A few questions about LCS

I can't get too excited about people who don't get that the country they moved to was (gasp) full of Mexicans. That's just blind and stupid.

However, I can get negative about what seems to be a new trend: their latest "Fiesta" this year with a $450peso ticket price. Each. That was up front exclusionary for anyone who can't quite punch a $900 peso afternoon into their retirement budget. No discrimination though: the ticket price was the same for everybody. Equal opportunity.

It makes me wonder what the objective is: Increased dues and high priced fundraisers, but the same services.
Since membership dues are probably the largest source of funds and people are failing to renew or join in the first place, it is becoming obvious what the end result will be. They can always retreat to the Wilkes Center, I 'spose.

martygraw wrote:When we first moved to lakeside (10 yrs ago), we joined LCS, during that year here was a fund raiser for new tile in the church, LCS put on a Mexican fiesta c/w Mariachi, folklorico and Mexican food. Everyone had a great time. The next day I was at LCS, in the coffee area and overheard a bunch of the oldtimers complaining about how there Sat. was ruined by the bunch of GD Mexicans that had taken over the place. We never went back.

Try again please. That was ten years ago. Wow I can imagine how you felt.

Z

I joined LCS because we were told it was a good introduction to the area with many people having been in the same position as we now are, newcomers to lakeside, and a new culture. We have received advise on such things as immigration, medical, and local attractions, through the LCS , all of value to a newcomer.
One other reason why I joined was to be able to advertise my business on the notice boards and on the website. The rules have changed as far as advertising is concerned and it has now become a chore to follow when it expires and when I need to make a trip there specifically to renew this. My opinion is that it does not have advertising policies in place that make it easy for local businesses to use this service.
Having a physical library or video library these days is so outdated. Even watching Netflix these days is outdated. It is my opinion that a library and a video library is an investment in old technology, and wont be utilized in the future. I like the idea of access to shared e-books.

I think the ideas and values(mission statement) of the original founder of the LCS has to be the cornerstone of where the society goes from here.

I would hate to see the LCS moved into a NoB type of mall. We all came to Mexico because it was different then NoB and now we are trying to change it here to be like what we left behind. The current location has character and atmosphere no mall can replace. I like the idea of renting an auditorium when needed for special large capacity events.

The last couple of times in the office it felt to me that no one in there was enjoying being there. No one I talked to was in a happy mood, it was all "business only attitude" . Which surprised me for a place full of volunteers.

Just my opinions.

Keep LCS right where it is but make it more accessible to Mexicans; which means it'll have to stay open past 2PM.

Seriously, most locals work till sundown, if they want to become an asset to the Mexican community, they need to have programs multi-language in the evenings. Or just some music programs of local Mexican musicians again into the evening, starting at 7 or 8PM.

It would be nice to share the cool garden areas with Mexicans after their long day's toil. I think it would become popular. LCS is too underutilized now and they constantly ask, What can we do for the Local community (other than Wilkes which is great, but should be incorporated in the Main campus). Open their doors later and Mexicans will come.

If I were the op and wanted to read more answers to these questions, I would dig up the thread that was started a couple months ago about the LCS survey re fundraising. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the thread was called.

Well, there sure are some good comments and ideas here!

Open in the evenings and more Mexican involvement and bicultural entertainment, meals, and grounds enjoyment? Absolutely! Dump the outdated video rentals and print library? Oh yeah (I would think those spaces could really be used for something more relevant - internet cafe, ebook downloads and sharing. . .). Have management lose the attitude? Umm YEAH! Don't move it to a friggin' mall but keep it where it is and patch it up? YES!!!

Also think these surveys should be taken of newbies, not us old buffaloes. Walk around town with a clipboard and when you see a fresh new face, you can tell by those pink glasses, introduce yourself, chat them up, and ask them what they would like to see for services for newcomers. Their answers might surprise us all!

I think younger and more progressive management is in order, this old boys club stuff just doesn't cut it anymore. Anywhere.

This is my last year with the LCS. I would not have paid this year's dues if I had paid attention to their expansion plans. I do not want an expat club. I'll try to help fund the Wilkes library and art lessons another way.

