Dear Friends of the BABC,
 
I can’t believe we are already into the second quarter of the year! Spring is here and on both sides of the Atlantic significant progress has been made in the battle against Covid19 with 32% of all Americans having received at least one dose of the vaccine and almost 60% in the UK. On top of this good news, yesterday Gavin Newsome announced plans to fully open the Californian economy on June 15th and the BBC reported that Silicon Valley Big Tech firms are rapidly bringing forward their plans for a return to office based working! Before you know it we will be back in our cars sitting in traffic and delighted to be doing so.
 
Despite all of the good news we must all continue to take the necessary steps to prevent further spikes and we will be doing this by continuing to operate our event programs virtually until the Fall. With that said, we have been working to develop some meaningful programs for our BABC Community that help us fulfill our mission of providing a platform for members to meet new people and create new business opportunities. As I was reminded frequently by my parents, you get out what you put in so I encourage you to come along!
 
Our Coffee Connects series takes place every other month, on the second Wednesday at 10am. Join us at the BABC Zoom Cafe where all members will have an opportunity to introduce themselves and their business, to share why their clients love them and also describe what would constitute a great business referral. While this is a member-only event non-members are able to attend one event per year.
 
Our new BABC Business Insider Series of events are educational in nature and dynamic in the sense that they will spotlight topics that are hot in the business community at the time. These events will take place quarterly and we are currently working on content for the inaugural event which will be announced soon.
 
We continue to host our always popular monthly virtual Networking and Happy Hour event. This month we are meeting on April 15th from 4.00 to 5.30pm and I would encourage you to sign up here Remember that the tax filing deadline has been extended to May 17th so don’t let your taxes be your reason for not joining us!
 
On April 28th, we will host our annual Expats event where members can learn about the latest updates on US immigration and the financial consequences of living in the United States. We will be joined by Presenting Sponsor Erickson Immigration, international tax specialists, Spott Lucey & Wall, UK pension specialists, Florin Pensions and Bank of the West, helping UK expats establish a favorable credit score.
 
Finally, I would like to thank all of our new members who are detailed below as well as our renewing members. Thank you for your continued support.
 
Sincerely,
 
Stephen Wares
BABC President