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Summary:
While looking into Hideaway’s website changes, I found that General Manager Del Polikretis is publicly associated with Strategy Blvd, a marketing company that advertises website development, branding, destination marketing, social media, and related services. Strategy Blvd also identifies Del with Market Analysis / Web Development, while Hideaway is in the process of updating its own website. That connection does not prove Strategy Blvd is doing work for Hideaway, but it raises questions because, during a recent GM Conversation, a member asked Del which company was handling the website project and he said he could not remember the company’s name.
I have preserved a recording of that exchange. I also have a separate recording in which Del stated, in substance, that he does not profit from anything involving Hideaway. At the same time, Hideaway-branded merchandise is being sold through an online business associated with Del and/or his family, including a shirt advertised as supporting the “important work” of Hideaway Lake Club.
That wording raises obvious questions about who authorized the use of Hideaway’s name, who receives the proceeds, whether Hideaway receives any revenue, and what exactly is meant by the claim that the shirt supports the Club. An inside source familiar with the situation has told me Hideaway has never received revenue from these shirt sales, but I have not independently verified that through contracts, payment records, or Association accounting, so I am not presenting it as established fact.
I have also been unable to identify a clearly documented LLC, DBA, assumed-name filing, or publicly available EIN tied to the businesses I have been reviewing. That does not mean those registrations do not exist. It does mean I have not been able to locate them and would like clarification about the legal entities involved.
The shirt sales also raise sales-tax questions. Texas generally requires tax to be collected on taxable merchandise such as T-shirts, although in some situations a marketplace provider may collect and remit the tax on the seller’s behalf. I am not claiming sales tax is not being collected. I am asking who the legal seller is, what entity is responsible for the transactions, and how the tax obligations are being handled.
Because my wife and I have been unable to obtain records we requested from the HOA, we are left trying to piece together public information, recorded statements, and what limited documentation we can find. These questions could be answered quickly with contracts, vendor records, approvals, disclosures, business-registration records, licensing agreements, and accounting information.
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Hideaway’s GM Is Connected to a Website and Marketing Company — While Hideaway Is Updating Its Own Website
While looking into Hideaway’s recent website changes, I came across a connection that I believe deserves a clear explanation.
Hide-A-Way Lake Club’s General Manager, Del Polikretis, is publicly listed as an associate with Strategy Blvd, a Texas marketing company. Strategy Blvd advertises services that include website creation, web development, destination marketing, market analysis, social media, and branding. Its team page identifies Del with Market Analysis / Web Dev, while Ciara Polikretis is listed as the company’s Managing Member.
At the same time, Hideaway is currently updating its own website.
That does not prove Strategy Blvd is performing work for Hideaway.
But several other pieces of information have caused me to ask more questions.
Del Said He Could Not Remember the Company Doing Hideaway’s Website
During a recent GM Conversation, a member asked Del whether he knew which company was handling Hideaway’s website project and asked him to identify the company.
Del responded that he could not remember the name, saying it was “on the tip of my tongue.”
I have preserved a recording of that exchange.
Forgetting the name of a vendor does not, by itself, prove anything improper and let's be honest it happens to all of us. But I find the exchange noteworthy because Hideaway’s General Manager is publicly associated with a company that specifically advertises website creation and web-development services.
Strategy Blvd’s own website identifies Del as someone involved in web development.
That leaves some very basic questions:
- Who is actually doing Hideaway’s website work?
- How was that company selected?
- Was Strategy Blvd, Del Polikretis, Ciara Polikretis, or any related business involved in the project in any way?
If the answer is no, Association records should make that easy to establish.
Without records I am left trying to determine how these connections fit together. Which should not be the case.
If the answer is yes, members should be able to see how the relationship was disclosed, reviewed, and approved.
Where Are the Website Records?
If Hideaway hired an outside company to design, develop, host, migrate, maintain, or otherwise work on the Association’s website, records should exist documenting that relationship.
Those could include:
- proposals or bids;
- vendor contracts;
- invoices and payments;
- Board approvals;
- meeting minutes;
- conflict-of-interest disclosures;
- statements of work;
- and correspondence concerning vendor selection.
I have not found records that answer these questions.
That does not mean the records do not exist.
It means I believe Hideaway should provide them so members are not forced to piece together public business connections and statements made during GM Conversations.
Then There Is the Hideaway Merchandise
The website is not the only reason I began asking questions about Del’s outside business interests.
ETXShop.com sells East Texas-themed shirts and merchandise, including a shirt specifically marketed for Hideaway.
What caught my attention was not simply that the shirt exists.
The product page states:
“This t-shirt supports the important work of the nonprofit Hideaway Lake Club.”
Here is a closeup screenshot of that.
That statement raises several questions of its own.
What “important work” is being supported?
- How is purchasing the shirt supporting Hide-A-Way Lake Club?
- Does any portion of the sale actually go to the Club?
- Was the use of Hideaway’s name authorized?
- And was the Board aware of or involved in the arrangement?
