In 2016 i started a thread entitled Camelot. Today i stopped by the RCSC Exchange meeting and the comments regarding apathy were plentiful. It's long been a popular topic and an often cited lament. The more interesting aspect almost always come down to the ultimate question; who's at fault, and today we heard more of the same; are members to blame or does it fall on the board/general manager? Which brings me full circle to the 2016 article and so i pulled it up to see what i had said a number of years back. It started easily for those following; was Sun City their Camelot? The answers varied, but from my perspective...it always was exactly that for me...it still is to this day. I'll post the link for those interested, but there was a piece of the puzzle i had come across when writing it, which is exactly why i dug it back up. As you read it, you'll see why: "This article by Brent Budowsky entitled JFK's Camelot Was Real is a pretty good read. Here's a summary of what he felt it meant: The magic of Kennedy was not what he promised us, but what he asked from us. A whole generation of Americans of all ages was inspired to careers in public service carrying with them—-as some still do today—-his credo of patriotism through service. This was Camelot—and this was real—unlike so much of politics today which is about image and maneuvering and self-interest and public relations." It was a great summation of what JFK's Camelot was and more importantly what we want our Camelot to be. You can find the thread here.
Ask not what Sun City can do for you -- ask what you can do for Sun City Sounds a bit grandiose, but we have the Prides who practice that M.O. And Schoa has held help your neighbor events to bring homes into compliance with CCRs. And we have RCSC indicating you can be arrested for bad behavior and Director Gray saying apathy is not his problem. My neighbor, a marine said it best when he said it is all about attitude and those marines with a good attitude could even get along with Navy personnel, sometimes. lol. So what is the point? Based on attendance at RCSC governance events and total number of members who vote, over 99% of our members are apathetic and we do not care to understand why and what we can do about it. We are, well apathetic about the situation...
Very well said John. I agree. What was present then was the ability to be recognized and then perform at any number of tasks and feel rewarded for having done so. There was an air of inclusion and everyone felt welcomed. Being valued was the best way to describe the sentiment of those days. Fast forward to now, and in particular the members, and ask, “Do you feel valued? Do you feel appreciated?” Camelot was an era of great value placed on how one felt within the realm. And as well, how the realm treated you. That’s the essence of Camelot, a higher value of living so the inhabitants thrived. As the people living there felt valued just by being there, they in turn, gave more back to their environment and to their standard of living. That’s what made it grand to be in Camelot.
Thanks for the responses. Blame is, was and always will be wasted energy. Most of us fall into that trap, i would argue it's a human response as we view anything that has happened through our own eyes. Heck, we saw it in full bloom yesterday as the discussion at the Exchange resulted in some finger pointing as speakers in front of the audience responded to comments from those out in the audience. It was interesting and frustrating all in one felled swoop. I couldn't help but wonder; would those responses been the same if Sun City had a TORCH program like they do in Sun City West? For the past 15 years, our sister community has been training potential board candidates, club officers and organizations' board members the nuances of a community without a city government. We on the other hand, have elected to do virtually nothing. Let me make it even worse with a quick story that just happened Sunday. I was at the Bell bowling green when three women walked up. It is a standard practice to engage anyone appearing at our greens to take a moment and talk about them and this game most have never seen before. Turns out one of the women just moved here a month ago, the other two were friends visiting. The new arrival had moved into an apartment complex on 99th just north of Bell Road. I'm familiar with it, but haven't been there in years. She had a 1 bedroom and while i didn't ask what she paid for it, i was curious about her monthly condo fees. Her story was chilling; when she was buying it, she was told it would be $400 a month, but by the time she moved in, it had just been raised to $600. That's $72oo a year in just condo association fees. But my real angst came a tad later as i questioned her about what she knew about the community she bought into. Sadly the answer was nothing, virtually nothing. Her real estate agent was apparently focused on one thing, the commission. They/she never pursued options of all of the various attached housing choices that would have been far less expensive. And then the rubber hit the road; "what did she know about the RCSC?" Nothing, other than she knew she paid them around $6000. I promptly told her it was actually $6450. Then i asked what did she get from them? She held up the Feb issue of the Update and showed me one of the facility attendants had just handed her. I didn't bother to ask if she had gone to Lakeview yet and pick up her membership card yet, i was seething at how poorly new or potential buyers are treated by some of the professionals out there selling Sun City. It's long been a lament of mine, sadly it appears it will continue to be. Who's fault is it? Realtors? The RCSC for not caring about anything beyond getting their buy-in fees? All of us living here because we have allowed it to happen and then we don't personally drag new members to meetings? I'm sure you get the point here; if no one is responsible, then no one is held accountable. So why should anyone bother to do it? One of the reasons Sun City West created the Torch Program was to instill in those attending a sense of ownership, pride and education. They graduate close to 100 participants each year and whether they go on to become community leaders or, just meld back into the community and share their knowledge, we know it helps solidify that sense of community. I can only smile as i regularly get blamed for Sun City's shortcomings; which when you think about it is odd, given almost everything i have written and tried to do was wholly different from where we are and what we have done or become. Even with that, Sun City is indeed my Camelot and in spite of the occasional angst from the folly, i live here in a spirit filled with JOY and GRATITUDE.
