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Well over 100 residents packed the Community Center for the Celebration Residential Owners Association (CROA) annual meeting held on September 22.  The meeting featured reports by the officers and committees, slide and video presentations of the year-in-review, and introduction of four recently-elected CROA Board Directors.

As residents gathered before the meeting, the Celebration School Band led by Mr. Cochran treated them to a medley of favorites, including the National Anthem.  Father Gregory Parkes of Corpus Christi Catholic Church followed with an invocation.

Officer and Committee reports included:

Treasurer Don McDonald explained the availability of the latest CROA financial statements in the 2009 Celebration Annual Report and on the Front Porch.

President Dave Kaszubinski cited key accomplishments by the community and thanked a list of residents for their contributions.  Special thanks went to Town Manager Pat Wasson and the entire staff of the Town Hall for their contributions for making Celebration a special place to live and work.

Dan Tomsick stoically presented a humor-laced review of an otherwise serious Covenants Committee report, including the status of efforts with the CCDD to deal with the County “BeautiVacation” signs/magazine racks along Highway 192, signs that are believed inconsistent with the aesthetics of Celebration (see prior issue of the Celebration Independent).

Drew Locher summarized the work of the Architectural Review Committee, including the formidable task of revising the Pattern Books from a builder focus to a homeowner focus. He noted that exterior modification applications by residents have dropped by about half in 2009.

Joan Touzin noted the work of the Communications Committee, including the successful move to internet-based election of Board members in the recent election.

Ralph Dunham elaborated on the efforts by the Safety Committee related to safety patrols and cooperation with the County Sheriff’s Office.

Bert Fitzgibbons recounted the many successful activities of the Special Events Committee, including Founders Day, dedication of the Veterans Memorial, Art Festival, Pie Festival, and Fourth of July Parade.  He briefly described an upcoming new event for Halloween, coordinated by Scott Hanover, as well as an upcoming scarecrow contest.

Dori Moyer summarized the achievements of the Parks and Recreation Committee, such as more team sports, the addition of girls’ lacrosse, and infant/toddler swimming.

Tom Sunnarborg reported that the Voting Member Committee had helped encourage residents to fill all the voting member seats in 2009 for the first time.  In an ironic twist, he also noted that the residents had voted to accept the recommendation of the Bylaw Charter Task Force to eliminate the voting member aspect of the town’s governance and transferred Voting Member power back to the residents (as previously reported by the Independent).

Tom Touzin recalled the many, many hours of work by the Bylaw Charter Task Force to develop the recommendations subsequently approved by voters in a special election held earlier this year.

Pam Shaw announced that the Celebration History Center would hold grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 14 in conjunction with the Founders Day weekend.

Thanks to the efforts of Tim Duncan of Town Hall, residents were able to briefly re-live the past year through video and slide presentations that featured many of the events mentioned above, plus the Community Covenant and its Adopt-a-Unit program, the volunteer center, the Lunch Bunch program, playground updates, green initiatives, photo IDs, Summer Breakout Program, Easter egg decorating, and Easter Egg Hunt.  

The four newly elected Board members were introduced to residents.  Don McDonald is returning for a second term from Central Village District A.    New Board members include Jack McLaughlin (North Village District B), Richard Joossens (Artisan Park District E), and Alex Carius (Celebration at Large).