Welcome to Ungated

Julie Adamen is well-known fixture in the community management profession.  A former manager herself, she now focuses her time on recruiting professional community managers, speaking on industry issues, and training managers and boards across the country.  Julie's monthly newsletter is always timely and provocative -- you will never be in doubt about how she thinks about a topic.

This month, her lead article focuses on why community management is a great industry to be in, especially right now as other portions of the real estate market wither to a shadow of their former selves.  I encourage you to give it a look. 

Julie rightly points out that our industry continues to grow, that it is fundamentally safe from outsourcing, and can be intellectually and personally challenging.  This certainly agrees with my observations, including the continued demand for experienced, trained community managers.  Existing communities must still be managed, perhaps more so now that foreclosures and falling sales prices have made being budget conscious even more important than ever.

Hard on the heels of the National Conference in Orlando next month, CAI will be holding its 21st Annual CEO-MC Retreat in Salt Lake City, Utah from June 19 - 21.  Designed as a unique once a year learning and networking experience for management company CEO's and senior management, the retreat is an opportunity to hone your leadership skills and learn what works and what doesn't in today's challenging association management environment.  The Retreat begins at noon on June 19 and ends around noon on Saturday June 21.

In addition to the Retreat, we will also be conducting our one-day CEO Bootcamp on June 18th from noon to 5pm.  If you are new to your company or your leadership position, the Bootcamp is a great way to familiarize yourself with the critical issues and management challenges you will face, understand the dynamics of our industry, and network with other company executives.

And for those of you who chase a little white ball around in the sunshine, we will once again be holding our annual CEO Open golf outing on June 18 and 19. 

All the information on times, dates, and costs is on the registration form.  (Note: the final costs for golf have not been determined yet.  Please indicate your interest on the form, any requested playing partners, and your handicap so that we can reserve you a tee time.  We will collect the golf fee at a later date.)

Don't forget that the "early bird" registration deadline for CAI's 57th National Conference is coming up on March 31st.  Register by the end of this month and save $50.

And we have just added two additional special events to the conference schedule.

I hope to see you in sunny Orlando.

CAI's Rocky Mountain Chapter has had a long history of leadership in the community in and around Denver, Colorado.  Recently, the chapter has been expanding their efforts to work with media outlets in Colorado to help educate board members and homeowners in associations throughout the state. 

In their most recent effort, Gary Debus, community manager of Highlands Ranch (one of the largest associations in the United States with over 90,000 residents) appeared on local ABC affiliate 7News to talk about resolving conflicts in your association.  Gary did a great job and clearly demonstrated the thoughtful, positive process that CAI works to bring to every situation like this.

Check out the Rocky Mountain Chapters homepage for other recent articles and media appearances.  And congratulations to the chapter and Gary for a job well done.