Berkshire Hathaway 2010 Annual Report Download - page 27

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An attachment to the proxy material that is enclosed with this report explains how you can obtain the
credential you will need for admission to the meeting and other events. As for plane, hotel and car reservations,
we have again signed up American Express (800-799-6634) to give you special help. Carol Pedersen, who
handles these matters, does a terrific job for us each year, and I thank her for it. Hotel rooms can be hard to find,
but work with Carol and you will get one.
Airlines have often jacked up prices – sometimes dramatically so – for the Berkshire weekend. If you
are coming from far away, compare the cost of flying to Kansas City versus Omaha. The drive is about 2
1
⁄
2
hours
and it may be that you can save significant money, particularly if you had planned to rent a car in Omaha.
At Nebraska Furniture Mart, located on a 77-acre site on 72nd Street between Dodge and Pacific, we
will again be having “Berkshire Weekend” discount pricing. Last year the store did $33.3 million of business
during its annual meeting sale, a volume that – as far as I know – exceeds the one-week total of any retail store
anyplace. To obtain the Berkshire discount, you must make your purchases between Tuesday, April 26th and
Monday, May 2nd inclusive, and also present your meeting credential. The period’s special pricing will even
apply to the products of several prestigious manufacturers that normally have ironclad rules against
discounting but which, in the spirit of our shareholder weekend, have made an exception for you.
We appreciate their cooperation. NFM is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. on Sunday. On Saturday this year, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., NFM is having a picnic to which you are
all invited.
At Borsheims, we will again have two shareholder-only events. The first will be a cocktail reception
from6p.m.to9p.m.onFriday,April29
th. The second, the main gala, will be held on Sunday, May 1st , from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, we will be open until 6 p.m. On Sunday, around 1 p.m., I will be at Borsheims
with a smile and a shoeshine, selling jewelry just as I sold men’s shirts at J.C. Penney’s 63 years ago.
I’ve told Susan Jacques, Borsheims’ CEO, that I’m still a hotshot salesman. But I see doubt in her eyes.
So cut loose and buy something from me for your wife or sweetheart (presumably the same person). Make me
look good.
We will have huge crowds at Borsheims throughout the weekend. For your convenience, therefore,
shareholder prices will be available from Monday, April 25th through Saturday, May 7th. During that period,
please identify yourself as a shareholder by presenting your meeting credentials or a brokerage statement that
shows you are a Berkshire shareholder.
On Sunday, in the mall outside of Borsheims, a blindfolded Patrick Wolff, twice U.S. chess champion,
will take on all comers – who will have their eyes wide open – in groups of six. Nearby, Norman Beck, a
remarkable magician from Dallas, will bewilder onlookers. Additionally, we will have Bob Hamman and Sharon
Osberg, two of the world’s top bridge experts, available to play bridge with our shareholders on Sunday
afternoon.
Gorat’s and Piccolo’s will again be open exclusively for Berkshire shareholders on Sunday, May 1st.
Both will be serving until 10 p.m., with Gorat’s opening at 1 p.m. and Piccolo’s opening at 4 p.m. These
restaurants are my favorites and – still being a growing boy – I will eat at both of them on Sunday evening.
Remember: To make a reservation at Gorat’s, call 402-551-3733 on April 1st (but not before) and at Piccolo’s
call 402-342-9038.
We will again have the same three financial journalists lead the question-and-answer period, asking
Charlie and me questions that shareholders have submitted to them by e-mail. The journalists and their e-mail
addresses are: Carol Loomis, of Fortune, who may be emailed at [email protected]; Becky Quick, of
CNBC, at [email protected], and Andrew Ross Sorkin, of The New York Times, at
[email protected].
From the questions submitted, each journalist will choose the dozen or so he or she decides are the
most interesting and important. The journalists have told me your question has the best chance of being selected
if you keep it concise, avoid sending it in at the last moment, make it Berkshire-related and include no more than
two questions in any email you send them. (In your email, let the journalist know if you would like your name
mentioned if your question is selected.)
Neither Charlie nor I will get so much as a clue about the questions to be asked. We know the
journalists will pick some tough ones, and that’s the way we like it.
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