Event Location: TACAM Cultural Center, 28837 Beck Rd, Wixom, Michigan

This is a final notice and encouragement to come and join with us!

Sincerely,

Tim Tucker-Vice President & Asli Yashin-Nomination Chair

tjamestucker@yahoo.com
asli@anatolia.com
On behalf of the TACAM Board of Directors

1. June 13, 2010 – TACAM VISION 2010+ Strategy Workshop (Event Manager: Feridun Bek): All Board members, committee leaders and Michigan Turkish Professors met to define the updated strategies and activities for TACAM for 2010/2011. Afterwards, a survey was sent to the TACAM network and approx. 80 people responded. The input was sorted out and used to finalize our event and action plan for 2010/2011.
2.  June 20, 2010 – Father Day’s Picnic with 100+ visitors (Event Manager: Tim Tucker): To enable membership engagement and networking, this event was organized with offering a delicious open-buffet. Over 100 people joint and approx. 20 people from the Ann Arbor Rotary Club.
3.  July 2-4, 2010 – TACAM Delegation Trip to Chicago (Event Manager: Feridun Bek): To review with the Turkish General Consul Kenan Ipek how to create synergies and implement the TACAM strategies. Also, a further synergy workshop was organized with the key leaders of all Turkish-American Associations in Chicago area, which enabled best-practice exchange.
4.  July 23, 2010 – Political Enlightenment Workshop at the Poolside with TSA Michigan (Event Manager: Berk Köprülü): TACAM partnered with Turkish-Student Association of Michigan (TSA) and Honorary Turkish Consul General in Michigan (Ms Nurten Ural). The focus of this educational workshop was the U.S. elections. With Students, approximately 70 people attended; TACAM sponsored the dinner.
5.  Aug 6-8, 2010 – TACAM Tent at Lebanese Festival (Event Manager Elif Cila & TACAM Board Mentor: Adnan Ateş): Elif set-up a committee of up to 10 volunteers and they presented Turkey, the Turkish Culture and Cuisine in this three-day festival. This event was important to promote Turkey and to further engage with the Lebanese-American Community.
6.  Aug 28, 2010 – Turkish Victory Day Celebration and Iftar Dinner (Event Managers: Tim Tucker & Ferid Ahmed): The very important Turkish Victory Day was celebrated with an educational and interactive presentation of the meaning of the day by Feridun Bek. Approximately 100 people join the event and iftar dinner.
7.  Sep 11, 2010 – Şeker Bayramı & Educational Movie Night (Event Managers: Adnan Ateş & Nilüfer Ateş): Approximately 100 people joined this traditional event with dinner. Adnan Ateş delivered an educational presentation of the meaning of the day.
8.  Sep 22, 2010 – TACAM Grassroots Visits/Meeting with Michigan State Representatives in Lansing (Activity Managers: Gökhan Özalp & Yenal Küçüker): In order to promote Turkey and educate the State representatives, our event leaders met with 20+ State Representatives, especially regarding the alleged Armenian Genocide. They provided educational brochure and books as well.
9.  Oct 15-17, 2010 – Representing Türkiye in the International Festival in Southfield, MI (Event Manager: Ümit Menemenci): Ümit Menemenci set-up a committee with eight volunteers presenting Turkey, the Turkish Culture and History during the three-day long festival. This event was important to promote Turkey and to further engage with various ethnic groups that we approached during the event. Prof. Dr. Sumer Pek delivered an educational presentation on the relationship between the country Turkey and the Thanksgiving bird turkey and the TACAM Folklore Group performed; up to 200+ Americans were in the audience.
10.  Nov 6, 2010 – Student Outreach Meeting with General Consul Fatih Yıldız (Event Manager: Berk Köprülü): Students are our biggest investment; for this purpose Student Outreach Chair Berk Köprülü organized an event with approx. 40 new students. Turkish General Consul Fatih Yıldız, Honorary Consul General Nurten Ural, Student Outreach Chairperson Berk Köprülü, and TACAM President Feridun Bek made speeches and listened to the needs of the students. (A further event with 200 students is planned by Q2 2011.)
11.  Nov 6, 2010 – Turkish Republic Ball (Event Managers: Özlem Falkiewicz & Asst. Prof. Mehmet Yaya): With the leadership of our Grassroots Committee, we received proclamations from the Governor of the State of Michigan and the Mayors of the cities of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Wixom in Michigan. Our event was sold out 10 days before, and 150 people attended, more than the double the attendees in previous years. We had 8 Foreign Consuls joining us with the support of our Honorary Consul General Nurten Ural. We invited Demir Ceylan, a fabulous singer from Germany and gained $8,000 net donations to TACAM.
12.  Nov 7, 2010 – TACAM Mesut Ilgım Conference (Event Managers: Mickey Katz-Pek & Prof. Dr. Sumer Pek): This event was organized to approach to the Jewish-American Community and improve our relationship. With the leadership of Mickey Katz-Pek, we partnered with eight Jewish-American Federations, and TACAM was the lead. During this very informative conference, Mesut Ilgım reviewd the contribution of academisians  of Jewish origin exiled by Nazis to the Turkish University Reform of 1933; he and other speakers, including the Consul General Fatih Yıldız, impressed the 200 participants. TACAM paid all costs and received a grant from Turkish Coalition of America.
13.  Nov 19, 2010 – TACAM Property Development Fundraiser & Kurban Celebration Dinner with Live Music via Demir Ceylan (Event Managers: Adnan Ateş & Seckin Akgül): A perfect dinner with live music and over 130 guests was a success. We raised $3,500+ donations to fix the urgent TACAM property issues.
14. Dec 19, 2010 – TACAM Kids lecture “The Country Turkey and Thanksgiving the Thanksgiving Bird Turkey” (Event Managers: Prof. Dr. Sumer Pek, Mehmet Yaya and Feridun Bek): Specifically for families with kids we organized this informative lecture to entertain them and to educate about Turkey and the history of the Turks.
