Election
Candidate Forum
On Saturday Jan. 29, the Board of Director candidates participated in a Candidate Forum for the upcoming Board of Director's election that is currently open for voting. Don't worry if you were unable to attend the forum. You can view it on YouTube by clicking here.
Meet your Board candidates
This year, four candidates are running for three open positions for The Galena Territory Association (GTA) Board of Directors. They are introduced in alphabetical order for your consideration: Coleen Dougan, Greg Ropeter, Chris Siegel, and Frank Vavpotic. The Nominating Committee asked candidates to write a biography and answer four questions within a specified word count so members can get to know them better. Their biographies and answers are below, printed verbatim.All GTA members are encouraged to read about each candidate to make an informed decision before voting. If members have any specific questions for the candidates, please send an email at the addresses provided. The election outcome will be announced at the GTA Annual Meeting Feb. 24, 2024. The three candidates with the most votes will be elected to three-year terms.
Email your candidates:
Candidate statements appear in alphabetical order. Scroll down to view.
Coleen Dougan
BIOGRAPHY
Introducing myself, I was a Chicago police officer for 30 years. I loved my job. It definitely came with many challenges. Becoming a police officer was not my first career choice. I was attending St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in Evanston, Illinois, when I received a letter from the City of Chicago that I was chosen to join the rank and file of the police department. I had six classes left to become a registered nurse. I was on a scholarship, and with the blessing of the head surgeon of the cardiology department, I chose to join the police department. I was only one of six women in my homeroom of 32 cadets and I reveled in every minute of every challenge.
I worked on the streets of Chicago for many years where I learned to listen with an open mind. Accumulating multiple injuries in the line of duty, I spent my last years as an administrative assistant for several commanders in the Bureau of Detectives. I worked closely with other bureaus within the department, as well as suburban police departments, the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and Metra Police. I learned multiple skills including making collaborative decisions and financial balancing.
My husband, Mike, and I have owned our home in The Galena Territory for almost two years now. Although only part-timers for now, we absolutely love it here! I enjoy gardening, painting, crafting and spending time in the pool at the GTA Owners’ Club. Several of my in-laws have purchased homes here recently and enjoy it just as much.
What do you feel is the biggest issue the GTA faces and how should it be addressed?
I believe the biggest issue that the GTA faces is balancing conflicts of interest between permanent residents and those who rent their properties. I believe that it can be addressed by creating a working and amicable relationship between the different boards and associations within our Territory and facilitating fair resolutions for all. This collective manner of decision-making will ensure that we are putting the community’s best interests first. The GTA website, emails, and the Territory Times are excellent tools for keeping its members updated on any planned expenditures and future projects. I am looking forward to serving our community. It is my aim to give back to this community that has welcomed me so warmly.
Have you served on a GTA committee, commission or advisory group or similar group in another organization? In what capacity did you serve and what were your contributions?
I haven’t worked on a GTA committee, though I have worked on several advisory committees as a member for my employer and fundraising events. My contributions were to research and provide knowledge to help identify assets that would help to analyze and increase the confidence in determining best outcome. We were able to raise funds to provide a large donation to families of colleagues as well as several different organizations. Some of the organizations I have worked with are: the Police Memorial Foundation, Run to Remember, Susan G. Koman, The Epilepsy Foundation, as well as arranging different fundraisers for fallen officers’ families.
A Board member is a fiduciary for the GTA and must make difficult financial decisions. How would you propose containing costs and generating revenue?
If I am chosen to be a Board member, dedicating my time and experience, I will commit to familiarizing myself with our financial matters: bylaws and being active during the budget process. With this knowledge, I will attain guidance and direction for appropriate decision making. This will help me determine the best outcome for our community.
To contain costs and generate revenue, we must review the budget regularly and meticulously when it comes to financial transactions. By doing so, it will help to implement effective strategies as well as avoid financial distress. The main goal is to maintain the community property and protect the well-being of the residents. Working with the GTC on fundraising can effectively increase revenue. The Territory has such wonderful amenities, as well as the renovated marina, to hold some well-organized fundraising events and increase revenue.
Why should you be considered for a Board position?
