July/August 2025 Newsletter

July 15, 2025    News   

“My Favorite Part of the Job”

A Conversation with George Igualt

By Dale Dauten

“Excellence is not a destination, it’s a continuous journey.”

Brian Tracy
If you visit the office of George Igualt, the head of the management company that oversees Silveridge, you find a large table that takes up one side the room. On it are multiple stacks of papers and many of those stacks represent some difficulty that has found its way to George. Asked about them, George just shrugged and said, “A lot of my job is making decisions about problems that have come up.” Then he lit up, smiling, and added, “But, my favorite part of the job is thinking about how we could be better.” It’s the summer, the off-season in the desert, when George gets to see the plans implemented, saying, “Every year we are improving the properties. Every year we want to make things better for our residents.”

 

This year, one of the most significant changes at Silveridge happened early, even as the past winter season was still underway — it was the makeover of the park’s mini-golf area. “This one surprised me,” George pointed out. “What was there had gotten rundown and I wondered if we shouldn’t just take it out. But residents said they wanted to keep it. So I got a number of bids on what could be done. Then, we decided to go ahead and not wait for the off-season since we could get the work done without much disruption.” The result? “I’ve gotten more comments on this one than anything we’ve done recently, more compliments and more thank-yous,” George said. “The reason it’s meant so much to residents is that it’s perfect for when the kids and grandkids come to visit. And it’s so popular that there are even tournaments. It get used like crazy.”
Back at the clubhouse, there’s new carpeting going in. The carpeted part of the ballroom has already been replaced and the library and the room known as the Cattleperson’s Club are next.
The wooden floor in the gym/workout area is all being replaced. And a major painting job is being undertaken. George explained: “The exterior walls at the park are three colors to suggest mountain scenes. Well, the landscape was fading into the distance. And there are places where the walls themselves need attention. So we’ll do the repairs to the walls and get new paint to bring the colors back.” (These are “before” photos at the top and below.)

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

Robert Collier

 

In addition to the new projects, there are, of course, all the lesser ones that keep up Silveridge’s standard: Most importantly for the appearance of the park, the off-season is when the parking areas are maintained and the endless landscaping work is undertaken. George added, “I always hope that it cools off early enough that we can get the winter lawns in before the winter residents start returning. Nighttime temperatures determine when we can overseed the winter grass and if all goes well, the winter lawns are up and are that beautiful green color, and all the flowers are in, all before it’s time to hang the WELCOME banner.”

 

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A footnote, for those residents who play softball at our sister park: the field at The Resort is getting an big new upgrade, as George described it:

 

“I’ve learned a lot about dirt. I went to what amounts to Dirt School. There’s a company out in Glendale that supplies it and they have classes. I was there with professional groundskeepers, people from colleges that have ball fields, and even people from the pros, the Angels and the A’s. And we learned that the best infield is a combination of clay, sand and dirt. And that it regularly needs to be replaced. So now we’re taking out the top couple of inches and replacing it. And then we’re also adding additional fencing to protect spectators from line-drive foul balls.”

 

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Lastly, even though Activities Director Lu Way is on vacation, she sent along three items for us to include:

  • News on a new online ticketing option for park activities in place. There will be more on that in our next issue, September 1st, along with the chance to get tickets for upcoming events.
  • A call for photos/info for Veterans Day.
  • Photos from a July 4th potluck.
 We are excited to announce an upgrade to our ticketing process this year. We have partnered with Red Curtain Ticketing to bring you a faster, more accurate, and user-friendly experience.

You are still welcome to visit the office to purchase your tickets. In-person purchases made with cash or check will not incur any additional fees.

If you choose to purchase tickets online, there will be a small processing and service fee. Many will find the convenience of ordering from home or from a mobile device to be a great option. For each event, you can pick up printed tickets from the main office. If you order online, simply download your ticket and present it at the activity office and we will get your printed tickets for you. We ask for you to do this as we transition to this system together to avoid any confusion.

 

We have worked closely with Red Curtain to tailor the system to our needs, even incorporating our original event posters and our unique floor plans for a consistent and polished look. The website will go live to the public after all advance ticket orders from residents have been processed. Our residents always get to order tickets first before outside sales. As always, your September newsletter will include the advance ticket order form.

Thank you for your continued support and for your patience as we transition to this new system. We are confident it will make the ticketing process smoother and more enjoyable for everyone.