Greetings from the Board – November 2025

Greetings from the Board

Happy Thanksgiving everyone !

As 2025 is coming to an end, it’s time to think about recruiting more members to join our committees or run for the VCA Board.  Joining a committee is a great opportunity to learn about the Rancho Vistoso HOA.  Committee meetings are typically 1 to 2 hours per month and prep time for the meetings is also 1 to 2 hours per month.   We currently have a good mix of “experienced” committee members and “new” members who bring a fresh perspective to the committees. 

The VCA committees are: 

• Finance
• Architectural & Landscape Review
• Parks & Landscape
• Communication
• Compliance
• Nominating
• Governing Documents

I’d also like to thank the current committee members and the current Board for their outstanding efforts to help make Rancho Vistoso a great place to live!

The Committee meeting minutes and Charters are on the VCA website – https://ranchovistosohoa.com/yourvca/committees/

The Board of Directors is comprised of 7 Board Members: 

• 5 single family home positions
• 1 other than single family position
• 1 Commercial Director

2 of the single family, the other than single family and the Commercial position will be on the ballot in March 2026. 

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Matt Wood – VCA President

Snapshot – November 2025

If you missed the October 30, 2025 Board of Directors meeting, here are the highlights of the Manager’s Report.

Staff Changes

It is my pleasure to announce Debbie Deptula has been promoted to the Assistant Manager’s position and introduce Ishanayna Shelley, Community Standard Coordinator, as our new team member to Vistoso. Please see their bios below.

My name is Debbie Deptula and I’ve found great pleasure in supporting the Vistoso Community and helping daily operations to run smoothly. It’s rewarding to see how our efforts contribute with guiding residents towards becoming involved in their community. The VCA is beautiful and with my ten years of experience in HOA, I will strive to continue improving upon it.

My name is Ishanayna Shelley, and I have three years of experience in property management, including my previous role as an Accounts Manager for The Pacific and Malibu. These positions have equipped me with a strong background in financial management, escalated resident relations, and operational oversight. I am confident that my skills and professional experience will allow me to contribute with accuracy, accountability, and consistency in meeting the expectations of our team. I look forward to meeting and working with you all!

2026 Budget

The board met with the Finance Committee to review and discuss the budget in detail on October 7, 2025. Committee requests from the Communication and Parks & Landscape Committee were also presented and considered.

The Siena budget reflects a $7.00 per quarter increase from $210.00 to $217.00 ($28.00 annually). The 2026 budget for the VCA represents a $5.00 per quarter increase from $103.00 to $108.00 ($20.00 annually). If passed the assessment increase will take effect on January 1, 2026.

The board will be adopting the 2026 Siena and VCA budgets on October 30, 2025, at the General Session Meeting.

Community Events

The fall yard sale took place on Saturday, October 18 from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM and the fall event was at Sunset Ridge Park on Saturday, October 25. AAA Landscape is sponsoring the Fall Event.

The board will be discussing dates for next year’s events at the October 2025 General Session Meeting. The proposed yard sale dates for 2026 are April 11 & October 3, and for the Fall Event on October 24.

Call For Candidates

The Nomination & Election Committee will be meeting next month in preparation for the 2026 board election. The call for candidates will be mailed/emailed on December 12, 2025, to VCA members. There will be two (2) openings for the Single-Family voting category, one (1) for the Other Single Family category, and one (1) for the Commercial category. The annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, 2026.

Volunteer For A Committee

If you do not have time to serve on the VCA board, consider joining a committee. Application forms can be found at https://ranchovistosohoa.com/resident-information/forms/

VCA Office

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

Water Audit

AAA Landscape will be presenting the findings of the water audit at the October 22, 2025 board meeting.

Sealing & Crack Fill Project

The board selected Roadrunner Paving & Asphalt Maintenance to seal and crack fill Siena roadways and remove & replace the parking pad in Mirabella near 27 Mile trailhead. Work on the parking pad is scheduled for November 3, and the roadway project for Siena is scheduled for November 10 and November 13.

Drainage Projects

• Big View Ct. Channel – Sky Island Restoration was selected to complete this project. The project is in the permitting process with the Town of Oro Valley.
• Bridal Veil – This project is currently on hold until the completion of the 27 Mile and Big View Ct. projects.

