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Board of Directors Candidates Ernie Chappell Originally from Alberta, Canada, my career as an Accountant in the oil industry and as a software developer led me to Houston, then Nashville. I recently retired from the Ag Tech company I founded in 1988 to spend more time with my wife, Amanda and our three sons, two of which are in high school. We are an avid mountain activity family and plan to focus our time in Big Sky now that I have retired. In 2021, we purchased a home in Upper Cascade, off Beehive Road and stayed for the 2022/23 school year. For service work, I served on the National Agricultural Retailers Association board of directors for six years as well as the Tennessee ACH Association. Outside of my professional activity, I served on the board of trustees for Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama for 21 years, the board of directors for Oak Hill School (elementary), and the board of directors for Brentwood Academy (middle/high school). Q & A What do you believe you can contribute to the Board and the Association? I am a pragmatic person and feel my contribution will be around good processes and support of fact-based decision making. Big Sky will be faced with an increasing number of issues around growth and environmental stewardship and my hope is to help bring structure and deliberate action that meet the association’s objectives. I’ve also attended about 40% of the BSOA board meetings over the last 15 months which has given me a good understanding of the issues taking place on the board. I’ve been a member of the BSOA Strategic planning Committee since September of 2023 which I think I is an important area as we seek input on charting the path forward for BSOA. I’m currently on the BSOA Architectural Committee as well. If elected, what do you hope to achieve during your three-year term? Beyond the general work of the board, I would like help the board become a bit more transparent with the wider owner membership, with the hope of increasing both awareness and participation in issues facing Big Sky. While we all love the many wonderful aspects of Big Sky, I think it will be helpful to have wider participation to help move it in the right direction. This wide and open involvement will help get the best ideas and minds in the room to address our future challenges. Are you comfortable making difficult or unpopular decisions for the benefit of the Association? Yes. That’s been essential to build a business and serve on other boards. I understand the task at hand is to make decisions to benefit the association. Being thoroughly informed to back up difficult decisions and being willing to explain what went into a decision is important. Kenny Holtz Kenny Holtz is business executive, finance professional and real estate developer. He and his wife Catherine and their children Finley (11), Susie (9) and Hadley (8) live in the Meadow Village. He was elected to serve on the BSOA Architectural Review Committee in 2008 where he held the position for eight years and was elected in 2021 for the BSOA Board. Additionally, Kenny serves on the Big Sky Community Housing Trust Board. When asked about why he is running for the Board of Directors position Kenny said, “The BSOA is a special place and it is our responsibility as members to do everything we can to keep it that way. It is a real privilege to serve my fellow members and I enjoy giving back to the community that has given my family and I so much.” Q & A 1. What do you believe you can contribute to the Board and the Association? Transparency, common sense, practical solutions, fiscal responsibility, and a relentless drive to see that basic functions of the BSOA as described in our charter are executed in the best interest of the membership. 2. If elected, what do you hope to achieve during your three-year term? I believe that the actions of the BSOA and the general sentiments of our members are not always in alignment. For the past 3 years I have (and if elected for another term will continue) to seek to align the actions of the organization with the desires and expectations of our members. How? As a Board representing your interests, we need to more frequently and formally ask: How are we doing? Where can we improve? Do you support the current focus? If not, what should we change? Should we take on more as an organization or less? If more, are our members willing to pay for those efforts? If not, then we should only focus on the core “plain-vanilla” responsibilities as an HOA. 3. Are you comfortable making difficult or unpopular decisions for the benefit of the Association? I am comfortable with difficult decisions. I believe “unpopular decisions” means the correct decision for the best interest of the membership that disagrees with the loudest voice or interest group in the room. A board with healthy, thoughtful, and transparent debate and deliberations is vitally important. I am one of the first to encourage such import deliberations and not afraid to make motions in the best interest of our members that are occasionally voted down by fellow board members. Les Hopper Les Hopper and his family have been enjoying life in Big Sky for 25 years, and currently live on Little Coyote Road in the Meadow. Les is a registered engineer with an MBA and has over 40 years of hands-on experience in the management, planning, permitting, and design of both public and private projects from inception through construction. On the public side he has experience delivering state highway projects and interchanges, multi-use facilities, bridges, and both heavy and light rail improvements. On the private side Les has been a principal owner of several planning and engineering firms and is experienced in land development and entitlement processes from conceptual plans through final design of subdivision and commercial site work, including a five-star resort. Overall, he specializes in the coordination of owners, multiple agencies, and