Recent events and decisions by the HSVPOA Board of Directors bring up some serious concerns for the future of Hot Springs Village.
- Garrison resigned from the Board as the new Board was seated. Yet, he supposedly informed the Board in March of his intention to resign. The seat should be filled by the person who received the next largest number of votes. Will it be? The word is “we’ve never done this before”. OK, let’s not do things a certain way because we never have before. That’s archaic thinking.
- The position of General Manager was posted in-house, but not posted to the property owners. Why is that? And, was it posted nationwide? Were recruiters offered the chance to find the right candidate?
- It’s strongly rumored the position will be filled by a current employee. While this person is certainly a hardworking, dedicated employee, does this person have the advantage of having worked elsewhere, gathered the knowledge, well-rounded experience, and innovation necessary to take The Village in a new direction? Or, are we going to be doing things the same way and expecting a different result?
- The old Board promised to wait for the new Board to find a General Manager. Did they? Or, are they just waiting to vote in their candidate? It would be easy now that the Board is short one seat and the new players will have an equal number of votes. With the swaying of just one new Board member, the decision of the old Board becomes reality. Instead of rushing the decision through, have they ever considered contacting SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) to come in, run the operations, analyze the current staffing, provide training and assist in the search and selection of a new GM? I believe their services are free and they just request expense reimbursement. John Paul’s interim services are certainly admirable, but we need someone from the outside to look at our operations in a different light.
- The Board is much too small to properly represent 14,000+ residents. In my humble opinion, the Board should be a minimum of 13 members.
- Am I mistaken or do there seem to be great number of “closed” executive and board meetings? When asked why, the response was something like “We just need the people to go back to being retired.” Does that mean they don’t want us to know what’s going on? Surely not.
- In that same vein, it has been suggested we incorporate, outside the gates, form a City that would encompass the community of Hot Springs Village. This would provide us with city councilmen from each area, mandate all open meetings, release salaries and benefits of each and every employee to the public, require audits under the Single Audit Act for any Federal flow-through money of $750K or more, open us up for Federal and State Grants, and help with fixing our infrastructure. But, the voices of experience and reason say, “no, that would just create another level of bureaucracy and we would be overwhelmed with administrative overhead. Not only that, but why would residents outside the gates want to be part of our City when we would control the votes and they would end up paying for our needs?” Wise words and so very true.
- The positions of Corporate officers should never be filled with employees! The Corporate Treasurer is also the controller. This doesn’t make sense. Where are the checks and balances? She is basically approving what she has authorized. Was this done so that no one would question certain expenses? Was this done to validate a salary increase? We had a very qualified, dedicated corporate Treasurer. He was summarily dismissed. Why?
- On the topic of salaries, what happened to the most necessary and very important salary survey? It was to be done to bring salaries into line with the industry and geographic area. Hourly employees are paid too little and mid and upper management may be being paid too much. This needs to be done to keep the talent and properly bring all salaries and wages into line. And, is this constant “musical chairs” with staff a result of our paying them too little? When one resigns, many apply for the open position in order to move up a grade or earn a few more cents per hour. Then, the position they vacated is posted at a rate in excess of what the employee was making, when they moved from that position. We’re losing talent and experience in many areas due to this ongoing shuffle. Wouldn’t it be better to pay them what the job and their performance are truly worth? Because they are indeed our most valuable assets!
- What was the deal worked out with Greg Jones? Who benefits and what are the cost savings, revenue-generating advantages to the property owners? Did anyone run a cost savings, revenue pro forma to see if this was a good deal for all concerned?
- Assessment increases will be strongly recommended. The only way I could vote for an increase is if a fixed percentage is set aside, in a restricted account, for the benefit of repairing, upgrading and maintaining our current infrastructure. This percentage should be something greater than 90% of the requested increase.
