SACC Chicago FLASH Newsletter

Happy Autumn, Members and Friends of SACC-Chicago!

For some, fall can feel like the end of summer, but for many others, it's the beginning of a new school year or a new program or fiscal year, abundant with new opportunities. This issue of FLASH features a number of these new beginnings or opportunities: our upcoming events, the SACC-Summit, introductions to our two new interns, Jenny and Jonathan, revitalization of our Mentorship Program, and several new corporate, business, individual, and YP members.

At SACC-Chicago, we are continually amazed at the opportunities we have to do new things or make new connections. I want to highlight a few of those opportunities for you:

On October 28, from 6-8 p.m., SACC-Chicago members will have the opportunity to meet the newly-appointed Consul General Gerd Sjögren, Vice-Consul (designate) Anna Engstrom Patel, and the new Trade Commissioner and Country Manager for Business Sweden, Björn Olofsson at a reception for invited guests at the Swedish American Museum. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet Sweden's official representatives here in Chicago, so please watch for your invitation.
The November 14 event with the Örebro region will offer an opportunity for SACC-Chicago members to connect with approximately 165 business people who support the Örebro Hockey organization. More information on this event will be out shortly.
Several of our members took advantage of an opportunity to provide input at the request of the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. in relation to trade barriers encountered by Swedish companies in the services sector of the U.S. market. We were pleased to be called upon for input and are grateful to the members who responded.
We've received requests for assistance from two visiting delegations from Sweden: a delegation of real estate professionals who will visit Chicago in early November, and a trade delegation in April, 2016.
Carl Wiberg has recently joined our Board as the VP of our Young Professionals group. Carl is an account manager for Vestas Wind Systems, and he and his wife Miriam were recently married. Grattis!
Volvo's partnership program now includes SACC members, friends, and families, and offers them an additional rebate. We'll be sending additional information to our members as this program evolves.

So here's to Autumn, and to the new opportunities it brings!

Janis Anderson Rueping

President, SACC-Chicago

Upcoming Events

The Reunion, October 15

SACC Chicago will join the Swedish American Museum in co - sponsoring the movie "Reunion" that will be show n Thursday, October 15 at 7pm at the museum. Please join us at this f ree Swedish f ilm s creening , in which S wedish artist Anna Odell invites us to a grim class-reunion with a twist - what happens when old hierarchies and truths are questioned from an unexpected voice? The Reunion investigates how far too far really is. Reservations can be made via email

Young Professionals

We are very happy to announce that YP is back with a series of fun events and meetings this fall and winter . Stay tuned for more details.

Professionals Networking Event, October 21

One event not to be missed is the Professional Networking event that takes place on the third

Wednesday of every month. As of Wednesday October 21^st, the event will be held indoors at the Palm Court Bar at The Drake Hotel. Please take advantage of this exclusive monthly opportunity to network with members of Chicago's European and Nordic business communities

Save the date, November 14

On Saturday, November 14 a delegation of 165 business people from the Orebro region and involved with Orebro Hockey will join SACC-Chicago at a speaker and social event being jointly planned. Watch your email for further information.

Annual Lucia Luncheon, December 4

On December 4, members , friends, and their guests will again experience a very special Swedish tradition as the 33^rd Annual Lucia Luncheon takes place at the Drake Hotel. What better way to start the Holiday Season than by joining SACC Chicago at this festive Luncheon event ! If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, please click here or contact the office by email or phone 312-257-3002

To read more about the upcoming events, please visit our website.

We hope to see you at the above events this fall!

Gunn and Jenny
SACC-Office

Past Events

SACC Summit Atlanta

The 4 ^th annual SACC-Summit, a meeting for all the regional SACC chambers and their members took place in Atlanta, Georgia on October 1 & 2 this year. Over 80 representatives from all over the U.S. and from Sweden participated, among them Gunn Johnson and Beata Krakus from SACC-Chicago. The theme this year was "Innovation" and the first day of the Summit was devoted to presentations by U.S. and Swedish speakers presenting on that topic. For example, the CEO for Bonnier group, Tomas Franzén spoke on the topic of innovation in a large, traditional media company, and Dr. Ben Wang and Dr. Stephen Flemming, both from Georgia-Tech addressed innovation in manufacturing and how to create innovative neighborhoods. Ulf Landin from Business Region Gothenburg and Hanna Dermes Gibson from Uminova shared their experiences of working with incubators and other innovation-promoting tools available to Swedish businesses. Also speaking was Andreas von Uexkull, Minister Counselor and Head of Trade and Economic at the Swedish Embassy updated us about the latest Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States.

The second day of the Summit was forward-looking, with presentations about the America Day (November 12, 2015 in Gothenburg) that is being organized by SACC-West Sweden and the planning going on within SACC-USA for the future. SACC-USA has been going through many changes over the last year, and the changes will continue. For example, SACC-USA is looking to organize cluster groups that span the almost 20 regional chambers across the U.S., and is working on other initiatives to strengthen cooperation amongst regional chambers.

Beata Krakus

Chairman, SACC-Chicago and Board Member, SACC-USA

International Peace Day

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The theme of this year's commemoration was "Partnerships for Peace - Dignity for All" which aims to highlight the importance of all segments of society to work together to strive for peace.

