Verandah View
Another Seabreeze Publication VOL. 8 NO. 11
www.seabreezecommunications.com
Letter From The Board President By Ian A. Shaffer, President, Verandah Community Association A warm welcome back to our seasonal residents. The community has been bustling while you were gone. Most of the cleanup and repairs have been done from Hurricane Ian. The last of the big projects is replacing the trees that were lost. You will see that happening while you’re here this season. The new board has been seated. Each board member serves a two-year term. David Keeley, Wally Watson, and I are serving our second year. Mary Basile, Neal Rose, and
John Sample were seated as the new board members in the Oct. 18 annual meeting. We welcome them and look forward to continuing the good work of this community. Over the next 90 days, the Tropic gate will convert to virtual attendants. The first sign of this that you will see is the equipment being installed. As we get closer to transitioning to the virtual attendant, we will provide more details for you. This change will allow 24/7 access to the community for both residents and registered guests. This is the second edition of the Verandah View developed by our very own Communications Committee. We heard nothing but positive comments about the first edition. There is a lot of work that goes into producing an informative paper like this. The day one edition is finished, the committee immediately shifts its focus to the deadlines for the next edition. Please join me in sending our thanks to the many dedicated people who serve this community.
NOVEMBER 2023
Design Review Committee (DRC) November Meeting Dates Nov. 8 and 22 @ 2 p.m.
Visions Of Sugar Plums Nov. 16, 5 To 7 p.m. At The River House “The children were nestled all snug in their beds…” A familiar poem that brings warm memories for most of us, but not so for many children in Southwest Florida. Visions of Sugar Plums is a small committee of women who organized years ago, for the purpose of helping the Verandah community bring joy to area families in need during the winter holidays. As the Verandah community has grown, so has our outreach, and we are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Visions of Sugar Plums “adopts” the whole family. Every child, from toddler to teenager, gets new shoes, some new clothes, and as many gifts from their wish list as the allotted money will buy. Many of these children have never had a brand-new pair of shoes or clothes that haven’t been handed down. Often the parents we talk with don’t know what gift to ask for. “They will like anything” is a quite common response. So just imagine the delight of getting her first doll, or the thrill of getting a bike of their very own! Groups of Verandah friends do the shopping from the wish lists. They shop for each child, wrap the gifts, and then deliver them to a central location in late December. More Verandah residents load up their vehicles and deliver the concealed packages to the families’ homes just before Christmas. Last year Verandah made wishes come true for 235 children “in our own backyard,” including the children of our own Verandah staff in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. The magic begins with a ladies’ cocktail party in the River House. Our decorating team will make it a festive setting for you to get dressed up and get in the holiday spirit. Attendees’ accounts will be charged $15 for the party, wine, and light food. The Verandah management supports our efforts for the event and always makes it outstanding. There will be a donation box at the door where we graciously accept your monetary donations by cash, check, or Venmo. By the end of the evening, we will know how much money has been donated, and that will tell us how many children we can help. There will also be a sign-up
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You are invited to the Annual
Visions of Sugar Plums COCKTAIL PARTY
Thursday 16 November 5:00 - 7:00 at The River House $15 charged to your Verandah account includes Party, Wine, & Light Food. Bring donations (Cash, Check, Venmo) for “Adopt-a-Family” for area families. Opportunity to sign up to shop for children and/or deliver gifts. R.S.V.P. available soon.
table at the party, where you will have the opportunity to sign up with friends to shop and wrap for a family, and/ or to deliver the gifts. We also provide all the food for the families’ holiday meals, and for the week the children are home from school. Our team of expert food shoppers scours the BOGOs and works with the Publix and Winn Dixie managers to stretch those precious food dollars. They know the best nutritious staple foods, and they include treats, like fresh oranges and grapes, and perhaps even a box of frosted cookies. Visions Of Sugar Plums on page 4
Modification Requests Submitted By Category Landscape improvements are always one of the items that top the list of modification requests from homeowners. A year after Hurricane Ian, generators and roof replacements were a close second to the landscape requests reviewed by the DRC members in September. Tips For Making Sure Your Request Is Approved Each month as modification requests are submitted, there are always some that are returned or are denied. Here are some helpful tips to make sure that your modification application is complete and ready for review and will be approved. 1. Submit your request on the correct modification form. https://www.vcalife.com/folder/modification-forms/ 2. Include the contractor’s insurance, even if they have done projects in Verandah. 3. Use the project guideline documents as a checklist. There is a document for each type of project. At the bottom, you will see a section that tells you what you can provide to assist the reviewers. https://www.vcalife.com/ folder/project-guidelines/ • If you are painting the exterior of your home, refer to the new Color Wheel found on the VCAlife.com website. A hard copy is available at the VCA office and at the Sherwin Williams paint store at The Forum. • If you are updating your landscaping, use the updated plant list. This document gives you details on growth rate, whether the plants like sun or shade, etc. It is very helpful, especially if you are new to Florida landscaping. • If you are adding exterior equipment, such as a generator, be sure to include the landscape plan. All exterior equipment should be shielded from street view with landscaping. 4. Compare your request to the Design Review Guidelines. The most common reasons for applications being returned or not approved can be avoided by using the helpful documents provided in the Design Review section of the VCAlife.com website.