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6 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2015 the member chooses to continue with the inner approval," she said. She would also seek to have the Board publish its agenda before each meeting so residents can comment before action is taken; to have the decisions made in closed session published (without revealing private personnel or contact matters) for residents' information, and to limit tenure on the Board and committees to two, two year terms. "Right now we have members going on six or more years. I think two terms is enough so others have opportunity. Rotation of thought is good." Kwiatkowska-Amerton is a life-long music teacher who has instructed kindergarten children, graduate students and everyone in between. She holds a doctor's degree from UCLA in ethnomusicology — the study of how music relates to the culture that created it. She is a pianist and an active member of the San Jacinto Community College orchestra and also a member of the Performing Arts Club and sings with the Four Seasons Singers. She first came to the U.S from her native Poland in 1975 as a student at UCLA's School of Ethnomusicology — the first for that subject in America. After several years of study and passing qualifying exams she earned a Ph.D. She already had bachelor's and master's degrees from Poland. She later picked up a second master's in education from Loyola Marymount. Her academic career led her to teach at colleges in both the U.S. and Canada and to deliver papers and lectures in the U.S., Canada, Austria and Poland. A number of her papers were published in professional journals. She finally took a full-time job with the Lynwood Unified School District and retired from there before moving to Four Seasons. She said she was attracted to Four Seasons by its beauty and location. "I wanted a home that was new, pretty and part of a community as opposed to a single home with everybody disconnected from each other." On the Internet she found K. Hovnanian. Among her goals, if she is elected to the HOA Board, are to ensure that the beauty of the community is maintained and that all community members are given opportunities to have their problems solved. "I would like to accomplish an even greater sense of community and greater sense of unity of all who live here. I want to continue the beautification of our little town within a town." She thinks the Board and its members need, "To be the source of solution to any problems through communication and discussion; to convince people of whatever needs to be convincing — in a democratic way. To make sure the Board is open to discussion from all." This is her third run for the Board. She hopes to see that the Board is involved in everything from "fixing the bumps in roads," to overseeing that the big things operate well. A lesson she learned from that experience was, "The real problem is to make sure that you take in enough in dues to cover maintenance and repairs. You have to stay on top of it." She said it appears the Four Seasons Finance Committee is "doing a good job of that." Parrish was born in Whittier and grew up in La Habra. She was an all-round athlete at La Habra High School as a member of the swim, volleyball and basketball teams. "Back then we weren't so specialized. You could do more sports," she said. After high school, she attended UC Santa Barbara and received a bachelor's degree in art history. To supplement her studies she was a volunteer at the Santa Barbara Art Museum. After working as a new accounts counselor for Coast Federal Savings for a few years, she graduated from the UCLA paralegal program and went to work for a law firm. She worked in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and San Diego before resigning to care for her critically ill mother. After her mother died, she got a secretarial job with the Los Angeles Sanitation District. While there, she learned a lot about water management and reclamation — knowledge she feels would be useful for a Board member. She is interested in seeing more drought- resistant landscaping — plants and ground cover — installed before the HOA takes over from the builder. If elected, she has two projects she would pursue immediately. First, try to improve the acoustics in the Ballroom. Several residents have told her they have trouble understanding speakers at meeting and performances. She would advocate using HOA money to supplement the donated funds used by the Event Systems Committee to purchase sound equipment, if it would allow more residents to enjoy events in the Ballroom. Second, she would see if builder K. Hovnanian Homes would consider putting a dog park in the community. Failing continued from page 4 continued from page 4 continued on page 7 Barbara J. Kwiatkowska-Amerton Candace Parrish

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