As I sit to write this month’s blog, Australia still does not have an elected government, the UK is leaving the EU, and the race to the White House is still a little farcical with Mr Trump extolling the virtues of leading the free world by building walls between countries. Economically I think our three countries may have seen better days, but hopefully this does not impact on our FBA community too much, and it is business as usual until things gets back to what we are used to.  At least we can rely on some normalcy in the sporting world – with QLD already claiming our 2016 State of Origin win, and we have Wimbledon and the Tour De France on TV every night!  Despite the cold, I do like this time of year.

In FBA news, we are a few weeks away now from hearing Richard Malouf speak at our Chairman’s Lunch on July 22, so please book your seats if you haven’t already.  Our last Chairman’s Lunch of the year will take place at the Summit restaurant at Mt Coot-Tha, a family owned venue, with outstanding views across Brisbane.  This will be a lunch where we announce who has won the Hall of Fame Distinguished family business award for 2016, so please look out for our marketing for this event.  It will also be our last networking function for 2016– so what a better chance to celebrate the conclusion of another year with like-minded friends.

National Conference news:
Don’t forget we have extended the Early Bird rates to July 12, for the FBA National Conference in Melbourne on August 17-19.  I’m very much looking forward to seeing the roll out of fantastic speakers.  We also have a record number of exhibitors this year, with 14 booths in the trade area, so there will be plenty to keep us all busy during the breaks.

For many of our QLD regional members, the national conference is a time when these members come to the city to engage with FBA, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the event.

Until next month!

Martine Poulain