- And, last but certainly not least, we had Podawiltz, Sherman, and Foltz in position to take The Village in a new direction. Podawiltz was forced out by removing her from the Chair position, Sherman was a lame duck who lost on almost every decision and thereby felt powerless and Foltz’s position as Treasurer was given to staff. The stage was set and now we’re getting ready to see we do not have adequate fiduciary oversight and property owner representation and we’re getting ready to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Let your voices be heard, it’s YOUR Village! Contact the Board members and let them know we don’t like the new direction, which is actually the direction of the past. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now.
By Jama Lopez, April 30, 2021
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Thank you for reading. If you like, please comment below. We love to hear your opinion, but comments must be made using your first and last real name, or they will not be accepted. If you would like to submit an article for publication, please contact us through this website. Be sure to bookmark this website. Click here to visit the Hot Springs Village People Facebook Group, also known as POG (Property Owners’ Group).
Kathy
04/30/2021 — 11:52 am
The idea of NOT adding the next person WE VOTED UPON onto the board is terrible! The people who work for the POA who are on the bottom are so under-paid and the people on the top are so OVER PAID that it is ridiculous! And for them to mention Dick Garrison’s retirement after the election instead of saying that position was open and placing those we voted on in is absurd!
HSVP C
04/30/2021 — 6:36 pm
This post is from Kathy Henderson. I am posting her name with her permission. – Cheryl Dowden
Mary Odom
04/30/2021 — 12:13 pm
Agree with your views…from the frying pan into the skillet!
Ziggy Ziegler
04/30/2021 — 3:47 pm
Its really to bad, so much potential in this Village, so many good people wanting to do good things. I pray this all works out for the good of all us happy property owners here in the village!
Gene Garner
04/30/2021 — 4:16 pm
Mr Lopez, have you shared your concerns with the Board? If so, what kind of response did you receive? The BOD have a long history of ignoring Property Owner complaints, suggestions and questions. The only successful counter action by the Owners I’ve seen in the last 25 years was the “Declaration Amendment Vote” of November, 2018.
That vote stopped the attempted takeover of our governing documents by the BOD & GM. It required a lot of hard work & money to alert and organize our residents and it was done by a small group of dedicated residents.
If there’s to be a change of directions for our Village, an organized opposition will have to step up and force the BOD to obey our Declaration and Protective Covenants–that will take a lot of hard work & money. Hopefully there are still a small number of Villagers that want to preserve why we came to Arkansas and are willing to give their time, effort & money towards that end.—Gene
Jama Lopez
04/30/2021 — 10:44 pm
Mr. Garner,
Indeed, I have met with a few of the new board and some of the old board. At that time, my biggest concern was the controller also taking on duties as treasurer. In the audit world, this is a red flag and not beneficial to the controller or the organization. My concerns fell on deaf ears.
I’m hoping my document gets their attention. But, I’m afraid it will be ignored by those that can correct these failings.
Regards,
Jama
Tom Blakeman
04/30/2021 — 5:32 pm
Excellent work Jama. Laid it out, plain and simple. A majority of the villagers should be appalled at what’s going on. . . but only a very few seem to notice. As Gene Garner noted, it will take a major ‘grass roots’ effort and lots of work and big $$$$ to fix this mess. Doubtful it will happen.
John Szczepaniak
04/30/2021 — 6:01 pm
Whatever happened to the “opposition” ? When we first came here there was a group or groups that were actively engaging in challenging the “system”. It appears the “system” frustrated them into resignation or otherwise silenced. We had placed high hopes with the last BoD but it did not last but a few weeks before resignations began. I was also concerned that Dick recently resigned. What on earth is going on?
Just my observation……
Gary Puffer
05/01/2021 — 12:51 pm
TY, Cheryl, I will definitely attend the upcoming board discussion on 5 May. I’m going to provide a bunch of ideas, especially, about our POA’s 77 departments
HSVP C
05/01/2021 — 1:08 pm
Great! Can’t wait to hear your ideas. – Cheryl Dowden
Dan Hitch
05/01/2021 — 10:32 pm
We are allowed to vote in a BD as property owners, but it seems we can’t get it right or is it because then same people vote and everyone else gripes about our BOD is always bad or is it because they can’t get the best for BOD because it is a thankless job and good ones won’t put up with the crap.
