Last night I was honored to emcee the awards presentation for the 2013 Vallarta Cup racing series. The Vallarta Cup is one of VYC's oldest yacht racing traditions, second only to Banderas Bay Regatta. Now in it's seventh year, the Vallarta Cup has always been a great way to show folks the wonderful sailing destination that is Banderas Bay.

This year, Rear Commodore Randy Hough's vision was to not only provide great sail racing every weekend in January, but also to have a great party at the club after each event. Everyone would be invited - racers and non-racers alike.

Randy turned to the ever-creative Ricki Williams - one of the best party planners I have ever seen. From Cheeseburgers in Paradise to Saturday Sliders, Ricki and her team put on some amazing parties. You could see the success in the smiles from the people who attended each Saturday night. Who would've thought I could be convinced to wear a hula skirt?

As I write this, I'm sitting aboard Randy Hough's "Yemaya" in the marina in Cabo San Lucas. We came up overnight a couple of days ago to meet up with the Baja Haha fleet, and to escort those who want to go with us back down to Banderas Bay. I'd like to thank Randy for his dedication to the cause - it's not cheap to take a powerboat on a 600 mile round trip just to help out some cruising folks, but Randy is willing to do it, and pay for the fuel, just to help out the cruisers. It's that sort of selfless dedication that continues to give me faith in people.

Randy and I got a chance to stand in front of the Haha folks last night at the awards party and tell them what I great club VYC is, and encourage them to come to beautful Banderas Bay. We reminded them that we are an independant club founded by cruisers, and we continue to support cruisers.

Every day, I'm reminded just how awesome our members are. As this particular example includes my wife Liz, I might be accused of being a little biased. Yep, I guess I'm guilty as charged.

When we think about the organization that we are part of, what is the first thing that comes to our minds? The organization? The people in the organization? What we do? The building?

At the end of the day, clubs are about people. Making money is only important in terms of ensuring that the organization remains financially capable enough to ensure that we can put a roof over our collective heads, pay the people who work for us, and do the things that we can only do as a club, not individually.

Many of us enjoy the idea that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We like the idea that when we tell someone we are a member of the Vallarta Yacht Club, there is a smile of recognition, and perhaps even a little envy. We also enjoy the idea that we have a place “where everybody knows your name”. People rarely join clubs to be anonymous, that's just not the point!