15.  Dec 30, 2010 – Joint Dinner with Lebanese Community Leaders (Event Managers: Ümit Menemenci and Nurten Ural): In order to engage with the Lebanese-American Community, TACAM sponsored an event with a dinner invitation. The Lebanese Consul, the President of the Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, and approx. 20 further leaders of that Community joined. TACAM leaders delivered speeches regarding Turkish-Lebanese relationship, and documents were distributed.
16. Jan 2011 – TACAM Property Improvement – Phase 1: We started to repair and renovate the TACAM property. Mr. Fatih Tanrısever (Owner: F. Tanrisever Construction Company, Inc.) donated 11 days of service, and Mr. İsmail Kırac 2 days of his time. Further renovations are in the planning stage.
17. Jan 16, 2011 – TACAM Vision and Strategy Workshop (Event Manager: Feridun Bek): The TACAM Board, committee leaders and volunteer members joined this interactive workshop to review the TACAM activities and committee development actions for 2011+.
18. Jan 22, 2011 – Lecture: Your Child’s Development: the Power of Play, Limit Setting and Discipline (Event Manager: Seyran Bek): This was a joint event with the Bulgarian Cultural Center of Detroit, and we partnered with Oakland County Family Services and Farmington Hills Mom’s Club. Bulgarian and Turkish families with children enjoyed the lecture from Kris Kasperski, M.Ed. (Fussy Baby Lead Infant and Family Specialist and Children’s Learning Center Early Childhood Specialist); TACAM sponsored the lunch and event.
19. Feb 12, 2011 – A lecture series on “Treasures of Turkey: From Ancient City Ephesus to Rumi’s Sufi Mysticism” including a Demonstration of “Sufi Meditation by a Whirling Dervish” (Event Manager: Feridun Bek & Dr. Sumer Pek): An excellent TACAM lecture with following speakers: Welcome speech by our event partners the City of Novi Mayor David B. Landry and City Manager Clay Pearson; Lecture regarding “The Treasures of Turkey” by Feridun Bek (TACAM President, who also studied archaeology in Turkey and is licensed as an educator in ancient Anatolian cities); The Crisler Library Education Vision by Janet V. Crisler (President of Crisler Library in Ephesus Ltd.); Lecture: Ephesus and Crisler Library Project by Mehmet Çuhadar (Archaeologist and Lecturer in Turkey); Brief Presentation on Mevlana Rumi by Dr. Sumer Pek & Sufi Whirling Dervish Performance by Salih Okten (Sufi and dancer in Istanbul over 20 years)
20. In this event we raised funds and mentored/sponsored an American archaeology PhD student “Angela Commito” to attend a summer course in Selçuk, Turkey focusing on Ancient Cities in Turkiye – Angela will provide us a lecture about her visit as well.
21. Feb 24, 2011 – Job Fair – TACAM is supporting its members/network with finding jobs: TACAM promoted the job fair “www.mijobhub.com and provided TACAM student membership resumes directly to partner companies who were hiring people. Also, with organizing interviews directly with the President of “Applied Automation Technologies, Inc.” (ATT) headquartered in Rochester Hills, MI.
22. March 1, 2011 – TACAM Co-sponsorship to the “Dilek Engin with Ad Libitum Chamber Ensemble Concert”: Dilek Engin, performed violin with the MSU College of Music. A night of fantastic music right at your doorstep with some of the best musicians from the State of Michigan.
23. March 5 & 19, 2011 – Turkish Cooking Demonstration (Event Manager: Cansu Tucker): A cooking lecture organized for American’s in Rochester Hills in partnership with Cansu Tucker (www.turkishcooking101.com) and TACAM.
24. March 11, 2011 – Turkey’s Cultural Presentation at the “Celebration of Diversity” Event at Workman Elementary School in Canton, MI (Event Manager: Asli Yashin): An excellent presentation that approximately 15 TACAM volunteers exclusively organized and decorated one classroom for Turkish Cultural Presentation; over 500 guests attended. Turkish decorations included: Traditional and cultural costumes, maps, fun giveaways, educational material, food and music etc.
25. March 26, 2011 – TACAM Co-sponsorship to the “Idil Ülgen and Daniel Foster Music Concert” (Event Manager: Mehmet Yaya & Beste Windes): An amazing concert at Eastern Michigan University. where well known TACAM Member Ms. Idil Ülgen performed an excellent piano recital featuring the works of Chopin, Liszt and Brahms. Ülgen also performed a collaborative work with Daniel Foster, EMU Professor of Violin.
26. April 23, 2011 – TACAM National Sovereignty and Children’s Day Celebration (Event Manager: Emin Durgun): Play time at PumpItUp in Wixom with snacks and juice. Children Presentation by Prof. Dr. Elif Persinger about the importance of the National Sovereignty, Children’s Day and Ataturk. TACAM thanks the Arslan, Duenyas, Durgun, Gür, Menemenci, Persinger and Poyraz families for sponsoring this event.
27. April 30, 2011 – Cultural Exchange Night with the Spanish association ADEMI and TACAM & Tapas and Meze Competition (Event Manager: Umit Menemenci): An unforgettable event with lots of Spanish and Turkish music, dance and food competition. Over 150 people joined to foster relationship with the Turkish-American and Spanish-American communities.
28. May 1, 2011 – TACAM Members’ General Assembly (Event Manager: Tim Tucker): In addition to the Board election in this meeting the new fully new written By-Laws for TACAM became effective. Also, a new Building Committee was established.
29. May 13, 2011 – Tango Turco Night (Event Manager: Elif Selin Cila): A dance evening for our young people part of membership engagement.
30. June 19, 2010 – Father Day’s Picnic with 120+ visitors (Event Manager: Melih Gunes): To enable membership engagement and networking, this event was organized with offering a delicious open-buffet.
31. July 27, 2011 – Farewell Party for Umit Menemenci (Event Manager: Feridun Bek): A dinner & party was organized for TACAM VP & Chair for the Grassroots Committee “Umit Menemenci” who relocated to New York as arranged by his employer. Umit worked very hard for the Turkish-American Community and his leadership, support and vision will always be missed.