The Consulate General of Sweden and SACC-Chicago participated, representing Sweden, in the 37^th anniversary celebration of Peace Day in Chicago at Daley Plaza on September 18 . The goal of the event,

sponsored by Build the Peace Committee, was to mainstream a Culture of Peace in Chicago , which means that they work t o promote the values, attitudes, behaviors and institutions that build the peace in individuals, families, schools, neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

Professional Networking Events

During the summer, the Professional Networking Events took place at the spe ctacular Ivy Sky Terrace. This monthly event which takes place every third Wednesday of the month is a great way to network with other Chicago professionals. From now on and until next spring, the Networking Events

will take place at the Palm Court Bar at Drake Hotel.

Annual Crayfish Party

This year, t he Annual Crayfish Party was held at the Sheridan Shore Yacht Club. Seventy-five guests networked , enjoyed a beautiful Swedish buffet catered by A La Carte , and danced the night away to Charles Unger and his band.

We want to thank everyone involved for making this year Crayfish party a SACCess and we could not have done it without our sponsors. We 'd like to say a "Special Thank You" to Brunk Industries, Inc. for making it possible for us to have Charles Unger , of The Charles Unger Experience, entertain us. Also a big thanks to Akvavit Theatre, Corporate Concierge Services, Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, LLC, KOVAL, Skändal, Solvig and Harry Robertson, the Swedish American Museum and last but not least Marie from Wikstrom's Specialty Foods who made sure we had limpa bread, Västerbotten and Herrgårds cheese, crackers and prinskorv on the buffet table as well. We couldn't have done it without all of our sponsors, THANK YOU!

To view more pictures from the event click here

Many Thanks to Our Crayfish Sponsors for Your Support!

New Interns

Jenny Erixon - SACC Chicago

Jenny is a Law student at the University of Lund, Sweden. She moved to the U.S in April 2014 for an Internship at an American Law firm in Los Angeles. She extended her stay in the U.S and started to study as an exchange student at UCLA Extension, where she graduated in June this year and got a certificate in International Business with concentration in International Trade and Commerce. Jenny likes to participate in organizations and have been working as a volunteer for several events, both in Sweden and in the U.S. She has for example worked for ELSA Lund, European Law Student Association and helped out at various charity events hosted by Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. Besides work and studies Jenny have been practicing figure skating at elite level and during her career she has won a total of eight National Championships (both in synchronize and single skating). Jenny's long-term goal is to work internationally and become a Diplomat. In order to reach her dreams she need to broaden her horizons, gain valuable knowledge and experience which she is sure an Internship at SACC Chicago will give her. During her stay she hopes to contribute to the chambers development and growth.

Jonathan Takahashi - Consulate General of Sweden Chicago

Jonathan is one semester from finishing his Bachelor degree in European Studies student at Lund University. After high school Jonathan started working for a customer service company that takes care of invoices, where he worked both with the Swedish and the Norwegian support line. Before that he worked as ambulant receptionist. Jonathans dream is to work internationally with issues of cooperation between countries. Jonathan has a big passion for travelling and his favorite trip so far was when he went to Australia for three months. His interests in sports are especially basketball, which he has played since he was 12 years old. Jonathan finds his internship at the Consulate General of Sweden as a great opportunity to start his diplomatic trip and he hopes to create lots of contacts for the future.

Mentorship Program

Let's try this again ! We are very happy to announce that we're planning to revitalize the SACC mentorship program again this fall! It has prove n a great success in the past with mentor/mentee matches that have led to significant learning and development both for mentors and the mentees who participate.

If you are interested in participating in this year's mentorship program, either as a mentor or mentee, or if you want to receive more information, please contact the SACC Chicago office at 312/257-3002 or send us an email

Chicago Blackhawks - Is it October yet?

Even though Chicago will forever be a Cubs and Bears town, it's more enjoyable to consider this a hockey city. After all, The Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup Champions three times over the past 6 years. Pretty impressive! Did you know that a decade ago, the NHL team was not even on television and tickets for a game at the United Center cost less than a cocktail? However, things has changed and today all the games are pretty much sold out.

Fall is here which means Hockey season is about to start. During the summer many changes have been made within the Blackhawks. Johnny Oduya and Joakim Nordstrom have left Chicago for Texas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes but new rookie Erik Gustafsson, former player for the SHL team Frolunda Indians, has arrived. However in this year's lineup you will still see familiar Swedish names like: Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marcus Kruger, David Rundblad, Viktor Svedberg and Dennis Rasmussen. They don't call the Blackhawks the Swedish colony for nothing.

Chicago began their regular season schedule when they hosted the New York Rangers at the United Center, Wednesday, October 7. Next up are the New York Islanders on October 9 at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. Click here for the latest news and tickets

"Wallander" Writer Henning Mankell Dies at 67

The Swedish novelist Henning Mankell who wrote the best-selling Wallander series, was diagnosed with cancer last year and died in his sleep early this past Monday, October 5 ^th . Mankell wrote some 50 novels and numerous plays, selling more than 40 million copies worldwide. He helped define the Scandinavian genre that became known as Nordic Noir through his Wallander series.

Besides writing, he was deeply engaged in social and political issues. Since mid 1980's Mankell helped build a village for orphaned children to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS in Mozambique. He was also among the activists who were attacked and arrested by Israeli forces as they tried to sail to the Gaza strip with humanitarian supplies in June 2010.

"You have to act, not just by writing but by standing up and doing. For me, you cannot call yourself an intellectual if all you use your intellectual gifts for is to find excuses not to do anything. Which, sadly, is what I think a lot of intellectuals do" - Mankell, Britain's Guardian newspaper