The Estonian American National Council (EANC) is pleased to announce Arne Kalm as its 2016 Outstanding Contributions to EANC Award recipient. Mr. Kalm will be honored at EANC’s awards gala on Saturday, November 5 at the San Francisco Marriott Union Square in San Francisco, California.
The 2016 Outstanding Contributions to EANC Award recognizes Kalm’s many years of service (five terms) as an elected Council member and Board member, taking on many leadership roles, including most recently EANC’s investment and strategic planning committees. He has been a strong voice for strengthening the EANC and its role in the Estonian American community.
Arne Kalm is an Estonian-born American businessman and finance specialist, now retired. With a long record of participation in civic and community activities. He has served the Estonian American community at every level. He has been an active member of the Estonian community in Los Angeles. He has held numerous leadership positions in the Estonian League of the West Coast, which organizes the biennial West Coast Estonian Days in various Pacific Coast cities, including vice president in 1961-63 and president in 1997-99.
He is also the author of the book, “Baltic Musketeers in the U.S. Congress,” a history of the first resolutions in the U.S. Congress seeking freedom for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Kalm has first-hand perspective on this subject, since he served from 1961 through 1969 as the Estonian vice president of Los Angleles-based Americans for Congressional Action to Free the Baltic States.
He has always emphasized participation in local, state and national political activities as a means of bringing the cause of the Baltic peoples in front of the people of the United States and their elected representatives. In April 2016, he was honored with the Baltic American Freedom League (BAFL) Award in recognition of his dedication to Baltic Feedom and Security.
Born in Tallinn, Kalm was brought to the United States in 1945, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Engineering (cum laude) and an M.S. degree in Civil Engineering. Later he earned an M.B.A. with high distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Kalm and his wife, Celia, are long-time residents of Arcadia, California.
The November 5 awards gala is the highlight of EANC’s two-day annual meeting, which is being held for the first time on the West Coast, and culminates a full day of public programs, including three panel discussions, a documentary film, and a photo exhibit. The two days are part of EANC’s effort to share its goals and activities with new audiences.
For more information about the November 5 awards dinner or the public programs, please contact Linda Rink, [email protected], or 215-546-5863
