Glenbrooke Community Association (GCA) Board Candidate’s have all been invited to submit their Candidate statements to GlenbrookeNews for posting.    There are four candidates and this is third in the series -ed.

My wife and I have been part of the Glenbrooke community for nearly four years. For the last 18 months, I have served as the Treasurer of the Board. During this first term, I have worked along with my fellow board members and facility director to bring long term financial stability and consistency to Glenbrooke and its operations without the need for an assessment increase. In fact, our balance sheet has steadily improved, we have operated in the black, and fortunately we have even been able to implement a slight decrease in our monthly assessments. I also suggested and the board endorsed a “Facilities Improvement Fund” so that we could set aside funds to implement our future long term plans for the Arbour Lodge area.

I am proud of Glenbrooke and have tried to help make this a place where we can all openly participate and feel a true sense of ownership. Actively serving on the Communications Committee has been an excellent tool in understanding the opinions and wishes of our residents. We are also working to improve staff job descriptions and overall policies to better manage our community and our resources.

In my opinion, a single term on the board is insufficient to bring about all the necessary changes and improvements needed. I ask for your support for election to another 2 year board term to continue on this path. In another year when we will likely see control of the board pass to local board members, it will be important to have experienced incumbent board members for continuity and leadership. I would appreciate the opportunity of being one of those board members still serving. 

From a career standpoint, for over 30 years I was employed as a senior executive with Sutter Health, a major not-for-profit health care system in Sacramento. My job titles included Regional President and Senior Vice President. I also served for several years as CEO for UC San Diego Healthcare including the medical centers and clinics.. During these years, my duties involved serving on several dozen boards with responsibility for managing hospital and medical clinic operations with fiscal accountability for $200 to $750 million. My job was to organize the board leadership, simultaneously serve on multiple boards, and help engineer financial turnarounds for the institutions involved. I understand board operations and enjoy the opportunity to serve in leadership and decision making for the benefit of organizations such as Glenbrooke.

Board dynamics is an art, not a science. While observing my former homeowners board for nearly 15 years, I saw a combination of both artful and awful decision making. Sometimes boards take up causes or directions that defy logic. At times, boards love passing rules that seem to serve ill defined purposes. I served on my HOA board as secretary for four years (meeting 11 times a year) on a platform of bringing both consistency and common sense to the board.

I believe we have a good start here in Glenbrooke, and with your support we will continue in this direction. I will work hard to make sure that we are fully prepared for the transition to local governance when we separate from Pulte, including an understanding of commitments made to Glenbrooke by the City of Elk Grove, Sacramento County, Cosumnes Community Service District, and any other external agency or government. And of course, working diligently to protect our assets as a community will always be near the top of my list.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

2/1/12

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If you haven’t got enough of the Super Bowl hype by now, this piece by David Roth posted in his Wall Street Journal blog will surely answer or link to any remaining questions about the game including players injuries, outcome predictions, silly questions,  recipes, ad nauseam.

Click here for Mr. Roth's blog entry.

If you are planning on attending this MINGLES event, please sign up in the Activity Binder in the lobby of the lodge. Since the MINGLES steering committee is making all the food, it is really important to get an accurate count. This will help make sure there is not only enough food, but also keeps costs down by reducing waste.

There were approximately  70 people and the food was tasty,  plentiful and diverse.   The dessert table looked like something out of a magazine.   Sorry, I was enjoying myself so much I forgot to get any pictures.

The competition between the tables heated up for a fun trivia challenge with the winners enjoying boxes of candy!     One of the best things  observed was neighbors sitting  around the fireplace in the Lodge just visiting after the potluck.   That's what it is all about - taking advantage of opportunities to get to know  neighbors better,  have fun and enjoy living in Glenbrooke.

As you know, it doesn't happen by itself.  If you have ideas or suggestions for events,  want to provide feedback, volunteer to help with some of these events, please contact one of the  hard-working women of the MINGLES Steering Committee (they are all listed in the Resident Directory).

Alice McCargo

Linda Hargan

Karen Wolff

Becky Matson

Vickie Glaser

Linda   Noll

Sharron Forcum

Sue Bristow

One of the more touching aspects of having m  book published is the number of people who have come up to me asking when the movie version will be out. I love hearing this because it makes me feel less demented at my own similar thoughts. From the moment I wrote the first chapter, I’ve had a vision of having a small part in the film, which expands when the director sees how talented I am, and then walking up the stairs at the Kodak Theatre to pick up my Best Supporting Actress Oscar. I think you can see why I write fiction.

