Understanding Sun City...

Who would the stakeholders be in creating a training program? Who would be the leaders in keeping the program and materials relevant for development and delivery be? How could a new course be delivered in a way that keeps it engaging and informative while keeping it salient for various learning styles? How long should this type of learning opportunity be?
Starting point ideas, just a few ideas to start with.

 

Bill,
You posted “Sun City is still one of the best options for retirees of modest incomes or those still working of average means to select as their destination of choice. Whether in retirement or still on the job, our community has something for everyone and at affordable costs”
May I ask what it is that this community has to offer these days? I don’t include clubs, as not everyone is a club person and are not inclined to want to join. So, let’s say you don’t play golf, there are no clubs of interest, what else is there to do? What does the average resident get in return for their $600 a year? I am truly not trying to be rude or impudent, just curious as what does the community offer, in general, to its members? I am truly interested in knowing what else may be available to me as a member.

 

Are you finally starting to realize what I have been saying for 1 year is true Carole? or is this a joke? I just spent an hour sending posts from here to owners.

My response to Linda yesterday:

I have a question. Sun Health and Sun Health Foundation were both non-profits, however the people who ran it were employees getting paid a very handsome salary. All C-Suite employees belonged to many professional organizations; Rotary is one that comes to mind. The difference was this was their job. They got paid to go the extra mile, work the extra hours.
People who come here to live are either fully retired having worked hard all their lives, or still working part time so they could donate a little time or people who are still working full time. Many in their mid 70's are still working. Then snowbirds are not allowed to serve on the BOD.

My question is how can you expect people in these 3 categories of life to do all you want them to do for nothing and still have time to enjoy whatever time they have left on this earth? As Tom M has said several times the BOD should not have to sit in on committee meetings. That's what the committee chairs are for, to report to the board.

This is a residential community. RCSC may be a business but that doesn't mean people who move here want to "work" anymore, especially with no pay. People are not wired that way. All our lives we work hard to "retire". There are some that thrive on continuing to work, some that want to give to the community, some that like the power of being on a board, who knows what the reasons are, but I would like to see some stats of how many of our residents want to be on the BOD.

IMO you are expecting too much from too little people, and just like any "job" that causes burnout, tension, health issues and on.

Just my 2 cents.

Ready----Aim----FIRE!

You all are killing any desire for anyone to want to "volunteer as a board member".

 

Fair question SCG, and one i would expect you to know the answer to without asking. Here's why, the minute you reduce Sun City down to the choice of "what does the RCSC offer in return for the yearly lot assessment, you've become trapped in the mindset all Sun City is, is the RCSC. Small picture Sun City thinks that way, i've long held we are the sum total of our parts; rather than big picture Sun City. I know you know this. '

You've spent some time looking through other age restricted communities, throw out the clubs and the golf, what's left in those? Most of them are single entity governance with no need for all of the support organizations we have here. Sun City West was built around the same platform, so they have many of these organizations. Short listing them: SCHOA, POSSE, PRIDE, SCAN, Olive Branch Senior Center, Sun City Foundation, Del Webb Sun Cities Museum, two public libraries in our centers, plus there are several local service organizations. There's more when you add 31 churches and all they do.

But alas, treating 125 clubs as a throw away is petty shortsighted. The gamut of club activities is nearly endless and if something you want doesn't exist, get 25 friends wanting the same new type of club and feel free to start it. Golf is huge and a major draw. And to be fair, there were several community events (game shows and magic acts for example) this summer at the Sun Dial auditorium that were hits, their mistake was woeful promotion before and after. The Christmas party one weekend followed by the golf car parade the next were also big events with too small an exposure.

Now start comparing those other senior community options and place the price tag alongside what they offer. We know from our history, the explosive growth was fueled as much by the play time as it was by the volunteer time. The "new active way of life" was about being in the game and those options to stay engaged and involved were endless within the RCSC and across the spectrum of community driven organizations. They still are.

Can the RCSC do better? Yup, Last year was a monster year for starting the long slow trudge of repairs, updating and upgrading our amenities and our technology. Matthew talks about some sort of "process specialist." No idea how or what that entails, i do know from a PR standpoint and the boards relationship with many in the community, they need do better, way better. It was brutal from building that sense of community.