32.  July 29, 2011 – TACAM Happy Hour (Event Managers: Serkan Ensoner & Ali Demir): TACAM Student Outreach Committee kicked off the first event of “Happy Hour” event series and held a party at an Irish Pub in Ann Arbor (Connor O’Neills). This event brought Turkish students and professionals together. The number of participants were about 30. With this event we started gathering detailed information about the Turkish students and created an online database.
33. Aug13, 2011 – TACAM’s Iftar Dinner (Event Manager: Cansu Tucker): With the leadership of Cansu, ladies of the Turkish-American Community cooked and donated delicious food for the visitor. We had over 100 people with education speeches via TACAM VP Tim Tucker and music afterwards.
34. Sep 11, 2011 – Turkish Victory Day and Ramadan Celebration & Commemoration of 9/11 (Event Manager: Adnan Ates): TACAM approached the Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Ahiska, Albanian and Bosnian communities and jointly celebrated the Turkish Victory Day and Ramadan and their leaders and/or association presidents joined the event as well. Food from Turkic countries were served with Bosnian Folklore, Bosnian/Turkish Live music and a Sufi Performance. Event Manager Adnan Ates provided an education PowerPoint presentation about Ramadan. TACAM President Feridun Bek delivered an educational presentation about the meaning of the Turkish Victory Day, and to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States.
35. Sep 29, 2011 – TACAM Student Welcome Party (Event Managers: Serkan Ensoner & Ali Demir):: This event was targeted for Turkish students only, organized by TACAM Student Outreach committee, and were also the second event of the Happy Hour event series. We got a chance to meet many Turkish grad and undergrad students that we couldn’t meet in the first event. The event was held at a cafe in Ann-Arbor (Cafe Felix) and brought about 30 U of M students together.
36. Sep 29, 2011 – TACAM Student Welcome Guide Release (Author: Heather Littlefield – Coordinators Ali Demir & Serkan Ensoner):: The TACAM Student Outreach Team wrote a 20 page Student Guide for new coming students to Michigan, to find suitable housing, the US system, key information for student, immigration matters etc. which can be downloaded at www.tacam.org! A big thanks especially for Heather Littlefield!
37. November 5, 2011 - TACAM Student & Young Professionals Networking Event (Event Managers: Serkan Ensoner & Ali Demir): This event was actually a pre-event to TACAM Republic Day Ball held on the same day. Main purpose of this event was networking and it brought not only UM students, but also students from MSU and University of Windsor. There was also professional aspect to this event. Nurten Ural, Sevil Kutay, Recep Karadayi, Faruk Cingilli kindly contributed to this event.  as speaker. The number of participants was above 50.
38. November 5, 2011 – Turkish Republic Day Celebration (Event Managers: Ozen Durgun & Sulbiye Peters): TACAM organized the biggest Republic Day Celebration in U.S. in 2011, with almost 300 guests and the only one where multiple US Congress people joined and delivered excellent PR speeches about Turkey and Ataturk; plus further consuls and key VIP people joined. Also, we received 6 proclamations from State of Michigan and other cities ref the Turkish Republic Day (see example link: http://www.turkishny.com/usa-news/87-american-english-news/71489-michiganda-turkiye-ve-ataturk-tantm)
39. November 13, 2011 – TACAM sponsored DETROIT HEART and MINDS meet (Event Manager: Emine Zeren): Sponsored DETROIT HEART and MINDS event part of an Arabic-American youth outreach program.
40. January 8, 2012 – TACAM Networking Brunch & Presenting 2012 TACAM Vision (Event Manager: Feridun Bek): Organized in Farmington, MI with over 100 people joined the event and President Feridun Bek presented an overview of the 2012 TACAM vision.
41. February 24, 2012 – Idil Ulgen’s Piano Recital “Baroque Splendour (Event Manager: Asli Yashin): TACAM co-sponsored this event where the famous Turkish pianist Idil Ulgen perform at a recital entitled, “Baroque Splendour”. Location: Flint Institute of Arts.
42. March 9, 2012 – Celebration of Diversity 2012 (Event Committee Chairman: Asli Yashin): A remarkable international cultural event where over 1,000 participated. In one class Turkish culture, food, information about Turkiye etc. were presented in an excellent way.
43. March 11, 2012 – TACAM Complimentary Networking Brunch & Building Committee Presentation (Event Committee Chairman: Prof. Dr. Mumtaz Usmen): The building committee leaders Prof. Dr. Mumtaz Usmen, Mr. Ilhan Berberoglu, Mr. Emin Durgun established a fund of $20K which is remarkable success and presented the Building vision and asked for further donations. Complimentary brunch were served.
44. March 24, 2012 – Nevruz Celebration with General Consul Hon. Fatih Yildiz (Event Managers: Feridun Bek & Tim Tucker): A joined event was organized with the Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Ahiska, Bosnian and Albanian communities, which was an excellent example how to explore synergies and be one voice. Each ethnic group performed folklore, live music, cultural speeches and a sufi performance was part of the event. The General Consul of Chicago in Turkiye and TACAM President Feridun Bek were awarded as the “Michigan Turks Leaders”. The Turkish Consulate of Chicago, ATAA and TACCI-Midwest were the event sponsors.
45. April 5, 2012 – Visiting Senator Debbie Stabenow Detroit Office to speak about the the Armenian issue & educate ref S.Res. 399: TACAM President Feridun Bek, Board Member Prof. Dr. Ece Yaprak and other leaders Özlem Falkiewicz and Prof. Dr. Attila Yaprak met the Detroit Office Director Alan Fosnacht. An educational presentation ref the Armenian issue and further documents were provided. The office indicated that they do not anticipate the that S.Red. 399 will pass.
46. April 28, 2012 – Turkish Children’s Day Celebration (Event Manager: Ozen Durgun): An only kids focused remarkable Children’s Day event at PumpitUp in Wixom, MI where up to 50 kids and their families joined. The entire event and food costs were sponsored via TACAM and Prof. Dr. Elif Persinger made an educational Ataturk speech for kids, while Ms. Mine Tasci performed live music.
47. May 6, 2012 – TACAM General Assembly

