DeLano: Time to get your Sun City affairs in order

By Jerry DeLano

With summer nearly over and back to school sales winding down soon, it is time to relax, reflect and prepare for what lies ahead.

If this was your first summer here in Sun City, congratulations — you survived. You managed to find shady parking spots and learned that drinking plenty of water is an absolute must.

But this year seems a bit different somehow. Although we had plenty of hot weather and many days with excessive heat warnings, it doesn’t feel to me that we have really experienced much monsoon storm activity. Of course the “official” season isn’t over until the end of September, we’ve not had any unexpected closures or extensive clean-ups needed at Recreation Centers of Sun City properties thus far.

Previous summer storms have brought dust, micro-bursts and lots of damage throughout the area. Just last year we suffered the loss of many heritage trees on several of our golf courses and staff worked diligently to get pools back into operation quickly. However, calm has pretty much prevailed this season.

Many in Sun City are fortunate to have friends and neighbors who reach out and make sure those who live alone are okay. We have club friends and church acquaintances who take note if we’re AWOL and ask whether everything is alright the next time they see us. Others will check on the vacant homes of friends away for the summer when storms roll in and assess damages.

The beauty of this community is that whether you’re a sunbird or a snowbird, super social or prefer to spend time alone, the choice is yours. We have endless opportunities and choices at little or no cost to stay active and connected with others — or not.

But we all need to make certain that we are prepared for the unexpected. While your neighbors and friends might check up on you, do they have a next of kin contact information should something happen? None of us looks forward to such situations, but they will happen. Sure as it gets hot here in the summer.

Get together with family to make sure things are known and understood. While many see RCSC as some central hub of information, it’s just not who we are or what we do. You need to make plans and arrangements for when “that time” comes, whatever that might be.

There are some things you should let RCSC know. For example, you may be entitled to request a refund when your spouse passes if they purchased a golf pass. Depending upon how long ago you purchased your home (prior to February 2003), you might still be assessed for fees on a per-person basis.

While we can’t provide the personal assistance you might be seeking, we can at least get your records here updated. Remember that RCSC does not share any of your information, so please don’t anticipate that if relations reach out to us that we will be able to honor any such requests.

If you’re not one for sharing this kind of personal information with your local contacts here, the Sun City Posse has a Resident Emergency Information program that might be worth looking into. Many of us are familiar with the Vacation Watch service provided by these dedicated volunteers who serve in our community, but getting the additional peace of mind should a situation arise that requires emergency notification (whether injury, illness, damage from fire or storm, water leaks and the like) is well worth the effort. Stop by the Sun City Posse office, 10861 W. Sunland Drive, phone 623-972-2555 or complete the “yellow card” online at suncityposse.com (click on Address button for Emergency Call Database).

Take the time to get your affairs in order so that you can relax and enjoy all that Sun City has to offer. Knowing that your final business is in order — priceless.

Editor’s Note: Mr. DeLano is RCSC board president for 2019.