By Gene Garner, May 25, 2020
Frank Leeming has emailed us a statement by John Weidert who cast the deciding vote when the POA Board adopted the unrecorded Comprehensive Master Plan. This was in his final meeting as board president. I thank Frank for his continuing efforts. [Click here to read Mr. Weidert’s statement.]
Since I was mentioned in the postscript to Weidert’s statement I think I should give my response to what he posted.
First of all as a retired USAF M/Sgt, and although I only served 23 years, I respect all who gave their time, their energy, and their youth in the service of their country. I respect them for the reasons most civilians don’t understand, the missed; anniversaries, graduations, and holidays. The uprooting of our families, pulling the kids out of school, starting all over at a new base every 3-4 years, the 4 cents/mile for a PCS (Permanent Change of Station), the lonely TDYs and during my service, not seeing or talking to my wife for a year.
That being said, I also don’t believe we want retired military governing our Village. Five of the last six Chairs of the BOD have been retired military and we have seen a steady decline to where we are today. Our financial security is in doubt, there’s a palpable division among the Property Owners and we no longer trust our system of government. And, like the military, the Property Owners were not allowed a voice in the decision to “adopt” the CMP.
I don’t say that because I dislike military retirees–I am one. I say it because we aren’t trained to listen to dissenting voices or to do what the majority wants, or to disobey orders or to think “outside the box”. But, I believe, most importantly we aren’t trained to raise money. In the military we’re trained to spend every cent in our budget, if we didn’t our budget would be cut next year by the amount we didn’t spend. We also didn’t have to raise the money for our budgets, it came from somewhere “up above” our grade.
I don’t know if Frank considers me a good guy or not but I try to be aboveboard and upfront about my intentions. I believe John Weidert when he says “Because, had it not been for me being the deciding vote, we would not have the CMP.” There’s enough blame to go around and he deserves his share. Don’t forget though, the CEO considers it “her plan”.
I thought the “Amendment Vote” of November 2018 would wake up the CEO & BOD, but nothing changed. Now I see some major corrections have been made since we have a new, primarily civilian trained BOD. Is that a coincidence?—Gene
***
Editor’s note: Thank you for reading. Click here to go to the home page to bookmark this website so you don’t miss any updates.
We are working on an internet forum website that will enable Villagers to make their own posts, as opposed to only being able to comment. Details will be coming soon.
***
Click here to visit Hot Springs Village PEOPLE private Facebook Group.
Tom Blakeman
05/25/2020 — 5:12 pm
Yes.
Peter A.
05/25/2020 — 6:30 pm
There’s a line in John Weidert’s narrative that reads,
“You and the folks reading this may be wondering why I have waited until now to say what I have to say. And, that would be a particularly good question.”
Well Mr. Weidert, it’s a very easy question to answer. As you know the CMP for all intents and purposes is now dead. What remains is your pathetic effort to save the job one incompetent and untrustworthy CEO. We know where your loyalties and alliances lie. From the start you’ve turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to those who elected you. And further, your allegiance to Lesley Nalley continues to be unwavering.
Your narrative was nothing more than another cleverly disguised military maneuver to save Lesley’s job. You’re not fooling anyone!
We, the majority of Property Owners, have had quite enough of your selfish actions to turn HSV into something only a few righteous misguide so-called leaders wanted.
Let me set you straight, although, this will require that you LISTEN and accept what we the people have to say.
“Hot Spring Village is an active lifestyle RETIREMENT community.”
We did not agree, nor will we ever consider, transforming HSV into some sprawling urban center with multiple demographics.
We the people like HSV, just the way it is.
Maybe if you had broken away from your military training and learned to listen to, acknowledge and act upon the wishes of your constituency, you might have left your Chair with more trust and respect. But you chose the selfish path and now, pretty much nobody cares how you feel about your mistakes,
Enjoy the rest of your life and I hope that finally you might think about listening instead of giving orders against the wishes of those around you.
Vicky
05/25/2020 — 7:03 pm
Excellent Peter!
Mary odom
05/25/2020 — 10:17 pm
Agree 💯%!
Jerry Jay Carroll
05/25/2020 — 6:47 pm
I believe Mr. Garner has put his finger on the problem of HSV governance in recent years. Everyone respects military veterans and believe a way to express this is to elect colonels and generals when they can be found to the BOD. But these good people are accustomed to ordering and taking orders rather than wasting time reaching consensus, which could be fatal on the battlefield. They don’t make for good civilian leadership because their years in the service instilled rigidity as well as a sort of easy-going contempt for civilians. A top-down influence in the village has landed it in the mess it now finds itself. The officer class recruits one another for local politics out of a commendable sense of duty. It’s a shame others in this leisure-loving community can’t can’t bestir themselves to lend a hand and thereby enlarge the diversity of our governors. That would have prevented the emergence of an arrogant POA staff that feels it answers only to itself. I’m looking at you, Leslie Nalley.
