The Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans (Turkey Caucus) reached a major milestone today with the addition of its 150th member.
This critical achievement signifies the growing activism on the part of the Turkish American community and the strength of the U.S.-Turkey relationship. The Turkey Caucus is one of the largest Congressional caucuses that seek to strengthen bilateral ties between the U.S. and various international allies. The Caucus currently has representation from 43 of the 50 states and all six territories.
“I want to thank all of the members of the Turkey Caucus for their dedication in communicating with Turkish American constituents and increasing awareness among Members of Congress about the importance of strong U.S.-Turkey relations based on shared values and fostered through people-to-people exchange" said G. Lincoln McCurdy, president of the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA). “We are proud that through a community-wide effort, spearheaded by TCA and supported on the grassroots level by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA), the Turkish American Business Association (TABA), the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce & Industry (TACCI) and others, Turkish Americans are now more civically engaged.“
Established in March 2001 by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), the bipartisan Turkey Caucus seeks to foster U.S.-Turkey relations and recognizes the formative role that Turkish Americans play in advancing this strategic partnership. The Caucus is led by four co-chairs: Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
“As the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans reaches a historically high membership of 150 members, I am encouraged by the increasing understanding and recognition of Turkey’s importance to U.S. interests,” said Rep. Whitfield. “The Caucus is a crucial way to foster relations with our strategic ally, Turkey. I look forward to working with my colleagues to strengthen our bilateral relationship and ensure that Members of Congress are engaged in the issues surrounding U.S.-Turkey relations.”
Turkey Caucus co-chairs Rep. Cohen, Rep. Foxx, and Rep. Connolly also praised the growth of the Caucus and the strengthening of U.S.-Turkey relations.
“The Turkey Caucus allows Members of Congress to focus on our strategic relationship with Turkey. The growth of the Turkey Caucus to 150 members signals how important an ally Turkey is to the United States and that Members of Congress understand the importance of that relationship, “ said Rep. Steve Cohen. “Serving as co-chair of the Caucus, I’ve had the privilege to meet many Turkish and Turkish American people who also understand the importance of the friendship between our countries.”
"I am proud of the growing support of my colleagues for robust U.S.-Turkey bilateral relations,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx. “Originally established by two-dozen members in 2001, the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans is now 150 members strong. The growth of this bipartisan caucus is a testament to our commitment to the important relationship between the United States and Turkey and our desire to pursue shared interests in this global economy."
“Today marks a remarkable milestone for the Congressional Turkey Caucus, “ said Rep. Gerry Connolly. “As our Caucus expands to more than 150 members, it reinforces America’s commitment to Turkey as a critical ally, and ensures Turkey will continue to be an important component in U.S. policy.”
About the Turkish Coalition of America
The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) is an educational, charitable organization that seeks to foster friendship, understanding and cooperation between the United States and Turkey. Since 2008, TCA has given scholarships to over 230 American minority students of diverse backgrounds to study in Turkey, led 14 Congressional delegations to Turkey to educate Members of Congress and their staff, and provided an internship opportunity to 90 Turkish American college students in Congress and other Washington based institutions.
2011 was a year of growth for the Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF), both in terms of the new programs that TCF undertook and the grants it awarded to numerous organizations and individuals that share the vision of TCF. In 2011, TCF allocated a total of $6,303,366 in grants and direct disbursements to pursue its mission. An exciting development in 2011 was the move of TCF to its prestigious new location in Washington, DC. The TCF office in the nation's capital joins the Boston and Istanbul offices with a growing team of professionals, interns and volunteers, who implement the mission and undertake the expanding international work of the Turkish Cultural Foundation. 
ISTANBUL, Turkey, July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Turkcell TKC -1.01% (ise:TCELL), the leading communications and technology company in Turkey, has been honored by The League of American Communications Professionals LLC ("LACP") for its 2011 Annual Report. 
The President of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), Ergun Kirlikovali, met with the top Republican Leadership in New York. Participating in the meeting were also the President of the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA) Ali Cinar, President of the Turkish American Businessmen's Association (TABA) Ekim Alptekin, President of the Turkish American Business Forum (TABF) Mehmet Kirdar, President of the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TACCI) Celal Secilmis, and General Counsel to the Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB-USA) Gunay Evinch. 
