Hello Canebrakers:

 As you may or may not be aware, the Canebrake County Water District Board of Directors  is now down two seats out of five total. The three seats are filled now by Daryl Holmes, who serves as the Equipment/Facilities Manager; Andrea Collins, who serves as the Water Operations Director; and Stephen Fillmore who is serving as the Vice President, Acting President, and Acting CFO.

 I'm sure I don't need to remind you of a couple things. First, water is the core of what allows us to enjoy Canebrake in the ways that we do. Yes, there are alternatives to having our own water distribution system, and someday it may come to having to resort to these alternatives...which would require every household to start handling their own water procurement. No one wants to see that. Our centralized water system is huge advantage to our rural location and the reason it has existed for so long. 

Second, the Board needs to have members to function. These members have to work together and individually to get the work of the Board done so that everyone may enjoy the benefits from it. It's not easy...I have been blown away by how much work it actually is. Without the two other current members and people like Gunnar and Ellyn who have active administrative volunteer roles, and Roberto as a paid employee, and all the field volunteers, there is no way anything would get done. We have done some incredible things in the last couple of years to bring the CCWD up to the new codes and standards, and we will continue to do so. 

However, right now all three officers of the Board are being served by one person and that is not sustainable. We need to bring our board back up to full strength, and we need to do it soon, as we are facing a deadline after which the County may step in and appoint outside members to the Board to fill it out. We don't really want that to occur, however I will be honest, if it comes to that I will gladly welcome the help while feeling regretful that our own members were not willing to volunteer themselves. This means also that an outside person will either become the President or the CFO (I can only actually do one of these), something I would not like to see happen. 

So I'll make this simple - we need Board members ASAP. Preferably, I'd like to swear them in at or before our March 14th meeting. We need people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and engage with the work, and who are committed to working collaboratively with everyone. As for the workload, yes there is one, but with all five members it would be less work for everyone. I would personally prefer to resume the CFO function, which means I'm looking for a President and Vice President - but we can negotiate. We also need to hire the water manager position again, to assist the board, but that is another conversation. 

I want to thank everyone out there who has served on the board in the past and am honored to be among you. I'm committed to keep serving to the end of my term no matter what, and I would sure rather have a fellow Canebraker in the open two spots also, wouldn't you agree? 

If you are interested you can use this link. Contact CCWD. Sorry to not be able to post my number, but we have huge amounts of hits on our website per month.  If you can access the CIA roster email/call me. Let's talk.

Plus one more thing - it's actually kind of fun (most of the time)!

Your Acting President, Acting CFO, and Vice President: Stephen