Spring is here. Flowers are blooming and Villagers are ready to enjoy our outdoor amenities, including beautiful tennis and pickleball courts and a new bocce court complex. Our golf courses are refreshed with new bunkers where the sand is so beautifully white that it makes you want to bring out your sunglasses. I continue to be impressed when I drive into The Villages down Villages Parkway and view these outdoor amenities.
As your governing Board, spring is a time for us to look back at our goals and objectives and see what we need to complete before the new board takes office in June. It’s also a time for us to set the goals for next year to keep continuity.
1) Working with the Club and Association boards to present a united front for our community is an ongoing commitment for us and one we are proud to say we are accomplishing.
2) We tried something new this year, having board directors serve as non-voting chairs of our two committees, Architectural Control, and the Estates District Advisory Committee. This action served its purpose this year to help in committee organization. We are, however, proposing for next year to give ourselves the option of appointing Board directors or committee members as chairs. Flexibility to make sure the committees meet the needs of the community, and the Board is our goal in determining chair appointments.
3) Community communication is a continual goal for us. We accomplish this through periodic emails updating homeowners on pertinent information, providing welcome letters to new residents and participating in New Resident Orientation. Today’s social is a goal we’ve carried over for a few years now and are thrilled to finally be able to accomplish it.
4) Management did some great work on the budget this year separating the funds of the three corporations so that in the future when all the required legal steps are taken, homeowners will pay their fair share of Villages amenity expenses, but only their share. This has been a personal goal of mine as a Board director for several years, so I am excited to see this budget step made.
5) The goal we are carrying forward to next year that we couldn’t accomplish this year is legal review and a membership vote on our governing documents. There have been unforeseen delays in this effort, but I am confident that the 2025-2026 Board will complete this project.
In closing, we are beginning the recruitment process to fill two vacancies on the Board. Advertising begins this month. I have served on the Board for three terms and though I am eligible to run for another term, I am stepping aside and encouraging others to consider serving on the Board. I’ve learned so much in my nine years, met many wonderful people, been challenged a lot, but it has been a rewarding volunteer experience. I look forward to seeing what the next directors can accomplish.
—Teddy Morse, Homeowners’ Corporation Board President
