Resident Council Bylaws

BY-LAWS SUNNYSIDE RESIDENT COUNCIL

PREAMBLE

We, the residents of Sunnyside Community, believing that this is the sum total of all its parts, accept the premise that the attitude, words, and actions of any one of its residents affects the entire community. Therefore, we agree to consider carefully and prayerfully our relationships with each other and with those whom we have entrusted with our well-being. We further agree to follow the guidelines incorporated in these by-laws to the best of our ability, and to exemplify the “Spirit of Sunnyside” at all times, in all places and under all circumstances.

ARTICLE I Name

Section 1. The name of the organization shall be the SUNNYSIDE RESIDENT COUNCIL (herein referred to as the Council).

ARTICLE II Purpose

Section 1. To develop and promote the “Spirit of Sunnyside” as a loving, caring community.

Section 2. To serve as an integrating agent for all residents, with emphasis on advocacy and coordination.

Section 3. To serve as a liaison between the residents, the Executive Director, the Corporate Office, and the governing board.

ARTICLE III Council Membership

Section 1. The membership of the Council shall consist of the following positions:

President Vice President Past President Secretary Treasurer

Five members from the Highlands Association (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and two representatives).

Seven representatives from the designated Village & Glen Independent-Living (IL) Areas (See Appendix A).

Two representatives from the Eiland Center (the Assisted Living Life Enrichment Coordinator {or a staff designee}, and a resident nominated by the Assisted Living Director).

Two representatives from the Pannill Health Center (the Health Care Life Enrichment Coordinator {or a staff designee}, and a resident nominated by the Administrator of Health Services).

Chairs from the Council’s Standing Committees.

Executive Director of Sunnyside as a non-voting member.

Section 2. The Village & Glen IL Area Representatives will be recruited from residents within each of the designated seven Areas, and acceptable to a majority of the residents residing in their specific Areas.

The Area Representatives shall serve a term of one two-year period. Area Representatives shall not serve consecutive terms, but are eligible to serve future non-consecutive terms.

Area representatives are encouraged to recruit other residents within their sectors to assist them, where and as necessary.

Current sitting Area Representatives will take the lead in the search for their replacements from households within their respective Areas.

One Area Representative, on a quarterly rotational basis, will be designated by the Resident Council’s Executive Committee to sit as a member of the Committee.

Two Area Representatives, on a rotational basis, will be invited by the Resident Council’s Executive Committee to participate in the monthly “Town Hall” meetings.

Section 3. All Associations and Village & Glen IL Area representatives’ primary responsibilities are to facilitate communications within and external to their sectors, and to communicate the nature and scope of issues and/or concerns of the residents they represent.

All representatives are encouraged to establish lines of communication with each other, the Chairs of the Resident Council’s standing committees, and corresponding Life Enrichment Coordinators.

ARTICLE IV Council Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Sunnyside Resident Council are the following:

President Vice President Past President Secretary Treasurer

Section 2. The council officers will be recruited by a Council ad-hoc committee and approved by the council. To be eligible to serve, officers shall have been in residence at Sunnyside for at least two years. Officers of the Council shall serve for a period of at least one, two-year term following the February meeting, but no more than two, two-year consecutive terms. Unplanned vacancies of a council officer’s term will be filled by Executive Committee appointment for the remainder of the term. Additionally, whenever possible, the position of Council President shall alternate between being a member of the Village Association and the Highlands Association.

Section 3. The Executive Committee shall consist of:

1. 1. 1. 1. Council President
        
        Council Vice President
        
        Council Past President
        
        Council Secretary
        
        Council Treasurer
        
        Chair of the Highlands Association
        
        One Village & Glen IL Area Representative (on a quarterly rotational basis)
        
        One staff and one resident representative from Eiland Center Assisted Living
        
        One staff and one resident representative from Pannill Health Center
        
        Chair of the Strategic Working Committee
        
        Executive Director, as a non-voting member
        
        Other persons as directed by the Council President

Section 4. The functions of the Executive Committee are:

1. 1. 1. 1. Set the agenda for Council meetings.
        
        Determine the need for special meetings.
        
        Nominate Council standing committees and ad-hoc committee Chairs.
        
        Nominate residents to administration committees, when requested.
        
        Hold monthly “Town Hall” meetings.
        
        Monitor the activities of the Standing Committees.
        
        Respond to concerns and suggestions from resident Associations, Village & Glen IL Area Representatives, and individual residents.
        
        Assist in the support of campus-wide communications and information flow.
        
        Plan for participation in all “Tri-Community Meetings” with Bridgewater Retirement Community (BRC) and Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC); as well as the “Sunnyside Communities Sister Gatherings” with Kings Grant and Summit Square.

Section 5. The Council Treasurer shall be responsible for accounting to the Council for all funds generated by the Council, including the Employee Christmas Fund, sales from Sunny Treasures and any other monies generated by the residents. The Council Treasurer, as well as the Sunny Treasures Treasurer, shall have the authority to sign checks for the disbursement of funds from the Sunny Treasures Account

The Executive Committee shall appoint an independent two-person committee to conduct an annual review of the books of the Resident Council Treasurer and the Sunny Treasures Treasurer by February 15^th. This committee shall report to the Council at its February meeting.

Section 6. The Secretary shall record the minutes of each meeting of the Council and Executive Committee. Minutes of the Council will be distributed to Council members within 15 days of the meeting. The secretary is responsible for all Council correspondence.

Section 7. New officers will be approved at the February council meeting, and take up their duties at the conclusion of the meeting.

ARTICLE V Meetings

Section 1. Meetings of the Council shall be held quarterly on the 3^rd Friday of February, May, August and November.