Jama Lopez
05/02/2021 — 8:12 am
In my opinion, it’s threefold:
The Board is not large enough.
The Board members are not polling or listening to their constituents.
It’s a thankless, time consuming job.
But, the size of the Board is the biggest problem. With more members, personal agendas, if any, would not carry so much weight. And, the work could be spread out so they aren’t so overwhelmed.
Jama
Manuel Garcia
05/02/2021 — 9:40 am
Agree completely. The rumors flying around the village about the Jones deal could be set straight and put to rest by just posting it somewhere or sending it to the villagers in an email blast. It’s all about transparency.
Tom Blakeman
05/02/2021 — 10:11 am
Yes. And we need districts within the village with their own representatives. This would include an “at large” rep or two and a non-resident rep or two. And we are probably going to need to pay them a stipend of some sort. Otherwise the most talented and knowledgeable villagers won’t waste their time.
I proposed a similar such plan a year ago and of course it was dissed and ridiculed by all of the so-called village “friends” and their good ole boy constituency. Keep in mind that those are the same ones who have been making costly mistakes and running the place into the ground for the last 10 or 15 years.
Wes Smith
05/02/2021 — 1:10 pm
Mr Blakeman,
Brilliant points to have board members from each segmented neighborhoods for fair and balanced representation. What a novel common sense approach.
Also, I would like to see a mini survey of HSV POA members.
Would you run for office on the BOD if a stipend were paid ? Yes___ No___
If Yes, what amount would the stipend need to be for your to apply? $_____
Wes Smith
steve bylow
05/02/2021 — 7:45 am
Jama – thanks for the thoughts. The one item I’ll be watching the closest is who gets hired as the GM and how long it takes.
I’d like to think the new Board, like previous Board, will recognize it is critical to hire a GM with a breadth of relevant experience like the previous GM (Charles King) as soon as possible.
I realize some folks will say; “Charles had some great experience but he resigned after 6 months, why make the same mistake?”.
I was disappointed he resigned but when some Board members decided to micro manage him, I’m was not suprised he started taking calls and accepted an executive level position in Branson.
While I agree there is a great deal of talent in the Village, we need a GM with a breadth of relevant experience and expertise who will provide credible leadership during these challenging times.
Thanks
Steve
Andy Kramek
05/02/2021 — 8:17 am
Steve, the key word is “relevant”. The main problem with Charles King was that his “extensive” resume was simply not relevant. He quickly realized what was obvious to many onlookers – that he was out of his depth. I suspect that, more than any micro management by Board members, was the driver behind his move back to a more comfortable (i.e. leisure industry) environment.
steve bylow
05/02/2021 — 9:02 am
no problem – looks like we can agree to disagree.
Jama Lopez
05/02/2021 — 8:19 am
Steve,
You are absolutely correct. We need experience and someone with a proven track record. We need a GM who can look at our operations, as an outsider, and see the weaknesses. I’m still in favor of a city manager type person.
My opinion only, of course.
Jama
Kirk Denger
05/09/2021 — 10:13 pm
Steve, it won’t be as soon as possible, that train left the station quite a few months ago. Would you settle for the good ole boy Peter Principle who sleep their way to the top instead? After that blows up, we will be looking for your available search results… again, that is, unless the POA ceases to exist.
Tom Blakeman
05/02/2021 — 10:24 am
The key problem here is the revolving door of boards of directors who simply usher along a status quo of mistakes from the past. If you read the bylaws and policies the board has almost no power or control over the hired staff. On top of that there are policies against a board member speaking out against bad decisions and a system of appointing their friends and supporters when a vacancy occurs. Once the board gets in place all they want to do is find a “top dog” hired hand and let him or her run the place so they can go back to playing golf or fishing. Won’t work, hasn’t worked, will never work.
