{"id":9844,"date":"2023-05-01T10:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silveridge.com\/?p=9844"},"modified":"2023-04-30T19:23:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-30T19:23:58","slug":"may-2023-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silveridge.com\/?p=9844","title":{"rendered":"May 2023 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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\u201cWelcome to My Office\u201d<\/h1>\n

Behind the scenes with Mike Hacker<\/h2>\n

by Dale Dauten<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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When we first interviewed Mike Hacker back in 2020, he had just been named Maintenance Manager for the parks and he told us his goal for both The Resort and Silveridge:\u00a0\u201cWe want to take care of the residents and we want the property to look so good that everybody wants to stay here.\u201d\u00a0The property has never looked better and, given the waiting lists, it looks like, yes indeed, everybody wants to stay there. <\/p>\n

We thought it was time to check back in with Mike. We caught up with him in late April, and he gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what\u2019s going on over the off-season months.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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As he cleared away some paperwork so we could join him in his pickup, Mike said, \u201cWelcome to my office.\u201d He then drove us through both parks, first The Resort and then Silveridge, and along the route just about every resident we encountered recognized Mike and waved or called out to him and he happily stopped to banter. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone in here that isn\u2019t really nice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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And they show it. The day we were there, a resident had dropped off a platter of cupcakes and another offered energy drinks. And, at The Resort, two couples, the Boumas and the Duncans, host the crew for a monthly lunch, with desserts from Betty Starn.<\/p>\n

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In addition to Mike, the maintenance team for the offseason includes three staff members at each park, and during the season that rises to eight per park. We ran into a couple of them along our route. That\u2019s Jeff Yoder with Mike in the photo below. He\u2019s the \u201cnew guy\u201d even though he\u2019s been with the team for months \u2013 he\u2019s \u201cnew\u201d because the rest have been with Mike for at least three years.\u00a0And the second photo, at Silveridge, is with Larry Sherry, who lives in the park and deserves and article of his own (coming soon).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Our visit took us to the main equipment shop, the large garage at The Resort\u2026<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u2026 and later to the equipment rooms at Silveridge. As you\u2019ll see below, there\u2019s a room devoted almost exclusively to pipes and parts.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Mike smiled sadly at all those parts, then explained that one of the continuing tasks for the crew at Silveridge was dealing with water leaks: \u201cThe pipes at Silveridge are PVC, and in the winter, when things contract and expand, that\u2019s when problems show up.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We asked Mike what keeps the crew busy during the offseason and he gave us a lengthy list of routine tasks, like cleaning and checking the pools every day at 5AM and the \u201cmowing and blowing,\u201d but Mike also described some of what goes on specifically in the offseason: \u201cWe\u2019ll be painting the light poles and the parking stripes. We\u2019ll get 20 to 30 tons of granite to add to the desert landscaping, and switching out the flowers. We\u2019ll clean up the lots. And then there are the special projects.\u201d Every summer the head of the parks\u2019 management team, George Igualt, creates a list of improvements. (More on that when the list becomes official.)<\/p>\n

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One special project that happens annually is working on the baseball field at The Resort: \u201cThis summer we\u2019ll add 25 tons of dirt for the infield. And this year I want to till it first, and add some sand so won\u2019t be so compacted. Then in September we\u2019ll plant the new grass.\u201d The crew has also acquired a verticutter which they\u2019ll use for the ball field and also on the grand green at Silveridge with its lawn bowling. (Mike told us that the lawn bowling grass gets cut four times, in four directions, to achieve its uniform surface.)<\/p>\n

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WHEN HE\u2019S NOT WORKING<\/h4>\n

Because many of the people who read these articles know Mike, we should offer a brief update on his personal life.\u00a0When we wrote about him in 2020, he had a second job, an office cleaning business that he ran at night. No longer. As Mike told us, \u201cI was working 14 hour days, seven days a week \u2013 it was just too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Perhaps another factor in that decision was the rekindled romance with his old high school sweetheart as she recently moved from Chicago to Mesa. It was Mike\u2019s old flame who back in 2020 had sent Mike a classic photo, from their prom, and we gladly print it again here\u2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Mike also had another change in his life — his mother moved from Southern California to The Resort.<\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s end with a response from Mike that sums up his personality. When we asked Mike if there was one day that stood out as the best one of the just-completed season, he smiled and said, \u201cEvery day is a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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* * *<\/p>\n

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to volunteer to be the subject of an article, or have someone you\u2019d like to learn more about, please let me know.<\/p>\n

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Or, if you have photos you\u2019ll like to share in upcoming newsletters, please send them.<\/p>\n

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Dale Dauten,\u00a0Editor<\/p>\n

Email:\u00a0ddauten@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Text: 480-297-6244<\/p>\n

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* * *<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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