By Greg Ellison

Staff writer

(Aug. 15, 2019) Vote totals for the trio of open seats on the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors were unveiled last week, with Tom Janasek, Larry Perrone and Camilla Rogers topping the list of seven candidates vying for three-year terms.

On Friday, Election Committee Chairman Steve Habeger announced the final election numbers, with Janasek leading the pack with 2,160 votes, followed closely by Perrone at 2,131, while Rogers secured the final seat with 1,753 votes.

While the election results were unable to be validated during the homeowners Annual Meeting on Saturday due to a lack of the required 100 members needed to establish a quorum, an organizational meeting was then scheduled for this Wednesday to confirm the vote results and organize board leadership.

After staging an unsuccessful election bid in 2016, first-place finisher Janasek credited subsequent membership on numerous subcommittees in assisting to build a knowledge base regarding issues of importance to Pines residents.

“I ran for it three years ago and didn’t quite make it and figured out that I need to learn a little bit more about the Pines,” he said. “I joined a couple of committees, chaired a committee and got a lot of stuff done.”

The election victory will require Janasek to step down as chairman of the Environmental and Natural Assets Committee after two years in that role.

“I’m going to be the liaison, hopefully, for that committee so I can stay involved,” he said.

Perrone followed a comparable pathway to earn a seat on the board of directors and currently serves as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee.

After keeping a close eye on the now improved fiscal picture from his committee purview, Perrone joins the board intent on continuing the progress achieved over the last 18 months.

“We are still trying to recover from two years ago when we were almost $1.7 million dollars in the hole,” he said. “We’ve now reduced that to $890,000. We want to make sure we continue to watch our finances and get that number down over the next couple of years to zero.”

Perrone said a top priority is working with existing board members to continue ongoing capital improvements.

Rogers, who moved to Ocean Pines just as the financial turnaround was beginning to percolate, said the acclimation process went smoother than she had anticipated.

“We moved here in January and by Christmas I had 50 people in my living room that I hadn’t known in January,” she said. “They were here for a Christmas party.”

Rogers said after being embraced by the community in under two years, and subsequently being elected to the board of directors, she takes the newfound leadership role with appropriate diligence.

“I realize that I have been here for a year and a half,” she said. “I have truly enjoyed it, but I think the most important thing is thanking people that had faith in me and I certainly won’t let them down.”

With numerous insights gained from residents during the campaign, Rogers feels prepared to bring an additional spark to the already finely tuned board.

“I am really looking forward to working with Tom and Larry and all the members of the board,” she said. “They’re incredible people who are really visionaries.”

Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors Vote Count:

Tom Janasek 2,160

Larry Perrone 2,131

Camilla Rogers 1,753

Paula Gray 1,407

Greg Turner 478

Shawn Kotwica 235

Edward Solum 191

Ocean Pines Association Election Committee member Virginia Sutula chalks up the vote totals on Friday.

Election Committee Chairman Steve Habeger, left, welcomes newly selected Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors members, Larry Perrone, Camilla Rogers and Tom Janasek during the Annual Meeting of homeowners on Saturday.