Rebuttal:

There seems to be some really talented people running for the board. It gives me hope that we have owners willing to put their skills to use and volunteer their time to save & improve (OUR) R Wild Horse Ranch. Like I said in my candidate statement that had to be restricted to one page due to printing challenges before being mailed out, we need the right people in the right positions. We need board members with vision, ethics, the right priorities and wisdom to guide us through this challenging situation. Same goes for the ranch staff. As I read candidate statements like Cody Oliver, Ray Balcioni, Charli Hand, Mary Halbasch and of course Frank Clifton and Denise Flores I see people who have skills vital to the success of the ranch. Certainly a property and organization this size needs all hands on deck and all the skills we can find. We need board members with more than that, if we are going to survive to make our 50th anniversary.

I have no doubt Frank Clifton and Denise Flores would make great Board Members and I think they have the moral compass, mindset and strength of character to lead us to a great place. Unfortunately I don’t know the other candidates well enough to say the same, I’m just going off what I read.

If I am fortunate enough to earn a spot on the board, given each candidates history I would want to work with all of them, outside of the board, using their unique talents for the success of the ranch if they were so willing. We have so many untapped resources in our Ownership Association, it is pure neglect that we aren’t using them.

The only thing missing from most statements, probably due to inadequacies in the election process, and what is entirely critical to our success, is the how. HOW do we get from where we are to the prosperity and security we want in our future. I want to see a plan. We got little hints of that from each but nothing that was satisfying. I really hope the board has a 5 year plan.

To all the candidates, it’s not to late to share your vision or any rebuttals. Send me your plan/vision or rebuttal and I will add it to your profile page. We need the 5 best people in the Association to have seats at the table to represent us. Hopefully those holding over on the board are some of the best.

We have two candidates running, who have years of experience on the board and under their “leadership” the ranch is sinking and the pace is accelerating for good reason. While they may have skills we need, we don’t need them in leadership positions with the ability to bury us through bad decisions.

I am not for or against being under the Davis Sterling Act, in part due to lack of a a complete understanding of it, I am pro the ranch and pro the owners. My main concern is whatever side we are on and whatever legal doctrine we fall under, it is in our best interest to be on the side that gives us MAXIMUM Owners Rights, maximum control over our property, elected officials and management. In similar fashion I am not for or against anyone on the board, management or staff. I am for us, as owners, to have the best people with the abilities we need to guide us to the best possible version of the ranch. I am naturally distrustful of people who seek “power” or authority. I find them naturally untrustworthy and almost always motivated by their own desires.

One of the two most important functions of a board member is to be a servant to the people who elected them, always looking out for their best interest. Sometimes that means protecting an owner or the association from the board itself, management, or staff. Sometimes we have to protect an owner or the entire association from another owner. Sometimes these situations require making tough decisions, some that are challenging, maybe even painful, but need to be made because they are the right thing to do. There are very few people that have the guts to make hard decisions that will negative effect on themselves, for the sake of doing what is right. Those are the decisions that I love the most because it reveals & defines character and make no mistake, I am a character.

By far the most concerning statement I saw from a candidate was that current leadership signed off on featuring the RWHR on Bay Area Backroads. I appreciate the fact that they are trying to make moves and thinking outside the box a bit. While while it may be fast, easy and have a broad range of exposure, that marketing ploy has an extremely high potential of backfiring and destroying the culture of the ranch. It’s far easier than targeted recruitment but we have absolutely no control over those that will want to visit or buy into the ranch. Admittedly, having not been in those board meetings or part of those discussions, at face value it seems to be an ill conceived plan out of desperation. Desperate decisions have a high likelihood of leading to negative results. As a resident of the Bay Area I will tell you, I come to the ranch to get away from MOST of them. Without knowing Bay Area Backroads demographics, is their target market our target market, and was there any cost to the ranch? Do we have a plan on how we will educate, indoctrinate, and on board that influx of new owners? Is there a plan on how to weed out and avoid undesirable potential owners? I certainly hope I am wrong because that one sales strategy could have doomed the ranch for generations.