The Golfer
Jim Mayrides
I recall serving with Team Kronfol until September 1984. In fact, I was then appointed Deputy Regional Director in Nairobi until 1987, when I abolished my post with the restructuring process.
My biggest surprise was in the late summer of 1984 upon return from another one of my extended travels to the region. I walked down the 6th floor at 866 UN PLAZA, the ALCOA Building, and found that our offices had been reassembled into the famous open space concept. Quite a change, because I had no clue or even advance warning, but I recall that we all adjusted to the novel approach.
In a sense, it became more difficult to work quietly with phones ringing and passers-by stopping to greet us as a group and others simply curious about what was going on. It seemed that as long as we were in the open space, other colleagues felt free to come and speak with us since there were no doors to close for privacy. Phone contacts with the regions were finally relocated to a small nook nearby, so that we all could speak with field offices without disrupting everyone due to the need for yelling with our counterparts on the continent.
I was somewhat put out because my set of plants and wall decorations were now the purview of everyone. At least they managed to spruce up our newly arranged space. However, my time in NYHQ ended and in early fall of 1984, I transferred to the Nairobi Regional Office .
The transfer solidified my relationship with the Africa Section and I found wonderful support from Team Kronfol during their visits to ESARO. I worked very well with Regional Director Mary Racelis those next three years and with our team of competent and dynamic Country Representatives. I very much enjoyed those years in Nairobi and my travels to support the offices and to be responsible for the Regional Office during travel absences of Mary.
One year Mary was away and she asked me to coordinate the regional report to the Board. I gathered our staff and in consultation with the Representatives, we put together a report which included many of the region's "warts". Fouad and his team at HQ processed it and it was finalized, printed and distributed. Because of circumstances beyond our control, the Regional Director had not been consulted on its content. When she arrived at HQ, Karl-Eric Knutsson had some discussions with her about the warts. My phone rang late one night and they expressed their concerns that it would create problems at the Board session. Of course, it was too late to change the report. I defended our position and indicated that my team and I were betting that the Board would appreciate some ideas not usually expressed in our reporting. I also suspect that - tongue in cheek - Fouad had processed it unconcerned about any ramifications. As usual, Mary presented it with much elan and I later heard that the Board members had risen enmasse and applauded her presentation of the report, stating in their commentary that "it was one of the best and most realistic reports they had seen". Thankfully, I was off the hook.
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