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Happy holidays, all. Even with the few chilly mornings and frost delays showing that winter has arrived, it is hard to believe that we are less than a few weeks from the end of another year – where does the time go. It has certainly been a treat to ride around Sea Pines to see the many holiday decorations adorning our homes and businesses.
I must sadly start this final letter of the year with some sad news; our long-serving Board member, Rich Speer, passed away earlier this month after a prolonged illness. Rich served the Sea Pines Community as Board member for over 7 years. In addition to serving on the Finance Committee, Rich chaired our Land Use Management Committee during its critically important undertaking of revising and modernizing our land use rules and short term rental regulations. Rich’s contribution to the betterment of our community was not limited to his service on the CSA Board – Rich served on the Boards of numerous local not-for-profit organizations, including service as Chair of the Board of the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Our condolences to the Speer family on their loss.
I also want to congratulate David Ellis, David Pardue and LeeAnn Leahy on their election to the CSA Board for the 2023-2025 term and extend our thanks to Ted Leavitt and Bob Quinn for their willingness to seek election to the Board. Having five distinct candidates to choose from, with different visions for the Board’s approach to important issues, provided the Sea Pines community with several strong choices. The very high voter turnout, with over 50% of available ballots returned in the election, demonstrates our Community’s interest (and I hope satisfaction) in the Board’s future direction.
This month sees the end of Board service for two long-standing directors, David Borghesi and Carolyn Adams. Dave and Carolyn both served many years on the Board’s Executive Committee, providing critical leadership on a number of issues. Our Community owes both enormous gratitude for their willingness to volunteer their time to the betterment of Sea Pines.
This month also serves as the last of my three years as Chairman of the Board of CSA. I am extremely proud of the progress the Board made in stabilizing our financial circumstances in both our operational and capital budgets; I believe we have put the Community on a much stronger path for maintaining Sea Pines as the premiere community on Hilton Head. We also made strides in improving the rules and regulations that govern our private community; I believe this will allow us to maintain the Sea Pines lifestyle that most of us envied when we first came to Sea Pines, to visit or live on a full or part time basis. I have greatly appreciated the willingness of the Board to make hard decisions and take bold steps.
Our President, Sam Bennett and I came into our leadership roles at the same time in January 2020. I cannot overstate the enormous talent and effort Sea Pines enjoys in Mr. Bennett and the professional management team and staff that he leads. On a day-to-day basis, they implement the Board’s vision, and handle our property owners’ various and numerous inquiries. They work closely with the County, the Town, and our various public and private utilities to maximize the benefits we can obtain from these outside resources. They all do great work.
I’ll admit that the Chairman’s pay ain’t great – but the enormous satisfaction I have gotten from serving the Sea Pines Community as Chairman has been beyond any valuation. The Board cannot achieve anything without the support of our property owners, for which I and we are truly grateful. So goodbye to 2022, and here’s wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2023!
My very best regards,
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