All residents are invited to join us for our Annual Fall Social at Locust Grove—complete with a Chili Cook-Off competition and prizes! Bring your favorite chili recipe, get to know your neighbors, and enjoy a little friendly competition for fabulous prizes. All are welcome to attend. Participation in the competition is highly encouraged, but not required. Your chili recipes are definitely welcome to make an appearance!

Join us on Saturday, October 24th from 12:00-3:00 pm next to our front visitor parking section.

If you plan to attend and/or compete with your favorite chili recipe, please RSVP as soon as possible:

Sign Up Here

Dear Residents,

Here at Locust Grove, we want to ensure that we are keeping up with as much as we can for improvements to our community, and that includes you!

We wanted to send a friendly reminder to take a look around your home and check the condition of your windows, exterior doors, screen doors, garage doors, and skylights. Per our Bylaws at Locust Grove, these items are the responsibility of each homeowner, including any repairs or replacement that may eventually be needed. A quick inspection now can help you spot small signs of wear, damage, drafts, or leaks before they turn into larger or more costly problems.

If you notice that something is beginning to show its age, we encourage you to start thinking ahead and budgeting for replacement(s). Please keep in mind that if an item is noticeably deteriorating to you, it is also something that the HOA Board has likely identified. Our goal is simply to encourage everyone to stay ahead of these things and avoid surprises whenever possible.

If you need any assistance with recommendations, the Board may be able to provide some contacts for you. Please feel free to reach out, and we may be able to support you in that area.

Thank you for helping keep your home—and our community—in great shape!

August 29, 2026

Dear Residents,

Several weeks ago, Theresa Wilson submitted her resignation from her position as President of the Locust Grove HOA Board due to a recent health diagnosis. We as a Board have quickly pivoted in the background to both learn and absorb Theresa's responsibilities, both business and financial. Theresa was instrumental in moving our community forward with a self-managing approach as opposed to continuing with a property management company. All of her efforts—coupled with the Board's hard work—has helped us to save thousands of dollars for the community. We are also now earning interest in our reserves for Locust Grove.

On August 25, 2026, the remaining Board members met for a Board of Directors meeting to discuss next steps. Due to the unexpected nature of Theresa's resignation, the remaining members of the Board voted unanimously to shift responsibilities and positions, effective immediately. Also, a vote was taken to take on a new Board member as well. Below is an updated list of our current Board members and their roles:

Jacob Isom

Board President

Ralph O'Connor

Board Treasurer

Carol Wallington

Board Secretary

Chris Smanto

Board Advisor

Jacob Isom has served as Board Secretary for over a year and is transitioning to the Board President role and has taken on many responsibilities in a short amount of time. Jacob worked closely with Theresa during the transition to self-management, the creation of our community website, change of payment systems, and the introduction of regular digital communications with residents. Carol Wallington was approached and has graciously accepted the Board Secretary role. We have been impressed with her positivity since moving to Locust Grove, along with her can-do spirit and willingness to volunteer in areas to save our community money. Ralph O'Connor, our retiree, remains as Board Treasurer and has been such a valuable asset to all of us. He is often seen around the property battling weeds, digging, planting grass, mulch, bushes, etc.—or taking on some of our challenges to reduce costs. Finally, Chris Smanto remains as Board Advisor. He brings with him his impressive photography skills and can-do spirit as well. He is often seen making his way around the property with a weed killer in his hand and attacking our property's most violent plant offenders. He also keeps the front end of our property looking nice.

A Special Note of Thanks

The Board would like to, once again, thank Theresa Wilson for all her hard work during her time on the Board. When we say she was instrumental in Locust Grove's success, we mean it wholeheartedly. She brought her expertise in accounting, budgeting, and dedication to Locust Grove both physically and financially. Theresa has been amazing to work with, a role model in her efforts, and most importantly, a kindred spirit and true friend to all of us. Whether you are on the Board or a resident of Locust Grove, you can't help but notice all the fruits of Theresa's dedication. And a big thanks to all our residents for your support amidst the changes we have made in the past couple of years. We are thankful for your continued support and willingness to adapt. We would not be able to do this without you!

Please Note:

We will be updating our website with our updated Board roles and getting our digital documents updated soon as well. Our goal as a board remains the same—to be good stewards of our little community's finances, honor our bylaws, and contribute what we can to make Locust Grove a beautiful and pleasant place for all of our residents.

Regards,

Locust Grove Board

Dear Residents,

We hope you have been enjoying these summer months!

We have some exciting news regarding what is happening behind-the-scenes at Locust Grove. To remain in compliance, homeowners associations are required to complete a routine reserve study every few years. An engineer is hired to visit the property and inspect all outside areas and shared spaces for any potential issues that may need repaired or replaced—both short and long-term.

