sterling oaks connection
DESCRIPTION
(November-December 2014)TRANSCRIPT
Connection S T E R L I N G O A K S
November—December 2014 Edition
Table of Contents
2 President’s Letter
3 Administration
4 Activities
7 Tennis Racquet
Wishing you all
a healthy, happy
and safe holiday
season.
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
2
Each October our efforts are dominated by financial analyses of our HOA in association with finalization of our next
year’s budget. This October is no exception. Therefore, this letter will focus on budget and financial related issues. Our
General Manager’s letter will cover developments in other key areas such as Litestream implementation, Car dealership,
Security, and Facilities improvement.
2015 Adopted Budget – Highlights
Base Assessment is nearly unchanged before Litestream internet cost pass-thru
Internet pass-thru cost is only applicable to those choosing Litestream internet
Excluding twelve month charge for upgrading single family home mailboxes (outlined below), neighborhood assessments
would also be nearly unchanged with exception of Wildcat Villa increase of 6%.
All Wildcat Villa homeowners received a letter from our General Manager explaining reasons for the large adjustment
required to the reserve for Villa roof replacement and painting.
Including twelve month charge for upgrading single family home mailboxes, total assessments increase 7% to 9% for all
neighborhoods with exception of Sweetwater Cove at 0% and Wildcat Villa at 12%.
Over 80% of savings from the switch to Litestream Cable TV are offset by required increases identified in the reserve
study by Dreux Isaacs, a firm specializing in reserve studies for communities like ours.
Mailbox Upgrade
Upgrading of existing aged mailboxes has been under consideration for nearly four years.
This project has been promoted as an expenditure that would improve Sterling Oaks home values.
The new mailbox chosen by Architectural Standards Committee is made of high quality materials in a green color that
blends with our signs.
Vendor will handle all of the following:
Obtaining required permits
Removal of existing post and mailbox
Disposal of existing post and mailbox
Installation of new post and mailbox
Clearing an area around each new post to protect for landscaping
Maintaining an adequate supply of replacement mailboxes as needed
Guaranteeing the new mailbox for ten years
Support for this project comes from:
Finance Committee
Architectural Standards Committee
Mark West, GM, who has wide experience improving HOA home values
Board of Directors (unanimous approval at September, 2014 Board meeting)
Financial Status Update
At the time of this writing, we have financial results thru September, 2014. These confirm that financial strength of our
community continues to be strong with performance better than budget and cash at near record levels.
Dan Caso
Board of Directors President
A D M I N I S T R A T I O N
Message from Our General Manager
Hours of Operation
Monday-Friday 9:00AM-5:00PM
Phone Number: (239) 566-1575
Fax Number: (239) 566-3558 3
To those of you returning “Welcome Back” and to those of you who
shared the summer with us, “Thank You” for your support!
I have a number of items that I need to communicate to all of you so
please read the entire report and the last issue of the printed version
of the Sterling Oaks newsletter. That’s right folks, we are moving on
and into the cyber age. The newsletter will be published on the web-
site and sent to you via email starting in January 2015. We will still
have hard copies available in the Club Office for the few who do
not have any internet access, visitors, realtors and prospective buy-
ers. If you would like us to mail a copy, please contact the Club Of-
fice!
We have had a busy summer and there are a few new areas of inter-
est: The new pool patio areas are now complete for an additional
seating increase of nearly 40 chaise lounges. The pool itself has now
become a salt pool and the water is fantastic! No more liquid chlo-
rine and better for you and the environment! Bocce court lights have
been installed to light up the area for evening play and events. The
maintenance building is almost under construction to give Alan and
his crew a proper storage facility to house the equipment used to
care for the community. There are a few new pieces of equipment in
the Fitness area in the lower level of the clubhouse. This area pro-
vides you with an amenity if you do not have the time or want to go
to a full gym/fitness facility. It is not large enough to house the num-
ber and types of work out machines that a full service facility pro-
vides.
Other projects completed during the summer were; tennis canopies,
landscaping replacements, terrace improvements, tot lot and play-
ground renovations and new fencing between the church and Ster-
ling Oaks to increase security.
A reminder, you have all received the green Holiday Fund Letter in
the mail. This letter asks that you show your personal appreciation
for the employees here in the community. These employees take
care of the members and the community as a whole. The quality of
the amenities, the maintenance of the gates, buildings, pools and
tennis courts all add value to the real estate that you call home.
Please send, fax, email or drop a response back to the club office.