Currently, we are working on further events, details of which will be emailed to you when complete.

Note: In order to get TACAM email invitations, you need to register your email address for the TACAM Newsletter and keep it updated (see www.tacam.org)!

• Link: http://paxturcica.capwiz.com/paxturcica/issues/alert/?alertid=61115776

Note: Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow will play a key role in determining H.S.Res 399′s advancement and we would like to visit her. Please contact us at contact@tacam.org in case you would like to join the visit?

Other Details:

Ahead of April 2012, the Armenian-American ethnic special interest groups are again trying to intimidate Congress and to ruin the U.S.-Turkish relations. Senate Resolution 399, introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on March 19 and currently referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, calls upon the U.S. President to improperly depict the interethnic strife in Eastern Anatolia during World War I as the “Armenian genocide”.

Join the Pax Turcica-powered action campaign asking your representative to oppose S. Res. 399 and raising media awareness of this ethnic-lobby-driven attempt to derail US foreign policy.

Best regards

Feridun Bek                            Tim Tucker

(President)                              (TACAM VP & Grassroots/Advocacy Committee Chair)

MICHIGAN’DA YERINDE KONSOLOSLUK HIZMETI VERILMESI

07 Mart 2012

Turk toplumunun degerli mensuplari,

Michigan’da yasayan vatandaslarimizla biraraya gelmek ve eyaletteki yerel yetkililere ilaveten, bazi is ve akademi cevreleriyle gorusmelerde bulunmak uzere, 21-24 Mart 2012 tarihlerinde Detroit ve civarina ziyarette bulunacagim.