The wording could reasonably leave a customer with the impression that purchasing the shirt somehow financially supports Hide-A-Way Lake Club.
I think members should know exactly how this “important work” is supporting the Hide-A-Way Lake Club.
Del Has Said He Does Not Profit From Hideaway
This becomes even more interesting because of something Del said during a GM Conversation. Del stated, in substance, that he does not profit from anything involving Hideaway besides his salary and his bonus.
I have preserved a recording of that statement as well.
At the same time, Hideaway merchandise is being sold through an online business associated with Del and/or his family.
I want to be careful here.
I am not claiming that Del personally receives the proceeds from those shirt sales. I do not currently have the financial records necessary to establish exactly where the money goes.
But his statement raises an obvious question:
What did Del mean when he said he does not profit from anything involving Hideaway?
For example:
- Was he referring only to money paid directly to him by Hide-A-Way Lake Club?
- Does he receive no income from the sale of Hideaway merchandise?
- Does another family member or related business receive the proceeds?
- Does Hideaway receive any portion of those sales?
- If Hideaway receives nothing, who authorized the use of the Hideaway name for private commercial sales?
These are questions that should be answered with records rather than assumptions. But my wife and I believe we have, to some degree, been “blacklisted” after repeatedly raising concerns and requesting documentation. Despite sending formal HOA records requests by certified mail, we have been unable to obtain the records we requested, leaving us to piece together the available information and ask questions that the documents themselves should be able to answer.
And since I have not seen anyone else publicly asking them, I will.
An Inside Source Says Hideaway Has Never Received Revenue From These Shirt Sales
I have also been told by an inside source that Hide-A-Way Lake Club has never received revenue from the sale of these Hideaway shirts.
I have not independently verified that statement through Hideaway’s financial records, contracts, payment records, or accounting system.
For that reason, I am not presenting it as an established fact.
I am presenting it as information that I believe deserves further investigation and documentation.
If the source is incorrect and Hideaway does receive money from the sales, the Association should be able to provide records showing the arrangement and the revenue received.
If the source is correct and Hideaway receives nothing, then members deserve an explanation of why the product is advertised as supporting the Hideaway Lake Club, who authorized the use of the Hideaway name, and who actually receives the proceeds.
The Concern Is Not That the GM Has an Outside Business
I want to make an important distinction.
There is nothing automatically wrong with a General Manager having outside business interests.
There is nothing automatically wrong with Del working with a marketing company.
There is nothing automatically wrong with a family member operating a private business or selling merchandise online.
And there is nothing automatically wrong with Hideaway hiring a company connected to an employee, provided the relationship is properly disclosed, reviewed, approved, and handled in accordance with the Association’s governing documents and policies.
The concern is what happens when those private business interests appear to overlap with Association business.
Strategy Blvd offers website-development and marketing services.
Del is publicly identified with Strategy Blvd as being involved in web development.
Hideaway is updating its website.
When a member asked Del which company was doing Hideaway’s website, he said he could not remember the company’s name.
Separately, Del has said that he does not profit from anything involving Hideaway, while Hideaway merchandise is being sold through a business associated with him or his family.
None of those facts, standing alone, proves any wrongdoing.
Taken together, however, I believe they justify asking for documentation and a clear explanation.
What I Would Like Hideaway to Provide
I would like Hideaway to provide records showing:
- the name of every company involved in Hideaway’s website project;
- who designed, developed, migrated, hosts, or maintains the website;
- all proposals, bids, contracts, invoices, and payments related to that work;
- how the website vendor was selected;
- whether Strategy Blvd performed any work directly or indirectly;
- whether Del or Ciara Polikretis performed any work connected to the project;
- any conflict-of-interest disclosures provided to the Board;
- any and all Board discussion(s), approval(s), or vote(s) involving a related business;
- any agreements concerning Hideaway-branded merchandise;
- who authorized the use of Hideaway’s name or branding;
- who owns the shirt designs being sold;
- who receives the proceeds from those sales;
- whether Hideaway receives any royalty, percentage, donation, or other revenue;
- and any accounting showing money received by Hide-A-Way Lake Club from those sales
- the full legal entity name operating Strategy Blvd;
- the full legal entity name operating ETX Shop;
- any assumed-name or DBA filings associated with either business;
- any W-9 provided to Hideaway by Strategy Blvd, ETX Shop, or a related business;
- any Texas sales-tax permit information associated with merchandise sold using the Hideaway name;
- any agreements addressing sales-tax collection or remittance;
- and any licensing, royalty, revenue-sharing, or authorization agreement involving Hideaway-branded merchandise.
Those records could answer most of these questions very quickly.
What I Am Not Claiming
I want to be clear about what I am — and am not — saying.
I am not claiming Strategy Blvd built Hideaway’s website.
I am not claiming Del awarded a contract to himself or a related business.
I am not claiming Del personally receives the proceeds from Hideaway merchandise.
I am not claiming that selling the merchandise is illegal.