The employees of the club thank you!
The budget for 2015 was completed during the summer and early
fall with a review by the Finance Committee. This budget has no
overall increase in the general day to day operations costs which
include the Administration, Tennis, Food and Beverage and Mainte-
nance. The base increases come from; a needed adjustment in the
reserves to fully fund the program so no future assessments will be
needed for replacement of our assets, as pass thru cost of Litestream
internet (if you choose to use it) and the new mailboxes for the sin-
gle family homes. Offsets include lower cable cost, reduced loss in
the restaurant, lower general expenses and improved net results from
Tennis.
Mailboxes, I know that there are many questions and I want to give
you a bit of historical background. In 2012 the residents were asked
to vote and subsequently pass an Amendment to the Bylaws of the
community to give the Association the right to care and manage the
single family mailboxes. This was done after repeated requests for
some homeowners to repair or replace their own mailboxes which
were ignored. The Mission Statement of the Community is “To Pro-
tect and Enhance Property Values”. Therefore, the Board and staff
over the last three years have been researching a solution to main-
tain the aging mailboxes and posts originally supplied by the devel-
oper. The Board in 2013 voted to replace all street signs and posts to
the green metal ones that you see today. In 2014, the staff, ASC
Committee, Finance Committee recommended to the Board of Di-
rectors to replace all single family mailboxes in 2015. The Board of
Directors voted in September unanimously
to install new green high impact military
grade gloss plastic posts and mailboxes (a
picture of a version in black with the green
color swatch is shown below) with a ten year
warranty. This cost will be paid by each
neighborhood as prescribed in the Declara-
tions and Covenants regarding Neighbor-
hood Assessments.
Mark West, CCM CCE CAM
Email: [email protected]
Seasonne Hayes, CAM—Assistant General Manager
Email: [email protected]
Brenda Harris—Administrative Assistant
Email: [email protected]
Nicole Pasek—F&B/Activities Coordinator
Email: [email protected]
A C T I V I T I E S
We invite you to the annual Welcome Back Party scheduled for Saturday, November 8, 2014.
The party will be held outside in the Bocce Pavilion
area from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Make your reservation with the Club Office today! Come and
enjoy the music, food, drinks and fun. Made in Brooklyn will provide the entertainment for the
evening.
$20 Per Person Price includes entertainment, heavy hors
d’oeuvres, and complimentary house wine and draft beer.
Join your neighbors for this fun festival and
celebrate the Sterling Oaks Community! We will
Girls’ Night Out Wednesday, November 5, 2014
7 p.m.
Tips and Tricks.....Learn about the new Litestream equipment. A representative from Litestream will be joining us to demonstrate the new equipment, such as, how to program your DVR. Please be
prepared with any questions you may have.
Also, bring your games---Mah Jongg, Rummicube, Cards, etc. If we have time after the Litestream presentation, we'll have a mini game night. Bar will be open. Please RSVP to the Club Office.
Looking forward to another good season.
SAVE THE DATE
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014 Back by popular demand, another fun evening at Artichokes. Details to be announced at a later
date.
Reservation
Policy Reservations for special events will
be taken by the main office two
weeks prior to the date of the event.
To ensure your reservation is made
it must be taken by the office staff.
BACK YARD CHILI COOK OFF
Dig out your chili recipes and submit your entry to the office by November 7! Sterling Oaks is conducting a chili cook off to be held on November 14
th from
4:00 to 5:00pm on the outdoor terrace upstairs next to the bar. Everyone is invited to sample the 10 selected entries and a winner will be announced that evening. A Friday night diner with a full menu will follow with reservations required.
When making reservations, please let us know if you will be attending both events or just the cook off or dinner. And the bar will be open beginning at 4:00pm!
2015 BOCCE LEAGUE PARTICIPANTS
This is just a reminder that the Bocce League team sign up will begin soon for the 2015 Bocce season.
Players are given an option to sign up to play on either Thursday or Friday morning. Play begins usually in
mid-January and runs for 10 weeks with play offs finalizing the season. The cost for each participant is $10.00
for the season.
An e-mail list is kept each year for players that participated in that year’s program. Therefore, if you participated
last year, your name is automatically included in the e-mail list.
If you did not participate last season and are interested in playing in 2015, or if you played
last year and your e-mail address has changed with the new internet provider (Litestream),
please send an e-mail to Fran Schuster at [email protected] by November 30, 2015.
Looking forward to a fun season in 2015!!
