Memorial Parkway Community Association
Vision: We see this community as a desirable place that we are all proud to call home. We are a community of friendly, caring, and respectful neighbors, who cooperate with each other to uphold and grow the value of our properties and our family, friends, and community relationships.
Mission: The mission of the Board of Directors for the Memorial Parkway Homeowners Association is to preserve and enhance our subdivision by maintaining the common ground areas, and upholding our Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CCRs) and polices. The Board serves the homeowners by taking a fair, ethical, and objective approach in representing the interest of all homeowners. The Memorial Parkway subdivision is maintained as a safe, friendly, and enjoyable place to live for each homeowner and family.
Values: We value integrity, fairness, consistent firmness and common sense, community participation, respect, cooperation and sense of community.
Dear Memorial Parkway Homeowners,
We are correcting the portion of our October 30 notice stating that campaigners may not solicit signatures on prefilled forms and must distribute blank forms. That language is replaced with the following:
Homeowners may campaign for candidates and collect proxies, including forms with a proxy holder’s name or candidate selection entered before signing. Prefilling alone does not invalidate an otherwise valid proxy. The appointment and voting instructions must reflect what the homeowner authorized.
Our concern involves reports that some homeowners, including seniors, felt pressured or confused when presented with preselected forms and instructed simply to complete or sign the bottom. Some reported that the candidate selections and the three proxy-authorization options were not adequately explained.
A preselected name or check mark must not be presented as the homeowner’s only choice. Homeowners should have a clear opportunity to choose any eligible candidate, designate their preferred proxy holder, and select among the form’s three authorization options: quorum only, an open proxy, or a directed proxy. They may also decline to sign.
The Association does not condone misleading explanations, presenting preselected choices as mandatory, or completing or changing a homeowner’s instructions without authorization. These concerns warrant review, but they do not establish that every prefilled form is invalid.
Every submission remains subject to the applicable requirements and consistent verification, whether submitted electronically, deposited in the office ballot box, delivered by the homeowner, or collected through solicitation. No form will be rejected solely because it was prefilled.
If you previously signed an otherwise valid prefilled proxy and the proxy appointment and voting instructions reflect your wishes, you do not need to replace it simply because it was prefilled.
The voluntary options described in our original notice continue to apply. Anyone wishing to replace or withdraw a proxy, or document concerns about what they signed, may contact the office at 281-492-2949 for assistance and documentation with the Secretary. A replacement proxy does not provide an additional vote.
Our purpose is to respect each homeowner’s choices and administer a fair election.
Tom Blache
President
Memorial Parkway Community Association
IMPORTANT ANNUAL MEETING NOTICE: YOUR PROXY, YOUR CHOICE
Dear Memorial Parkway Homeowners,
The Association has received reports of homeowners being asked to sign proxy forms with a proxy holder’s name and a candidate selection already filled in. Some homeowners have reported feeling pressured or confused about what they were signing.
After consulting with the Association’s legal counsel, Robert North, we are providing the following clarification.
Homeowners may campaign for candidates and collect proxies. However, they may not solicit signatures on forms they have pre-filled with a proxy holder or candidate selection. Anyone distributing proxy forms for homeowners to complete must use blank copies of the Association’s official form. They may also collect proxies that homeowners have completed with their own choices.
You decide whom to authorize as your proxy holder and, if giving voting instructions, which candidate to select. You may also choose to use the default proxy holder already printed on the Association’s official form. Those decisions belong to you.
Already signed a proxy? You can still change your mind.
You have three options:
Replace it. Complete a new official proxy showing your choices and submit it to the HOA office for filing with the Secretary. Tell the office that you previously signed a proxy and want this new one to replace it, so your records can be updated.
Cancel it. Contact the HOA office and explain that you want to withdraw your previously signed proxy without submitting a replacement. Ask that your withdrawal be documented with the Secretary.
Attend the annual meeting yourself. Your attendance cancels any proxies submitted in your name. Check in when you arrive and let the Secretary know you previously signed a proxy.
For assistance replacing or withdrawing a proxy, contact the HOA office at 281-492-2949.
If someone told you that you could sign another proxy because you had “already voted,” please understand that a new proxy replaces an earlier proxy. It does not give you an additional vote.
If you felt pressured into signing, did not understand the form, or believe its selections did not reflect your wishes, please contact the Association office promptly at 281-492-2949 so your concern can be documented.
Please read any proxy carefully before signing and make sure it reflects your choices.
You decide who represents you and how your proxy will be used at the annual meeting.
Thank you for participating in the annual meeting and election process. Your participation is what makes this community great.
Tom Blache
President
Memorial Parkway Homeowners Association
