To change the name or not to, that is the question …
At the Leisure World Golden Rain Foundation meeting on Sept. 18, that was the discussion.
There were two against and seven for our community to be updated and they were not all younger shareholders.
They were concerned shareholders of all ages that have good reasons for wanting to change the name of our active community from the perception of an aging community.
Yes, we all age, that is not the issue.
The main issue is the perception of our community.
We want to improve the marketability of our community in relationship to other marketed communities by fostering a changed image far from the perception of what it is now, “Seizure World.”
Another issue is the value of our homes.
We would like to see an increased sales rate in order to foster greater value of the property and overall income to the community.
I’m sure “all” shareholders would be interested in that even if they feel this is going to be their “forever home.”
Their children may inherit their home and that home would be much more marketable in an appealing community like Seal Beach Sands, Seal Beach Landing or Seal Pointe.
Another argument was that changing the name would be as dumb as “Coke” changing its name.
Interesting, Coco-Cola did change its name! In 1985 they took an “intelligent risk” and came up with “COKE.” Yes, even Coco-Cola made a change, which they felt was critical for success.
And they weren’t the only ones. There’s Pepsi-Cola. Did you know the original name was “Brad’s Drink”?
Datsun changed to Nissan.
Then there was Yahoo, which was “Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web.” In 1996 Google started under the name of “BackRub.” I bet they are glad they changed their name.
Healthy Choice changed from “Diet Deluxe.” And KFC changed from “Kentucky Fried Chicken” in 1999. Should I go on?
There is another fact that many shareholders are not aware of and that is we do not own the rights to the name.
Yes, you heard that correctly, we do not own the rights to the name.
Heidi Cortese, daughter of the builder of the eight Leisure Worlds owns the trademark registered “Leisure World.”
Her company, RRLH Inc., has already asked that we start paying her to continue using the name Leisure World and the globe, as she has requested of other Leisure Worlds.
The former Leisure World, Laguna Woods, changed their name because of her demands, and three other Leisure Worlds have changed their names too.
By continuing to use a name our community does not own the rights to, she will continue to make her demands, which cost us in legal fees.
I love living here in Seal Beach and deeply care about our community and it’s future.
I feel changing its name to bring it to the 21st century is a good start. It is an intelligent risk.
And yes, we will continue to age but with a good investment!
Lynn R. Heath is a Leisure World resident.
