Completely agree - waste of time. No new info, just propaganda about how great & responsive the Morse family is. We're newbies, full timers, & thought it would be beneficial to learn about our new home, our new community, & the future. Baloney!

Will not wait in line for thier free tickets ever again.

Technically speaking
 

I thought the content was ok even if some of the details were already known. It seemed a bit disorganized and casual as though he was sometimes just trying to fill time. I personally don't stay on top of things so the information was good for me.

However, the quality of the stream was extremely poor. It may have sounded good in the auditorium, but the stream volume was over driven and did not play well on the TV. As a video tech myself I don't see why it was not broadcast in at least 720p 16x9 format. That, and pay attention to the audio that is in the stream. If it's channel 2 causing the problem, stream it on YouTube or some other platform.

I don't understand. The Villages is promoted in the same way as any other sellable goods is promoted. If my grandfather was a butcher he would advertise his pork chops and sausages to sell. He would be pleased that cousin George worked for him and that he made money and fed people.

I am not understanding what "is dark and unattractive".

Just a personal note; from my parents and my uncle who are completely unrelated to the Morse family. Harold Schwartz (if that is the grandfather we are talking about) was a dear man, a great friend, and a true visionary. My family is Christian and he was Jewish but that was never a problem. Mr. Schwartz was good to my family, he was welcoming, he wanted them to be happy, especially in their old age. When he made a lot of money he continued to be the same person he was before. In today’s world, with money as such a main drive, how many people can we say are like Mr Schwartz? If he had been my grandfather, I would have been proud of him too.

I assume you live here and also took a sip of the kool aid or you wouldn't be here. Of course they are business people, and successful ones and we all benefit from the risks they take, their development skill and what the diversity of fun they provide. Is it perfect, no......but still better than anyplace else we all have looked at or we wouldn't be here. Not sure adoration is the right word but definitely respect and gratitude is due.

Welcome to The Villages...….otherwise what do you think????

No golf courses?

Different times, different place, different business. If he received accolades it's because he received publicity, even if it was word of mouth. All business owners work hard to create a legacy and, unless your grandparents didn't need an income, do what is necessary to increase their revenue. You do or did the same.....unless you inherited a lot of money.

I would like to email Mark Morse directly but he seems to be very insulated. Where is his office? How can I email him?

There is Nothing as Constant as Change
 

I do not understand this "blind" adoration some sychophants have for the Morses either. Yes -- they are business people; we have paid for each and every thing we have here and we will continue to pay. There is no free ride but we do have the advantage of a nice community and in taking part in many activities.

Certainly, no new "meaty" information is ever given at these presentations. I think they do this because they think it will simply "calm the savage beasts" for a while. Mark Morse, as "the developer" should be ashamed of himself for the way he looked at the presentation. He looked like a panhandling vagrant in front of a Goodwill store!

Years ago, from speaking with a long-time Villages' employee who still works here, I was told that Mr. Schwartz was a real, down-to-earth human being. He cared about his employees and made sure he was visible to all of them. He treated them like co-workers, would mingle with the residents at the Orange Blossom pool, and was favorite among everyone.

Enter the next generations . . . EVERYTHING has changed. No one is visible any longer and never will be. This is not the vision Harold Schwartz had. The new generation was handed a thriving business on a silver platter, although they are successful in making it grow. The Villages is strictly a business proposition now and residents and would-be buyers can take it or leave it. That's just how it is. I respect the Morses, et al, for being business people, however, show gratitude? How and why? We are paying for what we have.

:spoken:

It was my third event, no, not much in the line of new information came out BUT I chose to go, no cost. I enjoy the casual attire, he is a villager after all. I have met several of the family and I have found them to be down to earth and genuine. As far as working for the villages, I have found it to far more friendly then everywhere else I have worked. They have started and orientation breakfast for both new and current employees, and no there was not a charge. The family was there talking and mingling with the employees. So folks, this is not Pandora, but it is where I CHOSE to live and continue to do so.

Hard to compare Mr. Swartz running a little trailer park (God bless his soul) with the enterprise of today.

I could be wrong, but do I remember that Mr. Swartz's vision was in financial trouble when Gary Morse came down and rescued it?

I think you are correct about the financial things, and that is why Mr. Schwartz brought in his son to help out, which he certainly did.

But without Harold Schwartz's vision, I think we would be looking at a lot of vacant land and a horrible Wildwood slum.

It's pretty simple............If someone wants to adore a family, it's their right and their wishes and their opinion.



