Berkshire Hathaway 2014 Annual Report Download - page 23

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To obtain the Berkshire discount at NFM, you must make your purchases between Tuesday, April 28th
and Monday, May 4th 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 Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
on Sunday. From 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, 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 from
6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 1st. The second, the main gala, will be held on Sunday, May 3rd, from 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. On Saturday, we will remain open until 6 p.m. In recent years, our three-day volume has far exceeded our sales
in all of December, normally a jeweler’s best month.
We will have huge crowds at Borsheims throughout the weekend. For your convenience, therefore,
shareholder prices will be available from Monday, April 27th through Saturday, May 9th. During that period, please
identify yourself as a shareholder by presenting your meeting credentials or a brokerage statement that shows you
are a Berkshire holder.
On Sunday, in the mall outside of Borsheims, 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. Don’t play them for money.
My friend, Ariel Hsing, will be in the mall as well on Sunday, taking on challengers at table tennis. I met
Ariel when she was nine and even then I was unable to score a point against her. Now, she’s a sophomore at
Princeton, having already represented the United States in the 2012 Olympics. If you don’t mind embarrassing
yourself, test your skills against her, beginning at 1 p.m. Bill Gates and I will lead off and try to soften her up.
Gorat’s and Piccolo’s will again be open exclusively for Berkshire shareholders on Sunday, May 3rd.
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 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); for Piccolo’s, call 402-346-2865. At Piccolo’s, order a giant root
beer float for dessert. Only sissies get the small one.
We will again have the same three financial journalists lead the question-and-answer period at the
meeting, asking Charlie and me questions that shareholders have submitted to them by e-mail. The journalists and
their e-mail addresses are: Carol Loomis, who retired last year after sixty years at Fortune, but remains the expert on
business and financial matters, and who may be e-mailed 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 six 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 e-mail you send them. (In your e-mail, let the journalist know if you would like your name
mentioned if your question is asked.)
We will also have a panel of three analysts who follow Berkshire. This year the insurance specialist will
be Gary Ransom of Dowling & Partners. Questions that deal with our non-insurance operations will come from
Jonathan Brandt of Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb and Gregg Warren of Morningstar. Our hope is that the analysts and
journalists will ask questions that add to our owners’ understanding and knowledge of their investment.
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