Twice now in the past couple of months, i've had people tell me a board member has explained the role of the board is captured in Article 2, Section 5 of the By-Laws. In fact, that same board member brags about being third generation and also has served for 7 years. Apparently he took his position seriously, because he foisted that corporation loyalty on new board members at every opportunity. So let's get this out of the way, thanks for serving, blah, blah blah. We all do it, we all tell board members what a great job they did, how difficult it is, how much we appreciate them stepping up. But at some point you have to question what they did and how they did it? More importantly, i would think a third generation guy would have at least a passing interest in the history of the community. You know like; how the hell did we become the community that changed the nation? Why did Sun City become the benchmark for success; the one every other studied? We even changed the marketing of the Museum to say; Sun City Arizona, The Community That Changed The Nation." It's that powerful, that all consuming a story. The very notion the first age restricted concept built in the middle of the desert and opened in 1960 would ever succeed was inconceivable by the "experts." The simple truth was, those building it, and those buying into it wouldn't let it fail. Everyone worked tirelessly to make it the most unique community in the country. I've written it a hundred times, Sun City was a community built on value and values. That the tenets, (a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true), was contained in the very documents created by the community, for the community. Both the Articles of Incorporation and the By-Laws were carefully crafted for a joint co-ownership of responsibilities and duties. They contained language where both the community and the board would have to work in partnership because the checks and balances were established; the guard rails that kept us on a path. Suffice to say, during those 45 years, there was never a mention of "undivided loyalty to the corporation." Never. The general manager was hired by the board under the direction of the board. Their job was to run the day to day operations. The board could ask for input if they needed/wanted it, but the primary source of direction came from the multitude of committees helping the board set community goals. Did i mention, all of this was by design and carefully crafted? As i kept hearing the nonsense from said board member about "undivided loyalty" i never once heard that being one of the tenets that were built into our documents. In all of the history i have read, not a single time did i find this idea the membership and more-so the board was obligated to fealty to a corporation, especially a corporation that was created for the sole purpose of serving the membership. That's when i started digging. The documents i have from before 2006 are quite clear; there was not a single word written about "undivided loyalty to the corporation." Sometime after that year, the documents that served this community so well, were changed to become the new "tenet." They were written by a single person so as to centralize control and power and to diminish the role of the membership. I don't know, a friend has suggested maybe the author of the By-Laws we have today was assisted by the RCSC's attorney. I think one could safely say as you read them, they were written to be little more than gibberish to hide behind. Perhaps we will never know and perhaps it matters not. What does matter is in the coming years we return Sun City to it's core values. Where community input is the bedrock of moving forward. It would seem to me, even an out going-board of director who claims to love Sun City should be able to get his head around that concept.
If only the soon to be elected directors would take a stand when taking the installation oath… “”I do, with loyalty to the MEMBERS of Sun City.” The RCSC board must be reminded and actively accept their responsibilities of service. The General Manager SUPPORTS the board as shown in the RCSC Organizational Chart that is online. Time for the board to get to work!! https://suncityaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020_09_01-Organizational-Chart.pdf
Interesting. I was reading the Board Policies from those early years (before 2006), there was the mention for "undivided loyalty to the corporation." That said, there was also the paper work handed out telling board members about how to represent the members. It always was a balancing act and one the board worked at. Decisions were made after legitimate debate and discussion. Everything changed after 2005. That's when "undivided loyalty" worked it's way into the By-Laws and any real discussion became a thing of the past.
Are you sure that you didn't find "undivided loyalty to the corporation." somewhere in Orwell's "1984?"
lol - I can't tell you how many times I've thought of good old George this year watching this Boards actions.