To your point, DEVCO created an array of yearly events that were massively popular. They started with Western Days in the 60's and added the water melon wingding, the grape picking festival, Mother's day strawberry short cake celebration, Father's day root beer float party, regular anniversary celebrations/dances, the Easter morning all church gathering, the amassing of the colors. All were huge and all focused on bringing the community together. That was one of the ways/tools they used to sell homes.

It's exactly why that amazing tract of land at the Sun Bowl need be better utilized. It is the one area we can put a bunch of people (7000) in one spot with parking and won't have to be worrying about too big of a draw. You remember we used to do two rec center open houses per year, those use to draw non-users of a center to them to see what was available. No idea why they stopped, the point being there are always ways to enhance and shine a light on what we have here.

Are bus tours the solution? I do remember them and i know they were a lot of work for a small return on investment (regarding the number of end users). I also recall an issue or two where the tour operator screwed up and the members were angry with the RCSC for the operators mistake. Doesn't mean it won't work, i would just be mindful of the return on investment for the effort needed.

There's a photo hanging in my office from one of the many 50th anniversary events we held. The banner behind me said this: "An Extraordinary Past, A Brilliant Future." That was in 2010, before we drifted and became so general manager driven. We were on the board and watched it happen, often voting against the grain, knowing it would just be a 7 for, 2 against vote. That's life in the minority.

Had we bought the Lakes Club, this community we would be 100% different from where we are today. We didn't and so we strayed down the path of what a small cadre of folks saw as the answer. Now we are fighting and clawing our way back; slowly.

For my money, i'll take Sun City every time.

 

Thank you so much for the review, I always appreciate your support and feedback.
I remove the clubs from the mix primarily because I personally have not found a club that I have a desire to explore. At one time, we explored options for interactive video that could be used as a teaching tool for classes and demonstrations. Perhaps it was me, hoping to find a way to make it happen here. Alas, another option missed. Or I remember at least one time, of broaching the subject of authors or writers presenting their work in small groups of attendees. We see how far that went.
I guess I see so many opportunities for bringing so much more to the community over the years and none are available as of yet. It was so disappointing and difficult to get anything really accomplished during my (our) tenure on the board. The focus was driven by the GM and working around anything she didn’t want was impossible to achieve.
So, I am not dismissing the value of clubs as a whole, just not for me personally. I also think clubs are not a big part of the general populations focus either. Joining and participating in a club may be more of a different generation thing. Most people today, as I read various reports, are more interested in singular activities that may include others occasionally. No, I am not dismissing the value of club activities, just not many people join them in the numbers seen in the past.
I live here and do not remember hearing or seeing anything about the other opportunities for entertainment. I was not connected to the social media platform then, so to have missed the chance to attend events as described is disheartening.
Sun City and DEVCO put together a fantastic plan to help create a community for all of the residents to enjoy. These benefits, I feel, need a breath of fresh air to introduce new ways to enjoy the amenities and update the possible experiences offered. And perhaps revisit those lost. I never said the bus trips were a moneymaking venture, but they were fun and usually well attended. If a significant amount of money can be spent on supporting clubs, why can’t money be offered to support classes or travel? Never mind, thinking out loud about what we had at one time, and opportunities lost. The chance of getting any of these things back is nonexistent. I think calling the area “fun” city can also go by the wayside, as so much of the fun has been removed.

 

Speaking of the Sunbowl, how hard would it be to put together a dinner for purchase at the Sunbowl? Example: A Mexican food fiesta featuring tamales and enchiladas with rice, beans and a beverage for a modest price? No particular reason except for the enjoyment of the food and having a nice meal with a few hundred friends? Or perhaps barbecue or a fish fry? Include some entertainment for a few hours and there is a making of a good time for all. I am thinking about 300 total to see how well it’s received? I am not nor have I ever been an event planner, but there’s got to be someone with the knowledge of who to contact to bring something like this together. Another suggestion for community involvement and using the Sunbowl to make it happen. I would love to attend such a gathering and would pay a fair price for a meal and entertainment. I feel others would too.

 

Are you talking hiring a professional caterer or make a dish pot luck?