Trailrunner wrote:Well, there sure are some good comments and ideas here!

Open in the evenings and more Mexican involvement and bicultural entertainment, meals, and grounds enjoyment? Absolutely! Dump the outdated video rentals and print library? Oh yeah (I would think those spaces could really be used for something more relevant - internet cafe, ebook downloads and sharing. . .). Have management lose the attitude? Umm YEAH! Don't move it to a friggin' mall but keep it where it is and patch it up? YES!!!

Also think these surveys should be taken of newbies, not us old buffaloes. Walk around town with a clipboard and when you see a fresh new face, you can tell by those pink glasses, introduce yourself, chat them up, and ask them what they would like to see for services for newcomers. Their answers might surprise us all!

I think younger and more progressive management is in order, this old boys club stuff just doesn't cut it anymore. Anywhere.

Agreed, a lot of good input, experiences, insights and ideas. I'm optimistic, trusting the Board members are all good people volunteering for the scanty of the grounds and service to our community. Having a dialogue like this and raising awareness will help move the ever evolving organization in the right direction. I'm in.

If you stop and think about it, the hypothetical move to Centro Laguna from the current grounds has that NOB mark on it.

Is it not probable that when a group of white men, with probably some business in their background, get together and start talking about what's good for LCS, that they would have a tendency to run it like a NOB business. Paying more attention to the membership drives, fundraising, revenue aspect and improving the facilities to make them more efficient soon becomes the objective.

I think the comments about interaction with the Mexican community, and facilitating that interaction would be something that they could take pride in.

RoofBob, you need to get in there and shake 'em up. Sounds like they need it.

Very funny Juan, more than a shake up I think they need sleeves up and a consensus on what's best for our entire community. Me thinks just below a thin layer of dust is a gem worth polishing.

Hey RoofBob, I wasn't trying to be funny.

I was dead serious and I don't disagree with there being a gem somewhere in there.

You know if you were to head up a little group of people who would be interested in helping you get something going, I'd be willing to donate a couple hours, or so.

Funny you should mention helping Juan. You and several other members be warned, your talents are not going to go untapped. And I'm dead serious too.

heh heh I knew there would be a catch. . .

The LCS needs you RB, good on 'ya!

Our community needs you too Trailrunner and thanks for offering to help! Not going to let your medical background go to waste, oh no.

Newbies come to town, sign up for the LCS, and get all kinds of useful information. Eventually, they have absorbed what they need and either drop the membership or move over to the clubs and general camaraderie.

That is still an extremely attractive reason for its continued operation.

Libraries will never go out of style, and neither will the need to access books for research or just general enjoyment. It will be a long time before videos are no longer king; my kids' generation will change that, but they haven't arrived here yet.

Ebooks are, by design, not meant to be shared. While this may be a travesty, this makes the idea of an ebook lending library a non-contender. Some sellers allow brief periods of lending, but the coordination aspect of trying to set that up is impossible unless you are... a public library, and not in Mexico. The LCS library would have to become a recognized affiliate of a NOB library (no idea what that entails). The exceptions are Project Gutenburg and Google and a smattering of others, who distribute public domain books. But those are already available online to anyone with a computer. And very few of us want to read the latest by Tolstoy anyway, opting instead for popular contemporary authors.

coffeeguy wrote:My two cents:

We're currently members and have been for about 3 years total. We're well-acquainted with the services and programs LCS offers.

About the only times we visit LCS are to check listings on the bulletin board or a few times a year when there's an Open Circle speaker of interest. We pay our dues almost entirely out of respect for the organization's outreach to the Mexican community and past (rather than current) value to expat residents.

In my opinion LCS needs to look at doing fewer things much better and focus in particular on the needs of the expat community that pays its bills. Both the book and DVD libraries are pretty much useless to anyone with access to a Kindle or the bootleg DVDs for sale everywhere on an $8 a month Netflix subscription respectively. As the recent LCS survey and announcement make clear, the place is fallling apart physically and would be prohibitively expensive to repair, so selling the current property and moving somewhere with parking and easier access would also seem to be key. Just one person's opinion.

