Backstage . . .

Has anyone ever wondered how our leadership can possibly believe that they can enforce the rules upon the residents of the community when they either refuse or neglect to follow the governing documents themselves? It’s illogical.

For example, an AECD employee routinely roams the neighborhoods of Big Canoe in search of violations that can be cited with threats of possible fines all the while keeping heads turned away from more serious examples of non-compliance. Meanwhile, it seems leadership carries on the business of the Association with what appears to be an increasingly astounding disregard for our governing documents.

And while some of these disregards are currently being addressed privately with leadership and corporate counsel, other examples follow.

“Board Members Do Not Serve on Committees” (1) . . .

As noted in the previous post on this site, (2) https://bcmatters.org/onstage-again/ the director responsible for crafting and introducing the revised charter for the new Planning Committee at the January open board meeting seriously misrepresented the results of a previous community survey regarding Association debt.

It has since been determined that this misstep is further compounded by naming both himself and one yet to be elected director to the committee which is in direct conflict with Board Procedure 300.1 (1) that explicitly prohibits board members from serving on committees.

Instead, policies and procedures allow the appointment of a board member as liaison to a committee which is an advisory position that carries no voting power.

Note:   The General Manager Search Committee is a long standing exception as noted by Board Policy and Procedures Nos. 101 and 101.1.

Blurred lines . . .

And in further conflict with our governing documents, the Planning Committee charter specified that a senior staff member appointed by the General Manager would both serve on the committee as well as be named Chairman.

This contradicts Board Procedure No. 300.4  (3) which states that all members of the Committees “shall be a Member or spouse of a Member of the POA in good standing”.

And yet, the Director of Operations, a paid staff member and non-member of the Big Canoe POA, was nominated to serve as Chairman of the new and very important Planning Committee that will likely exert significant influence regarding the future of our community.

Needless to say, as in virtually every proposal put before the Board publicly, the charter and all associated member selections were approved 7-0.

Note:  Unlike the newly organized Planning Committee, although staff members often participated in planning sessions, the actual members of the previous Long Range Planning Committees were property owners in accordance with Board Policies and Procedures. The LRPC was abruptly disbanded by the 2023 Board of Directors.

Additional Note: For good reason, board procedures 300.1 and 300.4 have been in effect since at least 2012.

Time to regroup? . . .

Considering that the new committee was created utilizing such incredibly inaccurate baseline information as noted in the previous post (2) combined with a disregard or lack of familiarity for Board Procedures, 300.1 and 300.4, perhaps this committee should be dismantled and reorganized with a renewed respect for our governing documents as well as the wants of the property owners.

With even further disregard . . .

According to Board Policy No. 104   (4) “All meetings where the Board is scheduled to vote on Association business are open to the property owners and residents . . .” and yet, the Board voted 7-0 in a closed meeting on December 15, 2025 to approve the renewal of a $3 million line of credit with Wells Fargo Bank.

And as noted previously, (2) the 2024 financial statement audited by Mauldin & Jenkins did not contain any reference to the $3 million Wells Fargo line that was subsequently approved for renewal.

An update regarding legal fees . . .

In a follow-up question via Ask the POA, the Director of Finance responded that additional attorney fees accrued for the month of December 2025 totaled $41,026.  For a copy of that spreadsheet, click here   (5)

After including legal fees through November as documented in AskThePOA Response#19508 , (6) legal fees for 2025 now total $390k with $178k attributed to the trademark purchase negotiations. In addition to those negotiations, an additional $10k was accrued in December for trademark “defense”.

One might certainly wonder where and when all the mounting fees and expenses will end that are now associated with the current registration/applications of over seventeen various Big Canoe trademarks.

Further, given that legal fees due the Association’s corporate counsel total $27k in the month of December alone, one might again question whether any of those fees are representative of any settlement negotiations or other litigation. (2)

As for that trademark defense . . .

Documents now found in at least thirteen trademark registrations or pending applications not only list the General Manager by name as the President of the Big Canoe POA but also state that he has the legal authority to engage or disengage attorneys and law firms to represent the Association before the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). (7) Click here to view one such registration containing the inaccurate information  

How did this happen?

And could this render the trademark registrations invalid or subject to challenge due to the obvious inaccurate information provided to the USPTO?

Regardless, one can only hope that the “misinformation” provided to the USPTO will be corrected post haste.

What now? . . .

Just like the majority of property owners, this writer loves Big Canoe and wishes to see it thrive as a community, but that success can not be achieved if our governing documents are consistently and routinely disregarded, reinvented and/or simply ignored or forgotten. And without a renewed respect for the process, we will continue to slip further into chaos.

And given the large and diverse population of Big Canoe, many of us clearly disagree . . . sometimes on almost everything . . . but adherence to the governing documents should always prevail as common ground. If a rule or statute no longer applies, leadership should go through the proper channels to have it changed before going off course. Otherwise, it is their duty to follow the governing documents and enforce them when necessary.

Meanwhile, it seems that the lines between leadership and management have become increasingly blurred. That separation was created for a reason.

Think about it.

. . . . .

Should you believe the information found in these posts is important, please help spread the message by sharing with your friends and neighbors wherever possible. As for those who wish to see additional articles posted in the future, please subscribe for an email notification or check back frequently. And as always, feel free to contact me directly at thepcrosses@gmail.com for questions or further discussion. Meanwhile, take care, stay warm and thank you for your readership.

Patricia Cross

10438 Big Canoe

References:

1)   Board Procedure 300.1  (5/07/2024)

2)   “Onstage again”, bcmatters.org,  https://bcmatters.org/onstage-again/

3)   Board Procedure No. 300.4

4)   Board Policy No. 104

5)   For a copy of that spreadsheet, click here

6)   AskThePOA Response#19508

7)   Click here to view one such registration containing the inaccurate information

(https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewercaseId=sn99196165&docId=CAR20260129165913&linkId=1#docIndex=0&page=1)