NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
December 23, 1999
An interactive workshop focusing on protocol and international business relations will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20, at the Ramada Plaza Suites and Conference Center in Fargo. The workshop is being sponsored by the Northern Crops Institute (NCI), located on the campus of North Dakota State University.
"Proper protocol is a necessity, whether traveling internationally or hosting foreign customers," says Patricia Berglund, NCI director. "Workshop participants will learn practical ways to handle social and business situations that they may encounter when hosting and interacting with international business leaders, government officials and foreign dignitaries."
Robert W. Frye, senior vice-president and chief of protocol for Protocol International will lead the workshop. As the former chief of protocol for AT&T and Lucent Technologies, Frye has more than 25 years of experience in marketing and international business relations. He has planned and directed more than 4,000 senior-level marketing visits worldwide for CEOs, board of directors, ambassadors, chiefs of state, heads of government, and royalty.
The workshop is designed to assist regional businesses that sell internationally, as well as state and local government officials, agricultural commodity group leaders, and meeting and event professionals. Participants will learn about creating the perfect distraction-free environment so the groups they represent and host can focus on business issues and building relationships.
Frye will combine humor and anecdotes to take participants through a myriad of details: proper greetings, seating arrangements, gift giving, receiving lines, dining etiquette, working with interpreters and translators, overcoming cross-cultural communications barriers, and more. The workshop also includes a four-course luncheon to demonstrate the practical issues surrounding formal meal design, management and implementation.
Cost for the workshop is $100 and includes the four-course luncheon. Group discounts for more than three registrants are available. The registration deadline is Friday, Jan.14. For more information, call the NCI at (701) 231-7736.
The NCI is an international center for meeting and learning about northern-grown crops. It is funded through state appropriations and supported further by commodity check-off groups from the Dakotas, Minnesota and Montana.
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Source: Patricia Berglund (701) 231-7736
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136