stakeholders on both small- and large-scale projects, with an emphasis on gaining approvals through each process milestone. He currently sits on a number of regional and state boards and committees. Les and his wife Susie have one son (Noa- 25 years old). They enjoy horseback riding, mountain biking, and paddling sports such as Hawaiian outrigger and Dragon Boat racing. Les has also started several 501-C-3 nonprofit organizations that foster community and raise money for charities. Q&A 1.What do you believe you can contribute to the Board and the Association? Hopefully I would be able to contribute on several levels. To start I have spent a lifetime facilitating both private development and public infrastructure projects from inception through construction and have a wealth of experience and knowledge to share. Many of those projects required the facilitation of a diverse group of stakeholders to gain agreement on tough issues. I also started my career in emergency medicine and have organized large events as well as fundraisers. As you can imagine things never quite go as planned and decisions need to be made quickly and with common sense. The end result is that I think that I can offer a calm and knowledgeable approach to issues as they come up and are put before the board. 2. If elected, what do you hope to achieve during your three-year term? My first goal would be to get to know fellow BSOA board members and clearly understand the issues of the people that we are representing. I do hear from people in the community already, but I’m sure that there is more to learn. Same with the board. It’s made up of some pretty smart people with a wide range of experiences, and I’d be interested in listening to what they know and have to say based on those experiences. Given the above, what I would hope to achieve is an open dialogue, clear communication, and a sense of collaboration in working on the issues that face our community. We all have a common goal of wanting to see it thrive in a positive way, and I hope to help foster those conversations- no matter the topic. I think that I inferred in my bio that I’m very comfortable talking with people, developers, politicians, community leaders, and agency leaders for numerous projects or events. I’d like to put those abilities to work for the BSOA. 3. Are you comfortable making difficult or unpopular decisions for the benefit of the Association? Hmmm- I’d refer you back to my answers on the first two questions. At least in my experience working with diverse groups, unpopular decisions are largely the result of a lack of clear and early communication. Key stakeholders (be it homeowners, business owners, or decision makers) need to be at the table from the beginning, and diverse and opposing opinions need to be heard and understood. I’ve found that there is usually a way to meet in the middle with some patience and collaboration between groups with differing opinions. Barbara Rowley I've lived in Big Sky year-round for the past 34 years, most of that time in the two-bedroom, Meadow Village home we built as newlyweds that eventually expanded to a five-bedroom home where we raised our two daughters and still live. I met my husband, Taylor Middleton, on a magazine assignment 34 years ago and moved here almost immediately. In the three decades since then, I've continued to use my skills as a journalist to write books, magazine articles and more, as well as to advance community projects I've spearheaded, including small things like the first translator for NPR and the original BSOA POST committee, to bigger projects like creating Camp Big Sky, co-founding Big Sky Broadway, helping create and pass legislation in Helena and locally that allowed us to have a high school, leading the effort that won us the first community playground, and finding the federal funds for the trail on the highway. I've served on the BSCO, the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center and Chapel Boards, been an elected trustee in the school district, a founding member of FOBSE, the Ophir School Council's now PTO president, and am currently the chair of Colorado Outdoor Education Center in Colorado. I am a graduate of Northwestern University (MS, Journalism) and Washington University (BA, Political Science and English Literature. Q & A 1. What do you believe you can contribute to the Board and the Association? I have a deep understanding of the important but limited role of boards and board members: specifically the financial health of an organization, the hiring and evaluation of its executive director, the steady hand making sure an organization's activities are confined to its mission and adhere to its bylaws. I would focus my efforts on these specific areas, using my lived experience as a full-time community member and my professional skills to increase the BSOA's effectiveness in its stated mission as a homeowners' association. 2. If elected, what do you hope to achieve during your three-year term? The BSOA has a clear and large mission as the area's first and largest homeowners association; it is now one of many organizations and governmental districts that together meet the needs of our community members. Finding synergy and efficiency with these other organizations, while keeping the BSOA's staff and board laser focussed on the BSOA's mission of serving its members first and foremost, would be a primary goal. The BSOA was formed to protect home values via regulations and enforcement in order to preserve the physical and aesthetic environment which drew us all here. I would emphasize staffing, jobs and policies that clearly focus on serving homeowner needs that make this preservation possible: traffic calming, road design and maintenance, weed control, noise reduction, open space management, architectural compliance and more. 3. Are you comfortable making difficult or unpopular decisions for the benefit of the Association? Yes. The service of a board member is voting according to their interpretation