Friday, Oct. 19, the Santa Fe Trail Ranch held a Town Hall Meeting; the following morning the ranch held its Annual Meeting and elected Ed Hockett, Bob Santoro, and Jerry Withington as new board members. Minutes of both those meetings will be posted on the Bulletin Board and the SFTR Website within a few days. Immediately following the Annual Meeting, the new POA Board held its first meeting. At that time the following officers and committee chairs were established:
| President: | Harriet Vaugeois |
| Vice President: | Mike Shelton |
| Treasurer/Budget Com.: | Bill Wenstrom |
| Secretary/Asst. Treas.: | Ed Hockett |
| Common Area Com.: | Michael Hughes |
| Emergency Services Com.: | Rick Johnson |
| Covenant Com.: | Bob Santoro |
| Communications Com.: | Harriet Vaugeois |
| Board Member: | Paul Miner |
| Board Member: | Jerry Withington |
Although the Board of Directors officially runs our association, it is actually the property owner committees that do the real work of the ranch. Committees are open to all property owners either as regular committee members or as occasional meeting attendees. Committee meeting dates, locations, and minutes are posted on the website. (Click Here to view the Board's meeting schedule. These meetings will also appear in the Event Calendar .)
The Common Area Committee handles the largest tasks and manages the greatest proportion of our member dues. The most important task of this committee is maintaining the ranch roads. Additional subcommittees handle other areas of responsibility including the Gallinas Conservancy, weed control, dumpsters, and the general appearance of all ranch common areas.
The Emergency Services Committee handles education and preparation for any emergencies that might befall the ranch, from fire to medical. This committee manages the Six Areas of the ranch, the area leaders, and the medical packs. The committee also maintains a disaster/evacuation plan in coordination with local emergency police, fire, and ambulance services.
The Covenant Committee will have two major functions this year: a review of the covenant wording and enforcement of the existing covenants. Two years ago The Covenant Review Committee attempted a major revision of our SFTR Covenants. The revisions didn’t receive enough votes from the general membership for a variety of reasons. This issue was left alone for a year. This year the committee will address the problems of the previous revision attempt and will propose a simpler method of revision over a series of years. Because we are a “covenant community,” paying close attention to our covenants is very important. The covenants should work for us. The tasks of revising (if necessary) and enforcing the covenants are demanding and awesome. This committee will work hard and should feel great satisfaction for its efforts by the end of the year.
The Communications Committee oversees the SFTR Website, encourages timely, accurate, and broad-ranging reports of ranch-related activities, maintains the ranch Bulletin Board, and supervises the mailing of ranch communications to owners without Internet access.
The Water Committee is a function of the Metropolitan Water District and will remain so until the water system has been completed and accepted by the POA Board for operation. The committee’s function is to monitor the system status and construction and to assist with other functions as requested by the Metro Board. Membership on this committee is open to all property owners.
Our ranch has a rich history of strong leadership and healthy debate. Residents and non-residents have grappled with many critical issues over the years and created one of the most beautiful communities anyone could wish to live in. Any organization as large and as diverse as ours has to deal with disagreement and compromise. We also have the luxury of a diversely talented, openly supportive, and cooperative group of neighbors, on and off the ranch. Last year in my first year of full time residence, I witnessed multiple incidents when a call for volunteers went out and immediate responses flooded in. The beauty and strength of our community is based on the efforts of owner volunteers. As a property owner, you have the choice of staying private within your own property and letting others make decisions about the ranch, or you have the choice of being involved in that decision-making. Decisions about ranch life are made within committees. These decisions are reported and formally acknowledged by the Board of Directors. Please think about your responsibility as a community member and decide when and how you will share your talents and expertise. Join at least one committee. Think about running for a Board seat next year. Non-residents can serve on committees and on the board. Committee membership is invigorating and rewarding. Involved before and suffering from volunteer burn-out? Try it again; you may enjoy the changes that have occurred through natural evolution. Call Committee chairs to become a member. (Click Here to view the Committee page).
On Friday, November 9, the POA Board will have a Working Session, 4:30 pm at Michael Hughes’ home. This is not an official meeting. It will be an opportunity for the new board to establish itself as a team, to define its mission and goals for the year, and to create methods for dealing with controversial issues and decisions that overlap two or more committees. This is not a closed session, but it is critical that board members have time to work as a team on process-related issues. Results of this session will be presented formally at the December Board meeting (link to Meeting dates). Minutes of the session will be available upon request but will not be published otherwise.
Final reminder: Please be sure that you have a ranch decal in the front, left corner of your vehicle windshields. It’s hunting season now, and many poachers will be attempting to use our ranch as their personal hunting grounds. Every owner is encouraged to stop vehicles that don’t display a ranch decal. If not comfortable doing that, please try to record license plate numbers and report them to an Emergency Services leader or to me. We will check on them. As the ranch continues to grow, more and more service workers become familiar with the area. Everyone found on the ranch should have a specific and verifiable reason for being there.
I am humbled and excited about being your president this next year. I expect that each of you will contact me personally about anything you feel I or others on the board may need to hear. My preferred method of communication is email: hvaugeois@activematrix.net , although my phone does have an answering machine: 719-845-9213. I step into a position made much smoother by the incredible work accomplished by previous boards. Running a ranch that already has roads, power, telephone, security signage, and a strong culture of support and socializing is a much easier job than one that is just starting to exist and define itself. I especially want to thank the recently retired Board members with whom I served last year:
Bill Bumstead chaired the huge Common Area Committee and served as a powerful “devil’s advocate” at board meetings. He had a leadership style that supported and empowered others. He stood back and let others do their jobs, but also jumped in immediately when manpower and/or equipment were needed. We will miss Bill’s wit and hard questions this year.
Carol Rawle served three years and led the charge for accurate communication from the board to the membership. She fought a long and mountainous battle to move communication from paper products to the expanded website we enjoy today. Carol was always there to support other ranch projects and to serve as a wonderful resource on managing our resources. Carol says she is going to pull out of public view so she can enjoy the life she had planned on the SFTR, but I know we’ll continue to hear the echo of her strong voice as the Board meets and discusses controversial issues this year.
Jim Davis served four years on the Board, was the financial wizard behind the establishment of the Metro District, and served as president of both the POA and Metro Boards. For the most part, Jim’s leadership style was to stand up tall and take the abuse himself, rather than duck and let other board members take some hits. His written words are legendary for their clear and honest responses to questions and issues. None of us will ever know the number of hours Jim spent representing our ranch interests nor the number of hours of sleep that Jim lost as he wrestled with ranch concerns. I’ve known Jim for only one year, but in that brief time I was able to admire in his leadership style the wonderful way he had of hearing exactly what people were asking and understanding and embracing their concerns. I hope I can learn to be as patient and caring as Jim Davis has been as our president.
Residents: get involved!
Non-residents: know your Area Leader. Check in
when you visit the ranch.
Everybody: see you at the dumpsters!
Harriet