We are just 78 days away from arrival at Belmond’s La Residencia, and preparations are in high gear!! To help us finalize a few very important details, please review the items below and send your responses by August 20, 2026.

1. Arrival & Departure Itineraries

We are only a few responses away from completing our ground transfer schedule. If you have not yet sent your flight details, please reply with your travel dates, airline, flight numbers, and exact arrival and departure times for Palma de Mallorca (airport code: PMI).  If you require an early arrival room night, wishing to arrive the day before the official start, please let me know right away so we can submit an extension request for the night of Oct 17th.

2. Name Badge Details

If this is your, or your guest’s, first time attending, please confirm your preferred first and last names as you would like them to appear on your name badges for the opening night cocktail reception and dinner.

3. Opening Night Dinner Selections and Closing Day Lunch

Please review the menu below and reply with your main course selection for Course 3 (Courses 1, 2 and 4 are fixed). If you require a vegetarian meal, please let us know; the chef will provide vegetarian options for Courses 1 and 3.

•     Course 1: Mango gazpacho with grilled prawns

•     Course 2: Grilled green asparagus with a sauce made from Sóller oranges

•     Course 3 (Choose One):

                                     Sea bass supreme with olive oil parmentier, spinach, pine nuts and dried tomatoes

OR

                                   Glazed Mallorcan lamb with rosemary sauce and potatoes

•     Course 4: Homemade Mallorcan “Gato” (a traditional almond cake) served with an almond ice cream

Closing Afternoon Lunch:

This year we have added a closing-day lunch for attendees and guests. 

Starter:       Strawberry gazpacho with dates, bulgur and slightly spicy basil oil

Main Course:      Classic paella with meat, fish and seafood (Please let me know if you require the vegetarian option, vegetable paella)

Dessert:     Lemon sorbet with crunchy apple and La Residencia olive oil

Drinks:  Red and white Sangria, beer, soft drinks, water and tea.

4. Dietary Restrictions & Allergies

Please confirm any food allergies or dietary restrictions for you and your guest. To ensure we do not miss anyone, please explicitly reply with “no allergies” if you have none.

Coming Soon:

•     Program Materials: Any read-ahead materials from our facilitator will be shared 30 days before the event.

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out.

Many of you are familiar with the upcoming steps in our programming, but several first and second-time attendees are scheduled to join us in Mallorca. Please keep the following items in mind as you prepare.

1. Purchase of Airline Tickets:
Yes ~ I have already received at least one full itinerary. The airport for this event is PMI, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Once you book your flights, please send me a copy of the full arrival and departure itinerary so I can coordinate your airport transfers. When planning your travel, please consider that the first formal event will be on Sunday evening, October 18th, and the final formal event will be the closing content session on Friday, October 23rd, followed by a group lunch and event wrap-up, ending at 3:00 pm. Your hotel room is paid through Friday night. See arrival and departure timings below. Ground transfers for arrival and departure will be arranged for you and your guest if traveling together. We will provide more details on arrival planning and instructions for locating your driver as we approach the event.

2. Arrival and Departure Timing:
Our program begins on Sunday night, October 18th, with a group meet-and-greet cocktail event followed by dinner – cocktails begin at 6:00 PM (please note the attire described below). The conference concludes on Friday afternoon, October 23rd, with check-out at noon on the 24th. When making travel plans, please allow for 2½-3 hours between your hotel departure and flight departure. I say this primarily for anyone considering an early departure from PMI. Your airport transfer pickup time will be set by the transfer company based on your itinerary departure time, taking into consideration traffic patterns and peak airport check-in times.

3. Opening Night Attire:
For the welcome cocktail event and dinner, appropriate attire is recommended. Men may opt for a suit, or dress slacks with a jacket (tie is optional). Women typically wear dresses or slacks with a jacket or sweater. Have fun—you’re in Deia, Mallorca, one of Spain’s most exclusive retreats!

4. Hotel Check-in: 

Check-in begins at 3:00 pm. Rooms may be available earlier, but if not, you can check your bags at the front desk and take a walk to the village, explore the grounds, and/or sit poolside with a coffee or a cocktail.

5. Additional Information:
As we get closer to the event, I will provide any pre-reading materials from our facilitator, along with group dinner and group lunch options, and allergy notes. You’ll receive options and a formal request for your group dinner and group lunch choices by September 1st.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Keep the link to this site— it will build on itself, maintaining a one-stop location for you to keep up with requests and expectations.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon, and enjoying a fantastic gathering in Deia, Mallorca at the La Residencia! 

Nos vemos pronto ~ Frank

For this event you will enjoy:

– 6 nights at our hotel, La Residencia, a Belmond Property,

– Breakfast for two each day,

– An opening night meet-and-greet cocktail event and dinner – with participants and paid guests,

– A closing day lunch for participants and paid guests

– Private ground transfers arranged for arrival and departure to the airport (NOTE: the arrival airport is Palma de Mallorca, PMI)

– And of course, our content delivery (3 days of content at approximately 4.5 hours per day),

The daily schedule:

Oct 18 Sunday – Day 1 Arrival day, and cocktails and dinner 

Oct 19 Monday – Day 2 Content session I (8-12:30)

Oct 20 Tuesday – Day 3 Content session II (8-12:30)

Oct 21 Wednesday – Day 4 Open

Oct 22 Thursday – Day 5 Open

Oct 23 Friday – Day 6 Content session III (8-12:30), followed with group lunch 

Oct 24 Saturday – Day 7 Departure

Facilitator: Mr. Ron Kaufman

Notes:

We have discovered that there is an inherent challenge linked to the language used in our 2026 event.  In short, our facilitator relies heavily on terminology that has specific meaning in the credit union space, but will not be used in the same way in our session conversations.

Note 1: The term Service¹ is generally not used in the below “take-aways” section in its traditional CU definition (as we might immediately think of member service, products and services, service delivery, delivery channels, etc).  By traditional definition, “serving on the board” places us in a service role.  In this conversation, “service” is used in connection to the role you have as Directors.

Note 2: You may hear/see the all-encompassing term “customer”² vs. member in our session material and conversations. Sometimes the “customer” being discussed is not in the traditional context of a CU member.  We recognize the difference, but for the sake of this content, where you see/hear “customer” we are referring to everyone we serve¹, not just members.

Note 3: For context and effective blending of the content, we will regularly connect³ who we are and what we do as CU Board members into the primary distinctions of the program.

High level take-aways:

§  Expose Directors to foundational pillars for sustaining exceptional levels of service¹ experience across your board, committees and the organization.

§  Identify and develop effective means of creating and sustaining strategic decision-making excellence.

§  Pinpoint and analyze specific Board-level commitments and their deliverables.  Use a proven model to impeccably deliver on the customer’s² experience.

§  Establish a deeper appreciation of the broad organizational power of developing and integrating a distinct culture of service¹ – starting with the Board.

§  Understand the broad organizational value of the Board adopting clear linguistic distinctions in the domain of delivering on the customer² experience.

§  Identify and examine examples of exceptional, and replicable, experiences connected to fellow Board members, executive staff and external relationships.

Daily Content Connection³

We know that even the best content may fail to achieve its full impact if it’s not delivered in a well-structured and effective manner. To address this, we plan to implement daily segments that explicitly connect the content to board members’ roles. These segments will include facilitated time for small and large group conversations, allowing attendees to discuss how and where the material adds value, and to pinpoint any areas of confusion or disconnect.  We believe this approach will leverage the diverse perspectives of board members to enhance the overall delivery and value of the content.