Sozkonusu ziyaretim kapsaminda, 24 Mart 2012 Cumartesi gunu vatandaslarimizla bir toplanti cercevesinde biraraya gelmeyi arzu ediyorum. Yeri ve zamanina iliskin olarak asagida bilgi sunulan toplantiya vatandaslarimizin katilimini bekliyor, vatandaslarimizla gorus alisverisinde bulunmaktan memnuniyet duyacagimi ifade etmek istiyorum.

Vatandas Toplantisi

• Yer: Hyatt Regency Dearborn, Rolls Royce Suite, 600 Town Center Drive, Dearborn, MI 48126
• Tarih: 24 Mart 2012, Cumartesi
• Saat: 11:00 – 13:00

Ayrica, Michigan’in Baskonsoloslugumuza uzak olmasinin, konsolosluk islemleri icin sahsen Sikago’ya gelmek durumunda kalan vatandaslarimiz acisindan yarattigi kulfeti hafifletebilmek amaciyla, Baskonsoloslugumuzda gorevli bir personel, yine 24 Mart 2012 Cumartesi gunu vatandaslarimizin konsolosluk basvurularini kabul edecektir. YERINDE KONSOLOSLUK HIZMETI vermek icin vatandaslarimizin kabul edilecegi yer, zaman ve hangi konsolosluk islemlerine iliskin basvurularin kabul edilebilecegine yonelik bilgiler de keza asagida sunulmaktadir.

Yerinde Konsolosluk Hizmeti

• Yer: Hyatt Regency Dearborn, Rolls Royce Suite, 600 Town Center Drive, Dearborn, MI 48126
• Tarih: 24 Mart 2012, Cumartesi
• Saat: 13:00 – 17:00

Basvuru kabul edilebilecek hizmetler: E-Pasaport, dovizle askerlik, askerlik ilk erteleme, nufus islemleri, adli sicil kaydi basvurulari (Basvuru surecleri hakkinda www.e-pasaport.gov.tr ve www.konsolosluk.gov.tr internet adreslerinden bilgi alinmasi mumkundur.)

Saygilarimla,

Fatih YILDIZ

Baskonsolos

TACAM’dan ilave not: Baska toplantilarda olacak ve sizleri bilgilendirecegiz! Soz gelimi 24 Mart – 13:30 ile 16:30 arasi Nevruz Kutlamasi!

“Turk-Amerikan Lobiciliginin Guclenmesi icin Aktif Yardiminiza Ihtiyac Var”

Dear TACAM Members, and Friends of Turkiye (Turkey):

As we close the 2011 calendar year, we have a deep sense of gratitude for your trust and continued support as we work further collectively to fulfill the vision and goals of the Turkish-American Community!

During this time of reflection, we intend to review the areas of accomplishment, and future opportunities to improve. With this thought in mind, please analyze the key strategies below and consider the ways you could support them as much as you can:

A. The 2012 TACAM Vision:

Our aim is to initiate programs and organize events to meet the overall and critical needs of the Turkish American community – based on the principles of Ataturk!  Therefore, we have organized two “Strategic Planning Workshops”, and sent out a survey questionnaire to get feedback from the Turkish American community. As a result, the following main strategic areas and projects were identified:

Strategies:

1. VOICE – Increase the voice of Turkish-Americans: in Michigan and in U.S. especially in key Turkiye and Turkish-American related matters (see www.turkishpac.com for example topics).
2. REACH OUT – Advocacy & Outreach: involvement within our community, reach to and collaborate with other Turkic-American organizations for the benefits of the Turkish-American Community, and to have “One-Voice”; cooperation with other ethnic groups; reach out to American media, policy makers, and others.
3. EDUCATION – Focus on educational activities (Involving our youth, members, media, and politicians, etc.): As a cultural association, specific programs discussing various aspects of the Turkish culture found to be desirable; to include educational presentations as much as possible in key events.
4. MEMBERSHIP – Engagement and development: To meet new people, enhancing social and professional networks for mutual benefits, as well as strengthening our bonds with current association friends and family to respond to their changing needs.

 Projects:

5. BUILDING:  TACAM property improvement, to achieve a quality the Turkish-American Community deserves!

B. Responding to the VISION -  Who we are & What we did for you in the past 2 years?

Since May 2010, we provided the following outcomes:

• Organized over 35 key events and/or activities with your support and met and/or exceeded all our planned targets (see link for details: www.tacam.org/?p=1868); more events are in the planning stage.
• Mentored/sponsored an American archaeology PhD student “Angela Commito” to attend a summer course in Selçuk, Turkey focusing on Ancient Cities in Turkiye (Angela will provide us a lecture about her experience.)
• Organized the biggest Republic Day Celebration in U.S. in 2011, with almost 300 guests and the only one where multiple congress people joined and delivered excellent PR speeches about Turkey and Ataturk; plus further consuls and key VIP people joined. Also, we received 6 proclamations from State of Michigan and other cities ref the Turkish Republic Day (see example link: http://www.turkishny.com/usa-news/87-american-english-news/71489-michiganda-turkiye-ve-ataturk-tantm).
• Proactively approached and partnered with different Turkic and Balkan ethnic groups and organized joint events in line with our strategies.
• With the leadership and expertise of Prof. Dr. Sumer Pek, launched a totally new TACAM by-laws after 30 years (see link: www.tacam.org/about/bylaws).
• New committees added to the existing ones: (1) Building Committee, and (2) Trade & Economy Development Committees. The building committee established an exclusive building fund and already managed to get $10K initial funds with the target of getting $100K+.
• Received substantial amounts of donations, much in excess of such contributions in previous years, and had $13K more income as initially budgeted, and more…