There have been only two board members since I’ve been here who wanted to make the necessary changes. They were ostracized, criticized, back stabbed and finally left the board in disgust. And now those remaining have quickly been reverting back to business as usual.
Wes Smith
05/02/2021 — 2:17 pm
Does anyone besides me think the timing and announcement of Dick Garrison’s resignation was questionable? Each Board member has a fiduciary requirement as a trustee of the members best interest. With all due respect to Dick Garrison in my opinion he acted in bad faith by his silence which in effect dampened down the number of vacant seats on the Board of Directors.
Don’t misunderstand , I am not doubting that he had valid health issues which I respect and fully understand as an acceptable reason to step down but instead the timing of this resignation was not revealed until after the Board of Directors election was held !
It was rumored he had his letter of resignation was already written prior to the election results … If that is the case then by not revealing this he is in breech of his fiduciary relationship as a trustee and his beneficiaries ( aka Hot Springs Village POA)
Am I the only one who sees the timing of his resignation as suspicious ? Did his health issues just crop up the day after the election was held ? Or were there other ulterior motives ?
It will be interesting to see how or if the new Board of Directors address this vacancy in their next meeting ?
Do our bylaws address what should be done? Should the next person ( Pam Anderson) with the most votes be seated. Will they just leave it vacant to take the path of least resistance ? Do we hold another election for the vacant seat ? I doubt that given the expense and delays for another election. However, in government another special election would be held to fill the vacant seat to make the system whole , valid with the integrity of our full number of seats on the Board being preserved. Now we have 6 seats filled , you need an odd number of seats to avoid deadlock votes with and even number. What do you do if you have a split decision 3 yea , 3 nay =6 that’s why you need 7 seats for a tie breaker alternative .
In closing , Although I admire & respect Mr. Garrison’s service as Vice Chair to BOD and I truly hope he recovers to full healthy lifestyle for many years to come. I am just calling them like I see them and this one looks very shady to me.
Tom Blakeman
05/02/2021 — 2:39 pm
The POA wastes more money every day on mis-management, poor decisions and dumb ideas than the cost of a special election. Regardless, the right thing to do in this case would be to have appointed Ms Anderson. The timing of Mr Garrison’s formal retirement announcement was unfortunate but since it was BEFORE the new board members were seated it is only logical common sense to appoint the next person in the queue.
But, as we all know, Ms Linda Anderson, like her or not, is not one to go with the status quo, is willing to speak her mind and is also one who would actually listen to her constituents. Therefore, it is doubtful that the current Board wants her in their ranks.
Rena Christensen
05/02/2021 — 3:00 pm
I don’t think that an employee or board member should be appointed as our GM.
Gene Garner
05/02/2021 — 3:13 pm
Why not run the Village like a true democracy? Let the Property Owners vote on any major decision or large expenditure of money. I’ve brought this up before without any success but there are inexpensive software programs that allow multiple votes each year by phone, computer and mail in ballots. Part of such an operation already exists with the POA eblast program and with some modifications a full scale polling system could be built.
There seems to be some powerful aura that overcomes most level headed Villagers. It makes them forget their promises and turns them into power seeking autocrats once they’re elected to the BOD. You can see the results by calling up the broken pledges, money wasting bad ideas and poorly conceived schemes.
