In April 2006, Harry Bodaan, owner of the La Mansion inn, established the Manual Antonio Task Force. Core members of the Task Force are: the Mayor, President of the City Council, SCI Chairperson Quepos & Manuel Antonio, SCI President Fort Lauderdale, Chief of OIJ, Chief of Police, Chief of the Fire Department, Director of the Red Cross, President and Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce, President and Vice-President of Grupo Manuel Antonio and ranking officials of the Immigration Department, MINAE, Coast Guard and PANI (Children's Welfare issues). Task force members and invited guest meet periodically on priority problems facing the community.

Relative to SCI, Harry Bodaan has been instrumental in formation of the Quepos Special Task Force (the government liaison committee), as well as the creation of more than a dozen different volunteer committees, whose responsibilities range from Education and Water Rescue to Arts and Cultural that are tasked with a variety of duties. Everyone is working towards integrating all volunteer efforts into a solid operational program for Quepos and Fort Lauderdale to be an officially recognized pairing in the Sister Cities International organization.

Once and a while we "stumble" over situations that "just can't wait". Two such recent situations include a single mother who would take her three small children by the hand to rummage through the neighbors trash every day to look for food.

She never had a job. Rather than giving her a handout, we gave her a job at La Mansion where we trained her and where she is now gainfully and proudly employed.

Another situation includes a young man, whose mother had passed away, leaving him to raise his two small brothers and a small sister. When we met him, he was earning a little over $100 a month selling small bags of Clorox and small bags of detergents door to door. We took him of the street and put him in a training program. He now makes more than five times what he was making before.
The La Mansion Inn also serves as a continuous training ground for students from local schools studying the Hospitality Industry.

For years the La Mansion Inn has supported the local veterinarian with a spaying and neutering program for cats and dogs on an ongoing basis. The La Mansion Inn also had collection boxes built that have been placed in various hotels to help others raise funds for the street animals. To date the La Mansion Inn has donated thousands of dollars to this project.

Harry Bodaan is working closely and on an ongoing basis with SCI Fort Lauderdale in raising funds and logistical support for our law and safety departments. In Costa Rica, the police departments in rural areas are notoriously under-equipped and understaffed. It is part of the Mission Statement of the La Mansion Inn to support the local law enforcement agencies and seek continuous financial support from San Jose and others. To date we have raised substantial funds in order for us to buy equipment for the various departments and to assist the local police departments financially in order for them to do their jobs especially as related to local youth and tourists.

The La Mansion Inn has supported various senior citizens organizations through the donation of clothes, used furniture, china and obsolete linens. It will continue to do so on ongoing basis.

Harry Bodaan moved permanently to Costa Rica in 1994 after having lived and worked in Moscow, Russia as co-founder and president of the first independent, non-profit and non-governmental press center in Russia (IPCC?M).
Previously, he served for more than 10 years as General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the National Press Club in Washington D.C. In these capacities he has personally hosted hundreds of world leaders and top politicians, celebrities, business icons and industry leaders including Costa Rica's current president Dr. Oscar Arias.