My commitment to my community and strong work ethic are traits that would make me a valuable Board member. I believe attaining the position will allow me to meet and help fellow residents. I will listen to concerns from the residents and apply them to my decision-making to have a direct, positive impact on the community.
Being on the Board will also serve my own personal growth. I will treasure my experiences learning and gaining knowledge. I would be honored and privileged protecting and serving this community. Even though I am not a permanent resident yet, I plan on making this community my home in the near future. I aspire to do everything that I can to shape the next chapter of my life here.
Greg Ropeter
BIOGRAPHY
My wife, Tamra, and I bought our home in The Territory in March of 2014. We bought it as a weekend getaway home from our hectic jobs in the Chicago suburbs. In 2018, Tamra and I moved here permanently. I retired, but Tamra wasn’t quite ready and she has spent the last five years as a math teacher at Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, Iowa. She has promised me she will retire at the end of this school year.
I spent my entire career as a director in hospitality procurement, starting with the Hyatt Corporation for 10 years, Ameristar Casinos for one and a half years, Four Seasons for 25 years and commencing as the corporate director for White Lodging for two years. During my career, I spent extensive time creating and overseeing purchasing policies, inventory policies, bidding policies, budgets, and capital purchases. I integrated procurement software systems that interfaced directly with suppliers and payables to increase efficiency and lower labor costs. While at White Lodging, I was responsible for the procurement and coordinated delivery and installation of all furniture, fixtures and equipment; laundry equipment; and exterior signage for all new openings. For the past three years, I have enjoyed being on the GTA BOD and hope to be able to continue to volunteer my time. During my spare time, I golf with the Silver Eagles during golf season and spend many hours working around the house.
What do you feel is the biggest issue The Galena Territory Association (GTA) faces and how should it be addressed?
I think there are a couple of issues that the GTA faces. The first is to make sure that our assessments are spent wisely and in a transparent manner. I believe in the last year we have made some tremendous improvements. This allowed us to have a level assessment in 2024 from 2023 and allowed us to increase our MR&R reserve back to a level that ensures that we are well prepared to maintain and improve our facilities over the next 10 years. This was accomplished by thoroughly reviewing the 2024 budget and without making any cuts to items that are needed.
The second, which directly relates to how the first issue should be addressed, is to use technology to take us into the 21st century. In my opinion, many of the processes that are utilized in the GTA are antiquated and time-consuming. We are making good progress with access control, but we need to make sure that other manual processes that staff do can be improved with technology. We need to work with NorthStar to come up with solutions, especially in payables. Upfront costs will result in better efficiency, which will in turn lower long-term costs.
Have you served on a GTA committee, commission or advisory group or a similar group in another organization? In what capacity did you serve and what were your contributions?
Over the past 3 years, I have been on the Budget and Finance Commission for 2 years, ARC for 2 years and Legal and Bylaws for 1 year. For this last year, I have served as treasurer on the GTA board. For my time on the ARC, I was not the chair, but I feel I brought a commonsense approach to the committee. Many of our bylaws, covenants and restrictions are/were dated. My approach was to think of the future as opposed to what has been done in the past. To promote how new styles and designs should be incorporated whenever possible while keeping the original feel the Branigars had in mind. I think that this approach has made great strides and has continued through this past year and will continue into the future. At the B&F, my first year was spent asking many questions to get an understanding of our monthly financials and annual budget process.
My professional background was heavily involved in budgets and expense control and understanding monthly financials. As treasurer this last year, I believe this knowledge helped lead the group to in-depth conversations with regard to expense and labor control. We reviewed all line-item expenses against revenue sources, which helped lead to an outcome of a stable assessment and a large increase of cash to our MR&R reserve. This stable assessment was finalized without delaying or changing items that are needed to improve and maintain The Territory.
A Board member is a fiduciary for the GTA and must make difficult decisions. How would you propose containing costs and generating revenue?
As a fiduciary, I believe the most important item is containing costs by becoming more efficient. We need to move forward with technologies available that can streamline antiquated processes and increase productivity. Short-term costs will lead to long-term savings. As far as generating revenue, I think we need to concentrate on setting the profit goals higher for items that can be profitable such as the rodeo and other SRC promotions as well as the marina. This doesn’t necessarily mean raising prices but looking at how we can be more efficient with expenses.
Why should you be considered for a Board position?
