GRF Board elects executive leadership, new term begins

GRF BOARD

The 61st annual meeting of the Golden Rain Foundation on June 11 ended with a new GRF president and executive board, and freshmen representation in Mutuals 2, 4, 8 and 12. Several veteran members bid farewell, including two-time president Marsha Gerber, Mutual 4, who has served on the GRF Board since 2018.

“I would like to thank my vice president William Thompson who backed me through thick and thin and was the creator of our current and very successful four-committee structure. I would also like to thank Executive Director Jessica Sedgewick. We started within a week of each other on this new journey two years ago. Also, because of my Executive Coordinator Tia Makakaufaki, every day was a good day.”

The 2024-25 executive board includes President Janet Isom, Mutual 16; Vice President Susan Hopewell, Mutual 6; Treasurer Lee Melody, Mutual 14; and Corporate Secretary Edward Jablonski, Mutual 11.

Outgoing committee chairs gave reports listing highlights and accomplishments completed during the last term:

• Administration Committee Chair William Thompson reported the completion of a comprehensive review, update and adoption of governing documents under a new committee structure. Eleven committees were consolidated into four, which reduced hours of staff time and redundancy, and fostered efficiency. The committee also implemented budget strategies that will make fiscal planning more accurate, transparent and easily tracked.

• Facilities Committee Chair Nick Massetti reported on maintenance and improvements accomplished this year, including the real estate sign at the Main Gate, radar speed signs, clubhouse and library remodels, vehicle replacements, Trust street paving, speed cushions and channel fencing, among other projects.

• Member Services Chair Teri Nugent reported that a committee priority was to improve customer service and communication among staff, the GRF board and residents. The committee also emphasized fiscal responsibility while maintaining service levels. Expenditures included a digital piano, installing kilns in Clubhouse 4, resurfacing the bocce ball court, and replacing court handrails, as well as ice machines and aged card tables. Altogether, the committee authorized $38,852.47 from reserves, $30,995 from the operating budget and $8,000 from capital funding.

• Operations Committee Chair Donna Gambol reported that the committee was focused on bringing Leisure World into the 21st century, an ambitious undertaking considering the phone system was 20 years old, and computers and video surveillance systems were obsolete. The committee got to work updating computer hardware and software, heightening cyber security, launching a new user-friendly website with staff dedicated to routinely updating it, implementing RFID gate access and a new guest registration system, and installing conference room and gate cameras, among other projects.

“As you can see board members and GRF staff were very busy and accomplished much this last year,” said Marsha Gerber. She thanked outgoing members Susan Jacquelin, Mutual 2; Camille Thompson, Mutual 8; and Carole Damoci, Mutual 12, for their dedication and many hours of service to the residents of Leisure World.

Jacquelin, who served two years on the board, thanked her colleagues, and praised “the army of GRF staffers for working hard behind the scenes, making this a wonderful place to live, year in and year out.”