Kudos to all those that turned out for today's annual membership meeting. When i drove in about 8:45 and saw the nearly full parking lot i was excited. Walking inside i wasn't disappointed in the least and said to a friend, what do you think? 525? He thought something less than 500. Turns out there was 530 plus another 30 or so proxies bringing us in at 560 something. Impressive indeed. The bad news is when the board president asked the secretary if we had met the quorum requirements, we just missed. We only needed another 700 members in the room and we could have had our annual membership meeting. One speaker got up and said the quorum should reflect what would normally be expected. He was a relative newcomer to Sun City and apparently hadn't gotten the memo that states the RCSC really doesn't want a quorum or for members to actually have a voice. An interesting footnote to this fiasco is last year a motion was made from the floor to set the quorum at 500. I know because i made it. No surprise, the number was based on what i knew from a historical perspective. A lot more thoughts to share, stay tuned.
Bill absolutely wins a cupie doll for that 525 guess. I know a lot of people were discouraged. Not me. 500 people when we didn't even have a specific issue to push is incredible. I firmly believe apathy was/is our greatest enemy. Power was grabbed (by former GM and past Boards) because no one showed up. People showed up today. I know we lose a few to the "why bother" monster - but for the rest of us: show up at Member/Board Exchange, show up at Board and Committee meetings and show up at the polls. Don't forget these simple and unchangeable facts: its the General Membership that votes in Board Members and it's the General Membership that has final say in every word in Bylaws Document.
We do indeed vote in the board members Jeb; as far as the bylaws, it will be up to the board to pass, the members will have no voice; even though the Articles of Incorporation tell us this: The Bylaws may be amended, modified, revised, or revoked by the Directors or by the Members. In the event of conflict concerning the Bylaws as amended, modified, revised, or revoked by the Directors, the action of the Members shall prevail. Yikes...THE ACTION OF THE MEMBERS SHALL PREVAIL. Somebody explain to me how the bylaws work again. Thanks, asking for a friend.
Well, maybe it's time the Member's step-up to the plate and defend their rights of membership? I don't know about you but I want to live in a co-governing Community...not a Commune where somebody else is telling me what to do or how to do it! I'm not drinking the Jim Jones Kool-Aid that the Board and Management are dishing out. The only thing we ever get out of them are excuses and facial expressions! Ask yourself how and when did you find out that the general manager was proposing the increase in the annual assessment? Don't you think you should have known long before the proposed budget was presented to the Board? And if the Board simply approved the budget without anyone commenting on the increase it would have simply been approved and you wouldn't have learned about it until it was a done-deal! I really believe it's time the Community, as a whole, gets organized and start pushing back until we start receiving the respect we deserve. I've been coming to Sun City since the 1970's so just because I've only been a permanent residents for six years, it's not like I don't remember how it use to be. I would encourage people who read this blog to get together with their friends and neighbors and sign-up for the Sun City Advocates and express your feelings. If you agree, and if enough Members show enough interest it just might be time to organize a Community Affairs Committee/Club and not necessarily affiliated with the RCSC. As a side note, does anyone find it interesting that out of all the things we pay for there's not even a Community Room type of space where we could meet without first getting the blessing from the RCSC? Did you know that we can't even gather in the breezeway at Sun Dial with more than 10 people without first getting permission from the RCSC!!!! Is this the type of community YOU want to be living in? Sure, the Rec Centers are private property but they're OUR private property. We paid/pay for them and no outsider from Glendale, Surprise, Peoria or any other place can use them! If you want to see things begin to change then you have to vote the right people onto the Board. I'm voting for Steve Collins who is one of the few current Directors that always goes out to greet the Members and fights for the Members. I'm voting for John Fast because of his professional career and 35+ years in corporate finance and wants to restore trust between the board and the members and hold management accountable for prudent use of our funds. I'm also voting for Jean Totten. Jean was once affiliated with the Sun City Advocates. Some people hold that against her but I don't understand why. The only thing the Advocates promote is Education, Communication, and Participation and if you find something wrong with those goals then you're the one with the problem! Bottom Line: We, the Members, can't continue being ignored and kept in the dark. Things have to change, and with the next Annual Membership meeting coming up in March, there's not much time to delay! Just one man's opinion! Tom Marone http://suncityadvocates.com/
VIDEO IS UP: 2022 Annual RCSC Membership Meeting - Tuesday, November 1, 2022. 1:51.21 RCSC Board of Directors President Dale Lehrer, General Manager Bill Cook, and the entire Board of Directors took the time and addressed Sun City AZ Member/owners. About 600 attended the Annual RCSC Membership Meeting on November 1, 2022 in the Sundial Auditorium. VIDEO: RCSC does not share the videos, tap “Watch on YouTube” in the black box to watch:
