring you even more creative alternatives to staying in touch with the German-American community in South Florida, and promoting your business.
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Immigration Lawyer and GABC Board Member Ellen von Geyso sent us an update on travel restrictions to unmarried partners:
GERMANY AUTHORIZES UNMARRIED PARTNERS TO ENTER GERMANY AGAIN FOR VISITS FROM THE U.S.
Many unmarried couples have been impacted by the recent travel restriction. Effective August 10, 2020, Federal Minister of the Interior Seehofer authorizes unmarried partners to enter Germany again for visits from third countries. The press release in German can be read here. A translation of the press release is available below:
“Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer will allow unmarried partners from third countries to enter the country starting today, August 10, 2020 at midnight. The Federal Minister of the Interior announced this today to EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson and his counterparts in the EU member states. The current travel restrictions from third countries were introduced across Europe to contain the corona pandemic on the proposal of the EU Commission.
Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer: "As of next Monday, unmarried partners from third countries can return to Germany. I welcome the fact that we can now make this possible within a European framework. As the Council Presidency, coordinated European action is very important to me. I would therefore particularly like to thank the European Commission for the constructive cooperation. "
The prerequisite for the entry facilitation decided by Germany is proof of a long-term partnership with at least one previous personal meeting in Germany or proof of a previous joint residence abroad. The following are to be submitted:
· an invitation from the person residing in Germany
· a jointly signed declaration on the existence of the relationship
· Evidence of previous meetings through passport stamps, travel documents or plane tickets
Regardless of this, special provisions remain in effect for people entering from risk areas.”
This information was provided by immigration attorney Ellen von Geyso. Her law office, Ellen von Geyso, PA, is located in Miami, Florida.
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GABC President Claudio Riedi and the lawfirm Lehtinen Schultz, PLLC moved offices: |
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Current Travel Restrictions leave a lot of unclarity to the Germans residing in the USA.
Ellen von Geyso, Immigration Lawyer, created two websites focusing on the Dual Citizenship:
and
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LifeCann MD launched an Online Shop.
You can now order their CBD products online from home!
Read more in their Newsletter:
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The Peter London Global Dance Company goes virtual. Check out their upcoming events and everything you can imagine:
Virtually everything will be available to you this season - from a front-row seat at our 2020 World Premiere, "WOMEN-ROSES-WATER," to all of the virtual streaming content featured on PLGDC@HOME.
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Check out their Webinar Series: |
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Dear GABC members,
We are happy to announce our new and updated GABC Benefits for members!
What GABC Benefits?
All registered GABC members receive special discounts or promotions from our member/partner companies. With discounts for legal consultations to your restaurant bill, make sure you take advantage of these exclusive offers!
Who participates in the program?
How can I participate?
If you would like to promote your product/service and have a benefit you can provide our members, please contact us at miami@gabc.us to be included in the program.
Should you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reach out back to us.
Kind regards,
The GABC Team
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MHTUS is looking for an administrative Assistant in Miami Beach that can grow with them.
At the beginning you would work about 3 days/week (aprox. 12 hours) as part time, later they would need you full time.
You can work from home or in the the office in South Beach: 15th and Washington, 33139. They offer you flexible terms.
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The GABC offers job postings and internship assistance.
Companies and employers can publish their vacancies on our Facebook page, as well as in our upcoming newsletters.
For more information please contact the GABC by email: miami@gabc.us or telephone 305-371-4282.
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Prices:
Members: free
Job Seekers - $50 per post
Companies and Employers - $100 per post
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Publish Your Advertisement in our Newsletter |
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If you are interested in publishing an advertising in the next GABC newsletter, please contact us at miami@gabc.us or call us at 305-371-4282.
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FOR GABC MEMBERS:
Price per section is:
$ 75 for business card size (approx. 5x9 cm / 2x3.5 inch)
$ 125 for third page ad (approx. 10x18 cm / 4x7 inch)
$ 135 for half page ad (approx. 14x21 cm / 5.5x8 inch)
$ 175 for 1 full page ad
Run ad for 2 Newsletters – receive 10% discount on second ads
Run ad for 3 Newsletters – receive 15% discount on second and third ads
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FOR NON-MEMBERS:
Price per section is:
$ 125 for business card size (approx. 5x9 cm / 2x3.5 inch)
$ 150 for third page ad (approx. 10x18 cm / 4x7 inch)
$ 175 for half page ad (approx. 14x21 cm / 5.5x8 inch)
$ 215 for 1 full page ad
Run ad for 2 Newsletters – receive 10% discount on second ad
Run ad for 3 Newsletters – receive 15% discount on second and third ad
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Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
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German American Chamber of Commerce
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German International Parents Association
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German American Social Club
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Stay Connected with the GABC
Dear GABC members and friends,
We are excited to announce we are increasing our presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We will come back with more stories and events for your joy!
We would love to connect with you and get your feedback.
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Lydia Harley
Vice- President
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Timo A. Becker, J.D.
Treasurer
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Alexandra C. Peters
Secretary
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Dr. Volker Anding
Director
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Monika Böhm-Fandiño
Director
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Svenja Hammerstein
Director
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Madhu Mehta
Director
India Silk USA,
Vice President
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Michael Claus
Founding Member of the GABC President Emeritus and Honorary Director of the Board
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Peter Jacobs
Founding Member of the GABC and Honorary Director of the Board
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Christa Green
GABC President Emeritus
and Honorary Director of the Board
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The GABC is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization founded by local business men and women in Miami. For over 30 years, the organization has promoted business and trade between Germany and the US, particularly in South Florida. The objective of the GABC is to support commercial and personal relations between its members and to promote economic, social and cultural relations between the USA and Germany.
The GABC promotes communication between companies, individuals, organizations and associations that share the same interests.
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Leonie Vallerius
Executive Director
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German American Business Chamber of South Florida
141 NE 3rd Avenue | Suite 1000 | Miami, FL 33132
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