Giving thanks in Oslo
AmCham Thanksgiving Charity Dinner underlines common values, looks to a sustainable future
Photo: AmCham Norway
Guests at this year’s auction and raffle raised a record-breaking amount for AmCham Norway’s charities.
AmCham Norway
Oslo
Hosted in Oslo’s Hotel Continental’s elegant Teatersalen, and along with Thanksgiving partners ExxonMobil and Biogen, this year’s fully booked AmCham Thanksgiving Charity Dinner raised NOK 92,900 to help build a home for the Guzman Family of El Salvador through charitable partner New Story.
Hotel Continental offered attendees a refined, yet inspired take on Thanksgiving fare, artfully blending traditional classics with new favorites to rave reviews, leading one American guest to remark, “I might get in trouble for saying this, but I have to admit this food is better than back home.” The buffet was accompanied by California wines from Fetzer and Bonterra Organic Vineyards.
Photo: AmCham Norway
ExxonMobil Lead Country Manager for Norway and Azerbaijan Jan Åge Hansen carves the Thanksgiving turkey.
A New Chapter
The dinner featured keynote speeches from ExxonMobil Lead Country Manager for Norway and Azerbaijan Jan Åge Hansen and Norwegian Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen.
With ExxonMobil recently announcing the sale of its Norwegian upstream assets to Vår Energi, Hansen’s speech looked back upon ExxonMobil’s storied history on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. “With this, we are closing a chapter in Norway, a chapter marked by extensive cooperation that saw Norwegian competence and technology exported around the world,” he recounted.
Hansen then looked to the future of the energy industry in Norway and globally. “Clearly, the energy industry is changing. The industry will play a key role in addressing the challenges the world is facing, and in order to reach a new, greener, and more sustainable future, we will need to draw upon the very same spirit of cooperation that made the Norwegian oil and gas adventure such a success,” he concluded.
Sharing Thanks
Recently returned from a Washington meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Bakke-Jensen spoke to dinner guests about the common values shared between the United States and Norway—as well as the importance of sharing gratitude with those around you.
“Sharing gratitude is an American tradition that we in Norway can benefit from. Though, if we imported the holiday to my part of Norway, we’d have to substitute reindeer for the turkey,” he noted after highlighting Norway’s increased military cooperation with the United States.
New Story
After the conclusion of dinner, the charity raffle and auction began. Attendees competed for over 20 unique prizes, ranging from art from American photographer Edward Sheriff Curtis to an Icelandair flight voucher to the United States.
With the prizes dealt out, AmCham Managing Director Jason Turflinger then announced that this year’s auction and raffle had raised a record-breaking amount.
In a video message to the individuals attending the dinner, New Story Co-Founder Brett Hagler stated, “I just want to say thank you for myself and our whole team for choosing to partner with us—we look forward to sharing all the good that comes from generosity tonight.”
Learn more about AmCham Norway at their website: www.amcham.no.
This article originally appeared in the December 13, 2019, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
