Do you know a teenager who already is, or has the potential to be, an amazing leader?  For years we've been partnering with the STAR (Students Taking Active Roles) program to cultivate leadership and community involvement among our youth.  STAR empowers high-school aged teens to become civically engaged and utilize their unique perspective to create positive change throughout Sarasota County.  Click here to learn more.

Many Homeowners Associations have their largest meeting in January or February, taking advantage of high seasonal population numbers to elect Board members.  If the contact information for your neighborhood leadership changes, don't forget to update the registration in our Neighborhoods Online Directory.

Sarasota County's free course, Civics 101, will be starting up again in February.  The course is an opportunity to learn more about the structure and roles of county government in Sarasota County.  The application is posted on our Civics 101 webpage.  You may also email [email protected] to request an application.  Seats are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.

I dread our Annual HOA meeting.  There is always a lot of negative energy and service demands.  How can our board set the tone for a positive experience that motivates members to come back to future meetings?

We've found an article titled " 6 Tips for Managing a Successful HOA Meeting" that may help in the short-term (read:  for those of you with meetings next month!).  In the long term, consider investing some serious time into creating a strategy and guiding document that outlines neighborhood goals, resources, and action items.