I know allowing the majority to decide won’t mean a perfect outcome every time, but even 50% would be a big improvement over what we’ve seen in the last 20 years.–Gene
Sue Posner
05/02/2021 — 3:29 pm
Assessments pay for police, fire, security entrance(albeit not so secure) employees to maintain and run the common infrastructure, common land taxes, maintaining current land and buildings. Utilities are sanitation, water/sewer, street lights and are separate charges from assessment. Amenities are use based such as golf play, pickle ball play, pool use, tennis play, bocce play etc. are charged separate from assessment. You have adequate fire and police, common land taxes are paid, roads are good, buildings are good except for one, bad culverts replaced, lakes dredged, trails sound. Only mess you have is in lack of amenity use especially with having way too many courses on association common land not sustained by use. Developer only built golf courses on that common land to attract sale of golf lots/homes near course to use. Was a poor development move then and shows now. Golf generation has dwindled from old age, pandemic that took greatest number of that generation, younger working generations not interested and no time to play. That amenity wasn’t and never will be sustainable with an overage built from past. Rest amenities are holding good paying for their existence. Amenities that need some added maintenance for use can raise temporarily user fees. Commercial business within whether in a rented common building or stand alone own site are not included in assessments and as with all pay for use will sink or swim based on usage and are not owned by association as a whole. Most of the commercial does well for themselves, only the in golf club restaurant business is failing and is direct consequence of unsustainable golf play.(not separate restaurants) Yeah I know those who have retired for or been here longer of the golf generation want it to be like the past well there’s no time machine to take us there. Lot of rumors, lot of in fighting, lot of nepotism has tainted community atmosphere. Remember the association is property owners and a lot are permanent residents, they don’t just visit they live here daily. There is no comparison to a visitor and a permanent resident needs and are different as day and night. Those daily resident owners need to elect a broad that’s adequate. ( 7 with 4 as majority was fine long age but inadequate now) There should have been 2 POA/HOA established when Saline county land was bought to develop later on from the original development. No lots should have been sold and should not be sold without commitment to build upon up front. Letting empty lot have same vote as a built upon is not fair to permanent resident owners. No discount should be given to empty lot owner that isn’t living there as resident owner as there is vested interest of completely different weight. Owners should not just attend board meetings they should canvas petitions for the issues throughout the village with signatures from to petition the board to address. Whining on social sites or group sites hasn’t and won’t work to hold board to fiduciary duties. The board that does not address the owners can be sued for negligence of those duties. There is the last resort to recall all or those on board that don’t. Management is paid to manage and are board and owner directed nothing more than that and shouldn’t be anything more than that even if they live here.
Tom Blakeman
05/02/2021 — 6:02 pm
You are right on Sue. But few are paying attention. Sad.
Dan Hitch
05/02/2021 — 9:53 pm
Let’s see the one board “fired” Mr. Garrison one year and we felt so bad about it we elected the three hombre of which he was one, so LTD the ,three hombre ,was the savoir of HSV but alas it all fell apart ,we lost Lloyd as chairman of Board, Tucker took over as Chairman, Dick as vice chair and now he quits after we elected him again because we felt so bad for him when he was fired. We sure know how to vote.
Kirk Denger
05/02/2021 — 11:42 pm
The POA is “The Greatest Show on Earth.” The owner of the Circus is the author of the Declarations. The long time Staff who are by now bored to see this every year, are the trainers of the endless parade of Directors and their musical Chairs. The trainers have little by little, recommend the rubber stamped rules and policies which keep the Directors in line, with grievances or citations and fines. All the while, the audience who pay the admission price, wonder in awe of how their elected Directors flip without a trapeze. The audience is also subject to the rules and policies that have gotten larger than the declaration, because they are changed during each show. Paying attorneys with the haul, to interpret ways to change the Declaration to create more punitive restrictions for the revolving doors of audiences without a 2/3rds majority vote. No one knows what’s going on behind the curtain, except that their wallets are getting thinner. $12 to get in, $100 to get out. Jama, thank you for a great article, it’s too early to wake up, sure we’ve got nepotism and the good ole boy system with the peter principle at the top, but this is just a small country setting, and isn’t that what we all moved here for? We have a new voice and the voice of the village plus the chamber and marketeers. We have the fraternity of friends of the village (fratf) showing each week until their finale this November with the assessment increase vote. Let’s all positively unite to support the new board and watch the show, just go along to get along, may all decisions be unanimous.
Walter Chance
05/03/2021 — 10:22 am
Agree the board position should be filled with the candidate with the next highest number of votes. I think this has been done in the past. I too think the GM position should come from a non employee. Any employee currently employed will not have a fresh look at financials, organization, and operation of the Village.
