Thanks for your thanks.

Reserves are very difficult to comprehend for someone not trained in accounting. The OPA Bulkhead Reserve is far more complex than the other reserves because it relates to a mixture of privately-owned bulkheads and OPA-owned bulkheads as well as other waterway issues such as spot-dredging, general canal dredging, navigational aids, etc.

I can safely say that I've only met one director over my years here that understood reserves from the outset of his involvement in OPA's finance and accounting matters. Likewise, I can safely say that there was only one GM prior to John Viola who understood reserves in a detailed manner.

Having said that, I cannot understand why directors don't seek the assistance of or defer to the GM or OPA accounting staff before publicly communicating about reserves. The bulkhead wording in the Board's explanations as to why members should vote NO in the current referendum should have been reviewed by the GM and/or his staff for accuracy and this nonsense would have not happened.

Unfortunately, this is not my first involvement with trying to stop a board from making erroneous accounting/financial statements in a referendum environment. This happened before around the 2005 time frame. Even though that board accused me of single-handedly undermining their efforts relative to the subject matter of that referendum, they did correct their assertions by the time the referendum material was mailed to all association members.

When actions or inactions of the current board cause OPA to prematurely lose good people of character like you and Colby, something obviously is wrong with it. The only hope now is that one or more new directors might be elected and/or certain officers of the board might change in September.

Finally, on a far more important matter, I was saddened to hear about the loss of your daughter. Knowing that you are a man with a deep faith in God, hopefully, has helped you through your time of sorrow. I will keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers.

Regards,

Gene