So you want to be a Board Of Director (taken from Spyglass Sept. 2003)
So You Want To Be A Board Member?
HERE’S WHAT IS TYPICALLY EXPECTED
Being on the Board Of Directors (BODs) is a job. Make no mistake about it, our Resort was left in shambles from the Boards prior to October, 2002 as well as the former owners/developers of the Castle. The reason for it being a job is due to the large amount of work that has to be done to right the wrongs of the past. While it is a job, it does not pay one cent. You do this because you feel strongly about the condition of the Castle and you want to make a difference. There is no glory YET you can make a difference if you are willing to participate and communicate.
Two Key Words: PARTICIPATE AND COMMUNICATE
Since our Resort is made up of four Associations, there are four Boards. It is often asked "why don’t we just have one Board?". The answer is simple: we cannot. Due to the way the declaration and by-laws were written, we would need every single owner to vote "yes" to establish one Board. Considering that every owner does
NOT return proxies or ballots AND that we do not have address for several owners who owe back maintenance fees, it is an impossible task. Thus we must move forward and try to function as one although, technically, we are four. We can only due this by participation and communication.
There are many issues that are common to all Associations and there are some issues that are unique to one Association. For instance, the budget is common to all yet in Hilltop Villas 1 and 2, there issue involving whole-unit ownership is a topic of discussion.
Any Board member must have an e-mail account and must be proficient in using e-mail. This means that you understand who to download and open attachments, respond to e-mails, copying by either cc. OR bcc. to fellow BODs, etc. There is nothing more annoying than asking your fellow BODs for their input on an issue
and receiving no responses- positive or negative. You must be willing to participate in conference calls. On the Hilltop Villas 1 and 2 Board, we have had numerous conference calls starting immediately after the elections last October.
You must be willing to complete a task that is assigned. As a BOD, you may be asked to obtain quotes for insurance, laundry service, hurricane shutters, pool maintenance, compare Interval International to RCI as a trading company, etc. Currently, we have seen no proof that there has been any competitive bidding being
done on the owners behalf by our current management company Fairfield (formerly RCI-RM) thus we have decided to investigate ways to lower our costs and in turn we hope to lower your maintenance fees. If a BOD cannot do his or her job, they should step down whether it is due to health reasons, job related issues, or personal issues.
You are doing your Association and fellow owners and BOD members a disservice by sitting idly by and not responding to emails or conference calls. If one of my fellow Board members was not actively participating in the business of Hilltop Villas 1 and 2, I would personally ask them to step down. I would step down if I
could not continue to do this job.
If you want to become an active owner, you do not need to serve on the Board. The BODs is constantly looking for owners who are willing to help accomplish a variety of tasks. For instance, we have an owner engineer who is seeking quotes for hurricane shutters in the hope of lower our insurance costs. Your Board is always looking for input and help in determining what is best for the Castle.
This year’s owners meeting will be held on Saturday October 9, 2004 at the Airport Hilton in Philadelphia. We hope that this will provide an opportunity for more owners to attend since it will be on a Saturday unlike past years.
In closing, there is a call for nominations due August 13, 2004. If you feel you can make a difference, please run for your association’s board. As an owner, you should look back at all the Spyglass newsletters and read the President’s Corner sections. Compare what is going on in your association to other associations. If you feel that your association has been represented well, then you may not feel inclined to run. If you see that your association has been lacking in its efforts to represent you as an owner and you feel that they have not completed as many tasks as another association’s board, then submit a nomination and make a difference.
Regards,
Ken Drew
VP of Hilltop 1 and 2, Spyglass editor
HERE’S WHAT IS TYPICALLY EXPECTED
Being on the Board Of Directors (BODs) is a job. Make no mistake about it, our Resort was left in shambles from the Boards prior to October, 2002 as well as the former owners/developers of the Castle. The reason for it being a job is due to the large amount of work that has to be done to right the wrongs of the past. While it is a job, it does not pay one cent. You do this because you feel strongly about the condition of the Castle and you want to make a difference. There is no glory YET you can make a difference if you are willing to participate and communicate.
Two Key Words: PARTICIPATE AND COMMUNICATE
Since our Resort is made up of four Associations, there are four Boards. It is often asked "why don’t we just have one Board?". The answer is simple: we cannot. Due to the way the declaration and by-laws were written, we would need every single owner to vote "yes" to establish one Board. Considering that every owner does
NOT return proxies or ballots AND that we do not have address for several owners who owe back maintenance fees, it is an impossible task. Thus we must move forward and try to function as one although, technically, we are four. We can only due this by participation and communication.
There are many issues that are common to all Associations and there are some issues that are unique to one Association. For instance, the budget is common to all yet in Hilltop Villas 1 and 2, there issue involving whole-unit ownership is a topic of discussion.
Any Board member must have an e-mail account and must be proficient in using e-mail. This means that you understand who to download and open attachments, respond to e-mails, copying by either cc. OR bcc. to fellow BODs, etc. There is nothing more annoying than asking your fellow BODs for their input on an issue
and receiving no responses- positive or negative. You must be willing to participate in conference calls. On the Hilltop Villas 1 and 2 Board, we have had numerous conference calls starting immediately after the elections last October.
You must be willing to complete a task that is assigned. As a BOD, you may be asked to obtain quotes for insurance, laundry service, hurricane shutters, pool maintenance, compare Interval International to RCI as a trading company, etc. Currently, we have seen no proof that there has been any competitive bidding being
done on the owners behalf by our current management company Fairfield (formerly RCI-RM) thus we have decided to investigate ways to lower our costs and in turn we hope to lower your maintenance fees. If a BOD cannot do his or her job, they should step down whether it is due to health reasons, job related issues, or personal issues.
You are doing your Association and fellow owners and BOD members a disservice by sitting idly by and not responding to emails or conference calls. If one of my fellow Board members was not actively participating in the business of Hilltop Villas 1 and 2, I would personally ask them to step down. I would step down if I
could not continue to do this job.
If you want to become an active owner, you do not need to serve on the Board. The BODs is constantly looking for owners who are willing to help accomplish a variety of tasks. For instance, we have an owner engineer who is seeking quotes for hurricane shutters in the hope of lower our insurance costs. Your Board is always looking for input and help in determining what is best for the Castle.
This year’s owners meeting will be held on Saturday October 9, 2004 at the Airport Hilton in Philadelphia. We hope that this will provide an opportunity for more owners to attend since it will be on a Saturday unlike past years.
In closing, there is a call for nominations due August 13, 2004. If you feel you can make a difference, please run for your association’s board. As an owner, you should look back at all the Spyglass newsletters and read the President’s Corner sections. Compare what is going on in your association to other associations. If you feel that your association has been represented well, then you may not feel inclined to run. If you see that your association has been lacking in its efforts to represent you as an owner and you feel that they have not completed as many tasks as another association’s board, then submit a nomination and make a difference.
Regards,
Ken Drew
VP of Hilltop 1 and 2, Spyglass editor
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