This issue of our newsletter focuses on a topic that is important to all of us: How do we schedule our meetings and our travel to respect the myriad holidays that exist in countries around the world?

Whether you are working with people in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North or South America, coordinating business schedules can be challenging due to different country's holidays. To make your planning easier, we have created a new GlobeSmart service - an automated Holiday Reminder system. You can now subscribe to receive monthly email notification of major holidays throughout the year for any of the GlobeSmart countries you select.

To activate this feature, simply log on to GlobeSmart as you usually do through the link on your company's Intranet. (If you're not currently a GlobeSmart user, go to www.globesmart.com and click on "New Visitor." Once you register, you'll have immediate access to GlobeSmart for three countries.)

1. Click on the new tab labeled "Personalize GlobeSmart."

2. Click on the Go button next to the item labeled "Receive Monthly Holiday Reminders."

3. Complete the subscription form, indicating those countries you are interested in, then click Submit.

On the 10th day of each month, you will receive an email from GlobeSmart informing you of the holidays in the following month for the countries you have selected.

If you want to see all major holidays for the year, simply go directly to GlobeSmart and click on "Holidays" from the menu tree once you've selected a country. You'll find a listing of all major holidays for the next two years for each country selected.

We hope you enjoy this new feature and, as always, we welcome your comments. All of us at Meridian extend our warmest greetings and thank you for your continued association with us.