Member Notes

Dear members,

The new board of the FCA met on March 10.

Firstly, we want to thank Isabel Parenthoen for all her hard work at the helm these last few years.

It is at times a thankless task but under Isabel the FCA has been rejuvenated.

We are delighted that she will remain on the board.

I am personally honored to serve as Chairperson of the FCA for the next year along with Thembisa Fakude as Deputy Chairperson and Mark Allix as Treasurer.

We have an exciting year ahead with South Africa very much in the world spotlight.

As an organization we want to seize upon this opportunity and ensure that we can provide exciting benefits to our members.

As your board, we need to do a better job communicating, so expect regular updates from us and please keep offering suggestions.

FCA press cards

Expect new FCA press cards soon. We have decided to print plastic laminated press cards with photos to ensure that we have a more professional look.

Martina will need everyone's photo for this.

Briefings and dinners

In the months ahead we will have more regular briefings with the top players in South Africa.

Just to give you an example of some of those we are trying to get- Gauteng Premier Mokonyane, Winnie Madikazela-Mandela, Gwede Mantashe, Carlos Parreira, Finance Minister Pravin Gordham, 2010 sponsors.

Depending on who we get these will be a combination of a briefing at the Peech Hotel or a more formal dinner or lunch.

We are also working on a lunch with President Zuma close to the World Cup kickoff.

Who else do you want to hear from?

Drinks

We will also sort out a venue soon for a monthly informal drinks evenings in both Cape Town and Johannesburg.

When there are major news events in Cape Town such as the opening of Parliament we will also try to schedule events around them so that we can have better cooperation with members in both cities.

Website

Please keep looking at our revamped website as we want to ensure that this becomes a great communication tool amongst members.

You will hear from us shortly.

Kim Norgaard

Chairperson

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2010 Board Members

Dear FCA members,

At the annual general meeting on February 24, 2010 at the Peech Hotel we formed a new board consisting of the following members:

Kim Norgaard (CNN Bureau Chief)

Mark Allix (Freelancer)

Katja Eisenhart-Rothe (Filmmaker)

Isabel Parenthoen (AFP Bureau Chief)

Gringo Wotshela (BBC Producer)

Thembisa Fakude (Al Jazeera Executive Director)

Shaun Harris (Freelance Photographer)

Nastsaya Tay (AP Freelancer)

According to FCA bylaws the board elected certain members of the board, elected at the general assembly, to the three positions mentioned:

Kim Norgaard, Chairperson

Thembisa Fakude, Deputy Chairperson

Mark Allix, Treasurer

Thanks

Martina