MEETING MINUTES

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTCOMMITTEE

DATE:Tuesday, August 25, 2015

CALLED BY:Leigh Volkland & Dan Han

LOCATION:Irvine Chamber of Commerce

2485 McCabe Way Ste. 150, Irvine, CA 92614

I.OPENING

  • 12:00 P.M. meeting called to Order by Dan Han.

II.SELF-INTRODUCTIONS

Dan Han, Leigh Volkland, Andrew Balzerit, Bill Cunningham, Paul Delke, Joyce Lau, Shani Moslehi, Mima Ransom,Karen Scuncio, Marvin Sepe, Jennifer Seto, Paul Smith, Lynn Stewart, Virginia Suveiu, Mo Vaziri, Mike Vizzi, P.J. Malaz, K. Senn, D. Youssef, Alejandra Landa, Jim Primrose, Linda DiMario, Anthon Crouch, Pepper Russell.

III.TASK FORCE REPORTS

  • Strategic Planning: Marv Sepe presented updates.

Marv reports that he and Anthony Crouch have received comments from the emailed SWOT and IDC priorities email sent to members. The next issue to be addressed was identifying what kind of FDI’s we want to attract. Anthony is currently performing research on this item. The IDC SWOT will be uploaded to the new website.

  • World Trade Week: Anthony Crouch presented updates.

The next meeting will take place on Friday, August 28th at 12:00 noon.

A new Sponsor Sheet was provided with adjusted Sponsor levels at $3,500 for Champion, $2,500 for up to 3 Advocates, $1,250 for up to 5 Supporters, and $500 for Table Sponsors. One of the goals is to secure both a local bank and a University Sponsor this year.

The first Table Sponsor has been secured, Krieger International a freight forwarder from LA. Krieger is a bedrock in the international trade community and it bods well to have them onboard.

  • Exporting 101: Anthony Crouch presented updates.

This is a very small group. Jim continues to research, inventory and organize selected Orange County resources for local export businesses. The resources will be organized according to topics and relevancy to the export businesses we are serving.

The next step in the process will be to develop a marketing strategy for presentation to the selected businesses.

International Development Committee

Monthly Meeting Minutes

August 25, 2015

Page 2

  • Multicultural Task Force: Linda DiMario presented updates.

Rima has been in contact with several international Chambers for their assistance in assembling the training materials. Her goal is to create a training template for each Chamber to use as a base. They would have the added ability to add their own components to that model as necessary. She is currently traveling and will return at the end of September.

  • Irvine FDI & Promotion: Lynn Stewartpresented updates.

Lynn reports that she and Anthony Crouch discussed identifying the types of companies that currently invest in Irvine and where the parent companies of those entities are headquartered. Anthony reviews the statistics on foreign-owned subsidiaries in Irvine. The presentation can be found in the IDC Library at

Anthony provided EB-5 investment charts and regional center charts for review. Mo Vaziri commented that the USCIS has information on EB-5 with regard to investment nationalities as well as business plans submitted. The presentation can be found in the IDC Library at

The next step is to complete the information compilation and determine which companies will be approached. Anthony will speak with Mark O’Connell for advice on selection criteria.

  • Small & Medium Company Access to the Commercial Service Task Force:Leigh Volkland comments that the Small & Medium Business Task Force will be led by Karen Scuncio and will activate soon. Karen requests any members interested to speak with her soon. Karen is from the Small Business Development Center.

IV.NEW BUSINESS

  • Irvine Business Engagement Project

Linda DiMario reports on the launch of a new project for the Chairs of the Committee. A list of some of the top 40 businesses in Irvine has been drawn up and an appropriate contact person at each of the locations has been identified. The Chairs will be calling these businesses to offer insights about our work and invite them to a breakfast or lunch event. The project will launch after the Labor Day holiday.

V. CHAIR COMMENTS

Dan Han thanks everyone for their attendance and encourages Committee members to join any of the

Task Forces they are interested in.

VI.ANOUNCEMENTS

A new International Events Calendar has been provided to attendees. This calendar will list all local events we are aware of during the following month. The Events Calendar will be sent to the IDC distribution list monthly.

  • August 27, 2015: IBB Webinar – Selling to the Japanese Consumer
  • August 28, 2015 12:00 Noon – World Trade Week Planning Meeting @ Irvine Chamber
  • September 1, 2015 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Exhibit OC @ Hotel Irvine Pavilion
  • September 3, 2015: IBB Webinar – Accessing the Global Business Community
  • September 10, 2015 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. – Orange County Asian Business Expo @ Embassy Suites

Anaheim South Hotel, Garden Grove

International Development Committee

Monthly Meeting Minutes

August 25, 2015

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V.ADJOURNMENT

  • 1:00p.m. meeting adjourned.

Minutes recorded by Pepper Russell

Next Meeting:

September 22, 2015

12:00p.m. – 1:00p.m.

Irvine Chamber of Commerce

2485 McCabe Way Ste. 150, Irvine, CA 92614