"To serve and promote The Arab-American Business & Professional Community"

In the early 1980's, a group of Arab-American business leaders in the Washington D.C. area decided to form an association dedicated to helping the growing number of fledgling Arab-American businesses. In 1985 the Arab-American Business Association became a legal entity when it was granted a national charter as a nonprofit organization.

As interest in the work of the association grew among an increasing number of Arab-American professionals, the board of directors decided unanimously to amend the charter to include professionals as well. Thus, it became the Arab-American Business & Professionals Association (ABPA).

In 1991, ABPA announced the formation of a local chapter in Chicago , headed by Talat M. Othman who was joined by Muhamad Dabbouseh, Taha Elgawaby, the late Dr. Arfan Al Hani, Joseph Homsy and the late Issa Tadros. In time the Chicago chapter developed complete autonomy to meet the tone and pace of its community needs.

Since it's founding ABPA has been guided by two principal objectives:

• To promote the economic welfare of the Arab-American business and professional community.
  
• To foster trade and investment between businesses in the U.S. and those in Arab countries.

Programs & Activities

Business Seminars: On a regular basis, ABPA hosts luncheon and dinner seminars which bring together ABPA members and experts in a variety of fields. Speakers have addressed numerous issues of interest to members such as taxes, accounting, trade, immigration and labor laws. The following is a sample of previous topics:

• Reconstruction in the Gulf and Middle East.
• Economic Development in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon.
• Small Business Administration Benefits.
• Participation in Public Service.

Newsletter: A quarterly newsletter is published by the association. Topics covered include reports on ABPA's activities, issues relevant to the business and professional community, upcoming events, and feature articles about ABPA member companies and individuals.

Networking: Throughout the year, ABPA organizes luncheons, dinners and informal gatherings for members and friends, and joint programs with other business associations in the Chicago area. These gatherings create the opportunity for increased networking among ABPA members in an atmosphere conductive to building confidence, sharing ideas and strengthening relations.

Some of the previous featured speakers include The Hon. Richard M. Daley, Mayor City of Chicago, Hon. Jim Edgar and Hon. George Ryan, previous Governors of Illinois, First Lady of Illinois Pattie Blagojevich, Gov. John Sununu, Former White House Chief of Staff, H.E. Marwan Muasher, Jordan's Ambassador to Washington and Current Foreign Minister, Ambassador of Egypt, H.E. Nabil Fahmy, Comedian Jamie Farr, the late Alan Delp, former chairman of American National Bank of Chicago.

Officers