Ypo Gold Eurochapter Inc

The September event was back in Europe, at Bristol and Bath, UK. The Global Investment Forum was quite animated again with a new format of asking several profound questions and breaking up the group into 6 smaller groups to come up with answers (opinions). It worked extremely well as the presentations by each group were quite thought provoking. The first evening dinner set the tone for Bristol as it was held on Isambard Brunel's SS Great Britain, the world's first great ocean liner, built of steel, driven by screw propeller and launched in 1843. The first day started off with a lecture by Dr. James Boyd, a research fellow at the University of Bristol. The subject was Brunel and his genius in building the world's first suspension bridge in 1831, still standing and in use, next to the event hotel. Also emphasized was Brunel's technical revolution at sea which "transformed the world". Next was the Rt Hon Sir Jacob Rees Mogg, a British politician. He is one of the leading Brexiteers and worked closely advising Boris Johnson. He led the House of Commons from 2019-2022 while serving as an MP from 2010 to 2024. Sir Jacob discussed his politics as "popular policies, not populist policies". He continues to have his own political news program on GB News, a UK television channel. Next was Professor Joe McGeehan, who is called "The Father of the Mobile Phone" y Forbes Magazine. Joe has been conducting research into mobile communication technologies since 1973. He pioneered many major initiatives including deterministic ray-tracing for propogation prediction and network coverage, linear modulation techniques, linearised RF power amplifiers, SMART antennas, wideband CDMA for 3G, WLAN technologies, and 60GHz propogation and communication systems (used by first responders). It was a bit overwhelming for most Chapter members. On day two, we heard from John Nation, a charismatic graffiti expert and Godfather of the Bristol urban art scene. His focus is on Banksy, an enigmatic graffiti artist derived from Bristol's long history of culture and diversity of styles. Next was Sir David Ord of the London Business School. David acquired the entire Port of Bristol from the city. It had become an unworkable mess and the city was being displaced from its habitual position of the dominant port on England's East coast. For over 30 years, over 600m Pounds have been invested in the port. Our visit to the port operations was fascinating. The port is a leader in productivity and innovation. When the Chapter moved on to Bath, Andrew Brownsword was our host. He had built and sold a greeting card business and now operates his own 18 hotel group including several Relais & Chateaux and with Michelin starred cuisine. Additionally, he has set up an art collection which is in museums as well as in his hotels. He was quite interesting and dynamic. With the event having returned to Europe, the attendance was good so that a revenue surplus occurred, almost equaling the San Francisco Las Vegas deficit. The negative revenue is due to cancellations and refund of event fees. Adding together all financial activity from 2023 and 2024, the combined total event revenue of $176,524 and expense of $142,373 yielded a surplus of $34,151.

Attendance deposits were collected in 2024 for the two 2025 events. These totaled $303,951 for the May 2025 Norway event and $157,774 for the September 2025 Belgium event. No expenses have been incurred to date. As the accrual accounting method is utilized, the net amount of deposits in excess of expenses is offset by a deferred program expense. Events are budgeted at a breakeven until all revenue and expense is collected or incurred. In addition, a small expense ($336) was incurred for a prior year's event (Italy) which is recorded here.