Is it legal to exclude snowbirds from being directors

John,
I apologize if I appeared angry with your comments. I can assure you, this was not the case. I have o anger or animosity towards you for anything written on TOSC.
I was merely taking a different tack on the situation. I did take offense to your assertion that snowbirds are better equipped to govern because of their affluence. This one leaves me a little disappointed that this is the reason they should govern the RCSC. Not because of their attributes or their ability to manage or their business acumen, but because of their perceived superiority in their ability to amass money. Hmmm

 

A great example is the success of “Hot Fun Outta the Sun,” events and concert summer series!

RCSC staff heard year round members ask for summer activities and delivered!!
Season Flyer: https://suncityaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Sundial-Summer-2025.pdf
Page 1 EVENTS Page 2 CONCERTS

 

I am most pleased to see the offering of summer activities. This is a fantastic additional opportunity to encourage attendance at events designed for the members. Great job RCSC staff

 

For avoidance of doubt, I never intended to exclude anyone from volunteering for the Board. My observation was that folks that use the facilities may have more intimate knowledge of the condition and workings of the facilities. On the flip side of that coin is my experience that board members may come with specific agendas or biases.

 

John,
Those coming with or create an agenda while in office is an unavoidable threat of a volunteer board. Frankly, I have no idea how one stops agendas from being an active issue. I, for one, would have a very strong agenda being driven by the desire to change the status quo in several fronts. Which is why I won’t be running for the one year opening.
Knowing the learning curve of becoming a board member and matching the timeline to an absent director is not conducive to a successful leadership program to maintain a corporation that needs full time support.

 

Yes, but staff should work toward the LRPC's goals. The committee sets the goal and the staff works to achieve it. The responsibility for achieving it would not rest on the committee's shoulders but they would monitor it annually.

 

We are on the same page here.

I guess specific targets could be set but the real issue is the lack of ownership from the GM and staff. Mission-vision-values, ASU study results, Townhalls, Exchanges all have produced clear wants and needs that are rarely seized upon or explored.

Case in point - ASU results and usage numbers point to fitness priorities of the members. What has come from Management in this area in the last 3 years? LRP delivered summaries, initiatives and very specific recommendations that go nowhere because Management has no priorities and goals for this area. (Or none that are communicated)

Fitness is just one area lacking among many. I am looking for a new style of Center management. Thought leadership, planning, implementation and execution from management has been sorely missing so the members, committees and board are all struggling to fill in all the gaps.

 

Well said Cheri but it goes even deeper than that. We developed a culture over the years where the GM pays little attention to the board while in turn, the board pays little attention to the committees. It was a vicious cycle that kept swirling downward starting in 2006. I often think about the board's actions to hire a GM and give him/her more authority along with a much higher salary.

It took a three year time frame, but once the entirety of the board had churned, the power grab started. It was made easier based on the idea that we were paying the GM more so they must be smarter than everyone else in the room. For that to work, it meant committee's voices needed to be neutered as well. It took years, but the culture of a community-driven, community-based setting had been dismantled and virtually everything that happened was window dressing where everything was decided within. Hell, we got to a point where the GM and the board officers were the bottom line.

Scrounging our way back has proven to be a daunting task. Letting go is always terrifying for those who think they have to have every answer/provide every solution. It doesn't matter if it's the general manager or the board, the idea Sun City is a way bigger picture than that small cadre of people is overwhelming for those who get elected and then think they have to fix everything.

They can't and they won't. No disrespect to those sitting on the dais, or wearing the crown of the GM, history tells us, or at least it has for the few who choose to pay attention...the answers can be found in the community. As Cheri so artfully pointed out, the surveys, the town halls and the committees have always been invaluable. The problems started when we stopped paying attention, stopped listening.

This isn't rocket science gang, it's common sense along with the footnote found in our history. Building a sense of community was never about empowering management or even the board...it was about empowering the membership.

 

Amazing observation and probably the best example of how "regular folks" who live in SC are ignored. Please explain how a person who only golfs or uses the pool has a better knowledge of "the workings of the facilities"

"By your definition a person who does not participate in the activities of the recreation centers/community is less cognitively able to govern due to lack of understanding/interest? What about the former PhD who taught college and won several big cases against towns regarding the disabilities act who is in a wheelchair. Or the business owner who may have lost a limb. Or just in general a competent person who understands life, wants, needs. Maybe a person who does not use the facilities would be better suited to sit on the board and make decisions without prejudice?"

Josie P, Wednesday at 12:35 PM

 

John,
My apologies for sounding rude or glib in my commentary. I forget sometimes how things translate to print