More than 300 Sun City residents - many new and many who have lived in Sun City for years - gathered to make history on the morning of April 23 at the first-ever joint Sun City resident orientation in the Sundial Auditorium.

“This was an historic event, and you can all say - I was there...,” said Lisa Gray, general manager for the Sun City Home Owners Association, as she wrapped up the presentation, which is now available to watch online.

Hundreds of “goodie bags” were handed out by volunteers welcoming guests at the doors, filled with information about community organizations that support Sun City residents. Guests learned how the first successful active adult community in the nation was born, and how its organizations continue to operate - essentially, what roles each organization performs for residents.

Gray led the presentation, which also featured Condominium Owners Association of Sun City President Sue Clark and Recreation Centers of Sun City Board Vice President Chris Nettesheim.

“I am super excited that the three major Sun City organizations, SCHOA, COA and the RCSC, came together and made history with our resident orientation,” Gray said. “By working and communicating together, we can better serve Sun City residents and help them to better understand our unique community dynamics, and our history as to how our community came to be known as the City of Volunteers even though Sun City is not a city.”

The positive impact was felt by those in attendance and afterwards many shared comments on social media about information they had learned, and the overall consensus was that they were glad they attended.

“The feedback I have heard from those who attended, has been very positive. Every person I’ve talked with walked away learning something that they didn’t know about our community,” Clark said.

Nettesheim also pointed out that while Sun City is unique, she stated, “We believe opportunities should be limitless, choices should be endless, and life should be enjoyed to the fullest. Life really is what you make it and nowhere is that as true than in Sun City.”

The trio of community organizations joined forces to help residents understand the unique history of Sun City, and how SCHOA, COA and RCSC are three very different organizations serving the community.

A general idea of how the three organizations differ can be summed up as:

• SCHOA protects - oversees and enforces the mandatory deed restrictions and works to protect the age overlay and watch out for government regulations that could impact the community. Plus, they also watch out for government regulations that could impact the community and help to educate the community on a variety of issues.
• RCSC provides recreation - maintains the eight recreation centers, eight golf courses and hosts dozens of clubs, activities and events for its members.
• COA supports condo owners - the 384 condominium associations in Sun City that impact homeowners of Condos, Geminis, Apartments and Patio homes.

Also present at the event, and described in the presentation, were the Sun City Posse, Del Webb Sun Cities Museum, Sun City PRIDES, Sunshine Service, Sun City CAN, Friends of the Library, SCHOA Foundation, the Sun City (RCSC) Foundation, Sun City Fire & Medical Department, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Banner Olive Branch Senior Center.

“If you were unable to attend and have a question about what each organization does – what each fee you pay goes toward – or just want to listen and learn something new, we encourage you to watch the video of the event,” Gray said. “One good example of a misconception we hope this event clears up, is the idea that paying the RCSC assessment means you are also a member of SCHOA or COA, when in fact we have completely different responsibilities and separate funding, that all impact Sun City residents in important ways.”

As the presentation came to a close, one guest won a free “Jubilee (The 25th Anniversary of Sun City)” book and tickets to the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum, after finding a “golden ticket” under her seat. The historic books are regularly available at the museum located at 10801 W. Oakmont Drive.

Watch for the next Sun City Resident Orientation scheduled for 9 a.m.-noon Friday, Nov. 7, at the Sundial Recreation Center. To watch the video, visit SunCityHOA.org/SCRO. To learn more about the three organizations, visit SunCityHOA.org, azsccoa.org and SunCityAZ.org.