Chipmunk
05/25/2020 — 7:07 pm
Old saying in the woods: power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
steve bylow
05/25/2020 — 8:21 pm
Gene – While I understand where you are coming from on the military background thing I must admit your generalization about not recommending x-military on the HSV BOD made me cringe.
I’ve seen some retired military crash and burn in the private sector and I’ve seen some do great and beat out the Ivy League MBA’s so I’d be careful with generalizations.
I do agree a breath of experience is best.
Thanks
Steve
Gene Garner
05/26/2020 — 11:28 am
Steve, I accept your caution on generalizing about ex military. I don’t have a problem with ex-military, only retired ex-military, there’s a big difference. When a young person spends 20+ years in “The Service” their attitude changes and they become part of a bigger organization where the individual is not important. This has to happen if he/she wants to be successful. The military is not a democracy, they don’t get to vote on where they go or what they do and it’s very difficult to change gears after all that time.
I base my generalizations on the retired military BOD Chairs and their track records.—Gene
Wes
05/26/2020 — 8:02 pm
Gene Garner everything written was great until I got to the part about the Military. Not sure when you retired or even served but I can tell you my impression is totally different than yours. We were asked to think out the box, we had brainstorm sessions to get other inputs and ideas, we were allowed free discussion. I sat in my Commanders office plenty of times discussing ideas with him, never once told do it because I said. Things in the Military changed Gene so to make that blanket statement is wrong. I encouraged my people to be free thinkers. Sure we had rules and regs to follow but tell me a company that doesn’t. After the Military I went into Management with AT&T. That is where ideas were stifled, I’m a higher manager than you, so do it. That was the authoritarian attitude I experienced at a civilian company not in the military. You believe the problems of the Village were a result of Military leadership? Hate to say it Gene but you’re wrong. Maybe the Village just elected the wrong people despite their background PS. USAF MSgt Retired
Gene Garner
05/27/2020 — 8:55 am
Wes, I retired in 1977 after 23 years service. I spent 11 of those years O/S in Libya, France, Germany, Greenland and S.E. Asia.
I also brainstormed with my commanders, but only about the minor details never about any major decisions. I remember what an “oldtimer” told me once, when I was complaining about a PCS, “Garner, this is not a democracy, we don’t get to vote on where we go or what we do”.
I think that about sums up the military’s attitude toward the individual. And we all know that’s the way it has to be if you want to be successful–in the military. We didn’t have polls to see how the attitude of the day was trending or convene a committee to look into alternative solutions.
In a small community with a diverse and well traveled group of elderly residents, if you don’t ask for their opinions and try to reach a consensus you end up with our present situation.
We had major decisions, like the CMP, shoved down our throats w/o a vote and large sums of money spent on unneeded projects, like the Water Treatment Plant expansion and the De Soto club renovation because management knew what was best for HSV.
I do generalize when I criticize retired military attempts to govern but I can only judge from past performance. And it hasn’t been that impressive.–Gene
Wes
05/27/2020 — 1:16 pm
Times changed since 77 Gene. I retired in 98 and enlisted were involved in major decisions. Like I stated before it wasn’t because of the military those guys made bad decisions. That was all on their own. I do see your point though
Gus Noble
05/26/2020 — 6:43 pm
Steve,
I just signed on to see if there was anything new on Nalley and I read Gene’s comment. I had just made about 7 of the points Gene said to Frank with a reply right after Frank’s email and I agree with Gene a thousand percent.
I know that we will never get 100% of everyone to agree but Gene’s analogy is right on.
Vikki Powell
05/25/2020 — 9:04 pm
Gene Garner, I agree with Steve Bylow’s comments. After serving 20 years and retiring from military service, I acquired an additional 20+ years of private sector professional experience and a graduate degree. I’m personally offended by your comments about enlisted service members. Your implications that enlisted members don’t know how to influence others, are incapable of being able have any original thought, have no capability to think independently, do nothing more than follow orders and probably are best to not serve on boards is just simply ridiculous and quite biased.
Gene Garner
05/26/2020 — 10:44 am
Vicki Powell, I didn’t criticize only enlisted military in my comments, if you reread my statement you’ll see I’m a former enlisted M/Sgt. I don’t believe I have the training or experience to govern a small town in rural AR and I’ve seen a progression of retired military officers try and fail.
