"An International Press Club of Chicago Monthly Guest Speaker program Press Release"

The IPCC is pleased to announce that our third Wednesday of the month, Monthly Guest Speaker event for June, will highlight Romania. Our presenter for this month's program, is Gabriel Dudu, the Economic Consul and a career diplomat, assigned to the Romanian Consulate General, Chicago.

The following program overview, from our President, Harry Lepinske, pertains to the event, which he follows up with a particularly interesting follow-on story covering a recent meeting between US and Romanian officials.

As always, given the intimate nature of our meeting room, the presenter is highly accessible to the attendees during lunch, and as is the nature of this venue, always available to answer questions as presented during the presentation or afterwards during our regular Q&A session.

Hope to see you there for this one!

2009, A YEAR IN REVIEW

The International Press Club of Chicago began January 2009 with a new board; a new meeting location; and a conceptual outline of the steps to follow to re-develop the organization from the ground up.

By May, our membership numbers were on the increase; the IPCC had just hosted the first of many more Monthly Guest Speaker programs yet to come, presented by key speakers from within Chicago's Business, Education, and Diplomatic communities; and we witnessed the formation of mutually supporting alliances between the IPCC and other Chicago based Civic and Media entities.

The IPCC really came into its own during the summer months, giving credence to the "International" portion of its name, when it co-hosted multiple venues headlined by Foreign Trade and Diplomatic representatives, as well as members of multiple European Press, Media, and Public Affairs organizations.

Even as 2009 comes to a close, the IPCC is actively engaged with the forging of relationships with foreign press representatives residing or visiting here in Chicago; the scheduling of IPCC information briefings for presentation to multiple Chicago-based Public Affairs offices; reviews and reaffirmations of dormant reciprocity agreements with other press clubs worldwide; and the establishment of Journalism student support relationships with local colleges and universities.

On December 3, 2009, the IPCC President, Professor Harry Lepinske, will call to order the club's final General Membership meeting of 2009.

Thank you again for helping make 2009 the all around success story it ultimately became!

By Wayne Toberman, current IPCC Board Member and 2009 Membership Chairman.

Following another third Wednesday of the month IPCC Visiting Guest Speaker's lecture program highlighting recounts of the old Chicago City News Bureau and the life and times of Earnest Hemingway, presented by Mr. Redd Griffin, the following attendees took time to pose for the above image: L to R: Board Member Roger Hamburg, Guest Speaker Redd Griffin, President Harry Lepinske, Vice President Lee Salberg, Board Member Frank Rowder, Publisher, China Star Media Group Daway Zhou, Marvin Goldsher, Canadian Province of Quebec Trade Representative Charles Orlowek, Board Member Wayne Toberman, and Harry Maram.