| Wista News - Fall 1999 Edition |
|
| Wista News - Fall 1999 Edition |
|
|
It's been a while since the last issue of WISTA-News. At the last international conference it was discussed that in order to exchange newsletter information, the standard language should be English. We hope that we have the members understanding for changing from Danish to English. We are mailing this issue, however in the future, we would like to send where possible the newsletter by e-mail. Please remember to include your e-mail address in the enclosed questionnaire. Let us know if it is okay to send future copies of WISTA-News by e-mail.
For those members who were unable to attend the General Meeting on the 22nd April 1999, elected board and responsibilities are as follows:
| Board Members Marianne Meinertz - Municourt ApS Tel: 45 66 42 55 Chairman Seminar 2000 Helen Betant - Watson, Farley & Williams Tel: 33 91 33 03 Vice President Membership List Lone Scheuer Larsen - Tryg-Baltica Tel: 44 20 38 51 Treasurer Ulla Meyer - A/S D/S Torm Tel: 39 17 92 00 Program Coordinator Newsletter - Co-Editor Claudine B. Mørk - a/s Dan-Bunkering Ltd. Tel: 64 21 54 11 Newsletter Editor Alternates to the Board Anne Rasmussen - A/S D/S Torm Tel: 39 17 92 00 Seminar 2000 Birgitte Medegård - Det Norske Veritas Tel: 39 45 48 00 Seminar 2000 |
If you have any ideas or would like to get involved with some of the ongoing projects, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The last board meeting took place on the 31st July. There are many plans going on for up coming events. See later in this issue on some of our ideas. The largest project is the "Seminar 2000" in May of next year. We need help in organizing. If any one has extra time or good ideas, please contact Anna Rasmussen, A/S D/S Torm Tel: 39 17 92 00 or Birgitte Medegård, Det Norske Veritas Tel: 39 45 48 00
We are working hard to freshen up our ideas and do things which members will enjoy. As a start, a questionnaire is enclosed together with this newsletter. Please be so kind to take the few minutes to fill out and return to Ulla Meyer, A/S D/S Torm. She did a great job setting it up. Let's fill it in with some good feed back. The lack of replies means more unclaimed prizes left for the board members. YUM! Don't be left out!
Membership is our lifeline. It is up to each one of us to see that WISTA continues to be strong. If you come across someone you feel may be interested in becoming a member, take the initiative and send the following:
| -Introductory Letter |
 |
| -WISTA pamphlet | |
| -Copy of WISTA Denmark statutes | |
| -Application Form |
If you have any questions, contact Helen Betant, Watson, Farley &
Williams
Tel: 33 91 33 03.
Dorte Rolff made an impressive presentation covering the A.P. Møller Group. The
afternoon started with a film, "The Blue Movie" which gave a short overview of the A.P. Møller Group's activities. This was followed up by a more thorough look at Dorte's responsibilities in the "Corporate Secretariat".
Later, we moved on to the A.P. Møller museum. Included in the private exhibition was the late A.P.Møller's office, details of the. various activities, ship models, company history etc.
Finally to quench the thirst, we closed the visit with a glass of wine and casual discussion.
Off we went on a bus trip to Kalundborg to check out Statoil's Refinery. Thank you to all members who attended. In all we were 16 members and 3 guests who met up at the refinery. On the way to Kalundborg, members on the bus from Copenhagen were being entertained by a short introductory DNV video on quality control when bunkering. By the way if anyone would like a copy of these DNV videos for their office entertainment collection, let us know.
Once we arrived, Jørgen Nielsen of Statoil explained about the background of the refinery. This was followed up by a tour around the premises and into the control room. It was fascinating to see what effect the touch of the screen with a pencil can have on the different production processes going on in the labyrinth of pipelines.
After the trip around the refmery we had time for a discussion on the topic of "Bunkers". Anna Rasmussen, A/S D/S Torn, Claudine B. Mork, a/s Dan-Bunkering Ltd made short presentations on the buyer and sellers viewpoint. Along with the presentations we also had good input from Peter Stockholm of Statoil giving his viewpoints. There was a good dialog. The main theme was, that it is important to have confidence and know who you are dealing with. When making a choice of bunkers it's more than just price, you need to consider the quality.
Thank you to all members who came out to Lyngby back on the gray winter day on 21st February. A special thanks goes to Anne Marie Olsen of Hempel for all the preparation beforehand and finally on the day of the painting competition. Of course to all our talented artists who designed some creative works of art. The afternoon went by quickly After the final touches were completed to the individual drawings, there was a round of "slå katten af tønden". It was safe to say there was no shortage of candy in the barrel. Then it was back to disclose the results of the judging. There was not a single person that went home empty handed.
The winning results of the contest were published earlier this summer and we are pleased to announce that two of our selections were chosen. Congratulations to both our winners listed below.
The Danish Winners are.... |
|
Casper Sabinsky, Age 12 |
The winning artists will be receiving a Certificate of Appreciation for their work. These certificates have not yet been received. They will most likely be issued at the 25th Anniversary Conference in London. Stay tuned.
Both paintings will be printed in the WISTA 2000 calendar together with drawings from the remaining 10 paintings selected at the competition. This calendar will be distributed later this year. It is not yet known how much the calendars will cost or how many will be printed. This will be published in the next issue of WISTA news, or eventually we will send out a short memo.