I believe that over the last three years I have made excellent contributions to the board. I always try to take a commonsense approach to everything. I ask a lot of hard questions to staff. I learned a lot in my first 2 years on the board and I think this enabled me to be one of the strong leaders this last year. If elected again, I will be dedicated to working with an exceptional group of fellow board members and continuing the improvements we have seen over the last year.
Chris Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
I am excited to share with my Territory friends and neighbors my candidacy for the GTA Board of Directors. We purchased our home in The Galena Territory in July 2022 and certainly have strived to become a part of this amazing community from the start! I have been honored this past year with chairing the Social Advisory Group and, since being nominated to this position, have focused on working with other owners and GTA staff in building upon the success of events from years past and importantly, adding to our offerings!
Professionally, I work as a psychologist for a K-8 school district in Lake County and manage my district’s mental health team and community outreach services. I am a nationally certified school psychologist and completed doctoral work in education and school leadership,
focusing my research on the lived experiences of teachers and autoethnography. Additionally, I hold a master’s degree in special education and have been a teacher for part of my career in education. I have also worked as a senior editor for the National Geographic Society, developing science and social studies curricula for schools. Professionally, I have always considered myself to be a teacher and educator. My work in public education has instilled in me a commitment to problem-solving, teamwork, and maximizing a budget!
Looking ahead to 2024, I look forward to becoming a member of the Board of Directors and continuing to foster and grow upon the success from the past 50 years of our Association into the next 50-plus years. We, the GTA, are, after all, a homeowner’s association and are dependent upon our fellow owners for informing and shaping our community for ourselves, future owners, and generations to come.
What do you feel is the biggest issue The Galena Territory Association (GTA) faces and how should it be addressed?
One of the most humbling experiences since moving into The Territory has been meeting and befriending individuals who have owned here since the start of The Territory and who took on the responsibility of creating what we enjoy today. What an awesome experience it has been to meet these individuals and learn about the history and progress that has been made in 50 years! One fellow owner shared that when she purchased their home, Blackhawk Trace was a two-rut dirt and grass path! What then can and should we envision for ourselves and The Territory’s future? This proposition, I think, is one of the most challenging and exciting ventures the Board and fellow owners need to address for the future success of our Association. Doing so will involve hard work, dedication, and building upon our successes! I for one am ready to take on that responsibility as a member of the Board and humbly ask for your vote!
Have you served on a GTA committee, commission or advisory group or similar group in another organization? In what capacity did you serve and what were your contributions
I’ve had the amazing opportunity to meet many of my fellow property owners – many who I now consider dear friends – in my work as Chairperson of the Social Advisory Group. I’ve enjoyed meeting wonderful people at our summer concerts – which, will continue Memorial Day through Labor Day, 2024 whether I am elected to the Board or not – and our many social events. Which I will add, will continue to grow because of the wonderful people who have stepped up to host more events! From the return of the 50s Rock N’ Roll, Fall Fest with Pat McCurdy, Thanksgiving, Cowboy Christmas and everything in between, I’ve enjoyed building upon previous year’s success and working with fellow owners. I plan to bring the same ambition in my work as Social Chair to the Board.
A Board member is a fiduciary for the GTA and must make difficult financial decisions. How would you propose containing costs and generating revenue?
This is an interesting question, especially about generating revenue. After all, we are not a business in the traditional sense but rather a homeowner’s association. Yes, we have the Galena Trading Corporation (GTC), but as a semi-private community, our revenue stream is essentially from us – owners. Being a semi-private community – not generally open to the public – is what makes us so unique and probably should force us to think outside of the box to increase revenue beyond simply passing down costs to owners. I do not believe that constantly passing down costs will benefit any of us in the long run – not for owners and not for our community as a whole! Thinking outside of the box sounds ambitious! But we can do it!
Important to the Board’s fiduciary responsibility, I believe that the Board and management must constantly evaluate every aspect of The Territory to ensure a standard of excellence is being met with cost-effectiveness and in consideration of a competitive market. I also believe that we need to continually update policies and procedures – the way The Territory does business – so that we support our strive for excellence while keeping costs in check. I suppose from being Social Chair and an observant owner, I could go into sharing what things I think we do well and where I think we can build upon, but they only gave me 450 words! So pulling from my work in public schools – let’s get excellent work done within budget!
