Meet the Candidates

Dear Neighbors,

I have decided to put myself forward as a candidate for our Stonecliff HOA Board and thought it might be useful to provide some information on myself, particularly for those of you whom I haven’t had the opportunity to meet.

Background:

I was born in Logan, Utah, went to high school and university in Ogden (Weber State) and law school at Brigham Young University. Sandy and I met at Weber State and were married in Logan. After graduating, Sandy and I moved to Japan where I worked for the Ministry of Education teaching in rural schools. We then came back to the US and attended law school in Provo.  I was recruited out of school by Shell Oil Company and started my career in Bakersfield, CA. Three years later we were tapped for an assignment with Shell’s parent company in London which kicked off a 30 year career, mostly spent overseas. We lived in the UK, Japan, Holland, Singapore, and Canada before being promoted to General Counsel of Shell Oil in Houston. A few years later I was promoted to General Counsel of Shell International in The Hague and we finished our career there at Shell headquarters. We retired in 2021 and returned to Utah,  specifically St George, and have been extremely happy with that decision. We spent 18 months in Provo waiting for our St George home to be built where I was an Assistant County Attorney for Utah County working as a prosecutor. I currently teach part time in the School of Business at Utah Tech.

Experience:

I’ve had about as diverse a legal career as could be expected working for only one corporate group. Owing to Shell’s size and diversity, I’ve practiced environmental law, shipping law, corporate law, oil and gas law, and provided commercial and general contract law advice to many large projects in various jurisdictions.

I’ve served on a number of Boards: Shell Oil Company; Shell Canada Limited; Showa Shell Sekiyu (Japan); and a number of non-Shell boards including the Board of Visitors for BYU Law School, Board of Trustees for the American School of the Hague, and currently the board of the non-profit St George Musical Theater, and the Executive Board of the Utah Tech Business School. I have a good understanding of how boards should and actually do operate and believe in the characteristics of a good board/constituency relationship including candor, transparency and collaboration all supported by clear processes and procedures. Those characteristics aren’t that exciting to talk about at dinner parties but are vitally important to good governance whether the board is serving shareholders, a school community or neighborhood.

Why:

This is really our first long term living experience in a single community (having moved around a lot in our career) and I’ve come to appreciate how important the role of the HOA is in the quality of that living experience. Aside from the mechanical aspects of running a board, an HOA board is in many ways the glue or the center of the community. Its decisions impact us economically, aesthetically and socially. I would like to contribute to an increased level of transparency, accountability and collegiality in our HOA Board. I very much appreciate the unpaid time and energies contributed by past board members in what can often be a difficult and contentious environment (or so I’ve observed). I believe that my experience and temperament can add value to our board in its important work. Some of the most important contributions I’ve made to past boards have been the ability to bring disparate opinions together to bear on difficult decisions and achieve solutions that, while not to everyone’s liking, benefited the larger group. Everyone brings their own values/preferences to a role like this, mine are frugality, clarity/transparency, curiosity and hopefully a sense of fun.

Finally:

After all that, here is the personal stuff that colors in between the sober realities of a governance role. I have a wonderful wife and four great kids and nine grandchildren. I love pickleball, reading and performing musical theater. I’ve had the chance to play a number of great roles at St George Musical Theater and am currently in rehearsal for Man of La Mancha. I have an unexplainable penchant for popcorn (I may well be the record holder for the most refills of the mega-bucket at the Miller theaters – especially since learning that you don’t have to go in and see a movie to get your bucket refilled – mind blown!). I enjoy working out and have met many of you at the new gym facility, if not the pickleball courts. If we could figure out a way to make Bocce Ball aerobic, I’d be over there more. I enjoy hiking and bike riding, even that awful climb back up into Stonecliff after a long city ride (on really ambitious days, I take on the construction entrance road but that’s taking on some personal risk with those potholes!). I enjoy meeting people and am constantly amazed/entertained/impressed by the many fascinating people who have come to live in our community. I think we could up our game in taking advantage of the collective thousands of years of professional experience in our neighborhood.

OK, if you are still awake, congratulations on your powers of concentration. I hope you’ll consider my candidacy at the upcoming members meeting.

Regards,

David Brinley

Dear Stone Cliff Neighbors:

I am running for a seat on the Board because I believe my significant project and business management experience can greatly benefit the Stone Cliff HOA.

I have served on the Finance Committee since its establishment in 2023, which is responsible for the monthly review and analysis of HOA financial statements, including revenues and expenses. Additionally, the Finance Committee develops the annual budgets and 10-year budget projections used by the Board of Directors for decision-making.

I have also been a member of the Implementation Committee that managed the completed contract for constructing a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse, a 2,600-square-foot maintenance facility, and remodeling the former club house into a 1,200-square-foot fitness center. This experience has provided me with substantial knowledge and understanding of both the financial and operational aspects of the HOA, enabling me to immediately contribute in an active role.

My professional career spans 50 years in the computer, IT, software development, and systems engineering fields. From 1970 to 1979, I served on active duty in the U.S. Navy, performing strike planning in Southeast Asia and developing satellite communications systems at the Naval Ocean Systems Center. Afterward, I worked at Computer Sciences Corporation for five years, managing contracts for software development, quality assurance, configuration management, and data management. I then spent the next 32 years at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, in China Lake, CA.

During my tenure, I managed teams of 4–15 multidisciplinary systems engineers integrating technological and weapon system advancements into the USMC AV-8B Harrier aircraft. Projects ranged from $50,000 to $3 million with schedules ranging 6–18 months, often overlapping and requiring careful coordination of personnel, materials, equipment, and funding. I simultaneously managed multiple contracts, valued between $100,000 and $200 million, with U.S. and international aerospace companies.

Personal Background

My wife Terry and I purchased our home in Stone Cliff in April 2017. Over the next two years, we retired and became permanent residents of St. George. Terry is a passionate quilter and is very active in the local quilting community. I am actively involved in Stone Cliff HOA committees and management, an avid reader of history and current events, and enjoy biking when the weather permits.