Welcome back everyone. I recently took a drive around Woodhaven to look at the new trails by Woodhaven Lake and Woody’s General Store. One of the extensions allows you to get to and from the old trail to the store, and the other fingers into Section 21 near the dam at Woodhaven Lake. Hopefully during a hike this year you will see these improvements. Screens are now on the screen room of the Nature Center. The old Nature Center has been demolished and site work on the new facility continues.

If you’ve had a chance to look at our events calendar, you will see the many activities scheduled for Spring Fling weekend, April 28th & 29th. A silent boat auction, fishing tournament, tree sale, and contractor fair are a few of our activities for Saturday. On Sunday we will also have the open air market, petting zoo, pony and wagon rides, centered in the area of the pavilion playground.

The Section Representatives have started their monthly meetings and soon the individual section meetings will begin. I urge everyone to attend their section meetings as these are the first step in passing information to our Membership from staff and the Board; then concerns come back to us. The first meeting had a presentation by ESAC and I would like to let everyone know that if you receive a letter from them please call in. ESAC is there to enforce our rules, but they will work with everyone and assist you in rectifying the situation if prompt communication is made.

Memorial Day is around the corner and I hope that many of our veterans, their families and our members attend our ceremony. We remember and honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. This year the Veterans Memorial Circle will have many improvements made to the flag circle and path leading up to the flags, so please come out and join us.

Sincerely,
Ivan Martinez,
Board of Directors President

Springtime is a busy time for staff and the Board of Directors as we finalize our 2018 budget. This is when the Board approves the 2018 projects and purchases. I am awestruck at the amount of work put in by our staff to make this possible. One of our new projects undertaken by staff is the creation of a carry-out window service for Woody’s store/restaurant. This window will be accessible through the Laundromat Wi-Fi seating area. The initial emphasis for this carry-out window will focus on pizza and chicken. More information on the hours of operation and the menu for this service will be provided in the Woodhaven News, at the General Store, and through other media sources. If you are looking for some food in the evening, please consider contacting the General Store. Their phone number (815-849-5189), and several others are located on the back of your Property Owner Pass.

My sincere appreciation goes out to those owners who volunteer to sit on our committees and guide us forward. At our February Board meeting we voted to have Frank Lowery continue as chairperson for the Public Safety Board of Review and Dan Rossi as chairperson for the ESAC Board of Review. Congratulations gentlemen and thank you for your dedication to Woodhaven.

It is a very exciting spring with the upcoming opening of our new Nature Center/Bait Shop. We have demolition scheduled to happen soon on the old Nature Center along with all the site work. The Veterans Memorial Ad Hoc Committee is grateful to Woodhaven for their commitment to all our veterans. The Veterans Memorial Circle Drive area project will begin with a makeover on the walkway and the flag circle, along with addressing drainage and landscaping. Our goal is to have these projects completed for a Memorial Day dedication.
I hope to see many of you at Woodhaven on Spring Fling weekend. Safe travels and God bless you all,

Ivan Martinez,
Board of Directors President

Welcome back, my Woodhaven family. It seems like winter just started and here we are getting ready for family and friends to meet us for the 2018 season. I have spent the better part of this winter visiting with some of our Owners that winter from Texas to Florida. I am a firm believer that, as a Board member, one of my responsibilities should be to check out other places and facilities that mirror our beloved Woodhaven in order to compare our operations. I have to admit that I’ve not found anything comparable to Woodhaven that even comes close to our amenities, value, and management.

Our staff has been hitting projects around Woodhaven like storm troopers and I hope to put the call out to many of you to help assist our staff as needed in the months to come. It’s my belief that as part of our large Woodhaven family the help given will translate into higher attendance and participation from parents and children. The cold weather coupled with harsh winds, and recently snow, is preventing the final phase of the Nature Center metal roof from being completed. With the outside work delayed, attention to the inside is bringing this project closer to completion.

I was not able to attend Cabin Fever this year, as Bea and I were making our way back home; however, I hope you all were overjoyed to make your way back to the peace and tranquility of Woodhaven.

Be safe and may God bless you all,
Ivan Martinez,
Board of Directors President

The holiday season is upon us, so my greeting to our Membership will be all encompassing. I received a Facebook posting from my good friend Mary McGrady and it included the following holiday wishes “Happy Hanukkah”, “Merry Christmas,” “Joyous Kwanzaa,” and “Happy Holidays.” The post stated “I will not be offended. I will be thankful that you took the time to say something nice.” These sayings I believe may be appropriate to many of you, as I’m sure there are many more which apply. My best wishes to all our Members. I also pray that you have safe travels and a Happy New Year.

Our Nature Center/Bait Shop construction is coming along great. The roof is on and soon we’ll have it buttoned up for interior work. It’s cold outside, but wonderful being out here in paradise. The roads have a lot of deer crossing, so keep an eye out for them and be safe. The mild weather we’ve had recently has allowed staff to complete some of our trail improvements. We have completed the initial phase of the 2018 budget process and the Board will be voting on the assessment levels at our December meeting. The recommended assessments are to remain at $1,230 for lots with sewer services, and $1,105 for lots without sewer services in 2018. Work on the budget will continue after the first of the year, with the final figures to be approved at our March Board Meeting. A lot of work was performed by our ESAC Department in order for the Board of Directors to enact our current year’s abatements. Needless to say, our staff has done a fantastic job in keeping our facility and resources operating optimally.

