In 2005, I was instrumental in having the Orca named the Washington State Marine Mammal. This was done with the help of a 2nd grade teacher and her students. My one moment of fame!
Well it is a pretty good moment of fame. My experience with the dinosaur pictured is that I'd stopped at a rest stop on I-40, saw this guy and had to drag my dog Gabe to get this close. He wanted NOTHING to do with this guy. Or gal.
Yes, somewhere near Holbrook, although this one was at a rest area, "Hopi" I think, not at one of the more spread out, sort of theme park places.
Wow KLM, resurrecting an oldie but a goodie. The "lawsuit" was a long awaited by-product of a group of members who had been trying to get the RCSC to become more transparent. They had argued the RCSC should fall under the state statutes title 33 (planned communities act) rather than state statutes title 10 (organizations). Title 33 mandates open meetings and financial penalties for failure to comply. Title 10 is more generous in administration and leaves the organizations documents to dictate how they operate. The suit went on for nearly 20 years. Numerous attorneys were involved with most sending the initial letter of complaint and then backing off because the case would have been contingency based. The one that finally took it had just won a generous settlement against a community in Anthem and felt they had a chance. There were roughly 40 members who filed a claim for one reason or another. Ultimately the suit was dismissed (or something akin to that) and the group ended its long standing effort. I never got involved. While i supported some of their ideas, i never agreed with suing ourselves.
My memory recollects the judge was initially inclined to rule the RCSC did fall under T33 -- then the RCSC and our crackpot legislator (Payne) introduced a bill and when it floundered teamed with Gray to pull some pretty shady tactics to get it passed into law exempting the RCSC from T33.
I stayed away from trying to explain the whole convoluted mess IC. I remember all too well when the lawsuit began the Independent newspaper interviewed the public relations person in Sun City West and asked her about the challenges of the community functioning under Title 33 and she said: "I can't imagine living in a community like ours and not wanting to be covered by Title 33." I think our response was; "no comment." What more is there to say?
HI, BP -- I just re-read a post of yours from about four years ago advocating for more educational events/facilities/forums to be available to those interested, and there are many, in Sun City. With the struggles that the Lifelong Learning Club is currently facing, and our history as volunteers, a call on this forum for people to step up and band together to save the club seems a logical extension of your impassioned defense of the City of Volunteers at the recent RCSC Member Board Exchange. LLC needs instructors and interested parties for almost any topic that you might imagine. I even took a class on Downton Abbey! Whatever one's area of interest, even a fandom, can make for a fun "class" discussion. Interested parties abound if there's publicity about a need. I would just hate for this club to fade away.
There is a lot of history at www.annereport.com It is interesting reading. A lot of the issues happening today, were part of Ann Randall's quest and suit.
Clubs by RCSC definition must rely on member manpower/resources to do whatever needs to be done. But my experience is there are a lot of members who don't see clubs as "clubs", they see them as an extension of the RCSC amenities (pools, gym, etc) and expect someone else to do the work paid for by their assessment. I have many friends who are snowbirds -- a number of them are reluctant to get involved. Several actually take the position they pay the full assessment but are only here 25% of the year -- so they consider the other 75% their "volunteerism"! How they equate that to assisting their club is beyond me, but they do. The SC adverting literature basically says "look at all the things we've got to offer" --- AFAIK it doesn't mention amenities are free and most clubs have dues and volunteer requirements (nor do the clubs always make that clear in the material they make public, either). When was the last time you felt one or more current board members actually had a decent grasp of the mission, workings and issues of the club(s) you belong to? Or the GM, for that matter. You might say the details are below their pay grade -- my 30-years of management experience says that is wrong thinking. Upper management needs to understand what they're managing and know whats going on. The RCSC board should care why the LLC can't get volunteers for their board and has difficulty finding lecturers. Clubs have unique circumstances that don't always mesh well with RCSC thinking/BP12. We club members think that's an RCSC problem -- if the RCSC only felt the same, imagine what could be!
Couldn't agree more IC. One of the most frustrating aspects of serving on the board was the disconnect between the relationship that should exist between the clubs, management, the membership and the board. I've written it a thousand times, maybe more, building a sense of community was not an accident, it was how John Meeker saw Sun City's survival after DEVCO left. He understood that and worked tirelessly to achieve that end. And to be clear, that was why our documents were written the way they were, to insure there was a shared relationship/responsibility between all the parties. I've also written more times than i care to admit, the move away from a sense of community and a move to just buy here and have fun wasn't accidental either. The gm quickly came to understand when those living here saw themselves as owners and integral pieces of the governance puzzle, her job would become much more difficult. Dumping committees, rewriting by-laws and changing the identity of the community were all part and parcel of allowing decisions to be made without interference from those living here. Not to be unkind, but only a fool thinks they alone can change/fix what is wrong. Unfortunately returning to our roots won't be easy or be accomplished quickly.