of the best course of action required for the organization it heads. Architectural Review Committee Candidates Ernie Chappell Originally from Alberta, Canada, my career as an Accountant in the oil industry and as a software developer led me to Houston, then Nashville. I recently retired from the Ag Tech company I founded in 1988 to spend more time with my wife, Amanda and our three sons, two of which are in high school. We are an avid mountain activity family and plan to focus our time in Big Sky now that I have retired. In 2021, we purchased a home in Upper Cascade, off Beehive Road and stayed for the 2022/23 school year. For service work, I served on the National Agricultural Retailers Association board of directors for six years as well as the Tennessee ACH Association. Outside of my professional activity, I served on the board of trustees for Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama for 21 years, the board of directors for Oak Hill School (elementary), and the board of directors for Brentwood Academy (middle/high school). Q & A What do you believe you can contribute to the Board and the Association? I am a pragmatic person and feel my contribution will be around good processes and support of fact-based decision making. Big Sky will be faced with an increasing number of issues around growth and environmental stewardship and my hope is to help bring structure and deliberate action that meet the association’s objectives. I’ve also attended about 40% of the BSOA board meetings over the last 15 months which has given me a good understanding of the issues taking place on the board. I’ve been a member of the BSOA Strategic planning Committee since September of 2023 which I think I is an important area as we seek input on charting the path forward for BSOA. I’m currently on the BSOA Architectural Committee as well. If elected, what do you hope to achieve during your three-year term? Beyond the general work of the board, I would like help the board become a bit more transparent with the wider owner membership, with the hope of increasing both awareness and participation in issues facing Big Sky. While we all love the many wonderful aspects of Big Sky, I think it will be helpful to have wider participation to help move it in the right direction. This wide and open involvement will help get the best ideas and minds in the room to address our future challenges. Are you comfortable making difficult or unpopular decisions for the benefit of the Association? Yes. That’s been essential to build a business and serve on other boards. I understand the task at hand is to make decisions to benefit the association. Being thoroughly informed to back up difficult decisions and being willing to explain what went into a decision is important. Dave McCaffery Dave and his wife, Coleen, moved to Big Sky full-time in August 2023. They began vacationing in Big Sky in 2007, purchased a lot in Aspen Groves in 2016, a condo in Cottonwood Crossing (Town Center) in 2019, and built their current home in Aspen Groves between 2021 and 2023. Prior to moving to Big Sky, while residing in New Jersey, Dave earned a BS in Engineering at NJIT and an MBA at Monmouth University, and worked in numerous engineering, management and consulting roles until retiring from full-time work in July 2023. Dave worked in construction during his college years and has volunteered on Habitat for Humanity construction projects over the years. Dave served as a Board member of “Building & Grounds” committees in various organizations over the past 15 years. As a Buildings and Grounds board member, Dave reviewed and approved architectural plans and proposals for renovations and alterations to each organization’s respective facilities. Since moving to Big Sky, Dave has worked as a mountain host at the ski resort and started a handyman business to serve local homeowners. In addition to skiing and handyman work, he enjoys hiking, mountain biking and fishing. He has also embraced the culture and beauty of his new home state, reading historical accounts of Big Sky and life in the Gallatin Valley and Bozeman areas. Dave believes his experience from living and building in Big Sky, serving on various building-related boards, and performing renovations on both historic and contemporary homes gives him the ability to objectively review proposed designs for the BSOA community. Q & A 1. What do you believe you can contribute to the Board and the Association? I will dutifully support the architectural committee’s mandate to ensure home and landscape designs and construction adhere to the BSAC design regulations. I will also work diligently with the BSOA to make appropriate updates to the design regulations as needed. I believe my experience living and building in Big Sky, and performing renovations on both historic and contemporary homes, along with my engineering background, has given me the ability to objectively review proposed designs for our community. 2. If elected, what do you hope to achieve during your three-year term? My primary objective for my term on the BSAC is to serve our community by effectively reviewing property owners plans and designs, and providing feedback or approvals in a timely manner. 3. Are you comfortable making difficult or unpopular decisions for the benefit of the Association? I believe it is critical that members of the Architecture Committee uphold the BSOA’s mandate to ensure the association’s design guidelines are followed by making thoughtful decisions. Those decisions may not be welcomed by all owners, but they must be communicated in a professional, deliberate manner to ensure a full understanding of the rationale and the regulations on which those decisions are based. In my experience as a management consultant, I have faced many situations in which I had to deliver findings that I knew would not be well received, and that experience has taught me to be factual and direct in those interactions. |
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