On Monday, I drove to Manteca to meet a friend from my bar association days who works for a winery. She went from being ED of a Bar Association to a compliance analyst in the wine industry and absolutely loves what she does. I could see why, it gave her a whole new industry to understand and sink her teeth into and the staff there are just wonderful, very friendly, and welcoming. It is a family owned business and really feels that way. She took me on a tour of the facility, there are dozens of the massive wine silos and an office complex almost like a small college campus with fountains and pergolas around outdoor gathering areas. It was only 9:30 in the morning, but already getting quite warm. I was grateful when we were able to go inside to the air conditioned bottling plant, where we got a tour. That was amazing! Almost everything is automated and it was incredible watching the machinery that boxes and bags and bottles the wine. We could see the conveyor belt taking thousands of empty wine bottles through to be filled, capped, labeled and boxed. So cool! I was able to taste and purchase some of the wine, with her 50% discount it was an amazing price!
Later in the day, I had a zoom call with another friend from the Bar Association world, she was somebody I interviewed as part of my masters capstone project as well. We caught up and I learned more about what it’s like working at an association management company, which is what she does, serving as Executive Director for three different associations. She loves her role and is very enthusiastic about the people she works with. She’s also simultaneously working on a PhD! So impressive, especially considering she was literally the very first person in her extended family to attend college.
Finally that evening, I got to experience my first board meeting with the VCRC, the organization that I’m serving as Interim Executive Director for. It seems like a great group, and it’s nice to have a board that is very positive and supportive of each other. I am looking forward to getting to know them all better.
I was more than ready for bed at the end of a long and enjoyable day. Tomorrow is my first day on site at the VCRC and I’ll get to meet most of the staff. I’m excited but also nervous.