Building A Sense of Community

  

May 5th,  Part 1

I've been harping for years about the importance of building a sense of community. Much to the dismay of at least one poster who has suggested it has become annoying that i continue to beat that "dead horse." I get it, for some the idea or suggestion we return or cling to our roots is unappealing. 

In the past couple of days i've been asked to help be an administrator on Facebook Sun City Chat Arizona. I was invited to do so more than a year ago and elected to decline the offer. I was convinced it would entail more time than i wanted to spend. Plus, as i was posting historical photos daily, i kept coming across comments i struggled with. Not that people aren't entitled to their opinions, my immediate reaction was to simply reply back as harshly, or perhaps even more caustic.

The solution was one the administrator suggested. Blocking people who were spoiling for a fight made more sense than engaging with them. I have nothing but respect for Garland Shreves as he has done an amazing job growing the site and keeping the craziness levels to a minimum. To be blunt, i was in awe of how hard he worked to make the site as popular as it was/is.

 

My goal were to bring a value added addition where we could try and build a sense of community.

The other day he extended an invitation to be an administrator again. I agreed and told him my goals were to bring a value added addition where we could try and build a sense of community (sound familiar?). The private site has 3000 plus members, many who i suspect have moved on or away from Facebook or perhaps this group. The truth is, the numbers don't matter, the content does. The quality of the posts are what make the site attractive to the followers. 

There's so much there, like much of Facebook, it becomes the personal stories of the members told often in picture. It also is filled with questions from those already living here to those thinking about buying in Sun City. I add some historical perspectives, usually on a daily basis, and some followers enjoy.

This morning, as i responded to a posters question, i mentioned i hoped to help build a stronger sense of community via the site. That stared me thinking, what the hell does it mean when i say, "building a sense of community?" Are they just words, or do they actually mean something? Do they reflect values that can be articulated or is it crazy liberal gibberish?

 ....what it meant to those moving to the middle of nowhere.....

Virtually everything in Sun City is historical in nature. This phrase (building a sense of community) is captured perfectly in those early years. As i started thinking about Sun City Chat Arizona, i immediately scrolled back in time and the important role it played. More importantly, what it meant to those moving to the middle of nowhere and how it shaped the first age restricted community of our time into the most unique setting of all of them. 

For anyone interested, i will look back and then look forward. What happened may be history, but in my humble opinion, it is also the roadmap, at least locally, to build a better tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Part 2

The number of people who responded to my post showing a refrigerator was incredible. 

I was stunned yesterday when I posted a picture of the refrigerator we bought on the Facebook page Sun City Chat Arizona. Our fridge died after 5 years and 8 days which is apparently what LG appliances do (several lawsuits). Anyway, we would normally trudge off to Lowes or Spensers to try and find something that didn't cost an arm and a leg. Plus it needed to match the black stainless we have in the other 3 pieces. We were less than optimistic given all the reports on shortages of product.

A friend of my wife told her she was really happy with both the service and the pricing from a local store next to Safeway on Bell Road and Del Webb Blvd. The store has been there for more than 10 years which says a lot in Sun City. I reluctantly went along with her idea and am happy to report, that we never left Sun City. In fact, we found exactly what we wanted and less than 24 hours later it was installed; which is a good thing because the other one was dead.

The owner, Al Callendar lives in Sun City West and the store's name is Associated Appliance Sales. As you sit reading this, I suspect you are scratching your head asking, "What does this have to do with building a sense of community?" The number of people who responded to my post showing a refrigerator was incredible. Many of them also raved about how happy they were with the service they got at the store. From my overly simple point of view, sharing stories and information with others in the community helps solidify the concept of how Sun City was built and why we were so successful.

My goal in this thread is to try and build on our history using some of the tools and techniques they didn't have in the 60s and 70s. Most of you know the bad rap social media has gotten of late. Most of us oldies but goodies are nowhere near as well versed in using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the host of other lesser-known apps than our younger counterparts. Nope, not trying to teach using it. I am interested in you at least becoming familiar with the aspects that can help bring us together. 

