CMP Global: Never Make Friends With Your Lunch
Nineteen years ago, I was inspired to begin doing humanitarian work in Africa by an episode of Oprah. In this particular highlighted episode, she hinted at her vision to bring leadership training to talented and gifted young African women who needed mentoring and education to empower them to a better life.
As a result of that episode, I felt challenged to explore what was possible if people work together to bring change and sustainable growth to those who need the doors of opportunity opened. I started on a journey that would take me around the world and that would ultimately lead me to commit my adult life to working in Africa.
In March of 2012, I was leading a team of medical workers in Western Kenya. We were hosting a free medical clinic and had announced it to the entire village. Our team began preparing for the opening of the clinic so we could see patients, and we arrived at the location to find that more than 500 people had been in line for hours waiting to be seen by the volunteer doctors and nurses.
We worked diligently to see as many as we could, and over the next three days we saw most of them. On the final day, I had created the idea to have a "Celebration of Life Dinner" to honor the hard work of our teams and local volunteers. We were planning on 125 people to join us for dinner. Being the resourceful CMP that I endeavor to be, I rented chairs and tables from a local business. I hired a catering company to bring the veggies and ugali (an African dish of maize flour). I hired a local butcher to provide meat for the festivities. Everything was set.
On the day of the celebration, our medical teams were wrapping up their work and I was busy preparing for the luncheon meeting. I 
remember arriving early that morning to find a grown cow tied to one of the posts near our clinic. A colleague of mine and I went over and noticed how calm and pet-like this cow was. My colleague lovingly named the cow "Federicko" (what can I say she loves animals).
I went about my business of decorating the outdoor area, ensuring the rented tent was up and appropriately supported. I checked in with my key players to ensure everything was on time and expectations were met before the final day of clinic began. It wasn’t until I looked up to see Federicko being led down a hill that I realized that our dinner meat was going to be fresh. It was going to be very fresh. Federicko was to be the guest of honor.
I was not sure how I felt about eating something that we had just named. We did not realize when we arrived that Federicko was our lunch.
The clinic wrapped up and the dinner went off without a hitch. That is, except for the fact that I did not eat. I could not bring myself to eat the cow that I had befriended earlier. Federicko taught me a valuable lesson as a meeting planner that day.
There are times in life when we need to realize it is not healthy to hold things close. It takes wisdom to know when to keep things at arms length and maintain emotional and professional distance.
Darren Tipton, CMP, is the founder and CEO of Project Humanity and an avid supporter of the meetings industry.
Events Industry Council