The Board will be making appointments at our December meeting for all our standing committees and review boards. These appointments will be for a four year term. I would like to preemptively congratulate the new appointees and thank all our Owners who were willing to make the commitment to Woodhaven’s operation.

God Bless,

Ivan Martinez,
Board of Directors President

I wish all our Woodhaven families a happy Thanksgiving. I was impressed by the amount of children at our trunk and treat this year. Our families and our children are what keep me on the Board. We strive to give you the best experience possible and the memories you make last for a lifetime. I truly enjoyed speaking to many of you about our activities and was able to meet many Owners that have been participating here since they were children. The entire Woodhaven staff deserves a round of applause for a job well done.

The snowflakes will fall, and if you’re on property and hear the roar of snowmobile engines, make sure you look both ways while driving. There are many activities going on in the winter, so stay bundled up and be safe while doing your outdoor activities. Frostbite and even dehydration occur in the winter, so come in frequently, warm up and drink lots of liquids. Pay special attention to weather advisories that emphasize extreme weather conditions.

Veterans’ Day has come and gone, so I would like to tell my fellow veterans “Thank You for Your Service”. You who have defended our freedoms, our flag and your country will always have my admiration and respect. The Woodhaven Ad Hoc Veterans Committee, staff and the Board are currently discussing a facelift around the area of our Veterans Memorial Circle Drive. Hopefully we will have this work completed by our next Memorial Day. The eagle woodcarving has been moved and stored by our Maintenance Department until next season when we will have a dedication ceremony to our veterans.

Lastly, I would like to touch on a situation that occurred recently in Section 21. The Association posted information about gunfire that happened one night where two trailers were damaged. This random but blatant disregard for the safety of others is a situation that will not be taken lightly by your Board of Directors or staff. To those impacted by this, my prayers are with you and we will be following up on the culmination of the Lee County Sheriff’s Department investigation.

Sincerely,
Ivan Martinez,
Board of Directors President

Our summer has given us record amounts of rainfall and yet we have had many beautiful days. I hope that everyone enjoyed our Main Event weekend. Our recent road improvements serve as a reminder to our Owners that our staff and your board have your best interests at heart. Many of the projects completed this year reflect what a wonderful place we have and our commitment to continuous improvement.

I wish to welcome all our new Owners and their families to our Woodhaven family. In speaking to many new Owners I was told that they couldn’t believe all that we, as an association, provide our Members.

Hopefully our road improvements project did not adversely affect any of us. This year we received favorable pricing and decided to expand the road projects which will put us ahead on our improvement schedule. If you have our Woodhaven App on your smartphone, you probably received the notifications put out by staff which apprised us of where road construction was occurring. I myself was impressed by how much work was going on and the amount of coordinating happening on our announcements.

Sincerely,

Ivan Martinez
Board of Directors President

My message this month is one of information dissemination. We have numerous Owners at Woodhaven who have chosen to be your point of contact for information about your beloved Woodhaven. These Owners are known to everyone by the titles of Section Representative or Alternate Section Representative. Once a month these individuals attend a Section Rep meeting where they talk about upcoming projects, activities, or how our many internal departments operate. Your Section Reps hold three meetings each camping season in their respective sections or sometimes as a joint section meeting in order to pass on information to you, our Owners. I urge everyone to attend your section meetings and learn what’s happening at Woodhaven from your Section Representatives. As an intricate part of our Association, I would like to thank them all for their devotion.

During our last Board of Directors meeting, I was presented with a check for the Veterans Memorial display from one of our veterans, Mr. Stephen Fleck, who started a Go Fund Me page in order to replace several veterans display items which were taken and later recovered by our Public Safety staff. The funds were donations by some of our Owners and businesses who were outraged that this had occurred. The Veterans Ad Hoc Committee will be meeting this month to discuss ways to utilize these funds in enhancing our Veterans Memorial display. My heartfelt thanks to all who donated to this fund.

Our Board of Directors has a responsibility to you, the Owners, and one of them is maintaining the common properties, buildings, roads and other improvements within Woodhaven Lakes. We are also tasked with conducting its affairs in keeping with the highest ethical, moral, and legal standards. During the past five years we have had numerous debates, discussions and planning centered on our Nature Center building and I am happy to report that a positive vote was taken on June 26th at the Board of Directors meeting. We will have further information posted on the construction schedule in future Association postings on Facebook and our website.

Our Main Event weekend is rapidly approaching. Many great events and activities are planned for this weekend with our fireworks display as our feature attraction. This year our fireworks will be done over Woodhaven Lake with a Venetian Boat Parade to precede the fireworks(more info on page 24). I hope to see many of you by the Family Center and Beach that evening.

I wish you all many blessings, love and respect.

Ivan Martinez
Board of Directors President