Heerlen Sometimes, it’s worth wondering, what were we thinking?
Sure, it was the right time for our international organizers’ meeting. We had met two years in a row in the Yorkshire area of northern England. It was time for a change. The Netherlands made sense on some counts, so let’s go there.
There would be fifty organizers and leaders attending. Where could we manage? Locals mentioned a venue they called NIVON Natuurvrienden in Heerlen. The price wasn’t dirt cheap and going from Dutch to English and back, did we ever really know, I’m not sure? It was a giant house that could fit everyone, had a kitchen were we could make our own meals, and was within 20 minutes from the train stations, so let’s go. It turned out to be quite an operation, largely volunteer run, that was designed to allow working people, seniors, and others to have a place for rest and vacation. Given the inclement weather, we never saw all the location offered, but it worked out well, even navigating with other families and guests coming and going.
None of that is really what makes for a monster meeting mash, but someone had the bright idea that now that we had a place to lay our heads and eat our bread, let’s go hard.
If we were in this region of the Europe, let’s offer a day session with the ACORN Organizing School. Our allies graciously provided space for the meeting in City Hall and provided lunch and coffee, so more than 40 people, with half from the around the Netherlands, came together to discuss and learn the basics of community organizing.
All good so far, and then, two hours later, the organizers’ meetings began and went on until after 9pm at night, before revving up again early the next morning. Different countries made meals and did the dishes in turn, which worked out better than one might imagine. The plenaries and workshops ended in time for lunch, and then onto the bus to visit the national mining museum, social housing in Heerlen Nord, and one of the local community leaders. Back to the ranch, and, boom, the staff broke into more workshops.
But, hey, this was an opportunity to have a national board meeting for ACORN International with great leaders in Heerlen and others coming in on Zoom from Africa and beyond for this triple header. The meeting was outstanding and jam packed. Revised bylaws were approved. A platform process was initiated. New affiliates were voted in from Belgium and the United States. Officers were elected from Canada, France, the UK, and the USA. It was the best ever.
And, then more meetings that evening and on into the next morning before people broke for the trains at noon. Enough right? Oh, no, once a year in recent years, the directors of the largest operations come together to assess new developments and plan for the future. We loved NIVON, but we needed a change of place and space, so I lured everyone down to the town center to meet in the library, until dinner, where despite the good staff cooking, we absolutely enjoyed getting together at a Greek restaurant, which was one of the few open. The next morning, we were back at NIVON, trapped by blustery cold and rain for another full day of meetings. I should add there was some drama interspersed. One of our leaders had misplaced her passport. This meant getting that team up and out at 4am in the morning to try to make it to the embassy in the Hague in time to – hopefully – make the plane home.
My people, you may have lost count, but when that day ended, it was the fourth consecutive major monster mash of meetings in a row. I, for one, was fried. After dinner, I managed to stay away in time for an 8 pm call for business in the states, and it turned out I was calling one day too early. Usually a bad sleeper and always an early riser, I was down and out shortly after 9 ,and despite tossing and turning not up until after 7 am. If I had been home, mi companera, would likely be calling 911!
Was this crazy or what? Who thought this was a good idea to chock-a-block all four of these critical meetings together over an endless four consecutive days? Oh, right, it was me! And, it was great every minute! These are days, my friends, and I hope they never end.