Dear Fellow Owners,
This is my last letter to you as your Board President.
As of tomorrow, a new board and officers will lead our property into the future. I wish them success and know they will continue to build and promote The Aspen Mountain Residences as a wonderful place to spend your vacation time and a solid investment for all of you.
As my six-year term ends, I thank the board for their continued selfless dedication and support. Many of them were expecting roses and instead were greeted by being thrown into the fire with the reality of maneuvering through a very difficult time. A special thanks to Tim Hall who has functioned as our treasurer during the most stressful time we’ve ever had as an association. Tim led our investment team to invest our reserve fund safely and ensured we always had cash on hand when needed. Tim is a consummate professional who stayed on well past his promised date, and for that, I am grateful. I would also like to thank the rest of the board and our non-board member-owners who have offered their invaluable expertise on one or more of our committees over the years.
The last few years have been a tremendous transition for all of us. It certainly was not easy, and at times, I’m sure it felt like we were going through the spin-dry cycle of a washing machine, but the result is we are now in complete control of our property. I know the direction we had taken involved some sacrifices and cost us some money, but I feel it was an investment in our future and the correct direction to take. I pushed hard to get us through the major items we needed to put behind us before my departure, as I was determined to leave a much more stable environment for future boards. Now that we have made the separation, I feel our relationship with Marriott has been strengthened, and we must continue to strive to keep that relationship strong to keep our property healthy.
I have tremendous respect for and confidence in our day-to-day management team at East West Hospitality, led by Scott Williams. One of our original employees, General Manager Claudine Grondin, has a year of leadership behind her. I have witnessed her growth as a leader first-hand. She has hired a very capable and responsible team who has been very responsive to our needs. Claudine also has set an excellent example for all of our employees that hard work and dedication to their jobs, no matter the circumstances, can result in working their way up to the top position at our property and, someday, even beyond that with higher level East West corporate opportunities. I’m confident our team’s combined experience and dedication will allow us to operate the property very efficiently and will be a partnership that will last a very long time.
I am very optimistic about the future of our unique property, and I see the marketplace has already begun to recognize it as prices are up. Some of it is being driven by our owners buying more fractionals to stay here longer. Many of us have built solid and lasting friendships with other owners. Realtors are newly engaged and recommend TAMR to prospects as a great place to stay and buy, as well as a fractional program that is easy to understand and sell.
I have met many owners with tremendous work and life experiences, which we can all benefit from as an association. I want to ask everyone with the business skills and some time to “donate” to consider serving on a future board. I think you will find it both challenging and rewarding, and as a bonus, you get to work with some pretty great people.
Always looking forward, I’ve spent much time putting together a framework plan with a timeline calendar for future boards to follow. My advice to future boards is simple… Never forget the decisions to be made must benefit most of our owners, and never stop thinking about how we can improve our property offerings to increase our value and lower expenses. Keep the ball moving forward.
For owners, remember a few things: The board positions all involve non-paid volunteers and dedicated people donating their time to help everyone. Current TAMR rules are not “board rules.” Instead, they represent the requirements of most of our owners, most of which have been in place since we opened in 2006. Rules can be changed easily if the majority of our fractional owners want them to be, but until then, the rules currently in place need to be followed.
In the meantime, we all need to take a deep breath, sit back, and enjoy the environment we have created and, with it, the privileged lifestyle we are fortunate to have here at TAMR. We now have complete control over our future direction with a new brand, a redesigned property, better infrastructure, solid financials, a fair and easy-to-understand float program, an excellent management partner in East West Hospitality, and a very dedicated, capable, warm, and engaging staff.
Thank you all for allowing me to serve on your board for the last six years and as your board President for the last three years. It’s time I once again experience the property the way it should be, from a purely relaxing vacation perspective. 😊 I promise that you are all in excellent hands. Thank you again, I hope to see you in the hot tubs!!
Sincerely,
Al Kenney
al@bluewaterfractionals.com
