Tuesday, February 13th, Tanglewood’s Park Manager, Angi Cummins, held a luncheon inside the clubhouse at noon for residents living in the Outback RV Resort Area.
As per ‘Tanglewood Time’ a few residents began to arrive earlier. One thing is for sure, when food is included in the program, people show up! These ‘Early Birds’ didn’t just come in and ‘perch’ at a table, they offered to help with the room setup.  The office staff was appreciative as it gave them more time to complete necessary ‘details’ for the afternoon. Soon the room was full of nearly two hundred Outback Residents along with a dedicated group from the Office staff who had their best interests at heart.
The purpose of the event was to provide answers to the many questions the Outback residents would be asking about the policy HTA had concerning reserving their future ‘spot’ in the outback and the payment schedule. Tough questions were asked and Manager Angi addressed them one by one. Not all the answers were what the residents wanted to hear, but they all heard it first-hand.
A short break was taken as the residents lined up to get lunch.  While standing in line, Angi offered to continue the question and answer session. It was well received.
Overall, it appeared the Outback residents were satisfied with the opportunity to ask questions and some even had a few alternative suggestions. The Office staff was courteous to everyone and Angi checked with corporate on a few issues and received feedback within the hour, to which she passed the information on to the Outback residents.

We’ve had numerous managers in the park. Some appeared interested, but not motivated. Others just disappeared or were rarely seen. Now we have a manager who, like it or not, has completed or continued more projects in a few months than most have in years.

Not all are happy with the decisions being made, but at least for this event, our manager took the time to address every hand that went up with a question concerning the folks who live in the Outback area. The event officially began at noon and didn’t end until nearly 4:00pm. Thank you to Angi, Candy, Billie, Ann Marie, and other staff in providing the opportunity for the residents’ voices to be heard in a respectful manner.

Tuesday’s RV Event Luncheon was a major step between resident and management communication towards building trust, transparency, and a sense of community.  Perhaps similar opportunities could be arranged between residents and management on other important issues where concerns and questions can be discussed in a respectful manner.