Welcome to the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Greenbrier Property Owners Association. By your presence here this evening, we know you will continue to contribute to the success of this fine organization. On a personal note it is hard to believe that my tenure on the GPOA Board is coming to an end. Well, I can certainly tell you that it has been a pleasure being of service to the membership. It has been an honor serving as president in the year that we had a record number of residents to join the GPOA. I will also take this opportunity to congratulate the candidates, who are successful in their bid for the Board after tonight.

I will take a moment to recap the year.

First, we settled the berm issue so that future boards will not have to deal with this twelve year old budget issue. Now to explain what we did: Seeing that this was an age old problem and to bring a conclusion to this yearly debate, the Board sought to have the berm deeded over to the GPOA. I believe this to be a good business decision since the Board felt that the berm in question was a part of Greenbrier and should be shared by all as common property. We entered into an agreement with the three HOA’s that were affected by the berm; specifically, Fairways West, Fairwoods and Innisbrook. Due to Fairways West’s covenant and a very technical legal stumbling block, we could not acquire their portion of the berm. We did however; acquire that portion of the berm from the other two HOA’s. I would like to personally thank the people on the GPOA Board for their untiring and selfless acts of dedication to resolve this very important issue.

Secondly, the Board made great strides in transitioning this subdivision into one caring community. A council of HOA’s was organized to discuss issues pertinent to Greenbrier. The preliminary meeting was hosted by James White, President of Fairwoods' Home Owners Association and I thank him for his leadership and organizational skills in starting the necessary dialogue to launch this initiative. The council was turned over to Jim Heinhold who now serves as the president of this essential group of people. Jim, with his wisdom and caring spirit has placed this council in a position to be beneficial to all residents. The council consists of representatives of all the independent HOA’s as well as the GPOA. By the creation of this council, we have assured all residents that this community can and will function as a well oiled machine and that issues near and dear to all if us are shared by everyone. We have asked that the oncoming board continue this path. This will ensure a cohesive community spirit.

Thirdly, we communicated extensively with a team of lawyers with vast experience in HOA’s. We sought to get a solid legal opinion on having Greenbrier residents participate in a yearly assessment. The advantage of an assessment is to ensure that all residents pay their fair share for the upkeep of the community. While the GPOA is financially sound for some years to come, we felt that should a catastrophic event occur, our treasury could be wiped out. We also believed it inherently wrong that some pay and others benefit from all the amenities without paying. After conferring with the legal team, the Board felt that the cost to achieve this outweighed the benefit. We stepped back and took a pragmatic view of the GPOA’s membership composition and determined that we have consistently maintained 65-75% membership over the past 12 years. This year we achieved a whopping 80% membership. Guess what folks; we’re doing it right without mandatory dues! We are encouraging the 2008 and future Boards to follow the strategy of personal appeal to residents that withhold dues.

Next, seeing that some of the practical and organizational issues are on the verge of being outdated, we have put into place a by-law’s committee. The function of this committee is to review and make recommendations to the Board on procedural changes that will continue to make this organization a viable one. We have asked the remaining members of the board to continue in this direction.

We’ve put into place a committee to oversee any and all future development in and around the community. Dick Scoppe serves as the Chairman for that committee. His committee members are Marion Zimmerman, Suzie Eddington, Alan Berger and Bob Chamberlin. The President of the GPOA serves ex-officio. The focus of this committee is both watchdog and advisory to the Board. We have expressed our concerns on any impact that future growth will have on this community in regards to drainage, noise, air quality and other quality of life issues to the City and specifically our Alderman for the Sixth Ward, Dana Outlaw. The future Board will continue to monitor this and keep this committee in place.

The Board has been concerned for a period of time on what could or can be done to improve the vista of the entrance. The help of a landscape artist has been solicited by the Board to address the front. We are faced with two problems when dealing with the front island:

1. Very little sunlight for a colorful, flower filled appearance.
2. Deer and other plant eating animals that feed on the plants that are placed there.

Our expectations, from the two experts that are taking a strategic look at seasonal plantings, are to produce a beautiful entrance to the envy of all other communities. We are asking that the 2008 Board continue with seasonal plantings, updated lighting and increased curb appeal.

We have developed a neighborly approach to issues such as covenant violations. The Board has the responsibility to ensure that neighbors adhere to written covenants. While it is absolutely necessary to enforce the covenants, it is equally important that we approach the violations from a neighborly perspective. This has a dual effect; first, it allows the person to eliminate the violation upon notification and secondly, reduces the amount of legal fees associated with forced compliance. We are asking the new Board to continue strict but diplomatic enforcement through communications with neighbors.

I would like to thank so many of you for your support and input during my year as President. Your comments, suggestions and guidance have been a “beacon in-the-night”. Special thanks go out to Jane Dulane and her staff for all their fine work with the Gazette. Thank you.

In closing, I extend a personal thanks to fellow Board Members, Jerry Elliott, Laurie Collier, Ceil Wasserman, Kathie Jones, Dan Addario and John Harding. You are a dedicated and caring group of people, and I am proud to have worked with you. Because of your perseverance, we had a record number of residents to join the GPOA this year. I would also like to thank all the new residents who attended the wonderful reception we held in your honor in October. We had a great time and I appreciate your participation. If you are new to the neighborhood since the reception, I hope by now you have been visited by a member of the welcome committee. I encourage each of you to adopt a personal philosophy of volunteerism and get involved in the community in which you live. You just might like it! Please stay in contact with me via email at bectjames@aol.com

Farewell,
James Becton