They don't need to justify or explain to others who don't understand (as defined) blind adoration.



A lot of people don't like cows, cowgirls, Texas BBQ, NYC pizza, dog poop, snowbirds or white crosses. People don't need to justify their opinions.


Funny how some just don't understand.


Going back to sleep.




Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.




:1rotfl:

How could anyone not like NY pizza!
Steve

:bigbow:

Which is what this business is EVERYWHERE, except here you have so, so, so much more than anywhere else and get it for more than a reasonable cost. Did you even investigate other communities and the HOA fees/amenities ratio? You evidently don't understand what it takes to develop a place like this....Harold Schwartz did which is why he asked Gary move here (1983) and manage the 386 Orange Blossoms Gardens (now the Historical Section) and work with him to implement his vision. From 2003 (when Harold died) Gary and family continued with high investment and risk and the they are due every dollar of ROI that they get. What you have today is that vision and if having someone implement that vision doesn't deserve your gratitude I have great sorrow for you. If you don't feel gratitude for the lifestyle you have here I feel sorry for you. If you extend your disdain to all successful people I feel sorry for you. EOR

BTW -- I do get it. Understand it? Well -- I equate this blind adoration with a type of brown nosing, hoping that the right people will notice. I understand why people do it.

I didn't ask anyone to justify it and as you said, everyone is welcome to their opinion. I'm in agreement with you there.

Wow....speechless. You equate grateful with adoration.

Whoa!

Gratitude? I simply said that we are paying for what we have here and will continue to pay for everything.

I am well aware of many other adult communities and what they cost and what they offer. I would even venture to say that I am better versed in that than you might be from having lived in a number of different places and looked at many places.

I didn't say that the family hasn't worked hard for what they have and I don't begrudge them one cent of what they've earned. I do feel that once in a while they could be more involved in some things and throw the dog a bone, but that's beside the point.

I didn't say that TV was a horrible place; it's quite the opposite. I didn't say that what we have here isn't worth it. There is no disdain on my part. Where did you get that??? Please don't read something into what I've said when it simply isn't there. I'm sorry you are so angry.

I am wondering about what things you think that the Morse Clan "should" do? I am not sure what bone the dog wants?

When I go into one of the recreation centers and see all of the lovely custom upholstered furniture and the lovely accessories and the card chairs are not the chintzy kind but mostly beautiful upholstered and heavy. it makes me happy. I feel that we all live like the Vanderbilts and the Upper Class lived in their hey-day. There are beautiful flowers and landscaping all around and trash is never left to lie around, the common areas are cared for and the buildings regularly painted and cleaned...and when there was major water from Hurricane Irma, they flooded their own golf courses to protect our homes. For thirteen years I have lived here and the Morses have done very few public appearances. They do not seem to seek or need to be applauded. I have no need for them to contribute to my favorite charity, and they would never satisfy anyone if they did. They are ordinary people from the middle part of the country.

My grandfather was a dentist. But his patients didn't go out of their way to insert his name and his virtues into every conversation that might possibly be related, even remotely, to dentistry, or the town he lived in, or the town he worked in, or the car he drove, or the cigar he smoked, etc. etc. That would've been considered somewhat obsessive, and a little creepy.

There are people here who go out of their way to extol the virtues of the Morse Family, and interject accolades as such into posts that might involve the Morses, but not really be about them. When people go through the trouble of turning any thread that *involves* the Morses into a post *about* the Morses, it borders on the obsessive, which is a little creepy.

That's random. Not even apples and oranges. Not sure how to even figure out the comparison..........even though I do wonder what cigar he smoked.

We might have been looking at Disney. I read somewhere Walt was looking at this area way before Mr Schwartz. I think it was rejected because it wasn't at a "crossroads" of transportation. I believe the article was in the Happy News a while back. Don't remember exactly ... maybe it is all a hallucination. Wife read it also.

Now, kindly tell me exactly where did you read I said that??!?

Are you telling me I said that previously . . . when I didn't? :shrug:
Some people may feel that way but I certainly don't!

Some people like Hollywood stars and others like sports figures and sometimes I think they give THEM all kinds of virtues and accolades they don't deserve for just being physically beautiful and saying lines and pretending to be someone else or because they jump and run and throw better when two similar groups vie for superiority in a contest that really doesn't better the world or amount to a hill of beans when it is all said and done.

I remember when I first came here I thought there must be catch or conspiracy here. I wondered why this place didn't have a mayor and the usual kind of city government. I wondered who was making big on us.

