Lots of interest in the coming RCSC elections this year. We'll see what that translates into actual votes but i doubt we will see 2000 distinct votes cast when all is said and done. Unfortunately people don't care and don't pay much attention. I would argue we got here on purpose, but does it really matter? Oddly as i was digging through some files i came across the 4 page newsletter i had printed when i ran for the RCSC board. Somewhere on this site (i can't find it), i posted it. The funny thing was there were only 3 candidates for the 3 open spaces. I had it made just about 10 years and two months ago. It was called "Sun City Community News." I know, nothing very catchy, but the points were basic and simple, albeit long. Here's a summary of the headers on the 4 pages: Page 1). Election date looms...why bother to vote? Page 2). History matters in Sun City... Page 3). Sun City...AD(After DEVCO). Page 4). Can we make it better? When i finished my 3 year term, i wrote several pieces on TOSC. One was "Free At Last, Thank God Almighty, Free At Last." So we are clear, i started with my apologies to MLK for stealing his lines for such a trivial subject (escaping the RCSC board), but it was how i felt after 3 very long and frustrating years. In the article i freely admitted i was an abysmal failure. When i post page 4, you will see why. Enough for now. Stay tuned if you are at all interested.
I understand FYI, but i always have expectations of myself; i'm often disappointed. I felt i had spent 3 years treading water. As i look back 10 years later on what i wrote it becomes abundantly clear we have gone further down the road of just becoming another age restricted community, albeit cheaper. The unique characteristics Sun City was built around fade further away from us each passing day. So, to help elaborate, here is what i wrote on page 4: Can we make it better? Let's start with a very simple premise: Sun City is already a great place to live. We have the most amenities at the lowest cost. We are constantly upgrading our facilities and golf courses so as not to become dated and tired.We have a remarkable history and potentially a great future. With that said, there has been a drift in the past years by the RCSC to a more corporate minded mentality. Society is changing and those changes loom large in what happens in Sun City. As people work later in life and as defined benefit plans fade away, we find our very infrastructure threatened. Some organizations and people feel they are unable to "stop the inevitable." I've always looked at is managing change. To do that, we need to be more proactive. Here is a short list of agenda items i will bring before the board in the coming years. 1). More effective open communication. 2). Total transparency to the residents. 3). Marketing Sun City along the lines of Meeker's remarkable successes. 4). Reducing the quorum and once again having quarterly membership meetings. 5). Strengthen our position on the internet for a more viable presence. 6). Enhancing the RCSC's role in bringing people and organizations together. There's more, but simple changes like these can go a long way in building a better Sun City. We know from our history that our greatest growth came when there was a strong sense of community. We know even in the most trying times, when people worked together for the good of the community we were better off. Most importantly, we know Sun City was, is and always will be at its best when it's the collective WE, not me, i or them running it. Added on the page was this boxed comment: "If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed." Chinese Proverb. 10 plus years later i look back at what we have become and it all makes me melancholy and saddened by how little we were willing to understand the basic foundations Sun City was founded under and why we were so successful.
I'm optimistic that the Membership Exchanges will be reinstituted and by this current board. They will be looking for some sort of "win" with the General Membership after the grand fiasco they went thru and all the criticism coming from the Members regarding transparency. They're gonna want to be the ones who can boast, "We brought the Membership Exchanges back"! Now, that has nothing to do with the Members actually receiving the type of transparency they desire, but it will be a good show for the board! Hopefully, we will have elected new board members who are more willing to work with us Members and will actually take serious consideration on amending the bylaws to give us Members actual representation instead of locking us out of everything we want to accomplish with overburdensome bylaws and rules that are practically impossible to get done!?!? I think we might have a good chance of doing that. I would "assume" those who think more like us are Steve Collins, Karen McAdams, and John Nowakowski which is a fairly solid 3 votes. We would only need 2 more for a majority vote and I think some of the others who I failed to mention might be swayed? The best part is that those like Hoffer, Schroeder, will be gone!
