One woman's opinion doesn't necessarily make facts...
I read with interest President Dale Lehrer's "opinion piece" in the Independent this week. The header read, "Change coming, misinformation muddle the process." I know sometimes the headline above the story is often written by the editor, it's happened to me several times. Nothing wrong with that by the way, the goal is to get folks to read the column.
With that out of the way, I dove into the article and it turns out, that the editor in this case understated what she went on to say. In paragraph 7 she wrote this in the first sentence: "Too often misinformation, disinformation, half-truths and fake news muddy the waters, causing turmoil and distress for many." She went on to say; 'It would really be nice if this could stop. Things are changing but it takes time." I'll stop there other than to point out the usual statements about the doom and gloom crap. There is no doom or gloom in Sun City, life is good. Thank you very much.
Ad Hoc Bylaws Committee meets behind closed doors
It was an intriguing read because ultimately the only reference she made was the angst regarding the Ad Hoc bylaws committee. It's been criticized, because of who and how the selection was done and then because they became closed-door meetings. Hardly the thing that inspires transparency. Even with those critiques, we've agreed to withhold our assessment until the outcome. For those with short memories, this committee was formed because, during the first annual membership in 12 years, members from the floor made several motions. The board shuffled them off to be resolved by a committee. The jury's out until they come back with a verdict.
Fake news
Beyond that, all I read was a person in authority, the president no less, whining "fake news." Several of us at the Sun City Advocates have written articles about the member/board exchange. We've been nothing but complimentary of the process. But to be clear, we resented the way the majority of the board members held the minority of the board hostage with threats of not allowing any commentary at board meetings. Sorry, Dale, that's just a fact of life.
I've written hundreds of times about how slow-moving organizations are. This is probably why I was skeptical about the board when they shoved through the Mountain View project last June after only a second reading. Seems to me three readings of a motion regarding the largest expenditure in the RCSC's history (by two times the amount) was just the right thing to do.
Advocates are patiently awaiting change through Member/Board Exchanges
Let me be even more clear. We complimented the move in the name change from Board/Member Exchange to Member/Board Exchange. That was a good thing, but in reality, it was the proverbial pimple on the elephant's ass. I was much more interested to hear about the change back to the community slogan "City of Volunteers." Even more so, I wanted to hear the board's responses to the RCSC members who complained about not being able to get on golf courses. About how non-members could access our web portal. About tournaments of outside players bumping RCSC golfers off their courses. About how members couldn't even get on courses because they were booked with outsiders.
We heard virtually nothing. Apparently, the board got an up-close and personal report from the director of golf, all of which verified what was going on and they have taken no action. We have a board meeting this Thursday and there are no, zero, nada, none, nothing even close to a motion to address the issues raised by members at the first Member/Board Exchange. That isn't fake news, that's just sheer lunacy. It gets worse because, since the first of the year, full-play golf pass sales are well ahead of last year (which was a record year for sales of full play passes). This is even worse because full-play golf passes run for a year's time.
As far as the "City of Volunteers," they apparently have shifted this question off to someone at ASU for further study. Really? Freaking really? So, sorry Dale, we agree, that things move slowly, but if you refuse to deal with them, essentially you are blowing us off.
The next time you want to write an article, be specific. Tell us what the fake news is. Tell us what the misinformation is. Tell us what the disinformation is. Perhaps then we can avoid the turmoil and distress you claim we are causing. Because until then, you are just whining. Hope I've been clear enough.
Submitted by
Bill Pearson
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