As a former punt/FG long snapper (who never F'd up, not once in four high school seasons), I was also recruited by my neighbors to join the HOA board. I was like 'are you F'ing kidding me? so I can get calls/text from people complaining about a barking dog or a car parked on the street or driveway for consecutive days. trash cans out past dark?'
I really like what our HOA dues provides us, neat well kept public spaces, pools, tennis courts etc. Yes, there were some tight regs when we built, but its been a pretty well run outfit during my duration here.