SUN CITY ā Lauren Leeās one-year anniversary as the executive director of Del Webb Sun City should celebrate her personal successes, yet she insists it does not.
Instead, Leeās focus is on the residents.
āDuring my time in Sun City, Iāve learned what a great community it is and what great people live here,ā she said.
About a year ago, Lauren Lee stepped into Sun City as the new Executive Director. From her open-door policy to budget conscious direction, the community has seen positive change, during her first year on campus. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
From Leeās open-door policy between her and the residents to her habit of chatting with community members in the hallways, it is evident that Leeās past year has been one of communication.
āResidents pop in and visit me all the time. I also do email blasts with them now and thatās been very productive. Thereās been a re-energizing of the association in the last year,ā Lee said.
This energizing has been contagious, partially due to Leeās goal to increase transparency and communication with the residents, both through personal conversation and new digital databases.
Lee also credits the staff with rejuvenating the community, particularly in the way that staff has encouraged collective activities. One of the Sun City neighborhoods recently orchestrated a flash mob, bringing residents together for group fun.
However, Lee acknowledges that fun has not been the only theme of her past year. She has also worked through challenges in the process of taking Sun City to the next level.
āOne of the biggest challenges, and I still have this challenge, is educating the residents and having them understand the governance and how the processes work here,ā Lee said, citing the boardās authority and the difficulty in allowing community-wide voting for all major decisions.
Despite the challenges, Leeās future outlook for Sun City is anything but cloudy skies.
āOur goals are to continue working with staff to make them more effective and more efficient and to maintain the budget. Itās positive moving forward to make Sun City a premiere community,ā she said.