Why should you be considered for a Board position?
If I’ve shown one thing in my work as Social Chair, it is that I am ambitious! And I love The Territory! So two things! To me, like for many of you, The Territory is more than just a home. Words just can’t explain how I feel living somewhere so enriching, so engaging, so inspiring, so worth the time for me to work and represent you on the GTA Board!
Frank Vavpotic
BIOGRAPHY
The Galena Territory has been Kathy’s and my full-time home since 2013. We grew up in the Slovenian neighborhood of Chicago’s Pilsen area. Having both attended colleges in Chicago, we later raised our two daughters in Riverside, where we lived for 29 years before moving to The Territory. We’re proud to have three grandchildren in Illinois and “soon-to-be two” in California.
Living in The Territory, Kathy and I have taken advantage of its many incredible amenities from pontooning and fishing on Lake Galena to hiking the trails. We attend every social event we’re able to and are regulars at both Men’s and Women’s Coffee. I personally started the Friday Sportsmen’s Coffee. Kathy and I are both into gardening and “woods-scaping.” When not “out and about” in The Territory, we cook together and often host socials for our many friends.
I attended St. Ignatius College Prep before first attending Loyola University Chicago and later, the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle here I received my BFA degree in comprehensive design. Included were elective classes in engineering drawing, business, and marketing. I worked nights at various Chicago Jewel Food Stores from high school through college and later freelanced as a designer for high-end kitchens and interiors. My career started as a 3D design director in the trade show, special event, museum, and destination industry working within set budgets and always with direct customer contact. The companies I worked for included: Fritkin-Jones Design Group, The Design Agency, and Giltspur Exhibit Group.
Later I transitioned into sales and sales management. Operations, general management, and president positions followed in both private and publicly traded enterprises, all with margin, as well as profit and loss responsibilities. Companies included: Milwaukee-based Derse, UK-based MICE International, Singapore-based Creative Design International, and publicly held Greyhound Exhibition Services (GES).
I founded and grew Specialized Onsite Services, Inc. (SOS), a specialty non-union labor co-operative providing over 460 workers nationwide to deliver on installation and dismantling projects for its seven co-operative members. Each member received a yearly dividend for their investment. Think of it as our “Galena Trading Company on steroids.”
Personal interests: World affairs, business and economics, design and architecture, fishing and shooting sports.
I currently serve on both the Budget and Finance and Legal, Bylaws and Arbitration Commissions.
My complete work profile may be viewed on LinkedIn.
What do you feel is the biggest issue The Galena Territory Association (GTA) faces and how should it be addressed?
Having had the experience and responsibility in managing various business enterprises both private and public, the biggest focus is to maintain homeowners’ confidence through openness in homeowner communication, fiduciary responsibility, and operational transparency. To improve and maintain our quality of life at the most appropriate cost.
Have you served on a GTA committee, commission or advisory group or similar group in another organization? In what capacity did you serve and what were your contributions?
I currently serve on the 2023 GTA Budget & Finance and the 2023 GTA Legal, Bylaws and Arbitration Commissions as a contributing member. For Budget & Finance, my team member contributions included: not increasing our 2024 HOA through thoroughly evaluating and reprioritizing all GTA and GTC equipment needs; restructuring our GTC hourly rates to better recover cost; approving the Enterprise vehicle fleet leasing pilot program to reduce our costs and “free up” GTC employees from performing non-revenue generating vehicle maintenance to performing billable and revenue-generating homeowner services.
Our Legal, Bylaws & Arbitration Commission has only recently been given a year-end task to provide input to our Board regarding our two refuse center’s use. Also, to review and propose changes to various verbiage our board has proposed. Have attended as many LMEC meetings as I’ve been able to.
Served as board member for 36-unit 140 Marengo Forest Park, IL Condo Association with task group responsibilities that included: Replacement/refurbishment of 7-story elevator; complete refurbishment of all common area hallways and social room; maintain homeowner assessment without increase for 3 years.
A Board member is a fiduciary for the GTA and must make difficult financial decisions. How would you propose containing costs and generating revenue?
