Thompson: Let Sun City RV Club experience be a warning

During the Sept. 26 Recreation Centers of Sun City Board of Directors meeting, the RV Club was evicted from the clubroom it has used since Sundial Recreation Center’s doors were opened.

In the club’s stead, the RCSC Events and Entertainment Department will be relocated from the Lakeview Recreation Center offices they currently occupy. Most readers will likely think, “So what?” So what depends on whose ox was gored. Well, my ox was gored, and it happens to be my favorite ox. I am a member of the Sun City RV Club, but am not speaking on the club’s behalf. My opinions may or may not be the opinions of other club members.

Let our experience be a warning to all other chartered clubs in Sun City. If the eye of some empire-building RCSC staff member falls covetously on your club’s space, you can lose it in as little as two months. Sadly, it is within the scope of RCSC’s authority to do so. Ironically, the board was set to consider a rule change to prohibit management from taking club space for management’s use. My mistake was in pointing this out to the board, which promptly amended the proposed motion by eliminating the salient clause!

That bit of subterfuge fairly illustrates the underhanded manipulation which was brought to bear upon our club officers. Promises were made and lies were told to convince us we should go along cheerfully and cooperate. To borrow from and paraphrase Nez Perce chief Joseph, the only truth they told us was that they wanted to take our clubroom; and they took it. To expound on the long list of manipulations is beyond the scope of this letter. Let it suffice to mention that all this occurred during the summer hiatus, when most of our members were away traveling and camping. I’ve been told this was attempted a few years ago, during the winter season. Everyone was home in Sun City, and successfully raised a mass objection.

I’ll end with a few remarks about governance. Like it or not, RCSC is a quasi-government, which is a subject for another discussion. RCSC is technically a non-profit corporation representing the membership, which includes virtually every resident in Sun City. Their charter is to operate for the general welfare of that membership and not for their own benefit. This project was conceived, approved and set in motion before it was officially approved by the board.

The Sun City RV Club is one of, if not the oldest, chartered clubs and is one of, if not the largest, clubs in Sun City. You know what else? Every RVer is a member of the corporation.

Don Thompson

Sun City