Wes Smith
05/03/2021 — 9:39 pm
After reviewing the February archives & the link to hiring David Twiggs as GM in 2013 I would like to propose the necessary professional & academic qualifications to search for a CEO
Academic: PGM Professional Golf Management Degree undergrad
Masters Business Administration or Public Administration
Professional: 20 years employment in resort / leisure industry
Proven track record in turning around distressed properties
Solid leadership, communication, planning , organizational behavior & consumer behavioral aptitude skills
Professional Affliations in National Associations, Recognition awards
Age :45-55 seasoned executive
I would launch my Search with the PGA Career Center ( nationwide , Free )
Doug Turner, Regional Representative
I have provided his contact info to HSV Human Resources Dept
I would also highly recommend using the PGA Career Center for hiring interns from accredited PGM programs for temp employees who earn college credits towards their education & you too might learn some tips too from bright energetic minds on the cutting edge of golf industry
This is where your top tier Golf Clubs are hiring from the cream of the crop!!
Andy Kramek
05/04/2021 — 9:43 am
Wes, I think you just described Charles King when you said “20 years employment in resort / leisure industry”. With all due respect, experience in resort/leisure is exactly not what HSV needs. It is neither a resort, nor a leisure destination! The major issues are the crumbling infrastructure, the top heavy POA Admisinstration and the ever-growing subsidies for amenities that are bleeding property owners. I agree with those who have suggested that what is needed right now is someone with city management experience which is much more relevant to the HSV situation.
Sue Posner
05/04/2021 — 9:27 pm
No you need a Community Association Manager and those need property management skills with a degree in Community Service preferred, experience in property management, knowledge in the workings of different departments within a association. No MBA needed as this isn’t a corporation no one lives in a corporation. Golf? that’s what you have a golf director for, golf is a stand alone user amenity like the other and is offered to public use not just residents and not a residential community of property/home owners.
Wes Smith
05/04/2021 — 11:24 am
Andy,
To your point of a City Manager hire, is why I cited the Academic qualifications of Master in Public Administration to enhance the CEO capabilities to tackle the infrastructure issues. Having made that point I will concede the classroom is not the same as real world experience but it certainly enhances your chances of survival.
Personally I can attest to this day my MBA and MS degrees revealed to me what little I did know from only a Bachelors degree. My education has bridged a lot circumstances over the past 30 years of my career that I would have been inadequately prepared for with just an undergrad degree.
It would be helpful to rank what HSV needs the most to least at this juncture . By doing this exercise you will have in essence provided a blueprint to follow to your GM hire. You may find someone from leisure / resort industry who has experienced turning around a distressed property in the leisure / tourist industry into a solvent property.
Although I agree with hiring a candidate who possesses City Manager as part of their skill set is extremely practical and a fundamental talent to possess , all due respect I just don’t think someone whose only professional background is as City Manager will have the total skill set to Manage a hybrid operation like HSV. Yes, I agree to your point that Charles King was a weak choice when it came to major issues like crumbling infrastructure. He brought only half the skill sets necessary to the table like expertise in Food & Beverage expertise. However, I wonder if part of the blame falls at the feet of HSV for not providing full disclosure of our distressed state?
I believe the proper interview should be a two way street where HSV reveals a FRANK and CANDID overview of all of HSV’s challenges to first the executive search firm (unclear if this will happen) to use the search firm as a filter to disqualify those candidates without turn around experience..
In my and others I have spoken to are of the opinion the #1 capability of the hire should be someone with expertise in TURNING AROUND distressed properties. I’m not a doomsayer just saying get your hiring priorities straight now because to eliminate the churn of new hires every year or less. It’s far easier for a CEO to sail on calm seas than it is to sail on choppy seas … if you catch my drift ? The calm sea candidates are plentiful however the choppy sea candidates are fewer in number . Why ? Prior on the job experience in similar circumstances , higher education and ability to communicate all of this interpersonally to staff and to residents as necessary. WIN, WIN , WIN
During the interview I would pose a set of questions surrounding turn around techniques and how the job applicant would solve the problems to fully engage the prospects talent level or lack of talent.
