Dear BBC Members and Friends,

The Year in Review 

I think it is fair to say that, following some difficult years during the crisis, the British Business Club in Russia is now back with a vengeance: fully operational and rejuvenated. Starting from Chicago Prime in May, we have since hosted: a private tour of the Bolshoi Theatre; a concert with ballet, chamber music and champagne; various informative lectures and shareholders and directors lunches; a summer extravaganza on the rooftop at the St.Regis Nikolskaya; the inaugural British Business Club Golf Invitational at Agalarov Estate Golf and Country Club; an autumn social networking event at MOJO; a degustation at Moet Hennessey's head office; and a luxury event hosted by Launer Bespoke and Astrakhan Caviar at Launer's new showroom. Photos of many of these events are archived on our website - www.britishclub.ru.

I should very much like to thank each and every one of you as members for the heartfelt support and encouragement you gave to me during my first year as President. It is a true privilege and honour to be at the helm of an organisation which, in my humble opinion, is well on its way to becoming one of Moscow's premier business networking (and social and cultural events) organisations. I should also very much like to thank our sponsors for their support during the year, without whose assistance, the club would be completely ineffective.

Finally, it remains for me to thank our hardworking Committee. Our existing stalwarts such as Svetlana Kondrashina-Scott, and "the Davids", Morley and Maltby, have continued to make a huge contribution. Please join me in wishing David Maltby all of the best in his new venture in Spain. Don Scott, our Honorary Lifetime Chairman, should also be singled out for his continued support, and for giving me the opportunity to take up the Presidency of this special club. New Committee members, Pete Dick and Sasha Conner, have also made valiant efforts: Pete with our golf and sports offering (amongst other work streams); and Sasha with her photography, digital marketing and design assistance. Thank you also to Sophie Adair who interned with us over the summer, provided us with a far more youthful perspective, and showed serious commitment during a very busy and challenging period. I wouldn't have been able to do it without all of you!

A New Year to Behold!

2018 has even more potential than the past year. The BBC will do all that is within its power to embrace and welcome to Moscow and Russia World Cup football fans from any country (well.........probably excluding Argentina and Germany). We will also do our very best to provide our members with options to view live coverage of matches, particularly England games. Further, we have the extremely exciting prospect of a Royal Wedding to look forward to, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will tie the knot on Saturday 19 May at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. I feel a special event coming on to celebrate these nuptials.

The club will also be looking to expand its reach. To this end we have set up a new Facebook Group and will shortly be "migrating" our activity from our current page, into this new group. The BBC is also keen to formalise its strategy and management structure, so that we have a better platform from which to build a brighter future for our club members. We are searching for new members to join our Committee to strengthen our strength and breadth. Please write to me if you would like to volunteer - [email protected].  We are looking for hard workers with relevant business experience and credentials. Finally, this year we plan to extend our geographical reach by hosting our first event in St. Petersburg. All of the above will build upon the current base, which we have steadily developed over the last seven months. Please feel free at any time to write to me directly with feedback, requests for events, offers of sponsorship or support, or suggestions for suitable new members (we welcome any nationality) or venues. And please do take a look at our website for forthcoming events, which will be coming up thick and fast in the New Year.

All that remains for me to do, is to wish you a very Merry Christmas and an extremely prosperous 2018!  

Best wishes,

Luke Conner

President

The British Business Club in Russia