2025 Capital Projects

The following capital projects have been slated and budgeted for 2025:

• RVB streetlight removal – Project completed 1/30/25.
• Irrigation repairs along Desert Fairways and Innovation Park Dr. – This project is completed.
• Drainage repairs – 27 Mile Project has been completed, and trail is open to members. Big View Ct project is in the permitting process with TOV.
• Wall, restrooms, ramadas painting – The board has selected Facelift Painting. This project is completed.
• Replace playground equipment at Somerset Canyon Park – Columbia Cascade Model ordered.
• Roof Tile Renovation – Roofsavers selected; work on Wildlife Ridge, Hohokam Parks, and Bell Tower has been completed.
• Asphalt replacement and seal/crack fill work for Siena roads and Mirabella parking pad.
• Drinking water fountain replacement – Four fountains have been approved and delivered.

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 – November 2025

Let’s talk Turkey – 10 Fun Filled Facts About Thanksgiving and Turkeys.

1. Do male or female turkeys “gobble”?

Only male turkeys make the well-known “gobble, gobble” sound that has come to be associated with the holiday. In fact, male turkeys are even known as “gobblers.” Females make other noises, such as purring and cackling.

2. When did turkeys become the traditional roasted bird for Thanksgiving?

Historians have no record of turkey being eaten at the first Thanksgiving.  The first Thanksgiving Day feast happened in 1621 with three whole days dedicated to the celebration. Although turkey was plentiful in the region and a common food source, it’s likely that it wasn’t actually the star of the festivities and other “fowling” were served for the occasion. Instead, “ducks, geese, and swans” are believed to have been served to the English settlers and Native Americans. 

3. When was the first Turkey Trot?

The First Turkey Trot was in Buffalo, New York.  It was the first city to host a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning in 1896. Only six runners participated in the race that year, running on stretches of dirt road for roughly five miles.

4. Who wanted the turkey to be the national bird?

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird.  In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country…For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird.” Although Franklin did not get his wish, his letter did inspire a song in the Tony-winning musical 1776, about the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

5. How long has the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line be in existence?

For nearly 40 years.  If you find yourself with a million questions about cooking your turkey and Google is too overwhelming, reach for the phone because the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line is real and there to help you. Open to U.S. and Canadian homes every November and December, the unique hotline, which first opened in 1981, is also available to take questions via online chat and email. Plus, there are Spanish-speaking experts! Each year, Butterball experts answer more than 100,000 questions for thousands of households.

6. How many turkeys are cooked each year for Thanksgiving in the US?

Each year, about 46 million turkeys are cooked.  Thanksgiving Day and turkey go hand-in-hand, so this number should not be too much of a surprise. Although not all Americans celebrate the holiday or eat turkey, there are still millions of families gathering around the table to partake in one of the most special meals of the year—and for those who aren’t satisfied with only one day of it, Christmas is also a popular occasion to cook another turkey.

7. Does eating turkey make you tired?

It is a common belief that the tryptophan in turkey will make you tired.  This is not true.   On Thanksgiving Day, you probably expect to be tired after eating turkey, thanks to claims made about the amino acid tryptophan. But the holiday bird is not actually to blame. The reason you can’t imagine doing anything else but watching football on the couch is just because you overate. “After you’ve had a big meal, your body goes into basically shutdown mode, and sleep gets promoted,” Dr. Daniel Barone explained to Business Insider, saying that the phenomenon is called “postprandial fatigue.”

8. Did you know that Thanksgiving leftovers led to the invention of iconic TV dinners?

Well, sort of. In 1953, an overzealous Swanson employee overestimated the number of frozen turkeys the company should order for Thanksgiving—and the company was left with 260 tons of extra turkey after the holiday. But rather than eat the loss (financially, we mean), salesman Gerry Thomas came up with the brilliant idea to create and sell individual turkey dinners complete with cornbread dressing, gravy, peas, and sweet potatoes on reheatable trays, just like airline meals. Each premade feast cost a grand total of 98 cents. By the end of 1954, Swanson had sold 10 million frozen turkey meals, and the TV dinner industry was born.

9. Who was the first president to pardon a turkey?

President George H. W. Bush was the first to pardon a turkey.  In 1989, the 41st president pardoned the first turkey—that is, assured the bird that it would never become somebody’s dinner—after noticing the 50-pound bird looked a little antsy at his official Thanksgiving proclamation. Since then, every president has upheld the tradition, and a few of the turkeys have gone on to serve a different purpose. In 2005 and 2009, the birds went to Disneyland and Disney World parks to participate in their annual Thanksgiving parades.

10. Where did turkeys originate?

The turkey bird is linked to the country of Turkey. If you’ve ever wondered which came first, the bird or the country, we have a definitive answer: The turkey bird got its name from the country due to a case of mistaken identity! During the Ottoman Empire, guinea fowl were exported from East Africa via Turkey to Europe, and Europeans started calling the birds turkey-cocks or turkey-hens due to the trade route. So, when Europeans first sailed to North America and discovered birds that looked like guinea fowl, they called them “turkeys.”