Catching Up or is this the Big Canoe POA Board Meeting???

Big Canoe Club House at Lake Sconti
Home of POA Board of Director's Meetings

Wednesday, September 21st found most candidates riveted to the goings on at the Big Canoe Club House.  The September POA Board Meeting was the attraction, with all POA Board  and Senior Staff members in attendance. About 10 residents also attended, some because they had presentations to make, some because they just care! Times are good in Big Canoe if not many people come to these meetings...I think that this reflects the great job that all governing members are doing today.
Fred Omundson spoke to the need to police the invading non native plant species in Big Canoe.  He would like to have areas that residents monitor and subsequently report any appearance of  invasion so that they might be eradicated before becoming pervasive. Only open areas will be monitored, Fred did NOT have in mind a SWAT patrol charging into residents private property and stamp out the family's mums!  This is another example of Big Canoe's tremendous reservoir of dedicated, informed, passionate residents and volunteers!  I think that it is crucial that we are vigilant stewards of this precious environment that we call home.  As we place more pressure on our green space and open areas we must guard them to the best of our abilities. I would guess that most of us moved to Big Canoe because of the beautiful terraine, follige and  pleniful wildlife that was found here yesterday and is still here today and I feel that a major priorities should be to safe guard it. I would like to thank Fred for his unflagging support of our environment and would like to volunteer to be one of his monitors.
Another important item on the agenda was the formation of a joint committee between the HOA and POA for the purpose of advocacy for Big Canoe in the local communities.  This committee would be called the External Affairs Committee.   Big Canoe composes of a large number of residents and, therefore; a large amount of revenue is paid into in two Georgia counties, Dawson and Pickens. Because of this, we feel that we need to be better informed of issues facing both these counties as well as on the state level. As residents, we also feel that opinions about issues germaine to our lifestyle should be lobbied to our elected officials, and doing so as a community instead of merely individually is often more relevant and persuasive.  The HOA has been sussessfully doing this advocacy for the past several years, because the POA was not allowed to become so involved due to its ByLaws. Those ByLaws have very recently been changed, and now the POA DOES have the ability to advocate for Big Canoe and is the rightful organization to do so. The POA respesent all of Big Canoe, where the HOA only represents a portion of Big Canoe's population, albeit an involved, educated, dedicated portion! The formation of the joint committee was narrowly voted down by a 3-4 margin by the Board of Directors.  Not because they do not see the value of the joint committee.  Indeed it is the very opposite of that.  The Board was not happy with the design of the committee.
IF ELECTED!!!
I support the joint committee on advocacy between the POA and HOA. I feel that rotating leadership should govern the committee.  I would initially like to see  equal membership in the committee from the HOA and POA, but after the first year, those affliations should be ignored.  We are all residents of Big Canoe, and our allegence should be for the entire community, not specific organizations. The committee should always report to both organizations and be aware of each group's thought, opinions and information.  The POA would be responsible for the committee since it is the governing body of this community.
On another subect addressed during the Board meeting:
Open Meetings Logistics:
I am in favor of Open Meetings. This was approved last month by the Board. What does this mean?  The Board meeting have always been open to residents and interested parties. Now the work sesssions are also opened and will be held on the same day as the regular Board meetings. Executive sessions are not open. Since becoming a candidate, I have been allowed to attend the work sessions of the Board since July. I have found them to be informative, persausive and well worth my time. I would encourage Big Canoe residents to attend work session whenever they can. A lot of  background work goes into desisions made by Board members before the  formal POA Board Meetings and I feel that we are well served by our management staff, advisory committees and Board Members during these work sessions.