AACC NEWS AND EVENTS 

JUNE 2023

G'Day from AACC President, 

Jackie Yuen

Dear AACC Members and Friends,

It’s an exciting yet foggy start to summer in the San Francisco Bay Area and for many of us it means vacation and spending more time outdoors with the longer daylight hours. For others, it’s a busy time closing out the Australian financial year.

The end of June also has us saying farewell to Nick Nichles, our Consul General and Senior Trade & Investment Commissioner. During the past 4 ½ years, Nick has been a generous supporter of the AACC and its members and I want to personally thank him for all of his contributions. He has participated in numerous events including the Australian Gala, Aussie Retreat, ANZAC Day, business forums, and other cultural events. One of the most memorable was joining Nick and an Aussie contingent to march down Market Street during the SF Pride Parade in 2019. Such a great celebration!  

On behalf of the AACC Board, thank you Nick for your service and dedication and we wish you all the very best on your return to Sydney.

A couple of events are coming up - if you’re in the downtown area on Friday July 7, please join our coffee meet-up at Bluestone Lane 55 2^nd Street. Mel and I look forward to seeing you.

And if you’re a golf enthusiast or simply enjoy a fun day out, please sign up for our International Golf Tournament on October 5 at Crystal Springs in Burlingame.

Until next time,

All the best,

Jackie

Farewell from Consul General, 

Nick Nichles

Dear Members and Friends,

After four and half years as your Consul General (and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Austrade), on June 29 I will be leaving San Francisco to return to my hometown of Sydney. The term of my posting has concluded finally, having been extended by five months.

Odette Hampton, the Deputy Consul General and Trade and Investment Commissioner, will act in the role of Consul General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, until my successor arrives at Post. You will be in safe hands.

The Australian community in the Bay area remains vibrant and vital. Despite some exits at the top of the pandemic, it seems the lure of excellent jobs and the resilience of the tech sector sees as many of us here as ever. While we didn’t receive as many in-person votes for the federal election in 2022 as we did in 2019, we tried to re-create an Australian election atmosphere running a “democracy sausage” BBQ for voters. My thanks to the volunteers from the Golden Gate AFL club for staffing the BBQ (and congratulations on raising funds for your club). Our initiative attracted news outlets and video of our polling booth and sausages made the nightly news back in Australia. If the enthusiasm shown by the Australian diaspora for our democracy sausages (and the sales!) was any indication of the depth of passion for the Aussie electoral process, then our democracy is in good shape.

The SF Consulate General will also be a polling booth for in-person voting for the coming referendum on The Voice to Parliament and will receive mail-in ballots.

I am full of admiration for the energy and creativity of the Chamber. Even when COVID had laid us low, the Chamber created an online gala where we celebrated Australian food and wines in the safety of our own homes, but still connecting us to our shared love for Australia. Even so, it was great fun to be back at the Fairmont this year and get dressed up for an in-person shindig. With our support, the Chamber celebrated ANZAC Day each year with fitting events and it was my privilege to make remarks each year on such an important occasion. Thank you for inviting me to be part of the day.

These events, plus all the others the Chamber runs provide a conduit for the diaspora to remain connected to one another and celebrate being part of the Bay Area. As important, are the business connections created through membership of the Chamber and participation at its events.

The role of the Consulate grew during my time here. With United Airlines being the only airline to provide continuous service between Australia and the US throughout the pandemic, San Francisco for a long time was the only exit point from the US to home. Visitor numbers are on the rise again, with United now offering daily services between SFO and Sydney and Melbourne and three times a week to Brisbane. From October, that will rise to twice daily flights between SFO and Sydney and a daily flight to and from Brisbane. And Qantas reinstated its SFO/SYD route in May with three services a week. More visitors means more consular cases (like issuing emergency passports, usually as a result of a car break in). The Consular and Passports team here does an excellent job providing professional, courteous and empathetic service to all of our citizens regardless of their circumstances. I am very proud of them and thank them for their work.

Of course, the Consulate General only exists because of the Austrade office. The trade and investment teams do an unbelievable job in helping Australian exporters grow their business in the US and attracting US investors to Australia to create jobs there. The team’s expert knowledge of various sectors and passion for helping businesses is awe inspiring.  So far this year the trade team here in SF has helped Aussie exporters achieve $313m in export sales. The investment team has secured projects creating 1046 jobs and $508m of investment value.

It has been an honour and a privilege to take on this role. I hope I have served you well.

UPCOMING AACC EVENTS

Date: Friday, July 7 2023

Time: 10 am

Location: 55 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

Calling all golfers! We are excited to launch our 2023 International Golf Tournament in partnership with the British American Business Council, this year to be held on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at the beautiful and sunny Crystal Springs Golf Course in Burlingame. Get your foursomes together and join us for a fun day of golf and networking, or become a sponsor (foursomes included!). There is a cash prize of $20,000 for your Par 3 Hole in One and lots of other prizes to be won as well!

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