DECEMBER 2023
By Ernie Knobloch
President’s Report FORDECEMBER 2023
Our recent Fall Fest included over 60 arts & crafts, jewelry, and food booths. There was also a Scramble Golf tournament with around 90 players and two golf companies held club fittings. The reviews from the vendors and the visitors were great. The Club sold hamburgers, hot dogs, and drinks outside the front club entrance, while Latitude 30 stayed busy the entire time. The Recreation Department and the Publicity Department are thanked for all their efforts to make this successful. Our Trunk or Treat was a huge success. The weather was great and community participation was huge as evidenced by the fact that over 415 wrists bands were given out to the youngsters. Supporting this event were 82 families/individuals/groups who gave out candy and treats around the circle in front of the Club, the DH Fire Department with pieces of equipment on display, a group of marines displayed a Humvee, and the DH Police Department super-
vised the event. There was an estimated 600 people in attendance. Again, a special thanks to the Recreation Department and Publicity Department for organizing this event. The next children’s event will be “Dinner with Santa” on December 19th. Eblasts will be sent out concerning this event. The Hancock Hawks Boys Golf Team finished second in the Mississippi High School Boys 6A State Championship in a tournament recently played over two days in DH. There were 79 players from all over the state. Obviously, a large number of parents and friends attended. The ones that I talked with were complimentary about our community and many/ most had never been here before. Rowdy Foster, a 7th Grader at Hancock Middle School won the individual State Championship. Class 6A is composed of 24 schools based with similar enrollments. Saltillo High School won the State Championship. I have to admit that I had to look on an MS map to find the location of Saltillo. It’s just above Tupelo, about a 5-hour drive from DH. According to our reps, wholesalers, and brokers, DH, outside of a few ca-
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sinos, has the best wine, bourbon, and tequila selection in the entire state of Mississippi. Based on that, our offerings should appeal to the most discerning connoisseurs. The tile for the Club floor that was ordered turned out to be back ordered. Hopefully it has been installed by the time you read this. MS has few laws concerning POA/HOA’s and covenants. Since additional areas throughout MS are implementing covenants, guidance from the MS Supreme Court is needed for POA/HOA’s if/ when covenants expire for any reason. Our POA is the largest one in MS, that I’m aware of at this time, and has the fiduciary responsibility to maintain an estimated $20-$30 million of amenities. What happens with all of our amenities if the POA loses the ability to require dues or fees of some type and cannot financially maintain what we presently have? There is no definitive answer at this time. It’s my understanding that some other states have ruled that, if you moved into an area that has covenants, and the covenants expire for any reason, property owners are required to pay a
fee for the upkeep of the common grounds. We recently received a Hancock County judgment that we believe gives us an appeal path to the MS Supreme Court. We will keep you informed as this process moves forward. Chinese Tallow trees are sometimes called the Popcorn Tree due to its
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flowers. According to the MS Forestry Commission: “Chinese Tallow trees spread like wildfire, overtake native vegetation, damage wildlife habitats, and destroy nature’s balance.”
• See PRESIDENT PAGE 3