March 5, 2008
Presidents Message

 It’s a new CRECA fiscal year and we hope this year finds us in better shape than last. I want to welcome back our last year’s members and extend a warm welcome to our newest members. We get off to a great start this year after having overcoming a dramatic hurdle last year, in which we had a very positive outcome. All amenities on CRECA property are now considered legal by the Collier Counties standards and we hope that there are no other major obstacles to prevent us from continuing to operate as we have always done. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your President for one more term. I will continue to look out for the welfare of the Association and strive to improve on all that CRECA has to offer. My side-kick Robert McDaniel is getting a well deserved break from serving on the board in numerous positions for the past 7-8 years. He will continue to be a major contributing factor to the community and deserves great thanks and praise for his hard work and dedication to our organization. Taking his place is Steve Jones who will be our new properties board member. This is one of the most intensive positions we have. He has already taken the bull by the horns and has coordinated and led a posse of CRECA residents in repainting the Pavilion, to include the floor, and the bath house. We will be posting the names of all the members who provide their efforts on our projects in a separate location of our website. Our Mardi Gras Crawfish boil was a success. The final tally isn’t in, but we anticipate a positive cash flow for that event. Karen McDaniel is currently the secretary and has volunteered to continue in that capacity until she can be relieved. She along with her husband has been a major part of the backbone that makes up CRECA and its board throughout the years. If anyone is interested in taking over the duties of secretary please contact Karen McDaniel. The same applies to Maryellen Sickler. She has done an outstanding job in managing our finances and keeping us above water. Her position is also up to be filled. I’m sure both Maryellen and Karen will spend the time to transition anyone into those positions so as not to overwhelm anyone. I know that a lot of our residents feel they are too busy in their everyday lives to be able to do a good job on CRECAs board. The reality is, that while it does take some effort, the rewards of getting to play a part in your community far outweighs what small amount of time is spent on doing CRECA business. Most business can be conducted by phone or e-mail. Speaking of e-mail, a special thanks to Jimmy Jones in his efforts to keep our website current and interesting. We are always open for suggestions so don’t be afraid to send Jimmy a note with your ideas. Lastly, our vote to change our by-laws to include other residents in the neighborhood (Southside Outrigger, Natures Point) will be tallied on April 15^th as required by our by-laws. We will inform you of the outcome at that time. The property has never looked better, so let’s all pledge to keep it that way. Again, thanks for the opportunity to serve CRECA for another two years. I look forward to seeing all of you “down at the end of the street”.

John Shepard