Please Vote For Me…
Your vote is important!! Ray Harwood and I need your vote (yes, you can vote for the both of us). Election Day is September 28th and if you do not vote, and not enough votes are collected to make a quorum, then the existing board members will likely just keep on going.
Why Should You Vote For Me?
I was raised in a neighborhood where everyone knew each other and looked out for each other. We didn’t live in a community with an HOA but it felt like a real tight-knit community. I believe we have a major opportunity to make something great out of Rio Crossing. My decision to run for your Board of Directors is very simple – I feel it’s my obligation and duty as a member of this community. As I briefly mentioned in my application, I have over 10 years of experience successfully managing budgets in the tens of millions of dollars. My job mainly involves taking populations of 1000’s of people, figuring out what they want and then making it happen. Additionally, constantly communicating and making sure everyone is in the loop through the process.
You are a homeowner and thereby a member of this community. Your voice needs to be heard. Your concerns need to be addressed. As a fellow homeowner, I understand this as well.
If I get on the Board, I would like to make some changes. I would operate on two basic principles:
- Inclusion: my job is to help determine what you want and what you feel Rio Crossing needs. I would accomplish this through various means including online surveys, questionnaires and polls. I understand most of us have hectic schedules and can’t always make the board meetings. You pay $215 every quarter –you deserve to have a say in what goes on in Rio Crossing!
- Transparency: you deserve to know what’s going on in your community. Not only because you have a valued stake in it, but because you also pay $215 quarterly. In my eyes, you (the member) are the client, the customer and the HOA works for you; so if you want to know who’s doing what –you should know.
A Little More About My “HOA Philosophy”
The HOA exists for the homeowners, the homeowners don’t exist for the HOA. I believe the HOA should work for you, the member, and not the other way around. The culture many people are currently experiencing is we should fear the HOA. “We can’t do this or we’ll get penalized” are moans often heard. I would work towards the hope of hearing “Our HOA is awesome, I can’t imagine what we would do without them”. For that to happen there would have to be a change in philosophy and operating principles –creating a new culture.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enforce our policies –the beautification of our community is very important, but we need to treat our members as members or even as ‘paying customers’ and reach out with a neighborly tone and the best intentions. Please vote for me, and I’ll work to do that.
What Else Have I Done?
Being on the Board of Directors for Rio Crossing HOA is a big deal! Rio Crossing is a community of 345 homes and a value of over $100 Million. The HOA is responsible for the maintenance, security and preservation of this community. You shouldn’t let just anyone decide its future. YOUR home and family are directly affected by decisions made by the Board of Directors.
Over the course of my career I’ve successfully managed federal contracts in excess of over $100 Million in addition to another $80 Million in private contracts. I’ve renegotiated dozens of service agreements for better terms. I’ve also been on the Board of Directors for the California Center for Health and Wellbeing where my objective was to increase community outreach.
Some of My Ideas
I have some ideas of what I feel would help create a stronger sense of community in Rio Crossing. My ultimate goal is for you to enjoy living in Rio Crossing and say to yourself “I can’t imagine living anywhere else”. Some ideas I would like to run by you, the community, would be:
- “First Fridays in the Park”. We have some beautiful spacious areas here in Rio Crossing. Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to gather in Roma Park, surrounded by Food Trucks and listening to a live band? This isn’t far-fetched. Rio Crossing is a non-profit so we could easily fundraise to help cover the majority of the costs. No added expense to you.
- “Rio Crossing Carnival”. Utilizing our spaces, we could bring in a carnival company to put on a spectacular event, combined with sponsorships from local business –not only would this make our community a fun place to live, it would generate revenue to help build some awesome stuff through Rio Crossing. What stuff? That’s for you to tell us! At our last HOA meeting, they discussed building a basketball court, a soccer field and several other stuff. Have YOU been asked what you would like to see built in YOUR community with YOUR money?
- Revamping our Policies. Are you tired of getting “Nasty-Grams”, those horribly worded letters that state “you’re in violation!” or “you’ve been fined!”? I would push to repeal and replace those policies with some that are more member-oriented and customer-focused.
- Regular Surveys. Are you happy with your HOA? What would you like to see happen or done? In an effort to create inclusion, I would work to create a system where we could regularly solicit feedback from the community whether it’s through an online poll or mail-in survey. Your Home, Your Voice!
- Review of Architectural Design Guidelines. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it would be great if people began painting their houses lime green and stick pink flamingos in the front yard. It would be nice to have more than 4 choices of color when it comes to painting YOUR home. What if you really like a specific gravel for your yard, why do you have to be limited to the same exact stone the rest of the community has? It’s YOUR home, you should have the right to customize it to reflect your likes and personality. Just because “that’s the way it’s been for 10 years” isn’t a reason to keep doing it.
What else can you do?
If you want to help be a part of that change, send me an Email. I’m interested in your opinion and input, and if you would consider participating in the community in any way (run for the Board, serve on a committee, and volunteer a little time to help out – anything!). It might be too late for you to run for the board, but if you are interested and there is a vacancy, there might still be an opportunity.
Also, if you are an accountant, the board could certainly use your help occasionally to review financial compilations, balance sheets, and processes.
Last but not least, Vote! And if you can, Vote for Ray Harwood as well. He’s an awesome guy! He’s constantly working to keep the rest of us informed. He takes the time to look over the community, to remind us of important dates, keeping us posted on what’s going on. He’s been our connection to the City of Avondale, and he’s been our BIGGEST ADVOCATE when it comes to working with our existing Board of Directors. He’s not afraid to ask the hard questions, and question some of the things going on. If there’s any single person who’s selflessly looking out for everyone’s best interest –it’s Ray Harwood.