 I
am very pleased to report that the streamlining of the
Region, which was
undertaken in 2003 and 2004, has borne fruit in 2005 both
from an
operational and a financial viewpoint.
"Value
For Money" is what our members want and I believe
we are delivering
it now.
The
European Board met in London last November when we
reviewed the
activities of each of the Committees for 2005 and considered
the individual
and overall strategy for 2006 and all the related costs.
This review
culminated in the 2006 European Progress Update, which
was mailed to all the
European members in February.
I
am very pleased to be able to say that we have controlled
membership
subscriptions for 2006 at a level that I believe
will be acceptable to
everyone.
The
Membership Committee, led by François
Martin,
continues to look for new
members, especially in countries where we have
no representation at present.
The
Committee is currently dealing with potential new member
firms in
Bulgaria (Sofia & Varna), Estonia and Latvia as well
as possible additional
members in Germany, Italy and Spain.
If
anyone has any contacts that they think may be useful,
please don't
hesitate to get in touch with François.
Quality
Control continues to be high on the European Board's
agenda and the
European Quality Assurance Committee arranged
a full series of reviews in
2005.
A
paper was produced detailing various comments arising
from those peer
reviews, which is in the Library section
of the European website. Please
do have a look at this as there may be
some
comments that could apply to your
firm!
The
Committee has again arranged the reviews to be undertaken
in 2006 and I
expect that the majority of these will
happen in the second half of the
year.
The
Board was very pleased with the discussions that took
place at the Malta
meeting in June 2005 and the feedback
that was received subsequently from
the delegates.
By
the time you read this, I hope that the invitations
will have gone out
to
the European members to attend the
2006 Conference in Budapest.
We
have decided that this Conference will follow the pattern
established
in
Malta where there will be some
technical presentations as well
as a
concentration on delegate meetings,
both formal and informal, so that
we
continue to receive feedback.
These
discussions will be the most important aspect of the
meeting
and are
essential to ensure the continued
growth and confidence that we
all need
both in the organisation and
its individual members.
I
hope to see as many of you as possible in Budapest
at
what promises
to be
the most successful European
Conference ever.
It
is a wonderful city and will give us all a great
opportunity to meet
and
talk together both professionally
and socially. I'm
certain that, again,
there will be a flurry of
new professional activity
after
the Conference,
so
make sure you are there so
that you are able to take
advantage of the
many
opportunities we have to
work together.
Just
to remind you, the dates are 8 to 10 June 2006 and
I'm sure that Penny
Sivers in
the London office of AGN
International-Europe
Ltd
would be
happy
to take your booking form
right now if you haven't
already completed it.
There
will be plenty for the "other halves" to
do as well so don't
forget to bring them
too!
Finally,
this will probably be the last letter I
write for Worldwide
Link as
I am stepping down as
Chair at the conclusion
of the
meeting in Budapest.
It has been a great honour
for me to have acted
as Chair since
the
inception
of the new European company
in 2002. We have gone
through some
tough times
but I am very pleased
that we now have a stable
economic
and
financial
situation in the European
Region for the future.
I
would like to take this opportunity to
thank all
my fellow Board
members
who have given (and
continue to give) their
time so
freely for
the good
of
the organisation. We
could not have achieved
so much
without their
commitment.
At
the last Board meeting, François
Martin was
appointed Vice Chair and I
hope he will be confirmed
as Chair in Budapest.
I know that
you will
give
him as much support
as you have given
me over
the last
three
years. Thank you all and see you in Budapest!
John
McCuin
Chairman
AGN International-Europe Ltd
AGN Shipleys
London
mccuinj@agnshipleys.com
www.agn-europe.org
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