POA honors outgoing director

Jeanne O’Dell

The Canyon Lake Property Owners Association issued a letter of thanks to outgoing board member Jeanne O’Dell. Jeanne ends her term at the conclusion of the current term which ends this month.

The association wrote:

Jeanne O’Dell is finishing her time on the Board of Directors after only two years, having decided not to run for re-election for health reasons. In her two years of service as the Treasurer, she accomplished more than most do in four years.

Jeanne formalized the financial planning process that included the budget model, budget timeline, reserve funding study, and the project tracking system. Along the way, she developed a keen understanding of our financial habits, as well as the state laws governing operations.

Jeanne came to the Board with over 30 years of experience related to facilities planning, space utilization, construction, maintenance, and operations. She was the Director of Facilities Management at Cal State Long Beach and the team leader for Facilities Planning/Construction Management at Mt. San Jacinto Community College. Her experience in managing publicly-funded projects and purchases provided her with a clear understanding of transparent processes and accountability.

Jeanne has been a full-time resident of Canyon Lake since 2006, and a part-time resident since 1998. From 2010 to 2017, she was the owner/operator of Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant. Jeanne is an active member of the Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Facilities Review Committee, and a member of a number of clubs.

She began serving on the Facilities Review Committee in 2010, a role she continues today within the Facilities Planning Committee. Her volunteer experiences in Canyon Lake led her to focus on making certain that projects and expenditures were completed/purchased at the best value and that the community could develop an understanding and sense of fellowship and pride of ownership through open and comprehensive communications.

Jeanne’s experience and service as Treasurer led to expanded monthly project expenditure reporting and the development of the budget model covering operations and contributions to the reserve funds. Budget development must not only address the required mandates, but also be value-based with everything linked to the Board’s Goals and Objectives.

Contributions to the reserve funds must be based on up-to-date reserve studies and a thoughtful philosophy for funding. Her work with the reserve sub-committee and assistance with the procurement of the next-generation reserve study will serve the community as we advance with a more accurate accounting of what needs are expected.

Jeanne is a creative, hardworking Board Director that contributed more than just vision and participation in collaborative decision-making. She literally documented the processes that were needed, wrote the reports, built the spreadsheets, provided the Board Action Items necessary for Board consideration of her ideas. She also often contributed to the weekly Board News updates.

She is a model, proactive director that did the work needed to cause change and refinement. As most who attended the Board Meetings and Workshops observed, Jeanne was often the first to speak and offer thoughtful commentary about the issues being discussed.

She most often made the motions that allowed the Board to focus its decision making in a manner that considered the broad range of views and desires being considered. She accomplished what most directors and candidates only talk about.

Thank you, Jeanne, for your service to the Board and the community. You made significant contributions, and we expect to continue benefiting from your help going forward. Hopefully, you will sign up for your second term sometime in the future.