Neighbors in the VerdeVillage came together to share a meal at their monthly community dinner last week for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The Verde Village Property Owners Association started offering monthly spaghetti dinners in 1983 as a way to raise money to fund the Verde Village Community Pool, and they have continued ever since with the same cause in mind.
While the first dinner back in person didn’t see a huge turnout, several people from the community were glad to enjoy a meal together for the first time in over a year.
While Dakotah Gooslin and her son, Bobbie Gooslin, who have lived in the area since 2008, regularly enjoy the pool and the association’s weekly bingo night, last week was their first time at the monthly dinner.
“[We came] to be supportive for the pool, and now that COVID’s over, to be with people,” Dakotah Gooslin said. “I’m tired of eating in my car.”
While in-person dining came to a halt when the COVID-19 pandemic began, the volunteers at VVPOA continued to offer meals to-go to continue to fund the pool, which also stayed open throughout the pandemic.
‘Not Just Spaghetti Anymore’
The VVPOA’s fundraiser dinners have evolved over the years from serving spaghetti to all sorts of meals, from enchiladas to barbecue, thanks to the husband-and-wife team of Joe and Heather Daniels.
“It was a spaghetti dinner only, and then I changed it,” Joe Daniels said. “I wanted to give them a variety.”
The Danielses started cooking for the community dinners about two years ago after attending a meeting about the pool and deciding to volunteer.
“It all just kind of came up and we’re like, ‘we’ll cook,’” Heather Daniels said.
The dinner costs $10 per person and starts at 5 p.m. on the last Friday of each month at the Verde Village Clubhouse at 4855 E. Broken Saddle Drive. The dinners are open to the public, even those who live outside of the Verde Village.
The proceeds from the dinners go directly to fund VVPOA facilities, including the pool, clubhouse, fishing pond and nature preserve, which are also open to the public.
Gary Barto, director of Verde Village Unit 2, has attended the monthly dinners for a decade. To him, the community dinners, along with many of the other amenities the VVPOA offers, have provided a great way to meet new people and socialize with neighbors. He even celebrated his mother’s 100th birthday at the clubhouse a few years ago.
Because COVID-19 halted many of the association’s usual activities, he touted the monthly dinners as playing a significant role in keeping the amenities he’s so fond of afloat.
“It’s been the only source of income to keep this clubhouse going, so it’s been very important,” he said.
Patti Greeneltch, president of the association, also stressed the importance of the dinners as a means of income to keep the pool, clubhouse and other amenities open. While she’s currently in the process of applying for grants to help cover the cost of pool maintenance needed, most of their funding comes from membership dues, pool fees, bingo games and community dinners.
A VVPOA membership costs $60, and with only 430 of the approximately 7,000 residents in the Verde Village paying dues, the association truly relies on these extra activities to stay afloat.
“We can barely pay our bills,” she said.
But that’s not all the pool has to offer to the community.
“The pool, besides just being revenue to us, is really important because this is where the community comes. This is where they hang out and meet friends,” Greeneltch said.
The Verde Village Community Pool is open Tuesday through Sunday each week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The pool is open to the public.
