Hope everyone is doing well.  Just wanted to send out our first reminder for our 5th SoCal MRA San Diego Meet & Greet.  The Meet & Greet will be at  BASIC, on Thursday, February 26th.  ”Converted from a circa 1912 warehouse, Basic is left open and raw with original brick walls, high ceilings and industrial garage doors.  The atmosphere is relaxed, attracting a cool urban crowd that live, work and play in Downtown San Diego.” www.barbasic.com   (Located near Petco Park.) This is an informal get together, so there is no registration, no tickets to purchase or cover charge.  It will be Dutch treat!

We have managed to reserve the “VIP” section, which is exciting!  There will be special drink discounts and free sampling of their famous brick-oven pizza, until 6pm and then we will also have pizza available after 6pm.  So far there’s been a lot of interest and we have received quite a few RSVPs, including an attendee who is coming from as far as Nebraska!!!

You can show up anytime between 5:30pm & 8:30pm, earlier if you want (Happy Hour starts at 4pm.) However, I would appreciate an RSVP, just to let me know that there is a possibility that you can make it, so we can ensure we get an area that will suit the number of people.  (Remember – All members and non-members are welcome.)  Please note that your response will not be “set in stone”.  Thank you to those who have responded so far.

So come join us!  This gives us all the first opportunity in 2009 to catch up with each other!

In October, our first Hispanic Research Event was held at Café Sevilla in the beautiful coastal city of San Diego – tapas, flamenco and knowledge – all in one evening!  The event received rave reviews, so much so that we may be similar event in the Los Angeles area this year.  According to the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, Hispanic purchasing power is expected to hit $992 billion by 2009.  Event attendees heard from Hispanic market research specialists and gained valuable insight on the future trends for this important segment of the population.   We would like to give a special thank you to Dr. Mary Beth McCabe, President of Sun Marketing, who was our keynote speaker and presented her insights into the “US Hispanic Market – Past, Present, and Future.”