Ranch Fest Caps 25-Year Growth of McKinney HOA

Community Pride Resonates with Festival Goers   

By Tricia Scruggs

Thousands of Stonebridge Ranch residents and friends and family, together with HOA and local officials, witnessed the proclamation of July 26 as “Stonebridge Ranch Day.”

Before introducing City of McKinney Mayor Brian Loughmiller, Stonebridge Ranch HOA Board President Jon Dell’Antonia (L in photo) acknowledged board members in attendance and thanked Association Manager Mike Lesku, the staff and anniversary committee for putting together Ranch Fest, a three-day celebration of the community’s 25^th anniversary.

Mayor Loughmiller (R in photo), read the official decree on the second day of the fest, telling an attentive crowd how he and his wife moved to Stonebridge in 1989 when the population was about 460 people.

“Today it’s more than 30,000,” he said. “So there’s been tremendous growth and the area has grown in the right way. It’s the reason that we’ve all moved here.”

According to the proclamation, Stonebridge Ranch consists of 5,000 acres, once known as the Flying M Ranch. Today, the acreage is made up of nearly 70 residential villages, six parks, 830 acres of golf course, lakes and ponds for sailing and fishing, miles of hike and bike trails, an aquatic center and a tennis and beach club.

Mayor Loughmiller thanked the HOA board for “doing a fantastic job,” managing budgets and helping ensure the development moves forward in the right direction.

Ranch Fest kicked off on a Friday evening with a beach club party, featuring a DJ, free food and games and prizes. On Saturday, classic cars filled one of the Beach and Tennis Club parking lots in the morning, while Kids Zone and a food truck court kept residents and their guest entertained and nourished from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. A concert with live band InVersion made for a musical evening, which was capped by a fireworks display. On Sunday, a fun run and Luau-themed beach party preceded the closing ceremony. Also during the fest, residents competed in numerous events, including a golf putt challenge, volleyball and tennis tournaments and baseball and football tosses.

“I think 25 years ago, when the developers looked at this piece of land, which was just farm land at the time, and they had the vision to develop a master-planned community, I doubt that in their wildest dreams they would ever had anticipated it would turn out to be the beautiful community that it is today,” Board President Jon Dell‘Antonia said. “We should all take pride in living in one of the finest communities in the country.”

Tricia Scruggs is a freelance journalist and a Stonebridge Ranch homeowner. She and her husband Anthony enjoy spending time around the community with their toddlers Andrew and Luke. 


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