ISLAND LEADERSHIP
Meeting Challenges with a Clear Vision
It’s hard to believe
it’s 2020 already.
I hope all of you
enjoyed a relaxing
holiday
season
with your families,
whether on Kiawah
or elsewhere. It’s
certainly hard to
leave behind the
KICA COO JIMMY BAILEY festivities and beauty
of the holidays but
the association is hitting the ground running.
The start of each new year is always a time of
excitement, as we get started on projects with
renewed focus and clear vision. This year promises
to be packed full with important strategic items.
But first, I want to mention some items from the
association business checklist – every January, we
ask you to do three things that are crucial to the
operation of the association:
1. Please take a moment to pay your assessment.
Assessment invoices went out via email and mail
(if you requested a paper copy) in late December
and are due at the end of this month. Visit kica.us
for information on how to pay your assessment
and more.
2. Vote in the board election. Your vote packet
also went out at the end of December and
voting is open until Thursday, Jan. 30. You’ll see
biographies for the three candidates beginning
on page 4 of this issue of Digest. Watch candidate
interview videos on the website, and you’ll be
able to meet the candidates at an event on
Tuesday, Jan. 7 at The Sandcastle. I encourage
you all to join me there at 4 p.m.
3. Assign your proxy to the board secretary for
annual meeting quorum. This proxy has nothing
to do with your vote; it allows KICA to call the
annual meeting to order. We recognize that 51%
of our members (the quorum requirement) will
not be able to attend the meeting. Without this
proxy, we can’t hold the required meeting.
2 | KIAWAH ISLAND DIGEST
Last year, nearly 2,000 property owners answered
our member survey and, at this year’s board of
directors strategic planning session, your board will
consider your input as we develop our annual plan.
2020 will be the first year that this session includes
both your outgoing directors, with their years of
experience and perspective, as well as your directors-
elect, who will be observing and learning about the
process.
In the first quarter of 2020, we have a number
of exciting things to look forward to. The ball
starts rolling on planning for the implementation
of the Salesforce technology platform, which
will streamline KICA’s currently siloed software
solutions and improve our ability to provide great
member services and increase internal efficiency. A
new KICA website is in development with the goal
of making it easier for you to find the community
resources you’re seeking.
KICA’s Flood Mitigation Task Force has completed
their work evaluating Kiawah’s flooding
susceptibilities and will be sharing a plan of
action to alleviate these issues with the board and
community. Security improvements are planned
throughout the year, from gate access to radio-
frequency identification (RFID) technology. At The
Sandcastle, a big refreshment is coming to the
family pool, which will be retiled and resurfaced.
The board will also direct additional updates to The
Sandcastle’s outdoor amenities based on community
feedback.
With each month forward, we move closer to the
highlight of 2021, the PGA Championship at Kiawah.
This will be a great opportunity to showcase the
island, but also just a special event for the community.
All of our teams are doing some level of planning
for the event, but you’ll see our Land Management
department working extra hard throughout the year
getting plantings camera-ready.
We accomplished a lot in 2019 and I’m looking
forward to more to come in 2020. Wishing you and
your families the happiest new year,