If any one is interested in getting a copy of all the winners, send an
e-mail request to
middelfart@dan-bunkering.dk
Spotlight On: Kathe KragAs a new Wista member, I felt it would be appropriate to introduce myself. The question is, if I should give you the short or looong version. The short: My name is KatheKrag and I work at Tropimar a/s. That does not say very much. The long version would be too much, so I guess I will settle to elaborate on the short version. As mentioned, I am employed at Tropimar a/s. What is that? Tropimar is a chartering and operating company. We have a fixed line out of northern Brazil. To be more exact, Belem/Santarem /Breves to Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, UK and Ireland. We charter vessels that run about 14'000 - 20'000 DWT in size. On this tonnage, we load timber and some veneer. I started at Tropimar as an apprentice at the age of 24 in 1993, and am still hanging in. Since there are not many employees, I have numerous responsibilities. I spend my time with operations, invoicing, checking agent d/a's, fixing trans-shippers, settlements with owners and ad hoc administrative details around the office. Now life is not only working. One thing I do in my spare time, is to sing in a gospel choir. When people hear that, they usually ask: "Are you Christian?" No, I do not go to church every Sunday, but I enjoy singing Gospel. If some of you have a singing talent hidden away, it is just a matter of getting started. It puts you in a fantastic mood. By Kathe Krag |
With every issue, we would like to do a short background on Danish or International WISTA members. If you are interested in writing a short insert for us, please fax to +75 84 10 62 or e-mall to middelfart@dan-bunkering.dk
Have you been off on a business trip or on a holiday and discovered some interesting places? We would love to hear about it. It does not necessarily have to be outside the country. It could be a special place right here in Denmark.
In this issue we start with London.
Sarastro Restaurant
126 Drury Lane, Theatreland
London WC2B 5QG
Tel: 020 7836 0101
Here is a tip if you are ever in London and looking for a restaurant with atmosphere. This Is supposed to be Turkish, but trust me you will not find a kebab on the menu. The food is average, but the atmosphere is excellent. You may have to reserve ahead of time to reserve one of the tucked away tables that are up on the balconies. Don't miss out on the creative decorating in the ladies room. If you like Schiele, you are in for a treat
It's time again for the yearly conference. So far we have Helen Betant and Marianne Meinertz who will be taking part in the conference. If there is anyone else out there making plans, it may be an idea to coordinate the Danish members attending.
The following opinion was recently received from a member of WISTA Denmark. Take a look and let us know what you think.
Is a woman's club really necessary? If women want to exchange experiences, are we permitted to have an organization to build up a network?
No, a woman's club is not necessary. There are many other organizations where women can make a difference. I have never received good feed back from saying I am a member of WISTA. Unfortunately, WISTA has a reputation for being a coffee club which meets once a year to discuss how terribly they are treated in the shipping world. Many loose interest as a result. I myself considered dropping out of WISTA. One reason, being that my employer does not support WISTA. Another, is simply practical reasons.
The network is very good, however do we make use of one another? I know very little of what the other members are doing. In the typical Danish way, say nothing of yourself, what you can or what your job involves. According to the meeting notes, nothing has changed. I can't see the purpose for WISTA-Denmark continuing if members do not open up to the board and say honestly what they actually want from the organization. It is important that members speak up so that the activities are organized that suit members taste.
I have met WISTA members who have opinions but if I ask if they have mentioned their thoughts to the board, I receive always a sigh or shrug of the shoulders. Some of the comments I hear are for example:
The organization is to elitist. You have to be on the director level or have equivalent seniority to enter the inner circle and be heard and become important
It is both right and wrong for an organization to choose a certain standard. I was not even sure if I was high enough in the ranks when 1 first applied. I was accepted in any case. A group that does not have enough members can not be critical. I believe there are many women around Denmark, who would be interested in becoming active. Some have not heard about WISTA while others may feel their job or background is not sufficient to meet standards.
The activities do not interest me. They seem too official which takes the learning aspect away.
An organization with members with such a variety of backgrounds will of course have problems making programs that will interest all members. An idea would be to organize workshops where a member could discuss a topic that she is involved with at her job. There are still many subjects that have not been touched.
Course suggestions are not relevant for me and if they were, my employer would not pay for my participation.
I would think that the majority of companies have money set aside for education. Maybe WISTA has resources available to keep costs down to a minimum. Or maybe there are more economical methods to offer a course. There are many other things, however the above is what I feel is most relevant. In closing, I would like to say that it is not my intention to criticize the organizations work. I thought it was about time to be honest. I do not expect that everyone agree with me, however perhaps this will get something going.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
WISTA Hotel Deal
If you are in Copenhagen looking for a place to stay, WISTA has negotiated rebates at First Hotel, which is a brand new hotel centrally located in Copenhagen.
First Hotel
Vesterbrogade 23-29
DK- 1620 København V
Tel: 33 78 80 50
Room Rates including breakfast
Standard - Double
WISTA Rate: 1'1 60,00 kr
Deluxe
WISTA Rate: 1'360,00 kr
For Superior rooms just add 200,00 kr.
The above rebates can be extended to clients visiting your company as well. When booking rooms, just mention WISTA.
As a regular column, we would like to start making a list of favorite web sites. If you have a particular site on the web you enjoy, share it with the rest of WISTA members. It can be either professional or social. If you have any ideas, just e-mail to middelfart@dan-bunkering.dk
This is the site that is an attempt to make communication between the different worldwide WISTA chapters easier. You can log on to catch up on the latest happenings within WISTA, read newsletters from other chapters and link up to other sites on the web. You can also register and get automatic notices sent to you each time the site is being updated.
For some good travel bargains check out www.travelmarket.dk. Select your place of departure, destination, time period and this search system fmds the best buys. Try it out. It saved one of our members dkr 1'400,00.
Hope you enjoyed the update. That is all from us this time around. The next issue is planned for January 2000. If you have anything please let us hear from you latest 1st December 1999 before the Christmas hype sets in.
|
© 1999 WISTA Denmark
Internet edition © 1999 WISTA ON-LINE
email Wista
