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8 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2018 Beaumont over to the HOA — as the most important project the Board will have. "The Board must ensure that we are taken care of safely and that Four Seasons Beaumont is maintained as it is supposed to be." Her goal is that "in ten years the community will look as good as it does today." All of the work of the Board is "for the best of the community," Diaz states. Diaz loves that there are "lots of residents here with such good ideas." Although she says, "homeowners can be as involved as they want to, but they don't have to," she also thinks that "if you complain, do something. Join a committee. Don't just complain." And she believes "that the greatest thing the Board has done is to encourage more community members to become involved with the work of the community." It is her opinion that this has been achieved in part because of term limits. "Although the process of instituting term limits was not perfect," Diaz says, "the Board is working on it, trying to make everything better." She believes that "more people are coming to the Board meetings and residents feel more comfortable with Board members." "We may be retired, but our brains haven't stopped." Diaz made this comment when she was running for her first term. She thinks it is so relevant to her ongoing view of community members that she wants it repeated. She is, and always has been, a person who enjoys lots of activities. That is part of the appeal of Four Seasons Beaumont to her and it is a great part of what she sees herself offering as a Board member — lots of experience in different areas both inside and outside the community. Diaz made clear her love for her previous employment as general manager for two water companies and of six departments for a municipal water district. She carries her management experience to the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District where she sits on the Board, and of course to Four Seasons Beaumont as a Board member. Additionally, she taught accounting at the college level and brings that expertise to the community as Board Treasurer. Although Diaz puts a great deal of time and effort into her Board position at this community and also at the water district, she also takes the time to play "cards, dancing, wine club. Four Seasons Beaumont offers them all. This is a wonderful place to live." for unfinished business." Looking not only to the future but also to the present, Noonan addresses what he sees as the main problem in the HOA: "Committees are overburdened. They have too much work or perhaps they don't know how to streamline their work. It is difficult to recruit new members. Remember - committee members are all volunteers and they are our neighbors. They need to be treated respectfully." Noonan has thought about approaches to help committee members streamline their work. "Each committee should have a new mission statement which would address the best ways to achieve its goals. If the members need assistance in formulating the new plan, they should ask previous committee members for help." He thinks that there has been too much turnover in committee membership due, in part, to the implementation of term limits. "Too many new and fresh ideas can stymie processes," he believes. "Good ideas have been lost in committee turnover." He thinks that Board members could also help committee chairpersons learn how to streamline the work. He does not want to see people overburdened. "Board members are there to work for homeowners," Noonan states. "We all have the same goal: to maintain and enhance the beauty and the value of our homes in the community." Noonan sees another potential problem for the HOA. "Finance will be an issue," he asserts. "Adding The Courts has placed a temporary burden on finances. And the Conservancy is an added expense. New homes may pay for the shortfall. But we will need to look closely at expenditures." "I have seen an association in dire financial straits. I don't ever want to live through that again." Noonan grimaces as he makes that statement. "If a Board member doesn't have the guts to raise dues to keep finances intact, they should not be on the Board." He has thoughts about the Board and communication. "There needs to be more discussion about issues in the open Board meetings. Decisions have already been made. The decision process should be shared in front of the community members at the meeting." Noonan plans once a month town halls to let residents know what's going on. "I would love to do that," he smiles. He has experience in front of audiences. A singer, he performs Karaoke and also participates in PAC performances. An athlete, he bowls in a traveling league and plays softball, also in a traveling league. "I'm not much of a reader any more," he says. "I prefer to remain physically active. That's another thing that's so terrific about Four Seasons Beaumont. There are so many wonderful activities to choose from." Claudeen Diaz, continued from page 7 John Noonan, continued from page 7

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