Seats to open on POA Board; candidates needed for election
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Ready. Get set. Go get your petition to run for the Property Owners Association Board of Directors.
At least six property owners are needed to run for election to the board, according to a press release from the association. Up to three seats will be open.
Bill Johnson, whose term is up, said he hasn’t yet decided whether he will run again.
F o r m e r Board member Bill Williams and current Director Jan Keirsey are not running for re-election.
Williams, who resigned from the board this fall in order to run for a county office, is not planning to run again.
“ It’s time to make room for some new brains to meet the new challenges, ” he said.
After serving the community for more than five years, he’s moving on to new interests and planning to raise money for the Vietnam Children’s Fund to build schools there.
“ It’s been a dream of mine for years, ” he said.
Keirsey is bowing out because, she said, “ it’s time to give other people a chance to serve. ”
“ A board should be made of a diverse group of people — each with their own strengths and weaknesses, ” she said. “ Serving a membership of 38, 500 is a much bigger job than people realize. ”
Chairwoman Roberta Dale offered her ideas about what it takes to be a board member.
“ I believe that first and foremost, a board member needs to be a person who is there to serve the total membership and is an individual without a personal agenda. It is important to be able to work within a committee structure and be a team player.
“ The need for personal recognition has no place, and board members should at all times be promoting the association. ”
The directors need to respect others and be honest and forthright with the membership, Dale added. They should demonstrate leadership skills and integrity. Experience on other boards is also helpful.
Board members should also realize they are separate from the POA administration, she said.
Both Keirsey and Dale agree that board members must be willing to make difficult decisions.
“ Too often (decisions ) are passed on to the next board, ” Dale said. “ A good board member is one who can look beyond the current status quo and can position the association to meet the future changing needs and goals of the membership. This requires planning, organizational, communication skills. ”
Dale said the job will take about 50 hours a month of preparing for and attending meetings, as well as responding to members ’ questions.
The first step in running for election is picking up a petition from Kathy Ferguson at the Bella Vista Country Club. Ferguson is the POA’s corporate secretary.
Next, each applicant must obtain 50 signatures from POA members in good standing. Signatures will be verified by the POA.
The completed petitions must be turned in to Ferguson by Dec. 19.
Candidates will be announced at the board meeting on Jan. 15. Ballots will be mailed in April, and the results will be announced at the association’s annual meeting May 19.
Winners begin serving in May 2009.
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