2014 campaign sees significant increase in candidates

SUN CITY – Sun City’s transition to self governance may be the cause of a significant increase in resident interest in serving on the community association board of directors.

Sun Citians will have a large number of choices to make in the 2014 election in October. A record total of seven candidates have filed candidate applications. There are three open seats to be filled. Terms for board members are two years. The top three vote-getters will begin their terms in January, 2014.

The ballot will include two incumbents: Bonnie Bayser (current board president) and Linda Davis (vice president), four newcomers – Dennis O’Leary, Catherine Ryan, Mack Titus, and Gene Rhodes), and one returnee – Bill Ziletti, who was board president in 2011. Balloting will take place in October.
All candidates were required to describe their professional backgrounds and their Sun City activities, answer questions about the most important issues facing Sun City, and state their reasons for seeking a directorship on the board.

In this first of two installments, the Sun Day presents information on the Sun City and professional backgrounds of the seven candidates, in alphabetical order.

Bonnie Bayser

A resident of Sun City for more than 10 years, Bayser has served on the board since her appointment to fill a vacancy in June, 2011. She has served as secretary and president. She also has served on several Sun City advisory committees, including the Management Transition Committee.

Bayser is a certified registered nurse with postgraduate degrees in health administration and business management and has 20 years of experience in hospital administration.

“I was director of the Ambulatory Division at Loyola Medical Center for 12 years, where I was responsible for personnel, quality control, regulatory compliance, fiscal matters, marketing, and building construction and maintenance,” she said.

Bayser also has been a trustee on the Huntley Fire Protection District for 10 years and also is a member of the governing boards of the Illinois Association of Fire Protection Districts and the Northern Alliance of Fire Protection Districts. She is an active member of the Prairie Singers and participates in many other club activities.

Linda Davis

A retired kindergarten school teacher with 34 years service, she was elected to the Schaumburg Education Association executive board and also served on the association board of her townhouse development in Bartlett.

“A colleague and I developed nutrition science and math curricula that were used to teach teachers all over Illinois,” she said.

Davis has lived in Sun City for over 13 years. She was a board member of the Sun City Theatre Company and president for three years, vice chair of the Charter Club Presidents Council, vice chair of the Facility Use Committee, chairperson of the Charter Club Expo, board liaison to the Charter Club
Presidents Council, and board liaison to the Elections Advisory Committee. She is completing a two-year term on the Sun City Community Association board, where she currently is vice president.

Dennis O’Leary

A six-year resident of Sun City, Dennis’ background is in manufacturing operations management and manufacturing engineering. This involved development and implementation of process controls and long-range plans.

O’Leary earned a bachelors degree from Rockford College and a Masters of Management Degree from Northwestern University.

“My technical training and experience began as an apprentice tool and die maker, to department supervisor and divisional responsibilities for tool rooms and facility maintenance activities, to plant superintendent overseeing a 500-member workforce, vice president of manufacturing, and finally to an internal consultant focused on process improvement for an aerospace equipment provider,” he said.

At Sun City, he has been a member and chair of the Finance Advisory and Facility Advisory committees.

Eugene Rhodes

A 12-year Sun City resident, Rhodes is a retired businessman; he founded and owned Rhodes Services Inc., a business involved in data entry and the marketing and sales of jewelry, gifts, and furniture to Chicago-area businesses and industries.

“We provided these products to companies like AB Dick and Kraft Foods and also developed and provided discount prescription drug services to individuals and families,” he said.

At Sun City, he is involved in the Civics Committee, VTEC, and is currently president and a four-year board member of the Prairie Singers.

 

Kathleen Ryan

A resident of Sun City for five years, Ryan owned her own newspaper-advertising sales-development consulting business for 25 years, retiring earlier this year. Ryan managed a staff of 15. She says this has left her with little time for participation in Sun City clubs and activities.

“I’ve played in the bridge club and volunteered in fitness activities, but I simply haven’t had time to get involved too much in community activities,” she said.

She was a board member for three years and president for two years of the Northbrook Women in Careers Association.

 

Mack Titus

A nine-year resident of Sun City, Titus is a co-founder of the Sun City Property Assessment Council, an officer in the Symposium Club, and a member of the Bridge Club and Civics Committee.

“Professionally, I earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA, worked 20 years in the utilities and leisure time products fields, and owned and operated my own quick-copy franchise printing establishment,” he said.

 

 

 

William Ziletti

An eight-year resident of Sun City, Ziletti is a past chairman and current member of the Finance Advisory Committee, was chair of the Insurance Sub-Committee, and is a member of the association website team ad hoc committee. He is a past three-year president of the Computer Club and an active member of the Woodchucks Club. He is group administrator for 10 Sun City club websites. Professionally, he spent 32 years in the insurance industry, 20 of them in middle and senior management.

“In my last assignment, I managed a strategic business unit with sales of more than $100 million and an annual budget of more than $25 million,” he said.

He also was treasurer of a homeowners association for four years and developed and managed a reserve fund for future expenses.

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