By supporting and continuing the existing board’s commitment to challenge our GTA management team to research and bring forward their best suggestions to both contain costs and generate revenue for our board to evaluate. To measure and evaluate GTA and GTC performance of both hourly and salaried employees as well as to further metric revenue cost center, i.e. The Marina, Shenandoah, etc. Evaluate and correctly apply overhead and billable hourly costs as well as the cost of goods sold (COGS) to the appropriate cost centers. Work with Operations Manager and GTC estimating to metric GTC estimates (won/lost) through enhanced estimating program analysis. Per the recent suggestion of a homeowner, to further explore moving marketing budget(s) from direct advertising alone to a part-time public relations (PR) effort to increase awareness of our community through press release(s) to a wider yet more focused audience and, in a more cost-effective fashion.
Why should you be considered for a Board position?
10(+) yrs. as a full-time GTA resident and most recently, active on both GTA’s Budget & Finance and Legal, Bylaws & Arbitration Commissions. Active participant in GTA social events including participating in a diversity of social gatherings. Add to this, my unique multi-disciplinary career to date. I respectfully request your vote of confidence in my serving The Galena Territory Homeowners to do my part to help improve and maintain our quality of life at the most appropriate cost. Please review my career profile, achievements, and endorsements on LinkedIn.
John Perry
BIOGRAPHY
My wife Pam and I have been married for 52 years and are parents of two boys with 3 ½ grandkids. We started coming to Eagle Ridge in 1989. We so enjoyed the Territory that we bought our home on Lookout Trace in 1999. We now divide our time 50/50 between the Territory and Woodridge. Pam enjoys riding Tonto at the SRC.I was a city manager totally focused on building community – bringing together board members, staff, and citizens to fulfill the “needs and dreams” of the community. I worked 17 years in Park Forest, finishing as Village Manager. Park Forest was named an All-America City for volunteer participation during my tenure. I spent twenty years in Woodridge as Administrator, never increasing the property tax rate. Since retiring in 2009, I have kept positively active. I joined the Board of the Lisle- Woodridge Fire District in 2014 and serve as Treasurer. Last year I was elected to the new Illinois Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund Board. This Board is responsible for investing $7 billion from local pension funds to grow non-tax funding for firefighter pensions. I have served as officer or board member for Rotary, Community Pantry, the Chamber of Commerce, and church.
I know the GTA, including the governing documents and management practices. I served on the Budget and Finance Commission in 2018 and as a Board member 2019-2020.
Having participated in the Territory for more than two decades, I seek to return to the Board to improve the GTA in two areas – (1) enhancing member participation in the work of the Association and (2) managing finances to minimize future assessments while achieving quality services and facilities (fiscal responsibility).
INCREASE INVOLVEMENT
For every group the essence of involvement and awareness is to educate members so they can participate. Participation and education need to be a theme of our governing process. Secrecy is the path to mediocrity and failure. Information needs to be shared with all members to help them understand the mission and the strategies to improve. What steps can be taken? All meetings of the Board, commissions, work groups, and task forces (decision groups) should be convened following notice, agenda, and sharing all backup information to be considered at the meeting with members. Minutes should be prepared and posted for all meetings. We should encourage attendance and interest in all our decision groups. We must appoint folks to decision groups who have diverse viewpoints and will generate options to achieve our goals. We should maximize the number of members participating in advisory roles by avoiding multiple appointments of the same person. Establishment of an “ambassador” group to conduct focus sessions with members with less than a year tenure could be valuable.Traits
I believe the most important trait is to be a good listener. Helping to connect members, Board, and staff requires listening to what each of these key groups in the governance process see as important. Listening requires that time be devoted to listening, responding to what is heard, and sharing the conversation with other key participants (members, other trustees, and staff). I see conversations, built on listening, as essential to developing compromise and consensus by which to govern. Board members need to use the results of listening to discuss among us how we use this feedback to make a more responsive, effective Association. We need to commit to finding a unified direction to be the best we can be.Chain of command
I see my interactions as being effective! I have spent the past fifty years serving both these roles (board member and professional manager) for many organizations. The General Manager and Board must work as a team. The Board must set clear expectations and permit the staff to serve as a professional advisor and implementer. My experience with the GTA, and other organizations with which I have been associated, has been expectations are not clear and staff do not produce quality reports to guide the strategy. We must work to make the right choice (Board strategy) with the right data analysis (staff implementation). I will provide regular feedback to the General Manager and staff as issues are addressed. I will expect more written communications from staff to establish a “paper trail” for members to see how the Board responds to, and develops, issues.Financial planning