 

Not hard, just a lot of work and of course the biggest fear factor with outside events is the weather. We have seen the past success of the Taste of Italy or whatever they called it at the Sundial auditorium. Themed dinners are popular especially if the vendor has a good/great reputation and the entertainment coincides with the theme of the meal.

Wisconsin days has been held at the Sun Bowl for years and it always a good crowd, had a great time and was reasonably priced. The massive car show in the spring is huge and it would be awesome if the bowl itself was utilized with a coordinated event. The challenge of course is there are roughly 250 vintage vehicles so parking is at a premium.

My bigger concern with anything and virtually everything we do is how poorly they are promoted. Then add to the misery index the woeful effort to capitalize and build on their success. It got to a point in Sun City where annual events were longed for by the members. Our history should be teachable moments, but for many they never had a clue they even happened.

 

If not clubs, bowling or golf what prompted you to purchase here?

This is such an interesting statement to me. I asked the same once and was told "you knew what you were buying into, you signed the papers". Someone even suggested if I didn't like it here I could always move to Gaza. Bill's answer to you was:

"Fair question SCG, and one i would expect you to know the answer to without asking. Here's why, the minute you reduce Sun City down to the choice of "what does the RCSC offer in return for the yearly lot assessment, you've become trapped in the mindset all Sun City is, is the RCSC. Small picture Sun City thinks that way, i've long held we are the sum total of our parts; rather than big picture Sun City. I know you know this."

I did a little research on SCW (yes I am still looking) and there are 18 restaurants including a wine bar and pub (that does include 3 fast food, but does not include rec center restaurants. There are two dog parks, 1 for large dogs, 1 for small. Gas stations, auto repair, car washes, hardware stores, Bob's Variety, drug stores, quality resale shops, dog grooming, a vet and 3 large grocery stores. Of course all the regular clubs, bowling etc. I know I missed a lot of stores in the 'commercial core', sorry.

The Hole in One Restaurant just joined with Cardiac Solutions to serve "heart healthy" meals in addition to their regular menu,

 

Bill,
I have zero experience in anything related to putting together an event for the benefit of several hundred people. I say several hundred, as for a first time offering, I would think keeping it simple and small would be good. Since I have no experience with this arena, statements or thoughts going forward may seem crazy, but just throwing things out there for ideas.
Does one need permits to put on a gathering featuring food and entertainment? If looking at either barbecue or Mexican food how would one decide who the vendor should be? Is putting a limit of 300 people too many to handle for a first time event? There are some local restaurants in Sun City, but I don’t find the food to be good. Would bringing in someone from outside the community be better for better tasting food? Would not using local purveyors be a detriment? Or is good food and fun the driver?
I said I know absolutely nothing about doing something like this and need some basic advice on just what this would entail. Not committing to anything, just trying to think if this could be done, how, and by who. There are so many questions and I have no answers. Please don’t quote me as saying I would do such an event. Just looking at potential opportunities for the community and its members.

 

Event coordination takes months from the initial idea to the clean-up after if a sit-down dinner, less if casual. We had a committee for the small events that were 100 to around 150 people which I was a part of. I was not involved with the golf tournaments or the Gala other than working at those events. Our Gala's took about 10 months of planning. Why use local restaurants if you don't like the food? And do they have the capability of making large quantities of food. Professional catering is the way to go, or even a smaller restaurant that has a sous chef.

 

Understanding Sun City. While doing a search I found this. I really understand Sun City now. The 10% in this group should understand it as well.

I do have concerns about the cash poor folks living here and cannot even afford to repaint their home and clean up yards.

I don't think it takes anything to clean up a yard, but I do understand we have a lot of poverty level folks living here that can't afford to update the home.

My hope is that we keep getting younger boomer folks who have some cash to update these simple homes here.

It is still the greatest bargain to live in Sun City, and if we could get some newly retired folks to move here and bring in some money into the area, we can have homes revitalized and it will help the integrity of keeping the community from not looking shabby.

These homes are easy to modernize. It is bringing in new money in here along with helping those who need some assistance that will keep our community viable.

I have thought about the low income level for quite a while. As we have nothing to do but help and allow the poverty level folks to live out their lives

Thank you so much for "allowing" us to live out our lives.