I like how it is run. I doubt that other people would be able to pull it off and they would be greedy and selfish.

I am a fan and I wasn't born yesterday.

Y'all may turn into a fan too when you have lived here as long as many of us have.

The topic is the "Evening with the Developer" presentation. The discussion has veered off into a predictable love 'em or hate 'em debate on the Morse family.

Please keep your posts directed at the topic and not each other or the thread will be closed.

Moderator

The good people of Wildwood will take issue with this very derogatory statement.

I've never been to, "An Evening ............. ", but there are people who go, people who enjoy &/or people who are interested................and the Morse family takes the time to have these Evenings.


People who go don't need to explain/justify WHY?.


The presented information is never enough.


Each Morse generation will be different than the prior (as with all families) and will bring different ideas.


Labels are funny: Adoration, Gratitude, Brown Nosing, Respect.


:ho:

What would you expect from evening with the developer except a discussion of what they have accomplished and what they plan to do? Just because it was old news to you does not mean that it wasn't new to others. While some don't understand the "adoration" I do not understand the resentment. They run a highly successful business that many people benefit from including themselves. They never promised anyone utopia just a good place to live.

Does anyone remember which Morse generation started "Evening with the Developer" ?????




Just wondering who (or is it whom) started these events.




Thanks

They are building so much so fast that it's hard to remember the names of all the new villages and rec. areas. Did you read about all of the amenities at Riverbend opening at the end of the month, what is beach tennis? This rec. center is a great addition to the southern villages and I can't wait to see it officially open.

Beach tennis is fun. Think of it as badminton, except using a ball and wooden paddles.

Not angry, just disappointed with the rhetoric...accusing residents of having blind adoration, being sychophants, judging Mark as a panhandling vagrant (there was a lot of negative comments when he wore a suit) and saying they were handed this place on a silver platter then contradict yourself by saying you didn't say they didn't work hard for their money....those are a couple things that were said that I have disdain for and where it came from. Then, you don't know me but still take the position that you know more than I about these communities. Maybe you do, maybe you don't but why? You can have the last word, I'm sorry I stated this thread and will now go sit in the corner.

I believe it was Gary Morse who started that years ago, but I could be mistaken.

The developer has taken over much of Wldwood and turned it into part of The Villages. Due to this having happened, it has created jobs, businesses and other places to live outside of TV, but within Wildwood.

My statement is not derogatory; it is based on and is pure fact. If TV never existed Wildwood would be a slum, i.e., no jobs, no growth and extreme poverty.

I defy you to say that is not true. Yes -- thank heaven for what the developer has done!

From what you've said in your comment, it seems the things that most impress you are what I refer to as "eye candy" -- the decor and furnishings in rec centers and the upscale quality which you equate with what the "Vanderbilts and an Upper Class" might have. I think that's stretching it but nevertheless, while lovely and impressive, I've always thought these things were done mainly for attracting and impressing would-be new residents, i.e., potential buyers. I will include all the wonderful flower displays which are changed seasonally in that, as well. As residents, we are very fortunate to have these things because we have the full enjoyment of these things all the time, but I truly believe it is a very clever marketing move.

I think An Evening with the Developer is a joke. He doesn't touch on things that are important to residents and it's as though all it is, is his annual cameo appearance. I think he should do this quarterly and respond to suggestions and complaints of the residents. If he would meet with residents of even combined districts and hold Q & A type meetings, that would be great, but of course, that's wishful thinking and will never happen.

I do believe he and the others in the family should be more visible. Most residents wouldn't know any of them if they fell over them, but that doesn't seem to be a concern. No, they don't need to be applauded or seek applause, but it's not because they are humble. This is their business and the bottom line is they're in it to make money and don't care about spreading goodwill. And no -- they are not ordinary people; we -- the residents are the ordinary people!

What do I think the Morses "should" do? I think all along, they should have taken a proactive position in the sinkhole issues in Calument Grove. My heart goes out to the residents there; they have suffered far too long without much help. I think the fact that residents from certain geographical areas only must pay for the Morse bridge repair is ridiculous and unfair. The road is owned by the county and the land is owned by the Morses. And only specific residents have to pay for this repair when millions of people from parts unknown use this bridge every day? And then there was the tree incident a few years ago -- the trees which were mysteriously chopped down by a resident's landscaper. The Morses need to step up to the plate and be more involved and more attentive to serious issues within The Villages, instead of ignoring problems and turning the other cheek.

:bigbow: