President’s Report – September 2021

As published in The View, September 2021:

John MacDonnell
President

I have asked one of our past Board Presidents to give us some thoughts in this edition of The View. I respect Stu Stryker for all the time he put into this community volunteering and keeping up the joy of living here.

We have all heard the old adage, “You can please some of the people all the time … ”. You know how it goes. Nothing has changed here. No matter what decisions a Board makes, some won’t agree. Good Boards make their decisions, popular or not, based on what is good for the health of the entire community, not for a select group. It’s been my experience, having served on other Boards besides in Sun City Shadow Hills, that Boards do not last if they do not make decisions for the betterment of the whole community. Board members are not perfect, they are human. Don’t judge them by one action but by the body of their work, and that takes time.

In the past, when we as a Board would make a decision, a certain group who wanted to run the community would find fault. No matter which way a decision went, this group was against it. If we spent money outright for long-term savings, it wasn’t the right thing to do. If we saved the community money by lowering dues, it wasn’t the right thing to do. It was a no-win scenario with this small but very vocal group. I am hopeful that our current Board doesn’t have to face this type of opposition.

A brief note on lowering dues. It was once mentioned that lowering dues during inflationary times was not the thing to do. When a Board puts together a budget, it must cover all the needs of the community. If it happens to be lower than the previous year, the dues are lower. A Board cannot just arbitrarily raise dues. For the record, inflation during that period was .02%.

As I walk around the community, I am seeing many things that are being fixed, repairs that had not been done properly are being corrected, and in general things are being cleaned up. This tells me our Board is moving in the right direction. We have also had contract disputes that have been resolved. To me, it appears that our Board is being proactive in solving issues. We have had some community events, and I hear there are more to come. These are the things our community needs to be a desirable place for people to live. These are the things that will make us a successful and well-maintained community.

The best improvement over previous years is the fantastic support we get today from our community volunteers – from staffing the clubhouse, to serving on a committee or as a Board member. Our members are a gold mine of experience, and it’s good to see our community still utilizing their talents.

When our Board started, we only had six Advisory Committees. By the time we left, we had doubled that amount. It’s good to see our current Board is continuing that trend. We still have a wealth of untapped knowledge out there, and I thank all our residents, past and present, for their service.

– Stu Stryker

Thank you, Stu Stryker, for all you did here at Sun City Shadow Hills. I also want to thank your wife, Nikki Stryker, for sharing you with this community during your time as a volunteer.

Contact the author at john.macdonnell@scshca.com.