The following members (in Alphabetical order) attended a meeting in a restaurant at the Trump Taj Hotel in Atlantic City, starting at 2:00 PM (late, for which the Northern Alliance needs to apologize):

The first item discussed was AEA decision making process and Chapter authority to act on initiatives and activities without being micromanaged by the Board. The Board adopted the following policy statement within which each Chapter would have the freedom to act:

“In pursing its Mission, it is the Policy of the Alliance of Egyptian Americans (AEA) that sovereignty of Egypt is inviolable. Furthermore the changes that AEA wishes to see take place in Egypt can only be achieved internally by Egyptians on the ground. Keeping these fundamental principles in mind, AEA as an Educational Organization expects its members to communicate with members of the US Administration and members of Congress on a regular basis to educate them about accurate and timely facts in Egypt with the purpose of affecting US policy in a direction favorable to the interests of the Egyptian People”.

It was agreed that Mohsen, Mokhtar and Tarek Khalil shall reply to the Washington Post OP-ED piece published 11/6 by Yousif Botros Ghali on the glowing successes of the Egyptian Economy.

Next item was Chapter activities: It was agreed that each chapter shall hold regular meetings every 4-6 weeks. Minutes of each meeting shall be communicated to the Board.

Next Item was the possibility of having a delegation from AEA visit Egypt during Christmas/ New Year period. Planning for such visit should begin immediately.

Next item was the Data Base. It was agreed that Tarek Khalil and Tarek Saadawi coordinate their effort in this regard.

Next, finance: To finance AEA programs it was deemed necessary to ask a core group of members (about twenty), who are able and willing to contribute between $1000 & $5000 each. This amount shall supplement membership dues and contributions until such time that AEA has sufficient members. Each chapter shall send in the names of its core group members within a week to the Treasurer. The treasurer shall follow up on this initiative.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM.