Great visit with three co-ops in New York!

Thank you to the Boards of Marilla Country Village, Champion, Inc., and Hidden Meadows for seeing me last week. All three of your communities look great! Yards and common areas are mowed, flowers are blooming, and yards are neat and tidy. Clearly, you are all engaged and doing a great job.

This kind of attention to detail is proof of tremendous pride of ownership — both on the individual level and the co-op level. Marilla’s new grounds committee has started with a bang — the flowerbeds look terrific and are a fantastic way to greet visitors as soon as they turn into the community.

I was really impressed with Marilla Country Village’s Capital Improvement Planning, with solid

improvements to the septic system behind you, it’s great to hear you’re looking at paving next. Visible improvements are a great way to show members that ROCs re-invest their reserves and surpluses in making the community a better place. Nothing says “investment” like new pavement!

I’m also happy to hear of your plan for a new sign. I am a big believer in getting your website address on the sign. Let’s tell the passer-by how to learn more about you!

Champion Park is large and spacious with excellent road frontage on busy Route 5. I loved the playground and open grassy spaces. The 11-member Board appears
strong and good although 11 is a large number of Directors. There’s some discussion about getting it down to seven in the future.

Hidden Meadows is a former KOA campground that is a far-cry from that now with its excellent multi-section homes and nice lay-out. The co-op is in need of refinancing from its original financing of its 2004 purchase.

All three communities are within driving distances to cities you will recognize: Marilla Country Village is 30 minutes south of Buffalo, Champion Park is 30 minutes west of Syracuse and Hidden Meadows is 20 minutes from Rochester, NY.

Keep up the good work, all. And, thank you.

P.S. Speaking of improvements, don’t forget to check out the current ROC Prize contest!