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| Four Seasons Hemet Herald | June 2017 | 3 In last month's Board Message it was mentioned that our Annual General Meeting and election was concluded on April 19th, and as a result we now have a full complement of seven resident Board members. We also said that the newly constituted Board of Directors elected your Board Officers, but they were not identified by name. That is a product of having to submit articles to the Herald publisher by the 10th of the month for the following month's edition. Thus, at the writing of the May message, we had not yet held that election. So, in case you have not heard, your Board officers are: Russ Brown- President, Jim Hatcher - Vice President, Ken Pounders - Treasurer and Tony Criscenti - Secretary. We would like to mention that, of the 1,106 homes within our community, a total of 588 ballots were cast. While this was sufficient to satisfy our quorum requirement of 50% plus 1, it did so only marginally. For some reason, and throughout America, we have become somewhat complacent about voting. Whether we have taken our right to vote for granted, or perhaps we've become ambivalent, we should appreciate that voting is part of our civic responsibility. In many countries, citizens do not even have the opportunity to vote, and they desperately seek to obtain it. And, when they finally achieve the right to vote, they take it very seriously, even risking death to cast their ballots. Interestingly it was 145 years ago this month that pioneering feminist Susan B. Anthony was fined for voting in a presidential election. After the 15th Amendment granted voting rights to African American males, she attempted to extend the same rights to women. To test their status as citizens, she led a group of women that voted illegally in Rochester, New York. She was subsequently arrested, tried and fined $100, which she refused to pay. It was not until after her death in 1906, that the Democratic and Republican parties both endorsed women's right to vote. So, in August of 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was finally ratified, allowing women to vote. It was on June 30, 1971 that the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was enacted, granting the right to vote in all federal, state and local elections to American citizens 18 years or older. Because the minimum voting age in most states had previously been 21, this essentially added an additional 11 million voters. Clearly, the right to vote was substantially treasured by our forebearers and earlier generations. We would do well to respect their efforts and likewise cherish our voting rights by exercising them at every election opportunity. Another significant event occurred in June when, on the 14th in 1777, John Adams introduced a resolution before Congress mandating a United States flag, stating, "...that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation." This anniversary is celebrated each year in the U.S. as Flag Day. Within our Four Seasons community, we are so very fortunate that members of the golf cart club help decorate our community to celebrate patriotic holidays by placing American flags along our streets. Each of us on your Board appreciates the confidence you convey by electing us to serve as your governing body. We thank you for this opportunity, and urge everyone to appreciate and respect the freedoms and privileges we enjoy in our nation. Message From the Board of Directors Sincerely, and on behalf of your Board of Directors, Jim H., Ken, Tony, Gene, Don and Jim C., Russ Brown

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