From the Editor/President

By Stephen Sapp

Community is a theme I have often written about in this column in relationship to Lakeport, and I want to return to it now by asking a basic but crucial question: What is community? The answer of course is that it is a multi-faceted entity, something that carries a number of meanings.

If we put the article “a” in front of “community,” the connotation tends toward an almost physical entity, which of course Lakeport is. And it is a beautiful one, thanks to the efforts of our residents with regard to both our own homes and our common property. Although we all may sometimes feel frustrated by Reston Association’s Cluster Property Guidelines and Lakeport’s Cluster Standards, they are one of the main reasons our physical community is as attractive as it is. Please remember that if you are planning to make any changes to the exterior of your home, you must consult the applicable standard(s) and comply with the guidance you find there. If you have any questions about whether your project meets the standard, please get in touch with our Standards Committee Chair Jerry Beiter (jbeiter29@gmail.com).

Beyond the meaning of “community” in the physical sense, the word also carries the notion of fellowship, of “being in this together,” of sharing a common purpose and vision for life together—in short, of caring about one another and wanting the best for everyone with whom we share our physical environment. Although the world we live in today seems to pull in the opposite direction, my hope is that in Lakeport at least we can all feel as if we are truly welcome and “have one another’s backs.” But it’s up to each of us to make this ideal happen.

One way that this vision becomes a reality, of course, is for everyone to contribute to making Lakeport the kind of community (in both senses!) I just described (and as the accompanying picture shows, you’re never too young to do so!). Many residents give a great deal of their time and energy in many ways, and I (as should we all) want to thank them for all they do (see the “Thanks to Volunteers” article elsewhere in this issue). We still need volunteers for the Spring Workday on March 31, one of Lakeport’s two major annual cleanups, and later that day we will be able to enjoy the Spring Dock Party, a great opportunity to gather as the Lakeport community. Please email msapp@miami.edu if you can help with the workday, and sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0944AFA622A1FCC61-56851872-ilovelakeport#/ if you will be joining your neighbors for the dock party.

Finally, I want to repeat two requests I make every issue:

• Please set up Direct Debit for your quarterly assessment payments, the next of which is due July 1 (see “Reminders” elsewhere in this issue for how to do this). The main advantage is that you never have to worry about being late and incurring extra fees, but you also save the hassle and expense of mailing a check (or being charged a fee for using a credit card online). I have heard from several people that they don’t like to use automated payments because they want to know exactly how much their bills are, but unlike electricity or water, for example, you already will know exactly how much your quarterly assessment will be: Rates are posted in the online “HOA Fee Payment: Charges for assessment, fees, administrative charges” in the Residents tab of the Lakeport website (under “HOA Fee Payment”)! So please consider this time- and cost-saving way to pay your assessments (it will also mean Board members don’t have to send reminders to owners who haven’t paid so they don’t get charged a late fee).
• Also please check the Directory and add/update your information if necessary. If former residents are listed, email webmaster@lakeportcluster.org to request their names be removed. If you have renters, ask them to submit the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFILfWGBoWIgWlBPSQmIKj4kIX0kPA7XsRjnsaOsNXuvVSkw/viewform?dods&gxids=7628. 

Let us know what you think of this Spring issue of Ripples. If you want to submit an item for our Summer issue, please email me at ssapp@miami.edu. Photos of life in Lakeport (such as the photo above of Heidi, Alex, and Lizzie Driscoll working on the Kids’ Garden that was sent in by Sandy Laeser) are always welcome as well!