The Vincentian Family Collaboration Commission met at the Provincial House of the Congregation of the Mission in Beirut, Lebanon on 25 – 26 July 2017.  Participating in the meeting were:  Dee Mansi, AIC; Manny Ginete, CM; Denise el-Khoury; Veronika Mila Popić, SC of SVDP; Yancarlos de Jesus Carrasco de los Santos, VMY; Remberth Alonso Falla Zuloeta, SSVP; Sumaia Sahad Araujo, AIC; Ada Ferreira, SSVP; Ana Maria Escaño, VMY; Denise LaRock, DC (secretary); and Joe Agostino, CM (coordinator).  Excused were: Georges Maylaa, CM; Margaret O’Dwyer, DC; and Andrew McKnight DPF.

We welcomed our new members: Georges Maylaa, appointed rep for the CM, Margaret O’Dwyer, appointed rep for the DC, and Ana Escaño, at large member.

The Commission concluded its work on the revision of the five basic modules of the VFCAP.  “VFCAP 2.0” will be online before the end of this year.  In addition, the language teams formulated their plans for the roll out of the program over the next two years.

The expressed need for follow-up experiences was also discussed at great length.  The Commission has begun to study how to best present those topics and skill sets most requested.  Some areas mentioned include succession planning, commitment and motivation techniques for a volunteer base, communication methodologies, etc.

The Commission is will also roll out a series of video lessons on many aspects of collaboration for 2018 as a follow-up to the celebration of our 400^th Anniversary.

Ana Maria Escaño will serve as the new secretary of the Commission.

We concluded our meeting with the expression of our heart-felt thanks to our out-going founding members:  Manny Ginete, CM, Denise el-Khoury, and Denise LaRock, DC.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Philadelphia 18 – 22 February 2018.

Vincentian Family Collaboration Commission Meeting
Beirut, Lebanon, 25 – 26 July 2017
Submitted by Joe Agostino, CM