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Ladera Directory
The Ladera Community
Association produces a yearly community Directory with the names and
contact information for families in Ladera. Participation is entirely
voluntary, and over 80% of families are listed.
Along with names,
addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, the Directory contains
lists of emergency numbers and community resources; a directory of the
stores in the Country Shopper; a list of service providers (construction,
garden maintenance, home services, etc.) that are recommended by your
neighbors; and a Teen Workers Directory for babysitting, dog walking,
and other household help.
The Directory is
a benefit of membership in the LCA. Each household that pays the $25
dues to join the LCA receives two copies of the Directory, and additional
copies are available to members for a small fee.
Every year the information
for the Directory is updated with information provided on the LCA Directory
Update forms. These forms are distributed in autumn and the Directory
is usually published in February.
Here are some of
the frequently-asked questions about the Directory:
-
Can
I get copies of the Directory for my new neighbors?
-
Yes.
We’re happy to provide copies to new neighbors, and we keep in
touch with local Realtors to find out who’s new in Ladera. If
you have new neighbors who need a copy, send an email to directory@laderaonline.org
Can I get copies of the Directory without joining the LCA? - Not usually; it
is a benefit of LCA membership. The LCA has traditionally made accommodations
for people on fixed incomes or others who participate actively in our
community but have trouble meeting the association dues.
Do I have to be listed in the Directory to get a copy? - No. Members are
not required to publish any information about themselves (though most
do). The information from the Directory is also distributed to the Block
Captains who coordinate the Woodside Fire Protection District Emergency
Preparedness Program. If you wish, you can have information made available
to your Block Captain but not published in the Directory.
Is the Directory public? Will I get on any mailing lists? - No. The information
in the Directory is solely for the private noncommercial use of your
neighbors. Copies are not distributed to local merchants, libraries,
or public agencies. We do not publish the Directory information on the
Web. It’s important to us to support the community spirit of Ladera,
and to do that we need to make sure that the information you contribute
to the Directory is shared with your community but doesn’t risk your
privacy.
How is a household listed?- The main section
of the Directory lists residents alphabetically by last name. Since
many Ladera households are composed of adults or children with different
last names, they’re listed under each last name (e.g. Doe, Jane and
John Smith under “D” and Smith, John and Jane Doe under “S”) so that
some households have multiple entries. Extended families at one address
have separate listings for each couple (e.g. parents and their adult
children sharing a house). Children are listed with their parents, usually
with their ages.
Each listing includes the main phone number of the household, and optionally
can list other phone numbers (like fax or children’s lines) and a household
e-mail address. When a household has multiple listings, each listing
can have a different phone number and/or e-mail address.
The Streets section of the Directory lists households in street address
order, followed by the names of the adults and the main house phone
number.
What information do I have to list? - All information
is optional. The basic listing includes the names of the adults in the
household, the main phone number, and the names and ages of children.
Additional phone numbers can be added (such as separate lines for adults
or children, fax lines, or cell phone numbers), and e-mail addresses
can be listed as well.
My children have a different surname from mine. Can they have their
own listing? - Yes. As well as
listing your children under your surname, they can have a separate entry
under their own surname.
My children are grown. Should I remove them from the Directory? - Many families continue
to list their college-age children who spend summers and holidays at
home in Ladera, but adult children with permanent addresses of their
own usually aren’t listed in the Directory. If Ladera is their permanent
address, you may want to list them with their own entries in the Directory,
rather than as children in your entry.
What about other adults, like lodgers and nannies?- If other unrelated
adults in your household have (or want) strong links to the Ladera community,
feel free to list them separately on your Directory Update form. They’ll
get their own listing with a separate phone number (if appropriate).
The Directory always seems to make my child a year younger. Can I
fix that? - In previous years
we used February 1 as the reference for calculating kids’ ages. That
meant that every child’s age is listed correctly from the publication
date of the Directory until their next birthday, but then a year too
young after that. We’re changing the reference date to the Las Lomitas
School District grade-cutoff date, so that kids in the same grade show
up with the same age. Having the reference date later in the year will
also make kids’ ages more accurate on average.
What’s the criteria for the Babysitter and Teen Worker list?- The Directory includes
a list of teens who have indicated they are available for babysitting,
yard work, dog walking, and other household chores. The Directory provides
this list as a courtesy, not as a recommendation.
Can I advertise my business in the Directory? - The Directory accepts
advertising of several kinds, from large display ads on the back cover
to business-card ads to simply a listing with phone number in the Community
Service pages. Contact us at directory@laderaonline.org for more information.
How do I recommend a listing for the Stellar Service Providers?- On the Directory
Update form, each household is asked to list the service providers (contractors,
gardeners, plumbers, roofers, housecleaners, etc.) that have provided
them with such good service that they’d recommend them to all their
neighbors. We list all the contributions in the Stellar Service Providers
pages in the Directory; providers with multiple referrals get a star
by their names. If you’ve had a bad experience with a provider, please
make a note of that on the Directory Update form, and that provider
will not be listed.
We want this to be an unbiased listing of good service providers, so
we don’t accept submissions from people with an obvious interest in
the provider they’re recommending. If you want to promote your own business,
there are opportunities for paid advertising.
Why is the Directory Update form so complicated? - The Update form
has four functions:
- Get updated
information for the Directory
- Collect dues
for LCA members
- Collect recommendations
for Stellar Service Providers
- Collect volunteer
information for LCA organized activities
A certain percentage of houses sell each year, and completely new information
is gathered for the new households. In order to collect all the information,
the Update form is somewhat long and complicated. However, for most
households, the information doesn't change much from year to year (maybe
a new phone number or email address, or a child leaving home). In these
cases there is a section showing what was printed the previous year
so that corrections or additions can easily be made.
Like last year, the left-hand column shows what’s currently in the Directory.
Make changes by writing crossing out wrong information (or things to
be omitted) in that column, and writing in new or changed information
in the right-hand column.
We will also continue the process we started a few years ago of confirming
changes via e-mail or printed copies to ensure that the information
is correct before publication. Please make sure you proofread this information
to ensure it is correct.
Why do I have to send in a form? Can’t I just tell you my information
hasn’t changed? - We need the physical
form for several reasons:
- We need written
verification from you that you want the information printed.
- We need to
know whether you want to join the LCA and get Directory copies (and
receive your Dues payment)
- We’d like to
know your recommendations for Stellar Service Providers.
- We want you
to consider volunteering your time to work on LCA-sponsored activities
during the year.
When are Directories distributed? - Normally, information
is solicited in the Fall and the Directory is published the following
February.
Why does it take so long to produce the Directory? The Crier comes out
monthly. - In previous years
we have spent as long as six months gathering the updated information
from Ladera households. The process has been incredibly inefficient,
because we’ve had to send up to four letters per household reminding
people to return their update form—plus personal phone calls, articles
in the Crier, notices on the community board, and door-to-door solicitation.
Much of the production process is now automated, so it takes less time
to prepare the printed Directory from the database of information. Updating
the database requires many hours of data entry, plus additional time
to process the checks for the dues. Since the Directory is produced
by volunteer labor, it’s about two months’ calendar time to produce
the Directory from the submitted update forms. The most important change
to streamline the process is to get people to return their update forms
within 2 weeks of receiving them. A Directory with only half the houses
in Ladera is much less useful than one with most of the houses, so we
want for a 95% return rate on Directory forms (which includes people
who choose not to be listed).
You can help the Directory come out sooner by returning your form
promptly.
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