A key criterion for assessing the success of a Board member in fulfilling his or her fiduciary role is fiscal responsibility, in short, providing the most to the members at the least cost. There are several steps that should be taken to improve financial management – fairly distribute costs to the GTA and GTC; establish accounting for each GTC cost center which will identify “profit and loss;” insure the GTC produces a profit; and establish within the annual budget a 5-year capital and operating plan in accordance with the By-Laws. I believe that we can provide current services and projects without increasing the GTA assessment for 2024. When we propose major policies or projects, we must demonstrate that they bring good value (effective and efficient) in keeping with our mission to “harness our valuable resources.” Such opportunities for scrutiny by members build trust. We must gather and review data that helps us understand the condition and use of our amenities when we evaluate budget decisions. Financial management and fiscal responsibility are the strengths which I regularly demonstrated in my varied roles are a professional manager and a board member.Lisa Petrison
BIOGRAPHY
I’ve been a property owner at The Galena Territory since 2000 and have been living here most of the time since 2015. My background is in marketing, and I hope that this may be relevant to serving on the board here. I previously was a full-time marketing professor and director of the Integrated Marketing Communications program in the School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. I’ve also served as a marketing consultant for a variety of large companies, including California Pizza Kitchen, Wells Fargo, Discover Card, Shell Oil, Hallmark Cards, Visa, Abbott Laboratories, Rodale Press, and Cox Cable. Prior to getting my doctorate, I worked in marketing/PR in the banking and video games industries, and was a reporter for Adweek Magazine. I have a Ph.D. in marketing from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, and B.S/M.S. degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. I also completed most of the MBA coursework at Kellogg, including study in finance and accounting.
INCREASE INVOLVEMENT
I think that getting more people actively involved at the Territory is very important, since we have many owners who have a great deal of expertise in various relevant areas and since we undoubtedly would benefit greatly from their increased participation. I think the Town Hall meetings have been a good start in terms of helping to get members more informed about what is going on here and in understanding better how some of the owners are thinking about things. I do know for sure that there are many homeowners who would be open to the idea of becoming more involved but who aren’t sure how best to go about doing that. I’m wondering if perhaps we could ask those people to share information about their backgrounds and interests so that we can find relevant ways for everyone to contribute (rather than only getting people involved when we have a specific position to be filled). I also think that just making an effort to listen to folks one-on-one in a totally open way is extremely important, and I hope that my marketing research background will turn out to be helpful for that. I’d like to hear from as many homeowners as possible before the election about what they value about being a part of The Galena Territory and about what changes they would like to see here. I encourage everyone reading this to get in touch with me via email to share your thoughts or to set up a phone conversation. I really do look forward to hearing from you!Traits
I think that a good GTA Board member is someone who takes into consideration the well-being of all homeowners here at The Territory and who strives to make decisions that are as beneficial as possible for everyone here. A good Board member also would seem to be someone with the sincere desire to reach out to homeowners in order to better understand their opinions and concerns, and who carefully considers a wide variety of options before making decisions. The desire to encourage more people here to contribute their time and expertise to making The Galena Territory a better place to own a home seems that it also could be a good thing. I feel that my interest in listening to what people have to say as well as my background in marketing research will allow me to represent all the homeowners here in a fair and thoughtful way, and that is why I am running for the Board.Chain of command
It's my understanding that the GTA is designed so that Board members have the responsibility of making good policy decisions; that the GTA staff members have the responsibility of implementing those decisions in an effective and professional way; and that Board member concerns about particular operational issues are addressed by bringing them up to the GTA general manager. While I believe that it is important for Board members to be aware of specific operational problems that may come up, I think that the current system seems to be reasonable and so would not be very inclined to try to change that. Rather, my goal is to gain a strong understanding of the experiences and concerns of homeowners here, in order to make optimal policy decisions to serve their interests as well as possible.Financial planning
Obviously managing and spending money wisely and responsibly is the most important task that the Board has. Board members need to be willing to take the time to understand what is going on financially and to ask tough questions to make sure that the money that we have is being used in optimal ways. This includes carefully considering a variety of options when making spending decisions and carefully listening to those with expertise in the area before committing to any particular course of action.Craig Thompson
BIOGRAPHY
My wife Lori and I lived in Clarendon Hills, Illinois for 34 years. We have been vacationing in The Galena Territory for over 25 years and were finally able to fulfill our dream of living here fulltime last December. I believe the natural beauty, GTA amenities, and resort environment of Eagle Ridge make the Galena Territory a unique and extraordinary place to live. I moved here with a desire to volunteer, meet new people and become part of the local community.I have attended every regularly scheduled GTA Board of Directors meetings in 2022. This year I have volunteered for a variety of things including grooming trail horses at the riding Center, participating in a prescribed burn with the Greenspace group, attending Lake Management group meetings, building fish habitat cubes for the lake, and volunteering during the Rodeo. These opportunities have allowed me to meet some wonderful people over the past year.
