There were many board members that arrived early today to our board meeting, set to be held tomorrow in Oaxaca, Mexico. We had a group of 12 that went to Monte Alban which is an incredibly spiritual place with great significance to this area of Mexico. Our tour guide kept saying to us, “Don’t lose your compass” meaning our orientation to the direction of the sun at the site. It is a breathtaking location where you can see the Oaxaca Valley and the mountains surrounding it.
When we returned to town we met up with more board members who had arrived to take a tour of the Convento de San Pablo in Oaxaca City, a project supported by the Fundacion Alfredo Harp Helu. It is an incredible restoration of an old Dominican convent that has been transformed into a cultural center and when they were excavating it, it was determined that it was the FIRST Monte Alban and actually there are structures underneath the convent that date back to the same time period as Monte Alban, 200 B.C.
As we returned to the hotel, I received a call from a board member that was preparing to board the flight from Houston to say that the flight to Oaxaca was canceled because of ash from an erupting volcano.
There were 5 board members and Marty Sinnott, the CEO waiting to board that flight. So after an hour of Mario Molina, our travel guru, working his contacts with the airlines and trying a few other options, we just decided that it would be better for them to stay put and call in for a conference call tomorrow from Houston to participate in the key discussions of the meeting. We will be voting on revised Core Values and the Strategic Framework and Goals for the new 3-year Strategic Plan. We will also be voting on an organizational diversity statement. I am disappointed that we will not all be together in the same room for these significant milestones. However, even when there is a disruption, the spirit of AMIGOS is to pull together, be creative and persevere. We have not lost our compass at this important moment in our future course.