If either party fails to follow these guidelines and sugar coats or glosses over the condition of HSV then you run the risk of a possible fall out and the street traffic becomes a head on collision !
See tomorrow, today !
Respectfully,
Wes
Sue Posner
05/04/2021 — 9:35 pm
You have adequate fire and police, common land taxes are paid, roads are good, in fact some of the best in the area, buildings are good except for one, bad culverts replaced, lakes dredged, trails sound. Balboa course is on a swamp area and should be considered for repurpose or tons of sand brought in, club is one still needing repairs. There is no crumbling infrastructure as its maintained and has been very well caught up. That old “red herring” was used to divert assessments meant for the maintenance of here into failing amenity usage and to spend monies above maintenance on new expenditures.
HSVP J
05/07/2021 — 1:04 pm
Dead on in your assessment. Great ideas.
Jama Lopez
05/04/2021 — 1:22 pm
Might I interject and suggest perhaps a city manager type candidate, in conjunction with a golf resort experienced superintendent? The overall challenges are far more critical when it comes to infrastructure. “Build it and they will come”, so to speak.
Tom Blakeman
05/07/2021 — 6:17 pm
Sorry, not a good analogy. The “build it and they will come” was the basis for the Nalley CMP.
Jama Lopez
05/08/2021 — 6:34 am
Bad analogy. I just know many people see the direction of our decaying infrastructure and decide to leave the Village. If money was spent, as it should be, and improvements/repairs made, perhaps more would stay and more would choose to live in Hot Springs Village.
Wes Smith
05/08/2021 — 8:03 am
Sue,
To your Academia suggestions that HSV doesn’t need an MBA or PGM I disagree. Yes, HSV ‘s is incorporated as its legal definition as a Subchapter S Corp. An MBA has multiple areas of expertise from Finance, Management, Quantitative Business Analysis, Marketing , Organizational Behavior , Accounting as a well rounded foundation to compliment a General Managers capabilities.
Ideally, I would concentrate on hiring someone with prior expertise in “turning around” a failing corporation such as HSV with emphasis cutting expenses and raising revenues who have MBA or MPA ( Masters Public Administration) . HSV desperately needs immediate expert Financial guidance for stability , solvency and ultimately profitability !
PGM ( Professional Golf Management) degree is a specialized undergraduate degree with emphasis in all things golf from operations management, agronomy, retailing, golf instruction. Students are exposed to business simulation in a lab with job placements in the top tier golf clubs around the World . In Arkansas The Blessings hire interns every semester to give you an idea of the caliber of student coming out of these programs.
Another angle to consider is Internships . If nothing else hire PGM students as interns who can come in and hit the ground running at no salary in exchange credit towards their degree. What do you have to loose? I see openings right now advertising for Golf Pro Shop openings. These internships are invaluable sources for talented students eager to share their knowledge and skill sets as exemplified in their accredited PGA coursework.
WAKE UP HSV HUMAN RESOURCES DEPT !
Sue Posner
05/08/2021 — 11:33 am
HSV is not the kind of corporation (for IRS rules only) you think it is it is not owned and funded by John Tyson of Tyson Foods which he owns The Blessings which is more about architecture than golf and is ONE course he had architect do and had it as an architect project for the University of Arkansas architect students to apprentice on after all his lavish donations to the university. It is utilized for the University”s Razorback golf team. Clear Creek gated subdivision adjoining is million dollar executive homes for the executives of Tyson, Walmart and the University, the lots alone go for $100,000 – $500,000 and they have that ONE golf course nearby. It’s in a NWA hub with major university, major corporations, second largest population in Arkansas a metro area and higher taxes and costs. The Blessings golf course costs $800 PER MONTH to play and the architectural project golf club costs $125 Per MONTH to enter and includes no food or beverage. The golf course nor club is not part of Clear Creek subdivision/POA, it’s a stand alone golf course and club owned by John Tyson of Tyson Foods and decisions are solely his. Clear Creek subdivision is managed by a real estate property management firm of realtors. You are trying to compare HSV to Clear Creek is like comparing beer to champagne. Fantasy will not turn beer into champagne. Even in NWA Walton’s are giving paid incentives to get people to move there, why? well it’s no bargain to live there and average people and retirees are seeking affordability. Bella Vista with all their lawsuits are in one now over two tier of empty lot vs built, because that too sold empty lots with no commitment to build up front. Bad developing practice as well. Original HSV in Garland with only one golf course/club and one rec. lake which started in the 70’s should have been turned into an HOA, when developer bought Saline county land to develop later. HSV umbrella should and still needs to be two separate one HOA one POA (difference HOA is homes, POA still has lots for sale) Administration offices, employees, utilities would still cover the HSV umbrella, but BOD would be two separate and so too the assessments. Can that be done, sure when Declaration amendments can be changed and voted upon in 2025. Suggest strongly that be considered to correct developer mistakes. I have offered over few years many solutions that are doable to many issues big and small, some have been taken and implemented recently. Golf seems to be the dark cloud and frankly has been marketed, there’s long term awareness of HSV having so many courses yet ask why golfers aren’t flocking here cause it’s bigger than just here that problem. Passe as times change over the decades, people are seeking more other than that. It’s not sustainable to this rural area. This is last comment I will be making. Life is more than association back and forth opposing and bickering. Life isn’t getting any longer doing so. Pray we all can have peace. God Bless
Wes Smith
05/08/2021 — 8:35 am
Correction , I believe HSV is titled a C Corporation not S Corporation which is a pass thru entity. I doubt it is a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)
Gene Garner
05/12/2021 — 11:58 am
Hot Springs Village is a non-profit corporation as noted on page 1 of the Declaration.
HSV is defined by the IRS as a ” 26 U.S.C. 528 – Certain homeowners association”.
As an Arkansas non-profit corporation we are not allowed to issue stock or distribute dividends like C, S or LLC corporations .—Gene
Wes Smith
05/13/2021 — 12:39 pm
Sue,
To your rebuttal of my internship hiring proposal from the Professional Golf Management (PGM) undergraduate degree programs and the subsequent internship to The Blessings. Your reply was The Blessings is not HSV is entirely correct , however you are missing the entire point of my posting.
The point is for Human Resources to utilize as part of their hiring options the Internships offered in select PGM programs. There are only 13 universities who offer PGM degrees in the entire country.
Furthermore, these bright up and coming pool of talent are ready , willing and able to commit their entire Summers to learn the trade with on the job practical experience in exchange for credit hours towards their degree. Many of the programs offer placement for free , no salary required, some discounts such as housing is accepted in lieu of salary…
Problem 1: We have job openings even if it is Seasonal
Solution: PGM intern program
Problem2: Labor is expensive
Solution: Interns are inexpensive
Problem 3: HSV is geographically remote
Solution: Interns are not restricted by geography
Incidentally I have shared this idea in an extensive email with links to my top 3 choices of universities offering PGM internships with HSV Human Resources department.
Mississippi State University ( my alma mater)
Central Oklahoma University
Florida Gulf Coast University
To my amazement HSV Human Resources was unaware of any internship programs ?
Knowledge = Success Lack of Knowledge = Failure
Yes, the Blessings is fully aware of such internships waiting to be tapped into … The over arching avenue is now HSV can also Wake Up and join the Blessings and thousands of other premiere Country Clubs to improve our quality of life with the people we surround ourselves with !
See tomorrow, today !
Wes Smith
05/13/2021 — 12:42 pm
Gene,
I appreciate and regret my assumption that HSV was a for profit entity … I stand corrected non profit as per our declaration. Thank you sir I learned something new today . I just assumed it was for profit and that was my mistake.