I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Elmhurst College. I retired last year as the Vice President for Procurement and Operations for Amerisafe, Inc. I was with Amerisafe for 31 years. My responsibilities included asset management, facility maintenance, purchasing, inventory analysis and reporting. I was privileged to work with great people over the years who consistently proved that clear goals, collaboration, and mutual respect can achieve great results.
INCREASE INVOLVEMENT
First, use the new owner orientation to educate and inform new owners on how the GTA and the Board operate on their behalf, how members can interact with the Board, where to search for information on the website, how to attend Board meetings on Zoom and how to find the recorded past meetings on the website.Second, increase the use of member surveys to elicit member input and increase involvement. Survey results should be published.
Third, create a listing of members who are willing to work on advisory groups and task forces so that all members who are willing can have the opportunity to volunteer.
Fourth, the website has good content but the way the site searches for information is cumbersome and difficult to use. Revise the website to improve the user experience, make searching easier, more intuitive, and user friendly.
Fifth, provide information to members in a more complete and timely fashion. For example, a portion of the Access and Permissions presentation was emailed to members on October 18th for discussion at the Town Hall Meeting on October 22nd. Four days is not adequate to allow members to analyze what was sent, discuss with other members, or contact board members. Members would be better served by getting all the pertinent information including background and cost projections as well as allowing reasonable time for review.
Traits
Whether in a work setting or even coaching youth baseball, I have always felt I was at my best when helping team members be more effective, making processes more efficient and treating people with respect. The following traits are important to me and should be important to every GTA Board member:Act ethically and in the best interest of the membership – even if it is not in your personal interest.
Be open and approachable in words and actions, listen to other viewpoints and always act in a respectful manner.
Explain your position in a clear, concise and rational way.
Look at all sides of an issue and analyze what the key issues are.
Be fiscally conservative and completely aware that you are spending other members money.
Think boldly for future projects as they ultimately drive owners property values – but be certain we know how to pay for them.
Ensure that all owners are treated fairly and equitably – full time residents, part time residents, rental property owners, and property lot owners.
Chain of command
GTA policy states the role of the Board is to set policy and approve programs and proposals. The Board routes requests and assignments to the General Manager who assigns them to staff. The completed information comes back through the General Manager to the Board. The General Manager needs to be able to delegate and prioritize requests in order to schedule staff and hold them to deadlines. I believe that many problems can and should be solved at the staff or management level, as simple solutions are usually the best solutions. However, I believe there is also an inherent accountability from the Board back to the members to intercede if members concerns are not addressed or resolved. The Board and Management also have accountability to the membership to communicate the status of outstanding proposals and projects.Financial planning
I will remember that the Board does not have a blank check from the membership. The default move for additional funds cannot always be raising assessments. I believe the Board should consistently champion management to look for cost savings that can drive down expenses and improve operational efficiencies.I firmly believe the Board must improve communication with the membership when proposing changes that affect property owners. Complete rationale for a proposal can assist both members and Board members in understanding the impetus for changes that the Board is considering. The members and Board need the basics of what the problem is, what are the consequences if we leave it as is, what the proposed fix entails, how many options were explored, how does the proposal affect owners and staff, what does it cost up front and what are the maintenance and operating costs.