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CLICK HERE to share your thoughts on our first in-person event on November 14th with our speaker, Dr. Michael Yaffe, discussing "Will We See Peace in the Middle East in our Lifetime?"

11/14/2021

17 Comments

 
17 Comments
Ann Adams
11/14/2021 09:12:32 pm

I thought the venue was very nice. I thought the dinner was very good and I appreciated having a vegetarian option. But I was very disappointed in the speaker. First of all, I thought the title was misleading. I expected to hear about “ peace in the Middle East” not the dynamics of Israel. I found it unexciting to hear in such detail, the speakers involvement 40 years ago. Or even ten years ago for that matter.
The question and answer segment was more interesting than his written speech. We were very glad that we hadn’t invited anybody to join us this evening.

Reply
Lynn Centeno
11/15/2021 12:18:40 pm

I completely agree with Ann’s assessment of the speaker. I would have appreciated his insight as to possible solutions to the peace process not a long hard to follow history lesson of the region.

I would like to add that the dinner service was extremely slow as we did not receive our entrees till after the speaker had started. The chairs with the floating pads were cumbersome as well.

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Biff Roche link
11/15/2021 07:25:10 am

The dinner was very good. The chairs were uncomfortable. The room temperature was way too cool. I was excited to hear the speaker talk on a subject I found very interesting. My disappointment was profound. The poor guy just was no good at communicating excitement about the subject. I found him very hard to follow. But we learned and will vet the next speaker more throughly.

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Jim McFarlin
11/15/2021 07:49:40 am

Well stated assessment, Biff. We are always striving to improve, and this is a clear opportunity to do so.

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Eileen Todd
11/15/2021 08:25:29 am

It was great to meet in person again! The reception was nice and the dinner was delicious. I could not hear the speaker. I sent additional comments by email to World Affairs Council.

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Carl Brown
11/15/2021 08:31:47 am

As other members have stated, the reception, dinner and service were good., However the speaker was a disappointment:poor communication skills; topic really not addressed; sound system quality marginal, as well.

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John Yaukey
11/15/2021 09:17:13 am

Speaker shared very informative material, but I wish it had been more personalized.
Dinner (pork) was pretty average and obviously served too late to avoid the distraction of eating while trying to focus on the speaker's presentation.
Venue is fine, but the cocktail time venue needs to expand so that the small rooms off the main hall can be used to both sit down and avoid to congestion in the main entrance to the ballroom.

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Marly Bergerud
11/15/2021 10:29:11 am

Great speaker content AND a professional speaker is the ideal combination and hard to find. Maybe the Program committee can acquire videos from potential speakers to vet them.

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Barbara Fromm
11/15/2021 05:22:04 pm

The speaker was very narrow in his subject matter and did not address Peace in the Middle East , just the Israeli and Palestinian conflict .
The public address system was not adequate , therefore it was very difficult to hear the speaker.
Does the WACD have a policy for verifying vaccination? If not, it should, as many people are not keen on being with unvaccinated people for their safe being and maintaining their health.

Reply
Ken Bouldin
11/16/2021 08:06:18 am

Barbara,
The Board instructed staff to require all of those that register and attend the event to indicate that they are vaccinated. It was agreed by the Board that we would use the "honor" system and accept that indication at the time of registration. We did not and do not plan any further verification steps.
To the best of our knowledge, all attendees were vaccinated plus we increased the table spacing and limited the table places to 8 rather than the usual 10. I hope this adequately addresses your concerns. .

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rebecca Smith
11/15/2021 06:30:21 pm

We enjoyed seeing everyone at the new venue. The TV screens were a good improvement - easier to see. The dinner was very average. There was no coffee service although the cream and sugar were on the table. The room was extremely cold and the chair backs were very uncomfortable. The servers were very nice and did a great job.. The speaker was hard to follow and didn't seem to talk about the subject we came to hear.

