With the expansion of The Resident into the Greater Lisbon area, AFPOP is pleased that it will be able to keep Lisbon based members informed of current issues, as well as reports of various AFPOP events.
‘AFPOP Matters’ has been used in the Algarve edition of The Resident for several years, following an initiative put forward by member, Maurice Clyde.It is a useful way to keep AFPOP members abreast with news, views and reports, particularly at times between its own regular newsletter, UPDATE.
Cheaper rail travel for
AFPOP members
AFPOP members will soon be able to enjoy a significant reduction in the cost of rail travel, through an agreement with the Portuguese rail company Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CP). Members will initially be entitled to a reduction of 20 per cent on fares, this may rise in the future, depending on how many members take up the offer. Basically, the more members who use the rail system, the larger the discount.
The only thing left to resolve is how AFPOP members obtain this discount when buying their tickets. CP has agreed that a valid AFPOP membership card is suitable, but this information has to be disseminated to all CP staff – hence a slight delay. Members will be kept informed of progress on this initiative through the ‘News from AFPOP’ system and through The Resident.
AFPOP encourages all its members to advise the office of their email addresses to ensure speedy, effective, communication. Contact the office on [email protected] with your email address, so that you hear the news first.
Tax seminar 2005
The AFPOP IRS tax seminar, to be held in the Greater Lisbon Area, is being planned for Friday February 4, 2005, in conjunction with Finesco Financial to be held in the Cascais Cultural Centre. The seminar for 2004 was cancelled due to the perceived lack of interest indicated by poor advance bookings. In order to ensure that the seminar goes ahead in February, thus keeping members fully aware of the IRS tax situation, we ask that those who are interested in attending register their interest with the AFPOP office in advance. This seminar is open to both members and non-members of AFPOP. The application form will be included in the December edition of UPDATE and will also be available from the AFPOP office by e-mail or post.
Looking to the future
At the recent AFPOP meeting in the Lisbon area, Sheena Rawcliffe, AFPOP’s President, spoke about the future of the association. Sheena will complete five years as President in March 2005 and will not be standing for re-election to the position. She spoke of her pleasure at the way in which AFPOP has developed over the last few years and was positive about a great future for this most important association.
With AFPOP’s focus firmly centred on the best possible benefits for its membership, AFPOP’s President told members that a continuing growth in membership numbers is essential to the lifeblood of the association. She urged them to tell others about the benefits of being an AFPOP member, saying: “AFPOP does so much for so many people that sometimes it is difficult to get the message across in normal advertising.” Sheena thanked the Area Representative for Lisbon, Stewart Austin, for organising the lunch and also Nikki and Derek McIvor of the Beefeater Inn in Cascais for an excellent meal.
• Stewart Austin can be contacted on 219 855 440, or emailed at [email protected]