Are the cola wars at an end? Brace for the yogurt wars, as PepsiCo, long focused on battling its archrival, Coca-Cola, takes on the likes of Dannon and General Mills, not to mention Fage and Chobani. In the most visible sign yet of its efforts to curb its reliance on soda sales, PepsiCo this month will start selling yogurt in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. 
Diana Cepeda takes the subway between her Brooklyn home and her Times Square office. Up until a year ago, it was a daily commute that could have killed her. "I was born with heart disease," she said. In and out of cardiologists' offices since she was eight years old, Cepeda's heart condition worsened last year. "As I got older, my aortic valve started deteriorating, and my mitral valve had a little pinhole in it," she said. When she was 53, her failing heart led her to New York-Presbyterian Hospital's Columbia campus to visit one of the best-known heart valve surgeons in the country -- Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor famous for his appearances on Oprah Winfrey's show and his own daytime talk show. 
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Jul 08, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and ITT Exelis XLS +0.21% have teamed to build Vigilant Stare, a manned aircraft-based Wide-Area Airborne Persistent Surveillance (WAPS) system capability. This partnership will offer customers proven, advanced solutions in airborne wide-area surveillance on an affordable, fee-for-service basis, saving upfront costs and risks. Hosted on a Twin Otter aircraft, the Vigilant Stare system is derived from a U.S. Air Force operationally-proven system.
Now that the Chicago Bulls have pulled off the free agent coupe of the offseason (note sarcasm), they can turn their attention to other decisions and needs as July 11 - the day free agents can sign with new teams - approaches. By adding Kirk Hinrich, who apparently was the Bulls top (only?) target in free agency, management satisfied its desire for a combo guard to fill in for, then play alongside, Derrick Rose. It also means the Bulls, who used their full mini-mid level exception on Hinrich, can now acquire new additions in only two ways: By offering the veteran's minimum, or by trading. 
PARKERSBURG - A local state legislator traveled to Turkey in May as part of a cultural exchange to get an understanding of the Turkish people and the issues its culture faces. Delegate John Ellem, R-Wood, was the only West Virginia legislator to be part of a group of lawmakers from West Virginia and Virginia invited by Mid-Atlantic Federation of Turkic American Associations to travel to Turkey for eight days. The exchange happened after Turkish officials came to the West Virginia Legislature and spent time visiting with lawmakers over a year ago. There was a state senator and delegate who took the trip last year and Ellem was the only one from West Virginia to go this year.
FRANKFURT - The man with the Turkish name, sporting an accent from the German region of Hesse is a multi-millionaire. "My brothers and I always played a lot of computer games," says Avni Yerli. "And then one day we started to think about designing our own games." When they finished their first prototype in 2000, the three brothers flew to the Electronic Entertainment Expo – the world’s largest games fair -- in Los Angeles to find somebody willing to publish it. But at first, they found no takers. "It was only when we became desperate, and started telling people that we’d put everything we had into it, and had come to the States just for this, that we started getting people’s attention. After that we were known as ‘Oh yeah, the three brothers from Germany.’" 
It’s probably fair to say that few American have heard of Peak Games, the Istanbul-based startup that recently became the world’s No. 3 social-gaming company in terms of daily active users (DAU). That’s because Peak develops and publishes online games that are culturally targeted at Turkish, Middle Eastern, and North African markets. All but one of the games are available only in Turkish and Arabic.
HOUSTON, PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Houston Mayor Annise Parker announces new non-stop flights to Istanbul beginning April 1, 2013, operated by Turkish Airlines between George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport (IST). "Houston's strong business connections with Turkey created the opportunity to attract this foreign flag airline to our city," said Mayor Parker. "Houston has become the gateway to the world. Our global business structure helps our economy thrive and our job market remains the envy of the nation. These four new weekly flights will surely lead to increased economic opportunity for both Istanbul and Houston."
Felicis Ventures, the “super angel” fund founded by early-Google employee Aydin Senkut, has closed a $70 million round of funding that will be used to invest in technology startups including those in the mobile, health and education industries. In the same week that prominent investor Paul Graham warned startups with little or no sales that it may be more difficult to raise money following Facebook’s IPO, Senkut said he plans to use the funding to back companies with meaningful sources of revenue and the potential for large initial public offerings or acquisitions.
