There is one great piece of news this month:  The ballots are in; Wildflower II Owners have approved the modifications to our by-laws.

For the Association, this means that we conform to contemporary Condominium Statutes in Oregon.

For us members it has one additional effect:   More of us have the opportunity (dare I say a responsibility) to become more involved in managing the association’s affairs.

• We have voted to limit the number of consecutive terms that any one board member can serve.
• We have increased the number of board members from three to five.
• We have recommitted ourselves to an all-volunteer board.

These three small changes can work together to revitalize our Association.

By limiting consecutive terms to three, we ensure that we don’t repeatedly obligate an effective board member, basically becoming a huge imposition upon this volunteer’s time.   In subtle ways doing that dissuades other members from volunteering.  Why? Because one hesitates to “run” against a competent encumbent.  A second reason:  some owners may not volunteer at all, because board membership appears as an open-ended commitment, instead of a two-year rotation.

By increasing the number of board members to five, no one member is saddled with too heavy a responsibility.  This should also encourage owners to donate their time.

Finally, we have in place an effective electronic network.   More and more owners have e-mail addresses.  This means that board members do not have to travel to Sunriver to meet.  Most board business can be conducted over the internet.  This new development opens up opportunities for those of us who are still employed, or are constrained to certain times that we can travel to Sunriver.

So, as you can see, this month’s newsletter is a call to action.  Here is an impassioned plea for Wildflower II owners to volunteer (only a little bit of) their time for the next two years, in order to serve on our Wildflower II Association Board.  There will be four openings this year.  Ron Wise’s term is ending, Ed Vignoul was an appointee to fill the unexpired term vacated when Steve Peters left the association.

So, sharpen your skill sets, owners, we really need you.

If you hesitate to volunteer because you do not yet use e-mail or the web, let me reassure you.  I, your friendly Aunt Ruth, a genuine card-carrying senior citizen, can attest that these technologies don’t bite.

If you have resisted the temptation to buy yet another “electronic toy” consider this:  think of a small computer as the next generation telephone/fax machine, instead of the next generation television.  Moreover, there are free internet services now days – if you are interested, check out, Altavista, Juno or Lycos.

Look at the column on the right.  Then make a list of talents you would be willing to donate to our Association. Be ready to respond when Mel solicits nominees.