January 2024 HOA President’s Message
Happy New Year! As we post a new calendar it is natural to think about the year that has passed and the new year, 2024, that is to come. As the new HOA President, I am thinking about the 2023 HOA team and everything they’ve accomplished and the new 2024 HOA team and what they (and you) have to look forward to.
I want to thank Mark Pantley, the 2023 board and the entire HOA team for the fantastic job they did last year and the wonderful shape that your HOA turned over to me is in. Most of the HOA Board is returning, but several are leaving and I want to acknowledge Leslie Cryer-Hetchler and Linda Garza that are leaving the board.
You saw Leslie every month as she ran the HOA Socials which were both informative and entertaining. Each month’s social got better than the previous one. The talent she found was top of the line and the winners of the door prizes took home some fabulous gifts. You could count on Leslie to have a good time at the Monthly HOA Social.
Linda ran Communications and Marketing for the HOA and she was the eyes, ears and voice of the organization. She put out the monthly newsletter “Your Voice in the Village” that kept everybody informed of what’s going on. She was a steady hand at the HOA Board meetings, helping everyone do their best and will surely be missed.
New Board Members include Roxanne Jackson, VP of Social Planning, replacing Leslie, Kay Condon, replacing Linda as VP of Communications & Marketing, and Mike Robins, replacing me as VP of Advocacy. I sure they’ll do a great job and pick up where their predecessors left off.
In my opening, I thanked Mark Pantley for the job he did as President and the finely tuned organization he turned over to me. I learned a lot during the turnover. I suppose, like many of you, I thought the HOA was primarily a social organization that ran social and golf events and wine clubs with some open village meeting and a newsletter. I was wrong, it is all that, but much more. The HOA is a large organization, consisting of over 250 volunteers, who spend a significant part of their time on the HOA task. The talent they bring to their HOA “job” is inspiring and their value to the community is immeasurable.
The HOA is a catalyst to bring organizations like the POA and New Villagers and many more organizations and clubs together for the good of the village.
- The consolidated Tellico Village Welcome Orientation, hosted by the POA and co-sponsored by the HOA, the New Villagers Club and Tellico Life, is a result of that effort. Judy Bell is the HOA host of that bi-monthly event.
- Tellico Village Neighborhood Watch is a crime prevention, advocacy program formed by HOA. Sherry Le and the eight NW coordinators make your neighborhood safer.
- HOA Programs, led by Lavonne Mitchell, provides Open Village Programs for all Villagers at least quarterly, including the State of the Village, our local governments, including Monroe and Loudon Counties and local and POA election candidates.
- TellicoLife, originally an idea of the HOA and now an independent organization, helps HOA members to manage their membership and register for events. Today over 40 organizations and 7000 individuals use TellicoLife. KC Babb and John McLaughin lead the HOA efforts with TellicoLife.
- The HOA establishes ad-hoc committees annually for Highway Safety, Litter Angels, and Aesthetics and Environment (A&E), as well as maintains liaison to Loudon and Monroe County governments and the Loudon County Committee of 100.
- The HOA has liaisons that meet with multiple POA Advisory Committees (AC), including the Architectural Control Committee, Communications AC, Long Range Planning AC, Food Service AC, Golf AC, Public Services AC, Governmental Affairs AC, Marina AC, and Recreation AC.
- The HOA has liaison to the Tellico Village Townhouse Associations and is on the Tellico Village Volunteer Fire Department Board of Directors. The HOA has liaisons from the Tellico Village Library, StayinTV Steering Group, and the New Villagers. The HOA involvement with the groups in the last three bullets will be discussed in future newsletters, however, if you have an interest in any of these areas don’t hesitate to join the HOA or contact a board member via TellicoLife.
Just as I thought, there is the social part of the HOA. Betty Fortune does a wonderful job running Event Planning and the many events held each month. She couldn’t do it without her team of event coordinators. Each event needs a coordinator to set it up, register attendees, collect fees and pay the bills. The more coordinators we have the more events we can run. We also have a great team on the Golf Committee running HOA Golf, however we need a lead if your so inclined to volunteer.
We also have a few behind the scenes people that keep the organization not only running, but running smoothly. Roberta Hopkins, the HOA Treasurer, accounts for every nickel and dime of your money. Mark Flynn, VP of Membership, keeps track of the membership and devises ways to increase it. Nancy Mariani our HOA Secretary keeps our records and ensures we stay on track as an organization. Without their efforts the HOA could not be effective.
Thank you for letting me be your HOA President. We have a great team and we are going to have a great year. Please join us with ideas and support and get your neighbors, if they’re not HOA members to become HOA members.
Next month: HOA 2024 Goals
Happy New Year!
Harry Rucker
HOA President