Board Chair Steven Balfour and Executive Director Luis Pacheco walk members through the challenges and accomplishments since the last in-person AGM almost two years ago. The State of LCS is “strong”
LCS Chairman Stephen Balfour conducts a hybrid live and zoom Annual General Meeting from the terrace of LCS. (screen shot)
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic).- The Lake Chapala Society’s Annual General Membership meeting held Tuesday, March 15, was a “state of the union” for one of Lakeside’s largest and most influential non-profit organizations. According to Board Chair Stephen Balfour who led the hybrid live/ zoom meeting.
After a highly produced video tour hosted by Balfour and Executive Director Luis Pacheco with cameos by members of the LCS staff, the Annual Membership Meeting ( AGM) was called to order with 83 people in attendance online and in person at the LCS campus in Ajijic. The tour covered the grounds of the campus and the many improvements that have taken place over the past 723 days since the last in-person AGM.
Highlights of the near 2-hour long meeting included reelection of the existing Board members, election of Choosing Mexico CEO Greg Custer for an at-large Board seat, the introduction of the Mexican Advisory Council led by Cruz Roja Chair Yolanda Martínez Llamas, the renaming of the LCS docents as “LCS Amigos”.
Balfour and new Executive Director Pacheco, the Mexican to run the organization, took the members through the challenges and the accomplishments of the past 723 days, noting that for a while the work of the staff was focused solely on keeping the doors open as membership plummeted by 40% due to Covid.
To pay the bills and keep the staff working, Balfour used his experience as a concert producer in the US to launch the Concerts in the Park series at LCS which raised $2.2 million pesos for LCS and $1 million for Cruz Roja. Additional restricted funds were raised from major donors to purchase the Molenari/West Annex property in November of last year. That combined with $3million pesos in increased donations offset the loss of program income and much dues income to enable LCS to stay open, purchase an adjacent property, and refurbish much of the grounds.
Balfour reported that visitation is up to 1000 a week now, with 40,000 people coming through the doors last year, an indication that the members are returning and engaging in the 100 programs now operating at LCS.
The AGM also included a financial report to the members, informing them that LCS’s financial condition is good, with a cash reserve of $850,000 and an operating deficit of $14,395 which was necessary to complete necessary repairs and maintenance, and a net asset valuation of $30 million.
The final segment of the AGM was dedicated to LCS 2.0, the plan developed and approved by the Board to guide the next decade of LCS. Balfour stressed that he wants LCS to be known for “customer service” . He also listed other priorities as a closer relationship with the Mexican community, continuing to strengthen the bonds with the Instituto Tecnológico Superior De Chapala , and broadening fundraising through innovations like new, smaller, flexible-use “named” tables members can sponsor for $6000 pesos.
The 2022 budget projects $7,009,100 MX in expenses and revenue, with annual dues remaining unchanged from the current $830MX a year for singles and $650nMX for persons age 79 and over in 2022.
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