Terry Vidal refuses to take all of the credit for running western Mexico’s largest expat organization.
“While some directors lead from the front (autocratic), and some direct from the rear (laissez-faire), I choose to lead from the middle (democratic),” says the executive director of Lake Chapala Society. “Running LCS is a team effort, which includes the board, the volunteers and myself.”
This team effort has brought LCS to where it is now, having come a long way since 2008, when Vidal stepped into the role of part-time administrator. He had recently arrived in Mexico from Minnesota, along with his wife, Amalia, when LCS was going through a spell of controversy.
“The place was imploding on itself,” says Vidal. “The board had fired three employees, which caused a big scandal. After two weeks on the job, the membership did a recall on the board, wanting to fire the whole board. That’s the environment I came in on.”
As it turns out, none of the board members were recalled. Yet, as a result of the brouhaha, LCS lost 15 to 20 percent of its membership.
Since then,” says Vidal, “we’ve been on a very different path, going from an operating board to a governing board, managed by an executive director. One thing we realized was that we couldn’t just operate on volunteers; we needed to have a corporate structure.”
With years of experience running museums and historical centers in Minnesota, Vidal accepted the LCS position on two conditions: First, to put in motion a strategic planning process and second, to rewrite its inadequate constitution.
Says Vidal: “Those two changes were key to the way LCS operated and to its future. Within six months of my being hired, someone showed up who helped with nonprofits and, for the first time, we started doing strategic planning. In 2010, the new constitution was adopted, which was the same time that my role changed to executive director.”
When LCS was founded in 1955, there were about 100 expats living in Lakeside. By the 1970s there were 600, and by the late 1980s/early 1990s, the area experienced a population explosion.
“Economic forces north of border tend to drive immigration patterns,” says Vidal. “There was a big influx of people and LCS grew, but the community began to diversify with other nonprofits sprouting up, such as animal shelters and orphanages. As a result of this diversifying of volunteer opportunities, people trailed off to other nonprofits.”
He continues: “All nonprofits are mission-driven organizations and measure their success as to how they accomplish their mission. When people first move to Lakeside, they need LCS. It’s the loom on which newcomers weave their social fabric. LCS helps develop a social network for newcomers with health, housing, friends and social events, and it has succeeded at its mission. But, once the fabric is woven, members can easily cut themselves from the loom. They start to question why they should still be a member.”
Located in central Ajijic, LCS is a hub for the foreign community, offering a wide array of classes, lectures, medical services, a cafe and an expansive English-language library. The large percentage of Lakeside’s foreign population are LCS members, with most members living in Ajijic. Yet, some come from the other side of the lake; even from Guadalajara.
Says Vidal, “Many people leave LCS, but the same amount join as newbies. Our membership remains static at 2,500 to 2,800 members per year. Yet, even in its ‘static-ness,’ it’s dynamic.”
“Keeping the foreign population as members or bringing them back is our challenge. We need to be able to maintain relevancy for people even after they’ve developed their social networks. My plea to those who have left the flock is, what would this community be without LCS? In an emergency, where would you go when your rights are being trampled?”
Ken Koyama and his wife Latika Pierette Claude have been LCS members for two years. With 25 years of organization and management experience, Koyama has offered to help board members with their problem areas.
“LCS is at a crossroads and is facing problems such as declining membership,” says Koyama. “A Board member told me that 20 percent of the members are not renewing their memberships. Volunteers tell me they are in desperate need of funds. Perhaps LCS should be charging non-members for services, since it costs money to provide these services.”
For Pierrette Claude, LCS is her home away from home. “I enjoy the gardens, the library, the movies and the medical services offered. I also like that it’s a place to meet like-minded people, but I do see how some things can be improved, such as the quality of the yoga classes.”
A fact many people might not be aware of is LCS’s deep connections with the Jalisco municipal and state governments and the immigration department.
“We are the go-to people when those folks want to know what’s going on with the foreign community,” says Vidal. “Local Mexican leaders look to LCS for information and building relationships, and we have built those relationships. Our mission is about education. Mexico City has sent reporters here and, more recently, in response to the Trump election. LCS has influence and helps shape this community, and that’s not tangible.”
Plans are in place for major renovations that will turn LCS into a single campus, with all classes and programs onsite. Vidal is hopeful that, in 12 to 18 months, they will have made some serious progress on the first phase of their multi-phase project.
Vidal also has a plan for LCS to become all inclusive, supporting the entire community, and he is trying to get members to understand why.
“When I arrived, LCS had eight Mexican members; its now up to 50. The perception in the Mexican community is that we are an exclusive club. We want to change that perception. The pendulum has swung from being a foreign-only club to being more multi-cultural, serving the greater community. I don’t like to think that those are the two extremes. In order for LCS to stay on a multi-cultural, inclusive path, I want to help accomplish that the pendulum stops swinging. We are planting the seeds for that to happen.”
For more information, see lakechapalasociety.com.