hh Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For those of you who went to the award ceremony - > did any of you bring your spouse? Yes. In my case I felt my wife worked almost as hard as I did for the charter. It wasn’t unusual at my event either - numerous spouses showed.
From what I’ve heard, the ceremonies are meant to be a time to share with one’s family. The process is definitely a challenge for all involved and having a ceremony is nice because it shows a result that’s more tangible than saying “hey honey, I have those letters behind my name now”.
Thanks guys. I really wanted her to be a part of it but didn’t want her to feel out of place.
Hi all, so I’m wondering, where the F is my charter??! It’s been 13 weeks. I didn’t go to an award ceremony. Anyone get it at their home yet?
I think I remember reading / hearing that you’ll get them in the mail in December if not being sent to your local society for presentation.
Attended the Vancouver, BC (Canada) ceremony last night. I was pretty shocked at how low class it was. A few noteworthy moments… - the main speaker (a woman from another society) approaches the microphone and says, “just let me put my beer down…there we go…okay…hello everyone”; note there were many children in the audience; she then mildly slurred at various moments of her speech, which would have otherwise been not bad - there were no diplomas, just a few empty tubes to pass back and forth, so after coming up to accept it and have your picture taken, you handed it back for the next person coming up - my buddy and I (both new charterholders) were not called up; there was some mistake and they forgot about us (who knows who else they forgot); they then proceeded to apologize repeatedly after the ceremony making it even more awkward than it already was…offered to have our picture taken, and gave us free “CFA Vancouver” pens - the President of the society was a shy, mild mannered dude who was clearly very uncomfortable speaking at the podium; he read straight from his paper the whole time in monotone and might have made eye contact with the audience once in his 5 - 10 min speech - there was a constant buzzing sound through the speaker…must have been a cheap microphone / speaker setup in the mid-class hotel Anyway, on the positive side, the bartender was pouring the vodka sodas very generously (maybe the speaker had a few before her beer). And after seeing how awkward the whole thing was, I was thinking to myself, “I actually don’t really want to be called up there…this whole thing is just so bloody awkward”. So I truly didn’t mind being left out of the call up. However, I felt bad for my buddy as he had invited his parents, siblings, nieces, etc. and they all had cameras ready. I will provide feedback to the local society. I hope that other societies’ ceremonies are a little more classy.
bhill020 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Attended the Vancouver, BC (Canada) ceremony last > night. I was pretty shocked at how low class it > was. A few noteworthy moments… > > - the main speaker (a woman from another society) > approaches the microphone and says, “just let me > put my beer down…there we go…okay…hello > everyone”; note there were many children in the > audience; she then mildly slurred at various > moments of her speech, which would have otherwise > been not bad > > - there were no diplomas, just a few empty tubes > to pass back and forth, so after coming up to > accept it and have your picture taken, you handed > it back for the next person coming up > > - my buddy and I (both new charterholders) were > not called up; there was some mistake and they > forgot about us (who knows who else they forgot); > they then proceeded to apologize repeatedly after > the ceremony making it even more awkward than it > already was…offered to have our picture taken, > and gave us free “CFA Vancouver” pens > > - the President of the society was a shy, mild > mannered dude who was clearly very uncomfortable > speaking at the podium; he read straight from his > paper the whole time in monotone and might have > made eye contact with the audience once in his 5 - > 10 min speech > > - there was a constant buzzing sound through the > speaker…must have been a cheap microphone / > speaker setup in the mid-class hotel > > Anyway, on the positive side, the bartender was > pouring the vodka sodas very generously (maybe the > speaker had a few before her beer). And after > seeing how awkward the whole thing was, I was > thinking to myself, “I actually don’t really want > to be called up there…this whole thing is just > so bloody awkward”. So I truly didn’t mind being > left out of the call up. However, I felt bad for > my buddy as he had invited his parents, siblings, > nieces, etc. and they all had cameras ready. > > I will provide feedback to the local society. I > hope that other societies’ ceremonies are a little > more classy. This is sad.
I attended the CFA Chicago dinner last month. It was held at a fairly upscale hotel downtown and was fairly well organized, with all new charterholders being given a nametag that had a special attachment labeling you as a new charterholder. Kind of cool to stand out like that. It was just like going to a friends wedding, cocktail hour, mediocre dinner and then some speeches. There were certainly no children at our event, but we were able to bring a date, which was a nice touch. Sadly we did not receive our charters that night, which would have been pretty cool, but we did all get to stand and be recognized with a loud applause by the couple hundred people in the ballroom. The feature speaker at the event went on quite a rant when discussing political risk and I certainly could have done without that, but overall it was a fun way to cap off the years of studying by getting dressed up and having a nice night out.
I will add that there was a plaque up front with new charterholders names, employers, etc engraved on it (e.g. John Doe, CFA, ____ Bank) That was a nice touch. I may have excaggerated the woman’s speech slurring. I would say it was actually more that she lost her place and had trouble with the words a few times. I have to give her some credit because it was a very well written speech…just delivered a little poorly. It sounds like some societies are more well organized than others. Not a surprise that Chicago would be pretty well done. Vancouver is a very small financial market with only around 20 - 25 new charterholders per year.
bhill020 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Vancouver is a > very small financial market with only around 20 - > 25 new charterholders per year. Pittsburgh barely has a dozen, if I’m correct. Keep those expectations high up where we can see them!
I’ve been a member of CFA Chicago for quite a while (not a charterholder) but never attended the ceremony. The Chicago society is one of the larger societies, so I’m not surprised to hear that it’s well organized. I know that many people work on it to make sure it goes off well. Regarding the Vancouver event, I’m not surprised to hear the society president wasn’t a good speaker. I’ve met a lot of charterholders and individuals in the business, and there are a LOT of different personalities. Not all of them are charasmatic as you might envision.
Anybody here can provide info on Toronto’s award ceremony?
I went to Dallas’s award ceremony on Wednesday and a total of 1 female picked up a charter to around 50 males.
Well that’s sad!
steph96 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Well that’s sad! Agreed. My female study partner for level III was there, she passed but won’t have the work experience completed until early next year. They did read off a few other names, but the ladies didn’t show up.