Researchers at Harvard University have been studying “what makes us happy in life?”. This study, which has been going on since 1938 (85 years!) was recently reported on by CNBC. It states that “…..the No. 1 challenge people faced in retirement was not being able to replace the social connections that had sustained them for so long at work.” Also it said “…..people who fare the best in retirement find ways to cultivate connections.” While, among other things, low cost of living, low taxes, low crime rates, access to medical, and access to other services are important for retirees, it’s the social connections that matter the most. After reading the article, my thought was “anyone in Tellico Village could have told them that – without a bunch of Harvard researchers!” Tellico Village is all about the connections we have with each other. The clubs, organizations, and activities we participate in are only meaningful because of the personal connections we make. Tellico Village provides this in wide-ranging ways that most communities do not. It’s what make our village the special place it is.
Speaking of connections, we’re going to have an HOA Picnic on June 26 at the Yacht Club with 500 of your closest friends! The theme is “summer fun” and it’s planned to be a “good old-fashioned picnic”. There will be food (including ice cream!), games (with great prizes!), and live music (including a couple of concerts!). We’re expecting this to be a great event for our community and I’m hoping that it will become an annual activity if it goes well. Details will be posted soon on Tellico Life. For now, please use this notice to “hold the date”.
The March HOA Social was a big success. There was plenty of green beer for everyone and the limericks challenge was lots of fun. Our April HOA Social is planned for April 11, 5-6:30pm at the Yacht Club. The theme is “egg-stravaganza!”, so I’m guessing that there is a chocolate bunny somewhere in this event. Please plan to attend and we’ll find out together.
Our events continue to sell out. We would like to have more activities, but we are limited by the number of Event Coordinators (EC) we have to plan our events. Being an EC is not hard and it can be really rewarding (I’m back to my “connections” thing again!). Please consider becoming an EC for a single event and try it out. You’ll be glad you did! Contact Betty Fortune, VP of Event Planning for more information (bjfortune@hotmail.com).
We are in the process of restarting our Aesthetics and Environment Committee. Dori Holt has kindly agreed to lead this activity and is currently looking for committee members. The first step is to refresh the Committee Charter, so if you’d like to get in on the ground floor now is the time! Contact Dori Holt, HOA A&E Committee Chair for more information (doriholt@gmail.com).
The HOA Golf Committee has recently completed the initial sign-up process for the upcoming season. They received a large response and are now working closely with the POA golf staff to create a season of great events for our golfers. All we need now is some warm weather and not too wet!
I hope to see you at the April Social or an upcoming event.
Mark Pantley
HOA President
Here is a link to the CNBC article if you’d like to see the entire content: An 85-year Harvard study on happiness found the No. 1 retirement challenge that ‘no one talks about’ (cnbc.com)