Where to begin, let’s see…First, THE DUMPSTERS ARE COMING!  They will arrive on Friday, March 28th around noon and will be picked up on Sunday, March 30th by 8:30am.  The dates for the dumpsters are determined by the county. (Finally, weekend dumpster time!)  Please refer to the county website as to what is allowed in the dumpster. http://www.aacounty.org/DPW/WasteManagement/commClean.cfm.  One note, please make sure your children do not play in or around the dumpster.  This was a problem in the fall; we don’t want anyone getting hurt.

 Next, we are asking for your help.  We need lots of it, but if many of you can give your community a few hours of your time, it really isn’t asking a lot of any community member.  Listed below are a few of the immediate area we could use your time, ideas, and labor.
         
1.     Board Officers – We need a President! Our current President, Sophia Phillips has decided to step down from her current position.  Of the 4 years’ish she has lived in Indian Hills, she has been President for almost 3 of them. We appreciate her time and service to the community.

Other positions that need a candidate are Vice President, Treasurer, and Members at Large.  Bill Anselm, our current secretary has agreed to continue in this position, but if you have an interest in that role, we would be happy to include your name on the ballot. 

Please let us know of your interest in the above as soon as possible.  Ballots need to go out in April, these positions take their seat in July.  You can email any of the Board Officers with your nominations of yourself or a neighbor.

2.     Tennis Court Fence Painting – If you haven’t noticed the pool     
fencing, please take a moment to check it out.  It was painted last fall, and looks fabulous!  We added years to the life of the pool fencing and plan to do the same for the tennis courts. (The tennis courts are to be resurfaced this spring, after the fence painting.)  The job of painting the fence, including its prep, is not difficult, but is best done with many, many volunteers.  * If you have access to scaffolding, sprayers, generators, etc. that can save the community rental fee, it would be much appreciated.  We have set the dates for prep and painting:
March 22nd and 23rd (Raindate, Monday, March 24th
–       Prep, painting primer, setting up scaffolding, weed clean-up, rust removal, etc.
March 29th and 30th – Painting of the fence – bring your paint sprayers if you’ve got’em!

Please contact Gray Barton for questions or to volunteer at graybecky@comcast.net or 410-626-7071.

3.     Directory Form – please take a moment to update the attached directory form.  Many of you have changed email addresses and may not be receiving the community emails that are sent out from time to time.  Also, update the children’s ages/names, babysitting, dog walking, yard work service, etc.  Interested in a tennis partner or something else, let us know that too.  Please return the form as soon as possible as it takes a while to update, compare and compile the directory.  Please refer any questions to melisbowen@comcast.net and I will pass it on to the Directory person (we need to confirm he will do it again…)

4.     Community Clean-up – May 10th/11th – We realize spring can be a very busy time of year, especially for those of us with kids playing sports, thus the two day clean-up.  We will compile a list of things that can be done both during the actually clean-up days and on your own schedule.  Nothing is that difficult or requires a lot of time, but really does help make our community even more enjoyable.  Watch your email for more details or email one of the officers if you would like to help coordinate a job or have a suggestion for something that needs to be done.

5.     Pool Season Set-up – May 17th –time to be determined.  This includes washing tables and chairs, leaf and weed clean-up around the fencing, plants in the planters, etc.  The pool seems to improve a little every season – and the pool committee is working on for some more improvements for the upcoming seasons. Please contact Gray Barton if you can help on the 17th or another date. (graybecky@comcast.net)

***Please note that some of the painting and clean-up projects can be done or assisted by junior and high schoolers for their community service projects.***

I have attached a calendar with many of the upcoming dates of interest; including the pool opening, hours, swim meets, etc. FAMILY FUN DAY 2008 is scheduled for July 12th!    We will get these on the website as well, www.ihge.org. Event dates and pools hours are subject to change.

Just a couple more notes…

The annual Egg Hunt will be on Saturday, March 22nd at 2:00pm, see the attached flyer.

And don't forget the Pool Opening!  We will have our Annual "Adult Swim"
Party on Friday, May 23rd to open up the pool.  More information will be
coming soon.  The following day the pool opens up for all ages.

The letters for Associate Pool Memberships (memberships we sell to outside the community) will be sent out soon. We already have a small waiting list, but if you know someone that may be interested in joining our pool, please have them contact Melissa Bowen at 410-757-9247 or melisbowen@comcast.net SOON.  We sold out of our memberships last year and expect most of those to renew this year.  Getting on the waiting list early will be their best opportunity at membership.

Thank you for taking time to read this.  We really need your community involvement for the fence painting and clean-ups. Your Board Officers are doing their best to make sure our budget remains tight and that monies spent are in areas that the community can not do itself.  We do need to see some MORE faces, more NEW faces – Please!  It is also very important that we have Officer candidates.  If there are no Officers for the Board, the county will take over, and it will be nearly impossible to get ANYTHING done!  As someone who have been involved with Board for several years, your time involvement is truly min imal, maybe a meeting a month, sometimes 2 meetings, making a few phone calls here and there, all in all a few hours a month. 

Happy Spring!

Sophia Phillip, President - sophlips@comcast.net
Melissa Bowen, Vice President – melisbowen@comcast.net

Don’t forget the clubhouse is available for rental!  It’s very reasonable…  Volunteers for fence painting, clean-ups, and pool season set-up will be eligible for a drawing for a FREE clubhouse rental!  All Board Officers are eligible for one free clubhouse rental per term!