Five FPA Silicon Valley board members got up at 4:30 in the morning to catch a 7:00 am flight at San Jose Airport to Denver to attend the FPA Leadership Conference. This conference purpose was to improve our chapter performance and hear best practices in our various board positions from chapter leaders across the country. National chapter leadership was there to share the progress toward FPA national efforts on the fiduciary standards and other key items of interest.

Upon boarding the plane, the pilot said we needed to vacate the plane because they were having technical difficulties. It turns out there were 2 screws missing on the engine block. Was Home Depot closed? Was this a Seinfeld episode in the making? They told us to leave the security gates and get back into the ticket line. We were told the plane would be fixed around 10am so we got back in line to pass the security point. The five of us bonded in the food court for an hour similar to the Seinfeld gang eating at the Restaurant. With new board members, many of us didn’t know each other very well, but this opportunity helped us break the ice.

We arrived at the gate, and there were no other passengers waiting. The customer service guy announced, the plane is NOT fixed, and please go back through security again! Our board member, let me call her Elaine, refused to get back in line again. The customer service guy tried to handle our case for us. What happened to all of the other passengers? He said they were shuttled to San Francisco to catch another flight. Why weren’t we informed of this option? Our option was to wait for a stand by plane at San Jose for an 11:30am flight, there were 5 spots available. But, all of the sudden, his computer screen said 4 people checked in, so only 1 seat was available. Our latest option was to take a shuttle from San Jose to the San Francisco airport, on stand by until 3:45pm. This is bad news, the conference would already be in progress.

As our hearts started to race, a mechanic popped his head in the door and said the plane was fixed.  We took a flight to Denver, with literally less then 10 people on that plane. We were able to take the seat of our choice with plenty of leg room and we had the whole plane to ourselves.  Bob Adams and I talked about chapter goals and issues for 2 hours which made for a very productive flight. What a fun way for the Board to get to know each other better, with a funny story to share!

Just like planning, life doesn’t always go as planned, but we hope to reach our destination, however long that may take.

The Leadership Conference was well done. The education and networking were excellent. We have a great FPA administrative staff supporting us and the FPA web site is a great resource for chapter leaders and members. We all came back to San Jose inspired, educated, and ready to take on the role of our board positions.  2010 here we come!