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Greetings!
 You are on the list. That's right. If you are receiving this newsletter, you have been identified as a fellow overachiever who is a critical person in our event's core competency. There are presently fewer than 20 people on this list that will grow a little here and there over the coming months. The purpose of this communication is to do the best I can to communicate to you, in whatever capacity you might be planning the next Grapes & Apes effort, to keep you informed and, hopefully, to keep us all from having to meet with any more frequency than is actually necessary. The less we meet, the better job we are doing at communicating effectively. From time to time I will ask you to write a paragraph or two to include just so we are sure everyone is up to speed.
Sincerely,
Rich Ahrens
Gorilla-at-Large
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Front Burner Items
Stuff That Needs to be Done Soon
Having just come off the euphoria of a grand slam success is fun for all of us, but we need to be sure we dot our "i"s and cross our "t"s before we start moving forward too quickly into planning for 2012. Here are some things that really deserve our attention.
1) Expense Reports - If you were the head of a committee, chances are money was spent to pull off what was called "The Party of the Year in Naples." Whether you have submitted for reimbursement or not, please create a list of what it did cost to launch 2011. We will identify those items that were start up expenses and which will be recurring so we can set an accurate proposed budget for the coming year.
2) Say Thank You - Lots of people contributed to Grapes & Apes in many ways. Please determine any non-Rotarian who contributed to us and take the time to either write a hand written note of thanks or even better to go to see them face to face simply to say "thank you." This effort will go a long way to having them get behind us again.
3) Be Critical - Take an objective look at what we all did last weekend and make a short list of things that were either missing or misdirected. Everything looks better the further behind us it is. You probably don't really remember a really bad Thanksgiving dinner but I'd bet you've had at least one in your life. Our memories tend to err on the side of focusing on the good and blocking out the bad.
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Debriefing Session
 Next Monday, April 4, we will meet at 5:30 PM at First United Methodist Church's conference room to chat. Bring your list of victories and near misses so we can identify where we need to pay more attention or make adjustments for 2012. The session will be brief. Everyone present will report without interruption and then we will be finished. You can ask for clarification but please don't make this into a drawn out brainstorming event. We are not meeting to find solutions, just to identify problems. If you have further input, we can discuss it afterward in person, by phone or email. The address is 388 1st Avenue South.
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Summary of Zoo Meeting
Today I had a meeting with David Tetzlaff at Naples Zoo to thank him for all of his help and cooperation and to ensure his satisfaction with our effort from planning to production to departure. David was thrilled with every aspect of what we did at Grapes & Apes and certainly recognizes the value and benefit that we bring to the Naples Zoo. David fully expects us to significantly expand the size and scope for 2012.
I also met with Capt. Chris and Doug to get their reactions and both were very happy and are excited to have next year on the calendar. The suggestions they have offered are very minor. They are more concerned with their own performance and how they will improve in order to keep up with us.
We did a great job as considerate guests and our host loves us. In the future, I will add David, Doug and Courtney to our G&A newsletter list so they will be in the loop on our planning.
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