It's a long slow slog, but hell, that's all life is; one footstep in front of the other. Stay with me as tomorrow it will become more clear where we are trying to go and why I think this can work.

....build on our history using some of the tools and techniques they didn't have in the 60s and 70s. 

May 6, Part 3

...the juice may well be worth the squeeze...

Staying with the question, how do you build a sense of community, I find myself adrift at times. Pulling scattered ideas together is like the old adage, herding cats. Stuff pops into mind and then drifts away. Articulating something so esoteric may be foolhardy. Then again, I think the juice may well be worth the squeeze. Now that I've got you so off-kilter, let me try and bring you back down to earth.

I like to think I am a practical person, that I believe logic and common sense still matter. Some days those thoughts are tested, as I often find myself saying to my wife, "the whole world has gone freaking nuts." I suspect many of you say the same thing from time to time. In fact, that is exactly why I find value in this exercise. Hopefully, by the time I am done, you will as well.

I started this thread with the idea of community building via social media. There's nothing new or novel about that, one only has to look at the success of Next Door. Just this morning I opened the site and spent a half hour reading. In all candor, most of it was strange, little of it made me feel like I was a part of something special. And while it was a "Sun City group" posters came from all over the West Valley.

I mentioned I agreed to help administrate the Facebook Sun City Chat Arizona page in the opening of this thread. I also said i was so impressed by the Administrator who had worked so hard to build and grow the site. Garland Shreves has taken it from an open site to a private one and has been the lone ranger in running it. Being private means you have to apply for membership. The goal was to cut down on the folks posting for their services and to become more, better focused on a community (Sun City) feel. It worked.

While all of that is yesterday's news, the more important point is this; Garland and I are polar opposites from a political perspective. We've spoken on the phone and exchanged enough messages to know, we probably won't be voting for the same people all that often; if ever. All of which means squat. Because how we feel politically has nothing to do with where we want Sun City Chat Arizona to go.

The things happening outside our walls are beyond our control.

We both know you cannot build a sense of community if politics is the point or the purpose. We all know just how divided this country is. We all know the polarization by both sides is counterproductive to ever moving forward and finding solutions. We also, hopefully, understand as a community there's little we can do about the big picture. The things happening outside our walls is beyond our control.

One of the reason's I moved to Sun City (in 2003), was to get away from the craziness. I loved the idea all of our politics was indeed local and was that way without a lot of the trappings from where i/we came. Historically that's always been the case. Of late, with social media becoming such a hotbed of animosity and resentment, many of us have been dragged back in. I've come to understand it's a fools game. In the long run, it doesn't build anything other than stronger emotionally charged anger against the other side.

That's why the idea of using what we learned from Sun City's history and overlaying it onto the Facebook platform is so intriguing to me. Social media isn't evil, how people use it becomes a disaster. It begs the question; does it have to be that way? I would argue, no, we can use it for the greater good. We'll see and tomorrow I will help you get your head around Sun City's roots and how and why it was so successful.

 

May 8, Part 4

Meeker's genius was in building a sense of community. 

Often I find myself reflecting on Sun City's past. The sheer terror of taking a large group of people from across the country, from varied political and religious beliefs, and helping them build from nothing a cohesive and functioning community was daunting. It was made even more difficult by DEVCO's policy of non-involvement. They held events, newcomer coffees, pot lucks, and the like, but the clubs were left to their own devices. The company wanted to build and sell homes.

By 1964, when sales had slowed to a trickle and Sun City was on the brink of collapse, a change was made. John Meeker came in and was told by Webb to fix it or Sun City would stay south of Grand Ave. We have in our collection at the Museum, Plan B where everything north of Grand Ave would become an industrial park and non-age restricted homes. Thank goodness it was never needed.

