Steve Ritter was elected President of the Seven Lakes Landowners Association [SLLA] in an organizational Board meeting held after the Association's March 24 Annual Meeting.
"With me, you are looking at at a team player," Ritter, a resident of Seven Lakes South, told his fellow Directors. Saying he felt the previous Board had done "phenomenal work," he added that he had "no hidden agendas, no place that I personally want to take this community."
"We are all here because we have a commitment to the community," Ritter said. "We are more effective when we come together as a team to work on problems."
Ritter and Director Chuck Leach were elected to the SLLA Board last year. The Annual Meeting elections added three more Board members, incumbent Director Bob Racine, former Director Steve Hudson, and newcomer Richard Faraci.
Those five Directors convened in an organizational meeting chaired by Ritter, as Chairman of the Nominating Committee, with the election of a President the first order of business. Leach nominated Ritter; and, pointing out that Robert's Rules of Order do not require a second for nominations to executive office, Hudson nominated himself. The secret ballot vote went four-to-one for Ritter.
The Directors then appointed incumbent Director Conrad Meyer to serve out the one year left in the unexpired term of Dave Buckingham, who resigned from the Board in September, and appointed Bill Hirsch of Seven Lakes North to a two-year term.
The then-fully-staffed seven-man Board elected Faraci Vice President, Meyer Treasurer, and Racine Secretary.
The SLLA Board has more committees than Directors on the Board, which means Board Members often have functional responsibility in more than one area. Directors are assigned to committees by the President. Ritter threw the topic of Committee assignments open for discussion, ultimately generating the following line-up of responsibilities:
• Meyer - Finance
• Racine - Community Standards, Judicial Committee
• Ritter - Security
• Leach - Maintenance and Grounds
• Hirsch - Architectural Review
• Hudson - Lakes & Dams
• Faraci - Recreation
Both Hirsch, who still works full-time as an architect, and Hudson, a phlebotomist with FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, suggested they would lean heavily on existing members of the Architectural Review and Lakes and Dams Committees as they got up to speed.
Director Leach expressed an interest in working in Long Range Planning issues, something that has been handled by an ad hoc rather than a standing committee in the past. Meyer noted that long range planning touches on most of the other operational areas. Ritter suggested that Leach work toward developing an approach to planning that would ensure involvement by other directors.
The Board discussed how best to address the Association's communications needs, particularly the website that was created by former Director Buckingham prior to his resignation. Director Hirsch volunteered to contact two residents with relevant business experience, while Community Manager Ray Sohl said he would also do some research on appropriate website applications and bring the issues to the Board's next meeting, a Work Session scheduled for Monday, April 8, at 9:00 am.
