LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY 16 DE SEPTIEMBRE #16-A AJIJIC, JAL, MX WWW.LAKECHAPALASOCIETY.ORG
News
March 2010
FROM THE PRESIDENT Your Board has now completed nearly two months in office and we’re beginning to see some positive changes. We had a great turnout for the Super Bowl Sunday Kickoff Party which gave us all an opportunity to get to know each other better. Look for more events like this in the coming months. From the feedback I’ve received, you have appreciated the emails that you’ve been receiving from LCS, and hearing about important developments and upcoming programs from time to time and you will continue to hear from us when we think you’d want to know what’s happening. Not everything will always be perfect, but our ability to react to unexpected situations is what you should expect. In January, Roger Borg, recently elected as Sr. Director #2 (Finance Director) resigned due to differences with the direction that your Board was undertaking. I’m happy to say that within one month we have appointed Jack Shanks to fill that position. Jack has excellent credentials in management and finance of government and non-profit entities. Jack will lead the Board’s Finance committee and will be recommending a budget and other policy and planning issues related to finance. Please join me in welcoming Jack to the Board. Continue to let us know how we’re doing. Each of your Board members strives to be on site every week and we want to hear your concerns. We each wear a yellow name tag, so if we haven’t said hello to you, don’t be shy, stop us to chat for a minute, send us an email or drop a note in our mailboxes in the office. I promise you a timely answer. Howard Feldstein
FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK
The Lake Chapala Society has been a beacon to the colonist community living lakeside for almost 60 years. It has served as a haven, and a source of hope, and as you all know we are now faced with the challenge, to not only continue the legacy, but to move LCS into a better future. The old and new problems that affect LCS are infinite and will require a new way to deal with them as they come across my desk. Problems such as: the crime in Ajijic and right outside the walls of LCS. Should we be concerned? Should we take a position, impose an influence, protect our own?.......The septic systems under our feet…… The leak on my computer…. the walls crumbling….. the graffiti on the outside walls… and the list goes on and on. How and where do we begin? A revival is at hand. From infra-structure to governance, we are re-examining our priorities and forging a new road. A new series of focus groups will be formed in March. *A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. We are doing this to follow up with the strategic planning process we began last year. *Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. I deal in the existential and the pragmatic, joining the now with the past, to appeal to an unknown future. It is a challenge. Only with the help, patience and vision of our members will I succeed. However, as I’m known to say, “It’s not about me.” I am here to help LCS succeed, and I believe it will. Neill James long ago wove LCS into the fabric of this community. Mildred Boyd saw to it that a mural on the fabric was visible for all to see. Work will always need to be done, and LCS volunteers will always rise to the challenge. LCS’ governance is unfolding. My job is to hold a steady rudder amidst the voyage. To be sure, this year the infrastructure of LCS’ physical plant will be addressed, such as the sewage, ponds, security and roofs (to name a few). Expertise from the members is always appreciated. Those of you who have expertise in these matters are encouraged to come forward; you’ll find me to be a quick study. We will approach the future strategically, based on an ongoing dialogue with those we serve, providing haven, and giving hope. Terry Vidal, Executive Director *Wikipedia
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El Ojo del Lago March 2010