Van Cott: Board service not glamorous but necessary
Posted
The 9-member Recreation Centers of Sun City West Governing Board establishes policy for guidance of the general manager.
A very few of the more than 26,000 Sun City West residents choose to take on the time-consuming responsibilities of being a director of the governing board. The hardest part of becoming a candidate is obtaining 200 signatures on a petition if you do it alone with a clipboard in front of the library. Signatures collected by supportive friends is much easier.
The basic qualification for an owner member to become a director is a willingness to serve. The result has been elections with too few candidates and some directors elected that were not qualified to set policy, chair standing committees and review and approve budgets for a $25 million nonprofit recreation organization.
The bylaws 4.2.1 requirement of “who is available on a year-round basis” discourages better qualified part-time residents from applying. Modern telecommunications, including Zoom, have demonstrated remote availability.
The next election is in March 2022. The recent recall of a well-qualified but outspoken director may discourage some candidates. The TORCH Academy, a frequent source of new talent, was suspended for two years.
The best way to learn about the operations of the RCSCW board is to attend the TORCH learning program to understand how the association works, attend board meetings and committee meetings, which are open to owner members, and then ask the chairperson to join a committee. Knowing how standing committees operate is essential to director performance; TORCH alone has proven to be insufficient.
The governing board could urge qualified members to run for election as they know which committee chairs will have to be replaced. Current standing committee members are a good place to start.
