<< Back May 2005

RECENT EVENT

The American and Canadian Association of Peru's Annual General Meeting (AGM) was hosted by ACAP's new Horonourary President, Canadian Ambassador Genevieve des Rivieres and her husband, Paul Brazeau, on April 20th.

Ambassador des Rivieres offered welcoming remarks, as did the outgoing Hororary ACAP President, United States Ambassador J. Curtis Struble. Then President John Lakatos and outgoing Treasurer James Louttit each offered brief annual reports. The treasury report was especially upbeat, showing an increase of $6,557 in the Association's assets during 2004 to $39,053. The Annual Picnic, membership dues and the Black & White Charity Ball were the Association's primary sources of income in 2004.

The election of new officers was without surprises: as there were no nominations from the floor, the official slate of candidates was elected unanimously by a voice vote. The officers for the remainder of 2005 are:

President
John Lakatos

Vice President
Jim Louttit

Treasurer
Tom Findley

Directors
Richard J. Ajello, Tanilee Eichelberger, Connie Estrada, David Jesson, Alan La Rue, Frank Nagle, John H. Park, James Plunkett and Marcel Tratner.

The newly elected President Lakatos then presented Certificates for Distinguished Service on behalf of the Association during 2004 to three groups of individuals: retiring members of the Board of Directors, members who generously shared their homes for ACAP events throughout the year, and the ACAP Newsletter team.

Adjournment was followed by dinner served in the delightful patio of the Ambassador's residence.

This year's AGM was preceded by an Extraordinary General Meeting, in which the membership discussed, and then voted on three measures: modification of the criteria for Associate Membership, modification of when future AGMs will be held in order that the ACAP year coincides with the calendar year, and the modification of the length of the term of office during this transitional period. The latter two were accepted by the membership, as were four of the six criteria for the acceptance of Associate Members.

In the future, a successful applicant to be an Associate Member must meet one or more of the folowing criteria:

•	A citizen of a country where one of the official languages is English.
•	A management-level employee of a local business/enterprise that is affiliated with a company having headquarters in the USA or Canada.
•	A veteran of the armed forces of the USA or Canada, or
•	A widow, widower or child of a deceased citizen of the USA or Canada.

The ACAP Board of Directors hopes to thus broaden the Association's membership base. An Associate Member has all the rights and responsibilities of a Full Member except to vote or be on the Board of Directors.