MAKE SAN JUAN THE PLACE FOR YOUR NEXT MEETING
Sometimes you just have to see for yourself. For the past year, like many of you, I have formulated my own
personal canvas sketch of what Puerto Rico as a whole must look like in the wake of a devastating Hurricane Maria that – pick your verb – demolished, hammered, battered – the beautiful island last September 20. I must admit that a lot of my visual imagery was taken from media accounts and stories, the ones that tell us that such-and-such a per- centage of Puerto Rico is without electricity, etc. Over the course of this same past year, I have also been on the re- ceiving end of press releases distributed by AEG Facilities, the man- agement giant that oversees the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan. Those releases shared of a facility that was not only open but was doing some great things in terms of numbers of meetings, facility upgrades, community outreach, and more. The year 2018 has, for me at least, been a fast one, and the month
of September practically arrived without warning. Fortunately, there was some time to both look at our magazine’s editorial schedule as well as to take into account those releases distributed by AEG Facil- ities to give the clearest assignment yet – see for myself just how the convention center, San Juan, and its outstanding general manager, Jorge Perez, are faring as September 20, 2018 approaches. Ever the gracious host, Jorge met me at the airport upon my ar-
rival to take me to my hotel before meeting him minutes later across the street at his beautiful facility for a thorough tour, then we settled
from the airport to the hotel was one where my head was on a swiv- el, stealing glances to the left and to the right to soak it all in. Jorge pointed out a number of highlights as he drove and shared some statistics of which I was not aware, such as that some 30 percent of hotels in San Juan remain closed or partially open due to renovating or rebuilding. Before there was any opportunity to see this as a negative, Jorge pointed out that, as these properties reopen, they will be more beau- tiful and better than ever. He even used the phrase of a “silver lining” that came out of the most disastrous hurricane to ever strike Puerto Rico.
One building caught my eye, as it held a gargantuan banner hang-
the word FUERZA, which Jorge would translate for me to mean strength. From tragedies of various types that have occurred in re- cent years, including terrorist attacks to other devastating hurricanes that spawned such phrases as BOSTON STRONG, HOUSTON STRONG, ORLANDO STRONG, LAS VEGAS STRONG, etc., it was easy to understand that Puerto Rico had its own similar saying
By R.V. Baugus 4 Facility Manager Magazine
for just how the city prepared to deal with its own catastrophe. Jorge talked at length about how so many had come to aid Puerto
- tually to help rebuild this beautiful oasis of an island. We continued our drive, and I posed the question about the best way to help the recovery. Without missing a beat, Jorge answered, “Bring us business. We are here. We are open.” That same evening, my host drove me to Old San Juan, to see the centuries-old Spanish forts, some lined with the majestic Atlantic Ocean in the background. We drove the narrow one-lane streets of cobblestone and saw restaurants and businesses open and welcoming guests. description of its beauty, the Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico (pic- tured), which dates back to 1917 and at one time actually contained a casino, but is now used for private functions. I shared with Jorge that evening how some members from my
church, just three weeks before, had taken a mission trip to Areci- bo, a community located about one hour west of San Juan. Jorge planned to take me there the next day before I left on this turn- around trip, but we did not have the time to do so. There, we would have seen a part of Puerto Rico still needing help to recover almost one year later. Not all of Puerto Rico is obviously open for business the more one
leaves San Juan proper. For its part, though, San Juan is bustling and awaiting a new entertainment district across from the convention center that should boost the local economy. I promised Jorge I would do my part and so here goes: Take your
next meeting, conference, or trade show to the San Juan Convention Center. Trust me, you will want to come back, just as I already do.
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