In addition to a physical evaluation, the reserve study also includes an evaluation of the association's financial wellbeing and to build a financial roadmap to guide existing HOA board members with educated financial guidance, and to aid in addressing any immediate/long-term concerns. Most importantly, the reserve study is designed to help the HOA community to budget well and to plan for a solid future. During our conversation and inspection today, the overall feedback from our engineer was that we are being proactive with our finances as a Board, tackling what we need to improve the property, and budgeting for the future well. Minimal issues were identified during the walkthrough.

The company, Reserve Advisors, is handling our 2026 Reserve Study and will be analyzing everything over the next few weeks. Once completed, they will provide a detailed document with the results and recommendations for next steps. Our last reserve study was completed in 2023 and is available for residents to view under Documents > HOA Documents > Reserve Study in our EasyHOA owner portal. We encourage you to take time to read through the findings for 2023. Since then, many improvements have been made around the property, all while cutting costs to keep monthly owner fees down. Our hope is that our 2026 results provided will be an encouragement and confirmation of the progress we have made as a community in these three short years. Once we receive the finalized Reserve Study, we will make a full copy available to residents in our portal.

We are excited to share the results with you in the days ahead. Our ultimate goal is to be stewards of the finances we have as a community. As always, thank you so much for your support, encouragement, and patience during the past few years. Stay tuned!

Regards,

Locust Grove Board

Wednesday, July, 22, 2027

Dear Residents,

Theresa Wilson, our current Locust Grove President, has been on the board for several years and has helped to move our community forward in so many ways. She has worked hard to look out for the needs of Locust Grove, helped to revive the property, and to save our community money by spearheading countless projects, overseeing accounting and finance, and helping pave the way for us to implement self-management. We are sad to announce that Theresa has tendered her resignation to the HOA Board and will be stepping down from her role as President at this time. We thank Theresa for her countless hours she spent making Locust Grove succeed. She has poured her time, talents, and her heart into making our community a nice place to live. Theresa has been an absolute gem to our little community, and we are thankful for all her dedication, hard work, and most importantly, her friendship. We couldn't have made it this far without Theresa's efforts, and she will be greatly missed on the Board.

Theresa wanted us to share some words to residents as well:

Dear Residents,

It has been my immense pleasure to serve as our Board President. Collectively, we have made great strides in a few short years. Moving to self-management has afforded us more opportunities, and greater financial success.

It is with deep sadness that I must leave my position as Board President due to a recent unexpected health diagnosis.

You are in great hands as we move forward, I have full confidence in each member of the board!

Thank you for allowing me to serve our little community.

Kindest regards,

Theresa

Please note: More updates will be provided in the coming days, and we will be looking to fill HOA board vacancies. Thank you.

Regards,

Locust Grove Board

Dear Residents,

Now that our paving project is completed, we are all excited to go back to our everyday routines. Our property is looking so much nicer, but our asphalt will need time to adjust and go through its curing process. Below is some quick information regarding the challenges of newly-laid asphalt.

• Asphalt is not like concrete — it relies on an 8 -12 month curing process.
• During the first few weeks, it remains relatively soft and pliable.
• The liquid asphalt and oils are still settling. When the sun beats down and warms the pavement, the surface becomes even softer, meaning vehicle tires are much more likely to press into the top layer.
• Friction and power steering: the most common culprit is power steering friction. When drivers make sharp turns or execute three-point turns while the car is stationary, the tires grind against the fresh surface.
• The good news is these marks are typically just aesthetic — as the asphalt continues to cure, oxidize and harden over the next few weeks, the marks will naturally fade.

🚧 ACTIONS ON YOUR PART:

• To help this curing process go smoothly, residents are encouraged to drive slowly, make turns only when the vehicle is actively moving and avoid turning the steering wheel while parked in place.
• In a perfect world, keeping additional vehicles off the property would be helpful as well—but we know that we have life in front of us, and we need to go about our day.
• Several Board members have gotten a clear, upfront exposure to the amount of traffic coming in/out of our property on a daily basis, from UPS, FedEx, courier delivery services, etc. What we can tell you is this: they typically do not adhere to speed limits, make abrupt stops, above speed limits leaving the property. We clearly have concerns about them coming onto the property over the next few weeks. If possible, if you can keep your delivery orders to a minimum, that would be greatly appreciated.

The Board is working on adding additional signage and other options to address speed limits, etc., going forward.

Again, we thank everyone for their support and cooperation during this process. We couldn't have done it without everyone's support and cooperation during the past week. Thank you all for your help!