Yes! It’s that time again
for our Annual Revue show casting
all of the magnificent talent of
Sterling Oaks, March 13-15. We
want thespians, singers, dancers,
magicians and even sword
swallowers.
To participate in this fun time,
please contact Diane
Koelsch at 239-273-6521 or by
email at
November 7—Dinner w/ Entertainment
by Nick Mongiardo
November 11—Blood Drive
November 21—Dinner w/ Entertainment by
Travis Gerbec
November 27—Thanksgiving Buffet
December 5—Annual Tree Lighting
Entertainment by Nick Mongiardo
December 19—Dinner with Entertainment by
Joe Turner
December 31—New Years Eve Celebration
Entertainment by Billie Jollie
January 7—Bocce Welcome Back Party
January 14—Girls’ Night Out
January 16—50’s Do Wop Dinner with Live
Entertainment
Sterling Oaks Legacy Scholarship Event
Sterling Oaks Community is excited to sponsor a fund raising event in conjunction with the
Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation. This event will specifically benefit local U.S.
veterans who are also students at FGCU and classified by Florida Gulf Coast University as First
Generation students, meaning they desperately need financial assistance and have parents who
have not earned baccalaureate degrees. In addition one hundred percent (100%) of all monies
raised will be donated directly to the Foundation. These proceeds will be matched dollar-for-
dollar by the State of Florida, doubling the good we can accomplish.
Our Sterling Oaks fund raising event will take place the evening of January 24, 2015 at the club.
Our evening event will feature live music and fantastic food along with raffles and silent
auctions. Please join us! Save the Date! $20.00 per person
T E N N I S R A C Q U E T
Hours of Operation
Monday-Friday 7:45AM-2:45PM
Saturday-Sunday 7:45AM-11:45AM
Phone Number: (239) 566-1800
www.SterlingOaksTennis.com
Paul Barrus - Director of Tennis
Email: [email protected]
Julie Sprague - Pro Shop Attendant
Email: [email protected]
Welcome back to our “Snowbird” members who have returned home to the sunshine and balmy breezes of
Southwest Florida.
Our Fall Leagues are in full swing with eight men’s and women’s day teams and two women’s night teams com-
peting this season. Watch for the home match schedule in the weekly Email Blast for dates to come out and root
on your favorite team.
There will be a Mixed Doubles Round Robin followed by a Pro Am on Saturday, November 15th commencing at
9 am. We have many new tennis members since last season and the Round Robin is your chance to meet them
and reconnect with other members of the Club. The Pro Am is a chance to “up your game” and have some fun
with one of our local Pros. Tentatively scheduled to participate are Roddy and Sara Cantey, Jim Harris and Chel-
sea Preeg. Spectators are encouraged to attend.
One of our most popular events last year was the Racquet Demo Day which will be held this year on Saturday
morning, December 13th. This is a great opportunity to “test drive” and compare different racquets courtesy of
Pro Am Tennis. Pro Roddy Cantey will be on hand to match you up with the perfect racquet for your game.
If your contact information has changed recently please go to the tennis website and update your new information
so that the Pro Shop and fellow tennis members will have your new contact information. You will find the mem-
ber directory located under the Resources tab.
Tip from the Pro
Contact
One of the most common technical problems players have is finding the right contact point. Every shot
(Groundstrokes, Volleys, Serves, Overheads ) that is struck should be in front of you. The contact point varies
slightly depending on grip for groundstrokes. Contact should always be in front of the body. By contacting in
front you will naturally transfer your weight into the shot adding power to the shot, without sacrificing control.
The more closed your grip the further in front the contact point should be. Late contact usually produces errant
shots. To try and improve your contact point concentrate on letting your racket go out to meet the ball.
When executing a volley you should be able to see both the ball and your racket. Most volley errors are the result
of too big of a swing. A volley is a short stroke with emphasis on clean contact in front and a simultaneous
weight transfer. To improve your volleys concentrate on only allowing the racket face to begin and end where
you want the ball to go. By doing so, the ball will go there.
When serving flat serves your toss should be in front of you and in line with your body. This will create a natural
weight transfer that increases the velocity of your serve. To improve the serve focus on tossing the ball in front
of your hip and back to the tossing hand. This will put the ball in front where it should be. 7
Sterling Oaks Community Association
822 Sterling Oaks Blvd
Naples, FL 34110
Always keep in touch with Sterling Oaks by visiting our websites!
www.TheClubAtSerlingOaks.com
www.SterlingOaksTennis.com