Greetings from the Board – February 2026

Greetings from the Board:

We have 5 members running for the 2 single family seats on the Board of Directors……Thank you for volunteering to serve on the Board!

I want to remind everyone that volunteering for a committee is a great way to learn more about the Rancho Vistoso HOA and to become involved without committing “too much time”.  The deadline to apply for all committees except the Nominating Committee is April 3. The deadline for the Nominating Committee is February 13.

The VCA Committees are: 

• Architectural & Landscape Review Committee
• Communications Committee
• Compliance Committee
• Financial Committee
• Governing Documents Committee (currently on recess)
• Nominating Committee
• Parks & Landscape Committee

The form to volunteer for a committee is on the VCA website under the Your VCA section.  Click HERE to download the form.

Don’t forget that the next garage/yard sale event is April 11th from 7 am to 2 pm.  We have 2 garage sale days each year one in the spring and one in the fall and those are the only days garage/yard sales are allowed in Rancho Vistoso.

---

Matt Wood – VCA President

Snapshot – February 2026

If you missed the January 29 2026 Board of Directors meeting, here are the highlights of the Manager’s Report. The next meeting is scheduled for February 26 2026.

Annual Meeting & Election of the Board

The annual meeting is scheduled for March 26, 2026, at 6:00 PM. During this meeting the election results will be announced for the board of directors, 2025 annual meeting minutes, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 70-604 Ruling. The IRS Revenue ruling provides the VCA membership with the authority to decide if operating funds that are not spent by the end of year should be carried over to the following year. By voting in the affirmative the members preserve the unspent funds for use in their community rather than being reported as income on the HOA’s annual tax filing. If a 70-604 Revenue Ruling election is not made, these funds would be taxed.

The call for board candidates’ applications closed on January 12, 2026. There will be two (2) openings for the Single-Family voting category, one (1) for the Other Single Family voting category, and one (1) for the Commercial voting category. The Nomination and Election Committee will be introducing the candidates at the January 29 General Session Meeting. Candidates will be giving a short statement.

Electronic and mail ballots will be sent out to members on February 26, 2026.

Call for Committee Volunteers

The board is seeking volunteers to participate in the Nomination & Elections Committee for the 2027 Board elections. Appointments will be made on February 26, 2026, General Session meeting. Please find the Committee Application on the community website at Forms – Welcome to Rancho Vistoso.  In April, the Board of Directors will be appointing all other committee members for the coming year.

2026 Community Events

The 2026-yard sale dates are April 11 and October 3 from 7:00 AM until 2:00 PM. The Fall Event is scheduled for October 24. Staff have been working with software which will allow residents participating in the yard sale to map out their location.

Fiber Optic Installation

The Town of Oro of Valley has authorized Ripple Fiber and Wyyerd Fiber to install fiber optics throughout the Rights of Ways (ROW) and Roadways within the Rancho Vistoso Community. Wyyerd did start the project the first week of January. Details of the project have been emailed to the VCA members. The master association is negotiating an agreement with both companies to cover the common areas and ROW maintained by the community.

Drainage Projects

• Big View Ct. Channel – Sky Island Restoration was selected to complete this project. The project commenced on November 17 and anticipated completion date is February 27, 2026.
• Bridal Veil – This project is currently on hold.

2026 Capital Projects

The following capital projects have been slated and budgeted for 2026:

• Refurbish Entryway Monuments at RVB & Oracle Rd
• Irrigation Repairs on Maspalomas, Hidden Springs and Woodburne Dr from RVB to Wildlife Ridge Park as well as the park
• Refurbish Monument Signage
• Replenish Playground wood fiber at Moore Loop Park
• Playground Equipment Replacement at Monticello and Hohokam Parks
• Park Furniture Replacement
• Replacement of drinking fountains
• Comon area wall repairs
• Painting of common area walls, rails and tennis court fencing
• Replace Bell Tower Artificial Turf
• Hohokam Dog Park Replenish
• Asphalt Parking Lots – Sunset Ridge Park
• Drainage Basin Mitigate/Repair
• Granite Replacement

VCA Office

Please note our new address: 1171 E Rancho Vistoso Blvd., #111, Oro Valley, AZ 85755.

VCA Paint Palette

The new paint palette is available online at:

• https://www.dunnedwards.com/colors/color-ark-pro/rancho-vistoso-mastercommunity/approved-color-palette
• or via the community website – (https://ranchovistosohoa.com/resident-information/paint-colors/) click HERE to download.

Did You Know – February 2026

The history of Valentine’s Day is a mix of ancient Roman traditions, tales of early Christian martyrs, and the development of romantic traditions during the Middle Ages. 

Pagan roots in ancient Rome 

Some historians link Valentine’s Day to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration observed from February 13th to 15th. 

• Fertility rites: During Lupercalia, an order of Roman priests called the Luperci would sacrifice a goat and a dog. They would then run around the streets, gently slapping women with strips of the animals’ hides. This was believed to make women more fertile.
• Matchmaking: A legend from this period describes a matchmaking lottery where young men would draw the names of women from an urn to be paired up for the festival, with matches sometimes leading to marriage.
• Christianization: In the 5th century A.D., Pope Gelasius I declared February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day, possibly in an effort to replace the pagan festival with a Christian holiday. 

Legends of St. Valentine

The name “Valentine” is associated with several early Christian martyrs, with the exact origin of the holiday’s namesake being “shrouded in mystery”. Two of the most popular legends include: 

• Secret marriages: One story involves a Roman priest named Valentine who defied Emperor Claudius II’s ban on marrying young men. The emperor believed single men made better soldiers. Valentine continued to perform marriages in secret until he was caught and sentenced to death.
• The first “valentine”: Another legend suggests that while in prison, Valentine fell in love with his jailer’s daughter and sent her a letter before his execution, signing it “From your Valentine”. 

Romantic holiday in the Middle Ages

The clear association of February 14th with romantic love didn’t appear until centuries later. 

• Chaucer’s influence: The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer is often credited with popularizing the idea in his 1375 poem, “Parliament of Fowls,” which states that birds chose their mates on St. Valentine’s Day.
• Written valentines: The oldest known valentine is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. 

Modern commercial traditions

The celebration continued to evolve over time, leading to modern-day gift-giving traditions. 

• Greeting cards: The tradition of exchanging small tokens of affection and handwritten notes became popular in 18th-century England. By the 19th century, mass-produced greeting cards began to replace handwritten letters. In the United States, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in the 1840s.
• Candy and gifts: In 1868, the British company Cadbury created the first heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day.
• Flowers: Gifting flowers, especially red roses, has long been a symbol of beauty and love.