TIMBERWOOD PARK N O V E M BER 2017
Timberwood Park Owners Association, Inc.
Vo l . 1 9 Issu e 1 1 A Neighborhood News ™ Publication
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
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’d like to begin by welcoming Barry and Marsha Madsen to the Timberwood Park community. For those of you who haven’t heard or haven’t had a chance to meet them, the Madsens were hired last month as our new Park Caretakers. They are very excited and enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve in this position and serve our community, and they have already done a great job of getting out and getting to know residents in the park. They and their daughter have also moved in to the caretaker house, and while Barry and Marsha are ready and willing to assist park patrons with issues, we urge you to please respect the privacy of their home as much as possible. As you are reading this newsletter, you should have already received via U.S. Mail the notice for the 2017 TPOA Annual Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 5, along with proxy and absentee ballots and a list of the candidates for the four TPOA Board seats that are up for election. If you have not yet received this information, please contact spectrum via e-mail at contact@spectrumam.com, or by calling 210-494-0659. Last month, as I saw the packed house at the October TPOA board meeting and people enjoying the barbecue meal that was provided, I was reminded of a time not too long ago in my board tenure when hardly anybody would come to the meetings, so we thought serving food might help attract more people to come. Well fast-forward a couple of years and the meetings are now standing-roomonly! It’s great to see so many people taking an interest in what’s going on in the neighborhood and taking an active role in constructively voicing their support, concern, or any other viewpoint. What’s not great to see is the sometimes personal level of attacks on social media directed toward the board and sometimes individual board members and other neighbors. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinions. Some folks don’t believe that we need a clubhouse. Some have negative views of things like architectural control requirements and fine policies. Some have different ideas for things we should do in the park with regard to operations and initiatives. Those types of disagreements are natural and to be expected, and there are valid points and counter-points to these types of arguments. We are a very large neighborhood and not everyone will ever agree
on everything. But when the postings begin to move toward baseless accusations, like alleging that the board is knowingly or otherwise violating laws, or the posts demean or defame the character of individual board members or other neighborhood residents, it becomes a serious problem. I’m not here to lecture anybody on the use of social media or free speech or anything like that. But posting on social media creates a permanent record that is invariably spread around, so even an accusation can absolutely impact an individual’s personal life or career. Beyond potentially being the grounds for slander or defamation proceedings, dragging someone’s name through the mud without verification of the facts beforehand is unneighborly, unproductive, and it can negatively affect the community. To end on a more positive note, I’d like to again thank the many volunteers who give so much of their time and energy to supporting the many great events that we have in the neighborhood each year, and of course to Karen O’Neil who makes them all possible. The recent Halloween in the Park marked the end of what is sort of the “peak season” of social events, which started with the barbecue cook off in April and continued through the spring, summer and early fall. Karen and her volunteers are already at work planning what will be another tremendous season in 2018! Thanks for your time, and I’ll see you around the neighborhood! Greg Matula TPOA Board President
Next Board Meeting All Meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. at the
All Meetings are held at p.m. at the Clubhouse at7:00 the Park. Clubhouse at the Park. Annual Meeting December 5, 2017