Meeker's genius was in building a sense of community. He knew and understood for Sun City to survive once DEVCO was gone the residents, and the membership of the RCSC had to take ownership. He held their hand, spent money like the proverbial drunken sailor, and nurtured a love affair between those living here and the concept of self-governance. The bitter infighting between the first two rec centers was solved. Events were held monthly, and big gatherings where people would interact with one another were standard fare. Parties, celebrations, music, dancing, and especially club membership were all ingrained in buyers and their habits.

Residents became his greatest sales force. They simply took perspective buyers to the pools and clubs and those living here were effusive in their praise. There were no "social media," it was all human interaction. Every time he held an event it was a chance to grow the circle of believers in all things Sun City. Word of mouth was the tool, the technique used. It worked beyond anyone's wildest imagination. Sun City truly became the Community That Changed The Nation."

History is so critical as we look to the future. When I first saw Sun City Chat Arizona on Facebook, my eyes lit up and my mind started racing. This page, this site could become a whole new way of showcasing all Sun City was, is, and can be. We can bring those that join together and help forge a better tomorrow. Help new owners understand the community, and become a virtual welcome wagon. We can answer those questions from others interested; why Sun City? We can tell our stories, help others find honest contractors, and build a network of folks wanting to rebuild Sun City under the tenets it was founded on.

Lofty goals, a fool's dream, perhaps. But I can tell you this, knowing our history, the experts said loudly Sun City would fail. They were wrong. Meeker never stopped building, trying, and succeeding. Those living here loved the community too much to let it fail. I suspect, most of you taking the time to read this feel the same way.

Part 5

Of late, social media has become the target of more than its share of criticism.

Let me wrap this up and why I accepted Garland's offer to help him administrate Sun City Chat Arizona on Facebook. He's been a one-man gang working tirelessly to keep the site on task, trying to be fair and reasonable to those applying to post and comment. I've made no bones about it, he's been amazing. It's an endless amount of work with hardly anyone recognizing, understanding, and worst of all appreciating what has been accomplished.

Of late, social media has become the target of more than its share of criticism. Some well deserved, some not. The simple reality is that "social media" isn't to blame, at least on many of the sites like ours. The problem starts and ends when those of us who join a private group decide to use it as our own personal playground. And before we go there, I'll be the first to acknowledge that old adage, "he who has not sinned."

I've thrown more than my fair share of stones. Been ugly and nasty and bought into the idea I was right and you were wrong. It was childish and immature. Sun City Chat Arizona deserves better; to be so much more than all of that. I've been posting for over a year now on Chat and here's the one question I always ask myself before i post; "does what I am posting or sharing add to or does it take away from building that sense of community?"

Honestly, it's not a hard question. Most of us know when we are being snarky when we are simply shoving our opinions down someone else's throat. When we are lashing out to prove my side is right and your side is wrong. Here's my simple take on Sun City Chat Arizona and why I said yes to Garland, there are no sides (plural) on this site. We can have differences of opinion regarding Sun City's future and how we get there. That's healthy. It's also still just one side, "building a sense of community."

If I haven't been clear enough, let me summarize it as bluntly as I can without trying to hurt anyone's feelings: I don't care if you love Joe Biden or hate him. I don't care if you love Donald Trump, or if you hate him. I don't care if you wear a mask everywhere you go or if you regularly go to your backyard and burn a mask. I don't care what you think about the 2020 election. You are absolutely entitled to your opinions; going forward, I see absolutely no upside value in sharing, shoving those opinions into other members of Sun City Chat Arizona's faces.

There are thousands of websites that allow comments, sites that love the vitriol and the angst. Sun City Chat Arizona shouldn't be one of them. Social media has a place in our country. I would love to think the horribly deep divide we find ourselves in this country can be fixed. 

Why not start here in Sun City..."The Community That Changed A Nation." Wouldn't that be exciting to be a part of, all over again?

 

 Bill Pearson, Advisory Panel Member