C. Your requested critical support to the Turkish-American Community?

To maintain this momentum, and to further implement our strategies, we NEED your support and kindly ask your assistance, as follows:

1. Please ask professionals and business people you are acquainted with to make donations to TACAM. Annually, TACAM needs approximately $13K for property maintenance (including property tax) and further significant event costs. The suggested amount for a donation could be at least $250; remind your friends that donations to TACAM are fully tax deductible.
2. Please pay your 2012 TACAM membership dues by January 31, 2012! If you have not done so already (see link for online payment www.tacam.org/membership).
3. Please pro-actively support one TACAM event or activity every year, such as supporting the organization of an event, joining an action committee, giving an educational lecture in the area of your expertise, sponsoring an event by a donation, bringing proactive ideas and contributing to their implementation, etc. For this purpose, please contact us at contact@tacam.org to review the details,
4. Please promote TACAM in your communities, and encourage 1 or 2 persons or families to become members in the Year 2012. We are targeting to increase %50 the current membership number by December 2012.

D. Why is it important that you became an active TACAM member?

1.  By supporting TACAM and its U.S. network, you become part of the advocacy organization with a truly national reach. Your support and involvement allows TACAM to have an impact on key opinion leaders and policymakers on issues of deep concern to all of us—from promoting positive Turkish sentiments and supporting Türkiye, to championing human rights and strengthening ties with other ethnic groups!
2. By only working proactively and together as an organization—the Board, Action Committees and Active Members—we can make a difference within the Turkish American Community to promote our heritage and culture and pass it to our new generations!  We owe this to ourselves, to the Turkish-American Community, and our new generations!
3. We need to act now to successfully and effectively implement our strategies listed above to become an assertive Turkish American Community.
4. Our role model is Atatürk and his principles. We want to prove that Michigan has many Atatürk templates who are actively/successfully working to create miracles, and work hard to implement them!
5. Your donation of funds and effort will benefit our current and next generations, to preserve the Turkish culture and language, to promote our rich Turkish heritage, and to further the education of our future leaders.
6. In the New Year, we will organize more “TACAM member only” activities and focus more on their needs, as we are a membership organization! Please do not miss the opportunity to be part of a big family!

Please let us know how you can contribute to implement our vision and contact us at contact@tacam.org or 313.204.8700 as needed.

We wish you happy holidays, merry Christmas and a prosperous new year!

On behalf of the TACAM Board Members and Committee Chairpersons

Feridun Bek                                                                  Tim Tucker

TACAM President                                                        TACAM VP

  Son BaŞvuru Tarihi: 14 Kasım 2011

2009 yılında 80 ülkeden 2000′i aŞkın katılımcıyla gerçekleŞtirilen “Dünya Türk GiriŞimciler Kurultayı”, bu yıl 18-19 Kasım 2011 tarihlerinde İstanbul Lütfi Kırdar Kongre ve Sergi Sarayı’nda gerçekleŞtirilecektir.  Kurultayla ilgili ayrıntılılı bilgiyi www.dtik.org.tr adresinden temin edebilirsiniz.

Kurultaya Türk Amerikan Dernekleri Kurulu (ATAA)’nu temsilen aŞağıdaki isimler katılacaklardır:

• Şeref BaŞkanı olarak Türkiye’den TABA BaŞkanı Sayın Uğur Terzioğlu ,
• ATAA ve TACAM Kurultay İcra Kurulu BaŞkanı ve ATAA Endüstri ve Ticari İliŞkiler Komitesi BaŞkanı olarak Sayın Feridun Bek,
• ATAA Orta Batı Bölgesi BaŞkan Yardımcısı olarak Sayın Faruk Cingilli.

ATAA’ ya bağlı dernekler ve üyeleri programa, ATAA Heyeti liderliğinde katılmaya davetlidirler!

BaŞvuru formunuzu  www.dtik.org.tr  web sitesinde doldurduktan sonra, formunuzu ve referans numaranızı Feridun Bek’e (feridun.bek@gmail.com) ulaŞtırabilirsiniz.

ATAA Heyetinine katılacaklar ATAA ile çalıŞan 5 farklı dernek üyeleriyle birlikte 20 kiŞi kadardır. Ayrıca sınırlı kontenjanımız mevcuttur.

