Oregon is home to 14 species owls, several of which can be spotted in Sunriver Page 8
COVID-19 SHUTDOWNS As the Scene went to press, it was not known if Deschutes County’s COVID risk level would drop low enough to reopen some services. Readers should contact a business/organization to confirm their hours of operation, meeting or event dates published in this issue.
Sunriver owners share their travel adventures (pre-COVID) Page 17
S U N R I V E R
S C E N E A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 2021
VOLUME XLVII • NUMBER 2
Opportunity awaits Owners encouraged to run for the SROA Board of Directors
Turn to Opportunity, page 5
Sunriver resident Dan Youmans is the incoming president for the Sunriver Area Chamber of Commerce.
COURTESY KRISTINE THOMAS
Outgoing, incoming chamber presidents dedicated to the community By Kristine Thomas Outgoing Sunriver Area Chamber of Commerce president John Holland and incoming chamber president Dan Youmans are accustomed to rolling up their sleeves, diving into a project and working diligently until it’s successfully completed. Throughout their professional careers Holland, a retired developer and Youmans, a retired regional vice president
of external affairs at AT&T, have found solutions to an array of challenges. Now, they are working together along with Sunriver Chamber Executive Director Kent Elliott and the board of directors to continue to support Sunriver business and to promote Sunriver as a safe place to visit and live during the pandemic. “The chamber and their partners have a great deal of business expertise, and
our board and executive director are passionate about the Sunriver community,” said Youmans. “We have a lot of work ahead, but I can’t think of a better group of people to take on these challenges.” For 18 years, Holland has lived full time in Sunriver while Youmans made Sunriver his permanent residence just five years ago. Their respect for the Turn to Chamber, page 3
Watch your inbox for SROA’s Comprehensive Owner Survey SROA NEWS – Owners who have provided SROA with an email will be receiving an electronic version of the 2021 SROA Comprehensive Owner Survey later in February. Owner surveys are conducted every few years and used as a tool by the board and staff in understanding the community’s demographics, amenity use, owner thoughts on various topics and to help plan future projects or improvements within Sunriver. The survey will first be sent as an online experience to save the association
money by not having to send a mass mailing to all 4,176 Sunriver properties. If you have previously provided SROA with your email, no further action is needed. If you feel we may not have your email or you have changed it recently, fill out a submission form by clicking “Update My Information” – located on the middle of the SROA website homepage – at www.sunriverowners. org by Feb. 12 to receive the survey electronically. Surveys are sent to the primary owner of record for each property, and it’s one
survey per property. Please watch for the survey as it will be arriving from DRC Research and could be caught by your email spam/junk folders. Be sure to check these folders if you don’t find it in your inbox. Also check the email of your spouse/partner as they may have already received the survey for the property. For those who don’t have an email on file or who fail to fill it out online by a certain deadline date, a paper survey will mailed in early March. Turn to Survey, page 3 SUNRIVER SCENE SUNRIVER OWNERS ASSN. VOLUME XLVII • NUMBER 2 P.O. BOX 3278 SUNRIVER, OR 97707
SROA NEWS – An opportunity awaits you in this new year: the chance to serve your Sunriver community in a unique and meaningful way as a member of the SROA Board. This month, the Nominating Committee of the Sunriver Owners Association continues its search for candidates to run for the SROA Board of Directors for a three year term, 2021-2024. All Sunriver property owners, resident and non-resident, are eligible. The SROA Board meets every third Saturday of the month (via Zoom during the COVID-19 shutdown). The Board also meets on the prior Friday for a work session to discuss and review Saturday’s agenda items. The Saturday meeting is to finalize and approve policy decisions. Once in-person meetings resume, Board members who are unable to attend a meeting may always participate remotely. This makes it easier for non-resident owners to participate. Now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity to serve by expressing your interest in being a potential candidate for the SROA Board of Directors in the August election. There are three ways to initiate your candidacy: 1. Fill out a Board Application Candidacy Form and Conflict of Interest Form and return them to the SROA office for processing by the Nominating Committee 2. Contact one of the Nominating Committee members listed with this article to indicate your interest or to learn more about the steps required to become a candidate as well as the duties of a Board member, or 3. Get 100 other Sunriver property owners (only one signature per property allowed) to sign your Petition for Candidacy.
PRSRT STD. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BEND, OR PERMIT NO. 213