I am not presenting my source’s statement about the shirt revenue as independently verified fact.
What I am saying is that there are public business connections, recorded statements, and unanswered questions that deserve an explanation.
And those questions can be answered easily with records.
This Is Exactly Why Transparency Matters
Without the contracts, approvals, disclosures, vendor information, and accounting records, members are left trying to figure out how these pieces fit together.
That should not be necessary.
If Strategy Blvd had nothing to do with Hideaway’s website, show the vendor records.
If Del receives nothing from Hideaway merchandise, explain how the merchandise arrangement works.
If Hideaway receives money from those sales, show the agreement and accounting.
If the Board authorized the use of Hideaway’s name, show the approval.
And if the shirt is advertised as supporting the “important work” of Hideaway Lake Club, explain specifically how those sales support the Club.
Records protect everyone involved because they replace questions and speculation with facts.
Until those records are available, I believe several important questions remain:
- Who is actually responsible for Hideaway’s website project?
- Why could the General Manager not identify the company when asked?
- Did Strategy Blvd or anyone associated with Del have any involvement?
- Who authorized the use of Hideaway’s name on merchandise being sold privately?
- Why is the shirt advertised as supporting Hideaway Lake Club?
- Who receives the proceeds from those sales?
- Does Hideaway receive any of that money?
- And how does Del’s statement that he does not profit from anything involving Hideaway fit into this arrangement?
Those are questions I believe members deserve clear answers to.
Add this as a new section after “Then There Is the Hideaway Merchandise” or immediately after the paragraph discussing ETX Shop:
We Also Have Questions About the Business Structure
As I continued looking into Strategy Blvd and the merchandise operation, I also tried to identify the legal business entities behind them.
So far, I have been unable to locate a clearly identifiable LLC, assumed-name filing or DBA, or publicly available EIN tied to the business names I have been researching.
I want to be careful about what that means.
An EIN is not necessarily something that will appear in an ordinary public search, so my inability to locate one does not establish that the business does not have one. The same is true for an LLC or DBA. I have not found records that clearly identify the legal entity operating under these names, but that does not mean the filings do not exist.
It does leave some basic questions unanswered:
- What legal entity operates Strategy Blvd?
- What legal entity operates ETX Shop?
- Are either operating under an assumed name or DBA?
- What business name is being used for tax purposes?
- And who is legally responsible for the sale of the Hideaway merchandise?
What About Sales Tax?
The merchandise sales also raise another question.
Texas generally requires sales tax to be collected on taxable tangible personal property, including clothing such as T-shirts, although in some cases an online marketplace provider may collect and remit the tax on the seller’s behalf.
That means there should be a clear answer as to:
- who is considered the seller of the Hideaway shirts;
- what Texas sales-tax permit covers those sales;
- who collects the applicable sales tax;
- who remits that tax to the State of Texas;
- and what legal business entity is responsible for those transactions.
I have not located records that answer those questions.
I am not claiming that sales tax is not being collected or remitted. I do not currently have the records necessary to make that statement.
What I am saying is that when Hideaway-branded merchandise is being sold through a private business associated with the General Manager or his family, and the product is advertised as supporting the “important work” of Hideaway Lake Club, I believe members should be able to understand exactly who the legal seller is, how the business is registered, who handles the tax obligations, and whether Hideaway receives any financial benefit from those sales.
Sources and Supporting Documents
Strategy Blvd — Company Website — Strategy Blvd describes itself as a Texas marketing company specializing in tourism and economic development and advertises website creation, web development, destination marketing, social media, market analysis, and related services.
Strategy Blvd — Texas Marketing Agency
Strategy Blvd — Our Team — Strategy Blvd identifies Ciara Polikretis as Managing Member and Del Polikretis as an Associate specializing in Market Analysis / Web Development.
Hide-A-Way Lake Club — Website — Hideaway is currently making changes to its website and member-access system.
ETX Shop — Hideaway Established T-Shirt — ETX Shop offers a Hideaway-specific shirt and describes the purchase as supporting the “important work of the nonprofit Hideaway Lake Club.”
ETX Shop — Hideaway Established T-Shirt
Privately Preserved GM Conversation Recordings — I have preserved recordings of the GM Conversations discussed in this article, including the exchange in which Del said he could not remember the company handling Hideaway’s website and a separate statement in which he said, in substance, that he does not profit from anything involving Hideaway. I am preserving those recordings as documentation and am not publishing them publicly at this time.
Source Information Regarding Merchandise Revenue — An inside source familiar with the situation told me Hide-A-Way Lake Club has never received revenue from the sale of the Hideaway-related shirts. I have not independently verified that statement through Association contracts, accounting records, or payment records, so I am treating it as information requiring further investigation rather than established fact.
Matt DeFeo
Matt is a husband to Chrissy, father of three, and retired law enforcement officer. Through Voices of Hideaway, he documents records, firsthand experiences, and unanswered questions while trying to inform Hideaway members and promote transparency and accountability in the community.