But clearly I am not the only one with these thoughts because at one of my signings this became a topic of conversation when someone asked who I would like to play my protagonist, Alex Harris, in the movie. Sandra Bullock came instantly to mind, though she would have to do something with her gorgeous mane because everyone knows Alex most assuredly does not have a great head of hair—something she inherited from her creator.

But before I put a lot of thought into who will play all these delightful characters I’ve created, I need to find the right writer/director/producer. On this matter, I have spent quite a bit of time. I’m happy to announce that I’ve narrowed the competition substantially down to four amazing women.

First, there’s Rita Wilson, wife of Tom Hanks, in case you didn’t recognize her name. I think she shines in everything she’s in and I’m sorry to say that I don’t see her nearly enough. But more importantly, she brought My Big Fat Greek Wedding to life and I think she could do amazing things with Armed.

Next, there’s those two powerhouses—Nora Ephron and Nancy Meyers. Do they ever get it wrong? I think not. Let’s take a look at what Nora has given us. There’ Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and Julie & Julia to mention a few and let’s not forget her books, which keep me up to the wee hours laughing my head off. And what about Nancy who’s brought us Father of the Bride, Something’s Gotta Give, and It’s Complicated? It seems time one of them leaped into the cozy mystery pool and Armed would be the perfect diving in point.

And finally I come to the last person on my list. Truth be told, she would probably be my first choice. Not only does she act but she writes and directs as well. She consistently brings a sense of humor, intelligence and class to everything she does. I speak of Bonnie Hunt who has an impressive list of acting credits including Rainman, The Green Mile, Jerry McGuire, Cheaper by the Dozen, Jumanji, and a gem of a movie called Return to Me, which she also wrote and directed. I would love her to write the screenplay and I think she would make a smashing Samantha, Alex’s wisecracking sister.

But how do I reach these people? I’ve searched the Internet in vain. I’ve created a Twitter account but with no followers how would I get the word out? Like with lots of things, it’s who you know, and as far as getting a movie made, I know nobody.

So if by some miracle of cyberspace this blog pops up on the computer screens of Bonnie/Rita/Nora/Nancy, could one of you have your people call my people? Let’s talk

 Glenbrooke Community Association (GCA) Board Candidate's have all been invited to submit their Candidate statements to GlenbrookeNews for posting.    There are four candidates and this is first in the series -ed.

I am asking for your support in the upcoming election because I want to be of service to our community.   My wife, Sharon, and I moved in at the end of July, 2011 and we love the community. I am retired as Director of Sales and Marketing for a multi-national manufacturing firm. In that capacity I had both domestic and international sales responsibilities and administrative responsibilities that include personnel selection, evaluation and supervision, budget preparation, monthly forecasting, media material preparation and placement negations, and tradeshow coordination, to list a few.

I am a good listener who encourages open dialog and understands that while we may not always agree we must always be respective of each other’s opinions.

I have been involved in every community we have lived in as represented in my resume which follows.

Brooktrails Community Service District: Past president and board member - two elected terms

Willits Unified School District: Past president and board member - two elected terms

Concept Sierra HOA: Past president and board member - three elected terms

Willits Chamber of Commerce: Past president and board member

Willits Rotary Club: Past board member

Big Brothers and Sisters: Past president and board member

Brooktrails Fire Department Association: Past president and board member

Make A Wish of Greater Bay Area: Wish coordinator

I welcome an opportunity to answer any questions and listen to any concerns you might have. I can be reached at any of the following:  Home phone: 916.667.9984; email: walthess46@yahoo.com; Home address: 9854 Derby Way

Regardless of your personal preference for the Board position, please be sure to vote!

Thank you.

incumbent:  Kent Sherwood

Incumbent:  Sebastian Lampe

Walt  Hess

Harold Wheeler

As of Thursday morning, the candidate statements were not on the table but should be added soon.    There is a box to submit suggestions and questions to the candidates to be asked during a community forum.

Our thanks go to all willing to volunteer to help keep Glenbrooke a wonderful place to  live.