I was a little leery trying to drive up there because of medicine issues and leg issues and driving out of town, but it went okay. I had lunch with Curt in Cloverdale, and then came the big test: Could I really drive all the way to Nashville with a bum leg and a boatload of medicine (even if I've been cutting it down).
The answer was, Sure! The drive down was comparatively easy. By going through Evansville and down I-24, there was little traffic and no need to overwork my bum leg with the pedals. (God bless the inventor of cruise control!)
Anyway, I got down to my hotel and moved in. Shortly thereafter, Gil H. and his wife picked me up for dinner. Gil is the new General Secretary of UMM. I had requested some one-on-one face time with him before the mess of meetings this week. I wanted to build some relationship, offer some insight, lay down some problems where he and I could look 'em over without having to assess how other people might react to them.
It went very, very well. Gil is a great guy. He can listen as well as speak. I think he wants to help NAUMS achieve its proper place in the stable of good causes and affiliated orgs that are in the GCUMM family. I am immensely comforted. I feel I can trust him. So, if I achieved nothing else by coming down here, we got this relationship off on the right foot. And that will pay dividends for years to come, even after I'm gone from the Presidency of NAUMS.
Tomorrow starts a Board meeting for the United Methodist Men's Foundation. It promises to be a bit cranky, but I have some hopes there, too. And then there are some official back-and-forthings with the NACP and so on.
Anyway, I can report to my fellow NAUMS members that I think things are looking up, in lots of ways. And that bodes well, not just for us, but for all of UM Scouting Ministry.