The following is a guest blog entry from CAI's President Ron Perl and is based on his recent "CAI Perspective" column in Common Ground.  I thought that the historical perspective was important for CAI and everyone involved in the community association industry.

I have been a member of CAI since 1978. Times were different then. Common-interest communities were just beginning to gain in popularity as a housing choice for many Americans. Some families purchased a unit in a common-interest development as a starter home; for others, it was a place to downsize after becoming empty-nesters. And while those same choices are being made today, community associations have become a more integral part of the American culture than we could have imagined 30 years ago.

Through the decades, and in the face of continual change, CAI has been there to provide education, advocacy, publications, and networking opportunities for every stakeholder in the community association marketplace—homeowner volunteers, managers, and other professional service providers. As the association lifestyle and industry have evolved, so has CAI, but our underlying purpose has stayed simple and constant: to make community associations better for the people who live and work in them.

 

Consistent with this historical backdrop, the theme of my term as president will be a perennial CAI message: “Building Community.” Community building means more than just managing and servicing associations. It involves viewing our roles and responsibilities from a more enlightened perspective. Building community is about neighborhoods, not housing developments. It’s about customers, not unit owners. It’s about facilitating, not managing. It’s about serving, not ruling.

 

I urge each of you to make building community a central part of your mindset, regardless of your role or responsibilities.

 

It has been my pleasure to work closely with our immediate past president, Ross Feinberg, in the last year. Ross has for many years been a dedicated and tireless leader for CAI, culminating in his hugely successful term as president. Under his leadership, we neared 30,000 members and provided unprecedented resources and programming for them. Thanks, Ross, for all you’ve done for CAI.

 

Ronald L. Perl, Esq.

President