I made it a point to not single out officers, I believe they’re no better or worse than enlisted when it comes to governing elderly, opinionated retirees. –Gene
Erin Voletta Chavis
05/25/2020 — 9:22 pm
Gene, THANK YOU for the strength you exhibited during your courageous battle against the stone wall in HSV. You are an outstanding HSV citizen and I want you to know that many villagers admire your bravery. I appreciate Peter A.’s comment, too. Now that the atrocious CMP is gone, the weasels like Weidert are coming out trying to excuse their wimpy, inexcusable actions; Tormey pitifully tried many times to explain why he shifted sides but it didn’t work for him. Thankfully, we finally have elected a new BOD that we can TRUST to work for HSV as we know and love our home.
Mary Odom
05/25/2020 — 10:21 pm
Great point Erin and we do thank you Gene for standing up to the CEO/board on those issues!
Gus Noble
05/26/2020 — 6:46 pm
Amen
Frank Shears aka Bubba
05/25/2020 — 9:59 pm
Gene, thank you. Very well done!
And, thank you also for all the reasons Erin Violetta Chavez stated above.
Hazel Ecyla
05/26/2020 — 9:48 am
High five to Peter A.
You took the words out of a lot of homeowners mouth & stated so eloquently. Sure hope weidert & His other supporters read your reply slowly and then re-read to make sure they got the point.
Great job Peter !!!!
David
05/26/2020 — 9:57 am
One vote cost $500,000 plus all this aggrevation
Anne Shears
05/26/2020 — 12:38 pm
I can’t help but be suspicious of Mr. Wiedert’s motives. The “Eight Percenters” put up a very weak candidate this year. In view of the recent writing campaign on ND and last week’s Village Voice, I would suggest that Mr. Weidert is “testing the water” for another run for the POA Board.
Greg GILLIS
05/26/2020 — 3:56 pm
Anne if you believe John will run again you don’t have a clue who he is.
Hubert Y.
05/26/2020 — 5:52 pm
Anne: Even an ex-military high ranking closed-minded zealot would not be so naive to think he’d have a ghost of a chance of garnering enough votes, let alone signatures to get his name on the ballot!
Property Owners have awakened, and we are watching everything.
“We won’t be fooled again!” “No no – won’t be fooled again ….”
Minn Daly
05/26/2020 — 6:37 pm
Gene Garner is so correct in his analyzation of Mr. Weiderts explanation. We all honor his military service record an his stint with State dept. what all members question is the involvement with CMP spending $500,000 dollars without getting correct info on who owns common property & easements within a COOPER development. Recognizing COOPER as the developer & getting the POA into the developer business. Signing off of a ridiculous contract with a person who obviously did not want to listen to the membership or be accountable to them or even better the Legacy BOD did not want the CEO to be accountable. Spend was the montra! Titles & hugely, outrageous salaries for some staff at POA. With all the spending there are concerns like, bankruptcy. If the Legacy would have concidered business actions this would not be today & tomorrow’s agenda for our current NEW BOD. Minn Daly
Clyde Berry
05/29/2020 — 1:00 pm
Thanks again Gene. When you speak we all should listen. I recently asked if anyone had record of the campaign promises of Weidert and Weiss, so we could
compare them with their actual performance as was done in the case of Mr Campagna. Your write-up confirms what I expected. Military service of a candidate will not by itself prevent my voting for them, but it will certainly be a red flag to investigate and question fully, especially mid to high ranking individuals.
Bernard McIntyre
06/18/2020 — 1:51 pm
I am a few weeks late to this issue but it is interesting. I do agree as to the intentions of Mr. Weidert. He failed, she’s gone and that is what is important for the Village for we are not TRULY a Corporation even though Cooper did register it as such many years ago.
We ARE a CO-Operation for we are all members of a community where we select representatives to govern our common concerns and issues. Board Members are not obligated to support any of those issues however, but they surely can be removed at the appropriate time and for the appropriate reason. Thus we do expect our selected Board Members to administer fairly, justly, and wisely, with no prejudice, nor personal discrimination.
We have an entirely NEW BOARD, and to those NEW BOARD members I say this; work harmoniously, listen to one another, voice your opinion, discuss rationally, and never let animosity become a division in your efforts to provide for the betterment of the Village and her people. This Board was chosen, not from anger, but from disillusionment with the tactics of the former board which had become a ‘tool’ of a pragmatist who had great personal designs and intentions.
Work together New Board. And as to we Villagers, let’s do cease to struggle with and within ourselves, let us lose our angst and animosities which had been generated these last many years.
We shall all be much happier if we live our lives in harmony.
bdm