Yeni dӧnemde DTIK Amerika Bölgesi BaŞkan Adayımız eski ATAA BaŞkanı Sayın Nurten Ural ‘dır.

Önemli Notlar:

• Kurultaya katılım baŞvuruları www.dtik.org.tr adresinden yapılmakta olup, son baŞvuru tarihi 10 Kasım 2011′dir. Lütfen baŞta program ücretini ödemeyiniz. Kısıtlı kontenjanla ATAA kurultay katılımcıları  için ödemeden muaf olabilme durumu mevcuttur.
• Özel Şahısların ATAA Heyetine katılımı için, önce ATAA üyesi olmasi gerekmektedir. Üyelik bilgilerini ataa.org/membership/individual.html adresinden temin edebilirsiniz.
• Bölgenizdeki Ticari MüŞavirliklerle bağlantıya geçip, yurt dıŞından katılanlar için konaklama konusunda destek programları hakkında bilgi alabilirsiniz.
• Türk Hava Yolları kurultay referans numaranızı sunduğunuz takdirde, indirim yapabilmektedir.

Program hakkında ayrıntılı bilgi için Sayın Murat Atik’e telefonla (011 90 212 339 50 68) veya e-posta ile  kurultay2011@deik.org.tr adresinden ulaŞabilirsiniz.

Dear Students & Young Professionals,

As the TACAM Student & Young Professionals Development Committee, we aim to bring all of you periodically together in different events for networking purposes. We would like to offer you some connections to key business people and scholars as well and we know we can be strong only if we support each other!

We already organized several Networking Happy Hours in the past months, and would like to invite you to the below event for which we expect 70+ participants:

Date:                      Saturday, November 5^th, 2011 — 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Location:              TACAM Building, 28847 Beck Road, Wixom, MI 48393

Draft Agenda:

• Brief speeches:
• Welcome speech via the Committee Chairs – Serkan Ensoner & Ali Demir (& Berk Koprulu – Former Chair)
• Feridun Bek (TACAM President & ATAA VP Mid-Central Region)
• Nurten Ural (Honorary Turkish Consul of Michigan & ATAA Past-resident)
• Prof. Dr. Sevil Kutay (President  – Turkish American Chamber of Midwest)
• Recep Karadayi (President & CEO – Applied Automation Technologies, Inc.)
• Faruk Cingilli (Businessmen and ATAA VP Midwestern Region)
• Group Introduction & Networking
• Conclusion

This is a free event and soft drinks will be offered.

For further RSVP and questions, please contact us at: ensoner@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Sincerely,

On behalf of the TACAM Board of Directors

Serkan Ensoner                                                                   Ali Demir

(Chair & Board Member)                                                   (Co-Chair & Board Member)

Many thanks for your great support and interest – our event is SOLD-OUT!

Over 270 guests confirmed to join the event with following guests of honor: US Congressman Hansen Clarke & Garry Peters; the Michigan Consuls of Turkey, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Iraq and Yemen; the Mayor of City of Novi & the City Manager, President of Turkish American Chamber of Commerce and Industry Midwest, ATAA VP Midwestern Region, ATAA Advocacy Director and the leaders of the Azerbaijani-American & Syrian-American communities!

In addition, we are pleased to inform you that we received Republic Day “Proclamations” from State of Michigan, the cities of Ann Arbor, Lansing, Wixom and Ypsilanti, and from Congressman Hansen Clarke.

Dear Friends of TACAM and Türkiye (Turkey):

You and your friends are cordially invited to join TACAM in celebrating the 88th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey. By participating in this event, you will be demonstrating your support of the Turkish Republic and the values with which it stands for and our solidarity against terrorism!

TACAM will use the event income: [a] to contribute to the “Mehmetcik Vakfi”; aiding families of fallen soldiers and veterans impacted by the fight against PKK terrorism, [b] to support the victims of the October 23 earthquake in Turkey’s Van province, and [c] for partial payment of the property tax due for the TACAM building.

As defined in the “Oath of the Nation” at the Erzurum Congress in July 1919, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk initiated the War of Independence in accordance with the principle of a “Nation Indivisible”, and defeated the occupants of Turkish Lands ultimately leading to the establishment of the Turkish Republic on October 29, 1923. As the founder of the Republic and its first president, Atatürk implemented many progressive reforms that transformed the country into today’s modern state. The Republic of Turkey has become the pioneer of democracy in the Middle East, and world’s 16th largest economy; it stands as one of the most important allies of the United States.

Last year at the Celebration of the Turkish Republic Day, we had almost 200 guests, guests of honor including eight consuls of foreign countries; this year we will have a bigger and unforgettable event for you to enjoy!

