Better Together

BETTER TOGETHER

Experiencing synergy with a friend working on a worthy project is my favorite way to spend time. I find it inspiring and energizing. I am now at the point in my role as Community Facilitator where I need help. I am asking my friends and soon-to-be friends to come join me in some worthy projects for our Spyglass Ridge Villas/Villas Antigua Community.

Here is some backstory on how I've gotten to this point: 

My husband Frank joined the board as vice president in charge of landscaping in 2021. As I attended meetings and observed his experience on the board, it appeared to me that it would be helpful to have more information flowing from and to the board members. With board approval, I started writing a newsletter sharing information from both Spyglass Ridge Villas and Villas Antigua Boards of Directors meetings.

In 2020 we had our terrifying fire evacuation. It came to my attention through a neighbor that one of our elders almost got left behind. They mentioned they hadn't seen him leave to a firefighter, and he went in and safely evacuated that neighbor with the rest of the community. The need for a community-based disaster preparation and evacuation plan was evident to me at that point. 

It seemed that a Spyglass Ridge/Villas Antigua Community website was the most effective/efficient way to encourage neighbors to prepare beforehand and have real-time information about any current disaster.

The website is up and running with valuable links to how-to guides on disaster preparation and real-time information should our community need to be evacuated. It also includes community information supporting my original newsletter goal of improving communication between the Board of Directors and residents. I'm happy to be at this point in these projects. 

I am now at the point where I need support from our community members. To put our Spyglass Ridge Community Emergency Evacuation Plan in place, we need 7 to 10 volunteers who will visit with 7 to 10 neighbors, filling out a simple checklist form that clarifies whether they know about the plan and whether they are enrolled or not. That completed form will be given to me and one other volunteer. We will combine the information and reach out to the people who are not enrolled. There will be an informational get-together in my home to get started and another at the end of our effort to wrap up. It won't be a tremendous amount of effort on anyone's part and may save a neighbor's life.

Finally, as I look forward, these labors of love have an expiration date if I am the only one at the wheel. If we want to have our Community Newsletter and SRCommunity website functioning for many years, I need help. We must create a framework that moves these communication tools seamlessly into the future. The board could simply pay a professional to inform us of what's happening in our community. To me, that seems efficient but cold and detached. I would much rather see someone who truly cares about our Spyglass Ridge Community at the wheel—something to consider for those looking for a worthy project.

Your ever-optimistic neighbor,

Kathy Bauer