In another thread, we saw J_V posted a comment on starting a Civics club. If you go back in time you will find other threads i've started about a Futurist's club and a Past, Present and Future club (PPF). They are all one in the same, to the degree it would be a concerted effort to help residents get their head around Sun City. To better explain, let's take an objective look at Sun City by starting with this premise: There is nothing like it anywhere in the country, no matter where you came from, Sun City is a wholly different sort of governed community. That's a fairly bold statement, and while i don't want to spend a lot of time debating it, we should at least establish why. Every other community, town or city you came from has a structure of governance that is typically top down (vertical if you will). Sun City was built on a horizontal table with dozens of organizations playing a role in how we function. Obviously the Rec Centers of Sun City (RCSC) is the most visible, but there are countless others making the community work. The RCSC's documents (Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws) were all based on a platform of self-governance. Effectively the community has had an ongoing role in how Sun City has run since near on the day it opened in 1960. So consequently when new buyers move to Sun City, it is understandable how little people know about the community, the organizations and the day to day functions of the Sun City way of life. Typically, if they are retired, they slowly join the clubs and activities that make Sun City special. If they are working, to a lessor degree, they pick and chose the things they can find time to do outside of work. In either case, it all too often ignores trying to understand how Sun City works and why it has been as successful as it has. Therein lies the point of this new club, whatever we would call it. We would become an ongoing work in progress in educating and expanding the knowledge base of the residents as it pertains to the history, the present and the future of Sun City and it's governance. Sun City West has something called the TORCH program that does something similar, we've never been able to get our own version off the ground here. The beauty of this idea is we would take it steps further than what SCW offers. We would begin to open doors that for whatever purpose have been closed. Dating myself, i would call it an "age of enlightenment" to insure the remarkable values that have been built into Sun City would never be lost or forgotten. It's an entirely new approach to an age old problem; it's an opportunity to showcase the community in ways we have been virtually ignoring; it's about building for the future by exploring all the things that made us what we are and have been. I've been remiss about getting this project off the ground; there's lots of work to starting a club, and even more to one as abstract as this. And i'll be honest, i don't want to be the end-all-be-all in this. The only way this works is if it becomes a group/joint effort in ownership. So; here's the question: Are you interested and would you be willing to be a party to something very cool? All we would need is 25 signatures to become recognized as a club, but that's when the work starts. Start up would probably take 10 - 20 hours the first couple of months, but after that, it would be a couple hours per months. Let me know your thoughts here or via the Private Message (PM) function on this site.
Hey Bill- I like the title Sun City PPF Club. The RCSC receives far to much emphasis as the main vehicle to govern Sun City. Many people just pay their annual assessment and think that is all there is to living in Sun City. There would be so many organizations that could give a short talk with information on their valuable PPF duties and contributions. Tell me where to sign up!:victorious:
Shame on you V, choked on my coffee..."make Sun City great again...indeed." Interesting comment, because Sun City, like the United States, is already a great place. The last thing i would ever do is try and promote this club as something we need to save Sun City. After all, I alone cannot do that. So enough with the silly hyperbole, this club would become a tool to grow the circle of folks interested in building a stronger, more sustainable structure of self-governance. It would enhance what we have by adding more people grasping how we function and why we work. I'll stop down Monday and pick up the forms for starting a club from the RCSC. Then i'll schedule a meet and greet for those interested in working on this project. What makes it especially exciting is we have several new residents with incredibly good tech skills so within months of start up, we could use those skills to create a web presence that would allow us to do things currently being ignored or done half-assed. The biggest question is: Would the RCSC embrace this kind of club or tell us to pound salt? We'll find out very quickly eh?
I couldn't resist. Of course Sun City IS great, and it needs to stay that way. Not one single person can keep it that way. "It takes a village." PPF is perfect. A single club that allows members to delve, or specialize, while still giving them the opportunity to comment/share/engage/be part of the discussion in other areas.