A long time ago, in a bygone era, a new director suggested putting together a program to educate and involve the members with a program designed to achieve buy in from the attendees, thus, creating an informed membership. The new director researched and visited another community who offered such an educational opportunity. With information gathered and feeling confident a program could be developed and implemented in Sun City, the director went to the power that be, presented the reasons said program would be such a boon for our members. The new director was told such a program is not needed in Sun City, as our structure is different. Tried to question and quantify the answer but the answer was simply it was not going to happen. The tone of the denial was clear it was a dead issue. The director never pursued the idea of such a program again. The time to develop, build, and lead such a program could be minimal if the Torch program could be purchased and duplicated in Sun City. It would need editing due to different Titles related to each community, but most importantly, doable. Or rebuild the program from scratch and make it custom but will take quite a bit of time. Either way there exists a solution, does anyone want to pursue it?
Watched the Exchange Meeting in full. Seems like with every exchange meeting the members are angrier. Everyone talks about "a sense of community". When you have a board that makes people angry by making stupid decisions and not being transparent that's what happens. Not everyone wants to go to a "party" every day. It's not the 60's anymore. Sorry Bill. Moms in the 60's and 70's didn't work as a general rule. Bunco nights were the norm. Kids played together who lived on the same block and the parents got together once in a while. Vacations were with all the family together. As kids got married, we all still lived in a 7 mile radius. Dads worked hard and dinner was on the table at 5 pm. My folks didn't retire until the mid 70's. With boomers usually both partners had to work. I moved here in 2001 and my work days were usually 10 hours long, sometimes weekends too. Then parents start getting sick and we take care of them. By the time most boomers get to retire they are tired. Most have taken orders our whole lives. The last thing I want now is someone getting in my face telling me I have to volunteer in the community I live in or I am a bad person. I am absolutely positive all on here have a "special clique" they interact with. I doubt anyone goes to a random home, knocks on the door and says c'mon. let's go for coffee. It's not the 60's anymore. We have to be aware of our surroundings, neighbors, we have security cameras. Just because we live in a community that was built in 1960 doesn't mean it's still 1960. I heard a couple of people express their displeasure regarding where they bought and plans for that area AFTER signing. What do you think those people will be saying to potential buyers? As a person who has had two horrific experiences with family member deaths and RCSC/SCHOA, and two more (one involving an HOA recommended contractor who was a rapist) wanted by Cali FBI (still have email from Marsha? Marge? re they don't vet) seriously I tell people DO NOT BUY HERE.
Just one person's opinion. Maybe you post too much. Maybe people want to hear another opinion. Maybe you should take a break from social media, you have said you would at least 15 times, and you always return. Maybe there are only 7 people on this site because of you. I know for a fact folks would speak out if you were to just back up. I know for a fact that people stopped going to board meetings because of you. Bill give it up. The conversations were sad. NPD
After reading all this angst, have you put your house on the market like you stated about a week ago or are you continuing your non exclusive relationship with the truth?
No angst here, just my opinion. The angst was running pretty high at the meeting though. I see you are not real estate savvy. It is not a sellers' market, and with close to 600 homes for sale in Sun City not the right time to list, plus lowest home sales in January in forever. Be careful Dave lest you suffer vertigo from the dizzying heights of your moral ground.
I am well versed in real estate and I know the biggest drag on home sales are interest rates. Prior to the pandemic interest rates were so low it was almost like free money, which is why we had so many home sales. Unfortunately I believe flippers were the majority of purchasers. Saw it on my block. So you are saying every time you say you are putting you’re on the market or you are moving is an opinion and not a statement of fact?