Reply
Ken Bouldin
11/16/2021 07:58:08 am

A special thanks to everyone that has taken the time to comment on the first dinner event of the season.
With respect to the speaker...as Chairman of the Programs Committee, the "buck stops here". I too was disappointed and will assure everyone we will try to improve our process so that future speakers will meet your (and our) expectations.
In the case of Dr Yaffe, he came with an excellent recommendation from a trusted source and with great credentials, so the presentation style and content was a surprise.
But no excuses....our Committee will try to do better.

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Ken Bouldin
11/16/2021 08:16:40 am

Let me address some of the issues other than the speaker.
The leadership has noted most of the items raised and has a plan of action to improve all aspects of your experience.
For example,
1. The service by the Club will be adjusted to have the desert pre positioned on the table and have the main course service started earlier so that it will not interfere with the presentation.
2. Reception and registration issues will be addressed and improved to increase access and comfort.
3. Sound system will be reviewed and hopefully improved.
4. Be aware that the Valet Service is COMPLIMENTARY (tipping optional).

Feel free to email me personally if you have additional comments or suggestions that you want to make privately.
kennethbouldin@gmail.com

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Nancy Hughex
11/17/2021 09:25:33 am

I am a member of IW CC and would liked to have seen the reception area handled VERY differently. There were dining areas that could have accommodated everyone prior to the opening of the ballroom. Dinner was average and too late. I do believe the staff did all they could but there is a serious shortage of help everywhere. If you go to IWCC again I would be happy to help in any way.



Reply
Ken Bouldin
11/17/2021 07:31:24 pm

Nancy,
Thanks for your comments. Almost all of your concerns have or will be addressed. Glad to know you are a member of IWCC.
I have requested that Linda reach out to you if she needs help working with the Club..

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Allen & Marilyn Shapiro
11/17/2021 03:39:54 pm

We concur with the majority of comments submitted to date and are most appreciative of the responses provided by Jim McFarlin and Ken Bouldin. Our comments, hopefully not too repetitious, are as follows.

Yes, the spoken topic concerning Israel and the Palestinian Territories was very narrow vs. the broader announced topic "....Peace in the Middle East....". And the definition of five lessons learned was on the mark. However, while the explanation of decades lost in the quest for peace between these two adversaries was factual, informative and at times personal, the "big picture" and over-arching strategies for the key Middle East players were missing, resulting in negative reactions and comments from WACD attendees.

The physical environment was challenging as well. While the grilled chicken was fine, the pork tenderloin was overcooked; the deserts were served too late; the red wine was marginal; no coffee service; and uncomfortable chairs with thin seat pads -- plus a chilling temperature setting for the dining area.

Suggestion: In order to provide more members with a better view of the small stage area and speakers, perhaps the bar area should be re-purposed to either end of the dining room, rather than the center rear space it occupied on November 14th. The void created could be occupied with multiple dining tables.

Finally, the sensitive topic of mutual Covid protection must be broached. With 200 members participating (plus the IWCC support staff) at close quarters during the reception and to a lesser degree during dinner, the Board should consider a vaccination protocol NOT based on the honor system. Examples to follow within the Coachella Valley include the McCallum Theatre and the Indian Wells Desert Town Hall series. Regardless of the maturity of the audience and professional backgrounds of us all, we find that "denial" is more real than perceived at public/private events, raising the Covid risk factor to an unacceptable level. A copy of the Desert Town Hall protocol has been provided to Ken Bouldin in a separate email. Basically, upon entry at reception, a participant must show his/her vaccination card, or a negative Covid test result for the past 72 hours.

Reply
Ken Bouldin
11/17/2021 07:37:24 pm

Allen and Marilyn,
Understand your concern regarding the vaccination policy. As I have previously stated the current policy established by the Board is to require all attendees to be vaccinated. However, it was decided that we would accept the certification at the time of registration and not require further "proof".
Jim McFarlin is aware of your issue and he can make the Board aware of your recommendations.
Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

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