I agree with coffeeguy. I was a member for at least 10 years. Have not joined the last two. Part of that is living out where I do in SJC. The other part is just not enough relevant programs for expats, higher member fees vs the amount of times I go there, and the parking can be a problem. Many events are not advertised very well, especially fund raising events. Just doesn't seem like a fun place to go any more.

Luisa wrote:This is my last year with the LCS. I would not have paid this year's dues if I had paid attention to their expansion plans. I do not want an expat club. I'll try to help fund the Wilkes library and art lessons another way.

Just a note on the Children's Art Program: The local art association has been donating to it on a regular basis, and this year, proceeds from the sales of Open Studios catalogs are a very substantial donation. The children's attendance has increased and they are looking for anyone with some art background to help teach. Fluent Spanish not required.

Thanks for the good news gringal, I think we've just found a spot for Candace to shine. And thanks for your reply simpcsa. You mentioned, as did several others, 'not enough relevant programs for expats'. If you don't mind, my questions would be: What are the best programs? And what programs could be developed that would be relevant/interesting/fun? Anyone?

Sent you a PM.

What they need at LCS are some grounded realists on the management end.

I run into Zed working over there occasionally: he's a breath of fresh air and energy, and kudos to him for volunteering.

They do have some relevant programs that not everybody is aware of, but those are listed in the magazine they publish monthly. Everything from computer classes to Texas Two Step instruction (which is a hoot to watch).

LOL "Breath of fresh air and energy" well that's putting it nicely. Others have
different descriptions for me. I am not the IT manager anymore so not quite
so frantic taking care of the cats and magazine/booksales room.



Z

CanuckBob wrote:We are not members there and probably don't know about everything they have to offer. We visited once about 5 years ago and didn't feel welcome. I think they need a "welcome wagon" type service where they find out who is new in town, contact them and offer to give them the royal tour of the facility and all it's programs.

Excellent idea, CB! That might go a long way toward eliminating the impression of unfriendliness that I hear of so often. I have never been an LCS member because I live very far away, am not retired, and doubted I would ever be able to use their services, so I am hesitant to put in my 2 cents worth here. However, I have contributed my services to the LCS occasionally and am interested in its future. Do the terms of Neill James' contribution allow them to sell the property? Like many here, I love the location and grounds, but feel the parking situation is a hurdle that somehow needs to be fixed.

It would not be impossible to build a two story parking garage structure accessible from Ramon Corona. In SMA, they built one downtown near the Biblioteca in which the cars went up on a lift. There could be a roof deck as well.
This would sacrifice a portion of the grounds, but not the main part of them.

I would have been unthinkable to sell the SMA Biblioteca and move to the outlying parts of the city. That may apply here.

We all seem to have a NOB preoccupation with our cars here don't we??

Yes if you are disabled I understand but parking a couple of blocks away
shouldn't bother most people. In fact many of you folks would be helped
if you parked far away and walked to LCS. Lots of parking space at the
park on the lake two blocks away.

If you are offended by this sorry but you should have seen what I wanted
to write LOL. Many of you folks are addicted to cars.

Z

If you are offended by this sorry but you should have seen what I wanted
to write LOL. Many of you folks are addicted to cars.

(Zed)

I loved that one. I bet we've all written posts expressing our full out feelings and then...uh....altered them for the sake of trying to be more diplomatic.
Or not get ourselves banned forever.

"Attachment" to cars is in bloom these days. It was planted and nurtured by the NOB culture for as long as I can remember. Those new regs are like turning a tiger loose in a village. HALP!

Most of my life, I've had my very own car to tool around in. Fun fun fun....
There's no room for two cars in our garage, so we're down to one. No great loss when you think about it: what we have these days is time to arrange our schedules. And, unless you're disabled, walking is a good thing for your body.

Tain't just gringos. When I first started coming here 15 years ago, there was so much parking available, one never even thought about it. I have a picture of a horse tied up outside one of the real estate offices on Colon.

But Mexicans want cars too, and many of them are now owners. Check the plates lined up on Colon.

Car Love is contagious. Mexicans caught it, too. Our house has a horse hitching hook on the front from the good old days.
At least cars don't leave poop in the road.