Section 2. Special Meetings: On the order of the President or at the request of three (3) members of the Council, the Council shall call a special meeting. The president shall inform the members of its purpose. Meetings may be held without a member of the Administration present.

Section 3. The Executive Committee shall meet at least two (2) weeks before the regular meeting of the Council to primarily set the agenda for the full Council meeting. The President may call special meetings of the Executive Committee, as required.

ARTICLE VI Committees

Section 1. The Standing Committees of the Council shall be:

Strategy Working Committee, Employee Christmas Fund, Green Development Committee, Sunny Treasures Committee, Neighbors Committee, and the Technology Forum.

All chairs shall be recommended by the Executive Committee and elected by the Council. Committee members shall be selected by the existing Standing Committee Chairs after advertising their needs to the residents. Each committee shall determine the number of persons needed to carry out the assigned work. Each committee shall have a secretary. When a committee needs special expertise to deal with matters with which that committee is concerned, it may select a qualified person from the local area to be added to the committee. This person will be a full non-voting member of the committee. The Council shall approve the charge, objectives and/or purposes of each standing committee.

Section 2. Strategy Working Committee: The purpose of this committee is to provide a strategic and proactive focus on areas of concern or interest as communicated by Sunnyside residents through the Resident Council and Executive Director. These areas of concern/interest will be distilled into a concise report to the Corporate Board through our Regional Council representative on a quarterly basis, satisfying a requirement of the State Corporation Council for Life Plan Communities. The goal is to reflect the views of Sunnyside residents in a transparent format and provide the missing link of establishing an open discourse between the Resident Council and the Corporate Board in coordination with the Executive Director of the Sunnyside campus.

To ensure the full integration of the committee’s important mission, the Strategy Working Committee Chair will sit as a member of the Resident Council’s Executive Committee and accompany the Council president to Regional Council quarterly meetings.

Section 3. Employee Christmas Fund: The purpose of this fund is to provide an opportunity for Sunnyside residents to express their appreciation to the Sunnyside Staff for their dedicated service throughout the year. The fund shall be administered by a committee consisting of the Vice-President and Treasurer of the Council and one individual appointed at the last Council meeting of the year to serve as chair of the committee. The duties of this committee shall be to publicize the Fund, motivate residents, determine allocations of the funds and distribute the funds to the employees. Contributions for the Fund shall be received throughout the year at several locations on campus; boxes will be provided at these locations and so marked. The committee may determine additional means of collecting funds. The contributions will be deposited periodically by the Treasurer. The treasurer will also report at each Council meeting the status of the account. All checks written from this fund will require two signatures: the Treasurer and the Chair of the Employee Christmas Fund Committee.

Gifts will be given to all employees based on hours worked. The amount received by each employee will be based on the number of hours worked.

Level 1-0 to 666 hours = 1 share Level II – 667 to 1332 hours = 2 shares Level III – 1333 to 1999 hours = 3 shares Level IV – 2000 + hours = 4 shares

Contracted Service Providers will be placed on Level III (Beauticians, Physical Therapy and Security).

The share amount is determined by the total amount collected divided by the total shares needed.

Eligible employees must be hired prior to October 1 of the year in which the gift is given. Modest gift may be given to employees hired after October 1. Any funds remaining after the share amount has been determined may be used for the modest gifts.

Distribution of gifts will be made at the Employee Christmas Lunch/Dinner in December.

Section 4. Green Development Committee: The purpose of this committee is to advocate for the responsible preservation, sustainability and enhancement of the natural beauty, environment and natural resources of the Sunnyside Campus habitat.

Section 5. Sunny Treasures Committee: This committee shall be composed of a Chair, Secretary, Sunny Treasures Treasurer, and chairs and co-chairs of sub-committees named by the Sunny Treasures Committee as needed. This committee shall determine policies for operation of Sunny Treasures Gift Shop, furniture sales, and other sales. Allocation of funds are recommended by the Committee to the Resident Council for approval.

Checks drawn on the Sunny Treasures account shall be signed by the Sunny Treasures Treasurer; checks in amounts of $500 and greater shall be approved by the Sunny Treasures Chairman.

Section 6. Neighbors Committee: The purpose of the Neighbors Committee is to develop a mentoring system for independent Sunnyside residents that encourages an intentional caring community. Established residents will be paired with new residents and encouraged to share community information and create friendships in order to build a caring community at Sunnyside. The Neighbors Committee will be led by a coordinator and team who will identify neighbors, pair them with new residents and provide support to the neighbors with quarterly meetings. The coordinator will serve on the Council.

Section 7. Technology Forum: The purpose of the Technology Forum is to support the development and use of appropriate technology in and for the benefit of all Sunnyside residents. It seeks to encourage participation in technical activities such as the resident website, support of resident technical needs (e.g., computers, video equipment, voice assistants, virtual reality, etc.), seminars and discussions, resident training, cooperation and coordination with Sunnyside management and staff, and other activities that may arise as a result of a broad technical focus.

ARTICLE VII Amendment of Bylaws

Section 1. Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed by the Executive Committee to the Resident Council at any regular or special meeting, provided that the members have been notified a week before as to the intent and purpose of the amendments. The amendment must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the members present.

Section 2. Questions of interpretation or clarification of these Bylaws will be answered by the Executive Committee. Questions or requests for clarification of Bylaws will be submitted to a member of the Executive Committee for resolutions at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.

Adopted 5/31/1989

Revised: July 2008, May 2010, August 2010, February 2011, May 2016, August 2018, February 2019, May 2020, February 2021, May 2021