Ambassador Mark Minton will address Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 17-18, 2007

Deadline is March 27 for hotel reservation at discount rate;                 

Avoid late fee by registering for AGM  by April 1, 2007

Click here to download registration form

US Ambassador Mark Minton will address our 17th annual general meeting (AGM) in Chicago, April 17-19, 2007. Ambassador Minton arrived in Ulaanbaatar to take up his post in September 2006; one of his first meetings in Mongolia within 24 hours of his arrival was with Business Council Chairman Ed Story and other officers of the Business Council. Prior to his current post, Mr. Minton was Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Seoul, South Korea.

March 27 deadline for hotel reservations at special group rate -- Tuesday, March 27 is the deadline for discounted room reservations at the Hotel Allegro, a short walk from the Mid-America Club, where the business sessions will be held. The deadline for registration to attend the AGM is Monday, April 1.  

The special NAMBC group rate is US$169.00 per night for a standard room with single or double occupancy plus the Chicago Hotel Tax of 15.39%. A premier room type (corner room with king size bed) is US$189.00 for single or double occupancy plus tax. For further information on the hotel, go to http://www.allegrochicago.com

To make your reservations at the Hotel Allegro, send an email or fax mentioning the NAMBC with your name, address, arrival and departure dates, as well as bedding and smoking/non-smoking preferences. Your contact is Ms. Tracy S. Hunter, Hotel Allegro Chicago, direct telephone: 312-325-7192; direct fax: 866-315-7662, email address: tracy.hunter@allegrochicago.com

Program outline -- The AGM program begins with an opening reception on the evening of April 17 at a special location TBA. Business sessions – including Ambassador Minton’s address – will be held on Wednesday, April 18, at the Mid-America Club. A variety of field trip options will be offered for Thursday, April 19.  On the agenda at the AGM will be election of officers and the board of directors for the coming year. Program updates will be sent to Members and posted here on our website.

Registering to attend -- Click on the link above for a registration form. This form cannot be returned to the NAMBC via this website. Please see the form for instructions for registering and remittance of registration fees. For NAMBC Members only, second and other additional representatives from the same company or organization receive a 30% discount on registration fees.

Business meeting will be held at The Mid-America Club, located on the 80th floor of the landmark AON Center on East Randolph Street, offering panoramic views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline. We are limited by the size of the facility so if you plan to be with us, please register now. If you need a US visa to attend, apply for it now.

US Ambassador Mark Minton (right) hosts President N. Enkhbayar in November 2006 at a luncheon in the President's honor to commemorate the anniversary of President Bush’s visit to Mongolia.

Ambassador Minton is a 30–year veteran of the US Foreign Service -- Mark C. Minton has been a career member of the Foreign Service for 30 years.  He arrived in Ulaanbaatar on September 18, 2006 to take up his assignment as US Ambassador.

Mr. Minton was previously Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Republic of Korea.  During his assignment in Seoul, he acted for over six months as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim.

Mr. Minton began his Foreign Service career as a Political Officer in Tokyo in 1977.  He served on the Policy Planning Staff in Washington, D.C., followed by an assignment with the Office of Soviet Union Affairs.  In 1984, Mr. Minton became the Consul General in Sapporo, Japan.  He has served in subsequent assignments with the Department of State’s Executive Secretariat, as a Pearson Fellow with the United States Senate, and as Deputy Director, Japanese Affairs, at the Department of State.  In 1992, Mr. Minton became the Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Embassy in Seoul, after which he returned to Washington as the Director of Korean Affairs.  Mr. Minton’s next posting, in 1998, was as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Mission to the United Nations, followed by a year as Diplomat-in-Residence at the City College of New York.

Minton graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Literature and received his Master's degree in History from Yale University.  He speaks Japanese and Korean.  He also is a veteran, having served three years in the United States Army.

AGM Chairman is Michael Kenny, Honorary Consul of Mongolia -- The Chairman of our 2007 AGM is G. Michael Kenny, Chief Operating Officer of NAMBC Member Chambers Gasket & Manufacturing Company. He has served as Honorary Consul of Mongolia for Illinois since 2004. A founding partner of Tall Corn Music, Michael is also one of the principals of Palladian Development, a Chicago-based real estate development company. He is former executive director of the North America-Mongolia Business Council.

Ambassador Minton examines copper produced by the US Joint Venture Company Erdmin during his October 2006 visit to Darkhan and Erdenet.

Ambassador Minton meets a lama at Amarbayasgalant Monastery in October 2006.