Here are the profiles of the VGV HOA Candidates:
(Note: looks like only Phil wrote his own profile. Or, at least wrote in the first person)
Joseph “Joe” Giorgio
Joseph “Joe” Giorgio takes a goal and makes it a reality through practical strategy development andimplementation. He is a natural leader unafraid to be hands-on, delegate or deflect accolades to the most deserving. He is hard-working and a talented team member while at the same time grounded in business operations, human resources and finance. He utilizes resourceful thinking which is a product of his own background and experience. Sincere and straightforward his drive is focused on continuous professional and technical development aspiring to be recognized as knowledgeable and informed as a member of the Board.
Previously, as Global Vice President of Human Resources, Joe led the Medical Supply sector design and implement innovative programs which resulted in consistent performance improvement and employee engagement. After retiring in 2016, Joe transitioned to an operations role for Year Up, a nationally recognized non-profit organization. For his efforts Joe was awarded a Certificate of Special Recognition from Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo in 2017.
Currently, Joe is President of Concert Human Resource Advisors. A small consulting business that he started in 2016. In addition, he serves on the Board of the Federal Hill House in Providence and recently elected Chairperson of the Governance Committee. He played a key role in the recruitment and selection of seven new Board members. Joe earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and his MBA from the University of Rhode Island.
Joe and his wife Lynn are St. John Vistana Villa owners for almost 10 years. Joe is passionate about the Vistana Signature experience to deliver personalized travel experiences that are exciting, unique and memorable. His goal as a member of the Board Proxy is the continuous operation one of the most financially successful resorts in the most sought-after vacation destinations in the world. “I want to ensure that our owners and resort visitors areprovided with a world class experience.”
Philip Schrag
I am a professor of law at Georgetown University, and I own four unit-weeks in Virgin Grand, two on the hillside and two in pool villas. I have served since 2010 as an owner-elected representative on the Virgin Grand Board. Along with Bob Werbel, who was an owner-elected representative from 2010 until this year, I sent more than 30 reports to owners and responded to hundreds of e-mails from owners, obtaining answers from management when I was unable to answer a question. I have a good working relationship with General Manager Sam Hugli and with other members of the Vistana senior staff who work with the property, as well as with the management-appointed members of the Virgin Grand Board. I bring a consumer advocacy perspective to the Association (in fact, I was the first official Consumer Advocate of the City of New York). I successfully advocated for numerous improvements in the resort and how it relates to owners. In particular, Bob and I were responsible for suggesting the hurricane insurance deductible reserve fund (which saved us from a special assessment after Hurricane Irma), the freecycle shed, the water fountains and shade sails at the hillside pools, tiling in the living rooms of the pool villas, and more than a dozen small improvements ranging from additional towel hooks in the one-bedroom bathrooms to sturdier garbage bags and kitchen tools. With management's help, we also were able to reduce the maintenance fee for six years in a row, and only this year will the fee finally go up a bit. I want to provide continuity as changes come at us from four directions. First, there will inevitably be some glitches as we move into units that are all being rebuilt following the hurricane. I want to make sure that the contents of the units and the quality of the common areas are as good as or better than what we have come to expect. Second, there are huge changes in the management structure, with Starwood spinning off SVO as Vistana, ILG taking over Vistana, and Marriott taking over ILG. There will be some changes, for better or worse, in how these new entities deal with owners. I want to advocate against reductions in the services to which we are accustomed.
Third, Larry Pelletier is my new owner-elected co-director, replacing Bob Werbel, and I want to serve for a term with Larry to help him to understand the budget process and how we work with and respond to owners. Finally, we need to devise new mechanisms for working with the 3 other boards on the property.
William Singer
Bill Singer is a principal of Kenwood Management Company, a Washington DC- Baltimore metro area commercial real estate owner/manager. Since joining Kenwood in May 2002, Bill has been actively involved in acquisitions, debt placement, equity raising, construction, asset management and property management. Currently, Bill oversees a commercial real estate portfolio valued in excess of $100M with annual operating budgets totaling over $12M in revenues and $4M in expenses.
In addition, Bill currently sits on two Real Estate Association Boards – one involving over 50 other property sites/owners (White Marsh Business Community Owners Association) – and the other is a mixed use urban commercial project which consists of hotel, office and retail spaces (B&O Condominium Council).
During his career, Bill has developed construction specifications, negotiated contracts, supervised contractors and successfully completed various building replacement/improvement projects well in excess of $50 M including roof replacements, fire alarm systems upgrades, HVAC replacements, energy studies, garage deck rehabilitations, lighting retrofits, parking lot resurfacing, and tenant improvements.
He has been actively involved in the real estate industry since 1985. Prior to joining Kenwood, Bill worked for such notable firms as The Archon Group (subsidiary of Goldman Sachs), Spaulding & Slye, PREMISYS Real Estate Services (subsidiary of The Prudential Insurance Company of America), and The Oliver Carr Company.
Over his career, Bill has attained numerous licenses and designations including a Certified Property Manager(CPM
), a District of Columbia Property Manager’s License, and a Maryland and District of Columbia RealEstate Broker’s License. Additionally, he served on the District of Columbia Real Estate Commission, PropertyManagement Committee.
Bill holds a Masters in Real Estate degree from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Union College (NY).
Bill, his wife Karen, and their family have been traveling to St. John since 2011 and love their unit at the Westin/Virgin Grand Villas.
Thanks for the reminder.
VOTE by 6pm est March 3rd!!!
Abbreviated version:
Vote Larry and Phil.
IMO
I finally got the mailing. I thought these had also been sent via email.
If only by mail - this benefits VSE as turnout could be lower.
As to voting...
Philip Schrag has been our Owner HOA Rep since SVO (now VSE) allowed Owner-Reps to be elected onto the HOA by not using their rightful vote (that effectively allows ultimate control).
The original WSJ thread (we are now on #3) discusses (and documents) what was happening at the time that allowed 2 Owner-Reps to be elected to the VGV-HOA BOD (Phil and Bob).
Still unique after all these years!!!
And, the WSJ thread was main driver to get Bob and Phil on the BOD - as well as fight the ‘Owner’ lawsuit.
Interesting read...
For those reading this Thread - VOTE!
by March 3rd
I am voting for Larry Pelletier (new Owner Rep who took over for Bob) to control our votes.
Checking:
VOTE
GENERAL AND LIMITED POWERS
Re-Electing Philip Schrag
I strongly urge others to vote this way as well. Owners are at a major disadvantage when it comes to voting power - this is our only voice.
. I will have to check my pictures. We stayed in our unit the first year(2016), but not the 2nd year, and 2018 didn't happen, so it's been a while...
), a District of Columbia Property Manager’s License, and a Maryland and District of Columbia RealEstate Broker’s License. Additionally, he served on the District of Columbia Real Estate Commission, PropertyManagement Committee.