Draft Agenda:

• Welcome reception
• Welcome speech by TACAM President Feridun Bek
• Brief speeches from some of our guests of honor
• Live entertainment by Turgut Yargici, who is joining us from Florida to bring a large repertoire of international music to add extra flair to the night.
• Dining, dancing, silent auction and more…

Ticket prices for the entire program are as follows (cash bar for alcoholic drinks, including raki):

• Members: $75 or $90 after October 23
• Non-members: $90 or $105 after October 23
• Students: $45 (ages 11 to 30 – with no income)
• Kids (2-10): $30 (Kids dinner buffet and optional childcare via volunteers are organized in a separate room for children ages 2 to 10 only)
• Attire: Formal Attire (Black Tie is optional)

PS: Please also see following link to learn more about the historically significant comments of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Hemingway and Churchill about Ataturk and the Turkish Republic: http://tacam.org/?p=1618

The Turkic-American Community in Michigan (key sponsors: the Turkish-Americans, Azerbaijani-Americans and Turkmen-Americans) cordially invites you to our annual Victory Day and Ramadan Celebration!

Every year on August 30, the citizens of the Republic of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Turkish-Americans celebrate Victory Day (Zafer Bayramı). The victory being celebrated is the defeat on August 30, 1922, of the invading foreign armies in the final battle of the Turkish War of Independence. This final battle, also known as the “Battle of Dumlupınar” started on Aug 26, 1922, in the city of Dumlupınar in the province of Kütahya in central Anatolia, and ended on August 30, 1922, expelling the invaders out of the motherland. The commander in chief of the of the Turkish War of Independence as well as the Battle of Dumlupınar was the great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who established the Republic of Turkey one year later on October 29, 1923.

We will celebrate the Turkish Victory Day and Ramadan Festival and provide an education presentation regarding the meaning of these days to enlighten the new generations. We also would like to review how this Victory should further inspire and energize the Turkish-American community today while having in additional a Sufi Whirling Dervish Performance.

Finally, we will commemorate the tragic incident of 9/11 in which the Turkish-American community was and is deeply saddened!

Agenda

• 1:30-2:00pm: Welcome
• 2:00-3:30pm: Lunch (please join on time as we will serve offen buffet)
• 3:30-3:50pm: Presentation on the meaning of the Turkish Victory Day by Feridun Bek (TACAM President)
• 3:50-4:10pm: What is Ramadan – Yesterday and Today by Adnan Ateş (TACAM Secretary)
• 4:10-4:30pm: Brief Presentation on Mevlana Rumi & Sufi Whirling Dervish Performance by Salih Okten (Sufi and dancer in Istanbul over 20 years)
• 4:30-4:40pm: September 11 Commemoration speech by Nurten Ural (Honorary Turkish Consul of Michigan)
• 4:40-5:00pm: Bosnian Folklore Dance
• 5:00-7:30pm: Complimentary Bayram presents for kids, Turkish music, networking, bowling game and billiard and other entertainments.

The facility has an outer playground and there will be a small inflatable bouncer to entertain the kids.

Lunch Menu

Chicken breast with mushroom sauce, special Üzbek rice meal with meat, salad, börek and soft drinks and coffee.

Single Adult: $20.00
Single Student or Child (6-12 years): $10.00
Child under 6: Free
Entrance after 3:30pm with no lunch is $10 per person

Please RSVP by September 8, 2011 to Nilüfer and indicate if you wish lunch or not.

We hope you will be able to join us in this event that has dual meaning and importance. Please bring along your children, your neighbors and friends!

Event Managers

On behalf of the TACAM Board
Adnan Ateş & Nilüfer Ateş
Event Managers

On behalf of the Azerbaijani-American Community
Ramin Mammadov
Leader & Event Manager

On behalf of the Turkmen-American Community
Nuray Agaoglu
Leader & Event Manager

TACAM invites you to share an İftar dinner together. As a Turkish American community we are strengthened when we are together and provide a rich culture for our children and young adults for their future.

Please join us as we come together and enjoy an educational presentation while enjoying the meal and the fine opportunity to be together as a community during Ramazan!

Of most importance is just being able to share as a community in this rich tradition and enjoy the interchange of fellowship together with our friends and families—we hope each of you are able to come for dinner!

Agenda

• 7:30pm — Welcome to TACAM
• 8:00pm — Welcome speech and an educational presentation
• 8:39pm &mdash Start serving Iftar Dinner

We will have soups, salads, meat stew, vegetables, desserts and more.

Feel free to contact Tim or Cansu Tucker at 248–894–8257 (Tim) or 248–961–9361 (Cansu).

About Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. The Month of Ramadan is also when it is believed the Holy Quran “was sent down from heaven, a guidance unto men, a declaration of direction, and a means of Salvation.” It is during this month that Muslims fast. It is called the Fast of Ramadan and lasts the entire month. Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives. It is a time of worship and contemplation. During the Fast of Ramadan strict restraints are placed on the daily lives of Muslims. They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours. Smoking and sexual relations are also forbidden during fasting. There are exceptions to fasting. Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are pregnant or nursing are permitted to break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year. If they are physically unable to do this, they must feed a needy person for every day missed. At the end of the day the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called the iftar. In the evening following the iftar it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast is resumed the next morning.

Admission is free for all attendees. Donations on behalf of TACAM are always welcome.