Welcome to Ungated

Just one week left until CAI's 30th Annual Law Seminar in Palm Springs, California.  Join over 400 attorneys, management company executives, risk management professionals, and other industry leaders for this comprehensive assessment of legal issues and practices in the community association industry.

Luck is what happens when preparation meetings opportunity - Seneca (Roman philosopher 1st Century AD)

I am a great believer in luck, and I find that the harder I work, the more I have of it - Thomas Jefferson

Congratulations to Capt. Sullenberger and the rest of the crew of USAirways 1549, along with everyone who contributed to the rescue evolution.  A clarion reminder that navigating a crisis takes training, preparation, and a cool head.

Solid research and data on community association living is tough to come by.  That's why the Foundation for Community Association Research has worked with Zogby International over the past several years to conduct independent, statistically valid research into homeowner preferences and perceptions.  You can read about our most recent survey here.

And that is why we try to support legitimate and relevant research into community associations, their members, and their operations, wherever and whenever we can.  Hannah Wiseman, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Law is currently conducting a nationwide survey in an attempt to better define the factors that attract residents to common-interest communities.  The 10-question survey asks community association residents what they disliked about their former communities and what they believed a common-interest community would offer. 

Wiseman needs as much input as possible from community association residents across the country to support her study.  You can complete the survey yourself or forward it to others if you are in a position to do so.  The survey is online and can be accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JdAFijUlceVBKVNYSrDjsA_3d_3d and should take less than 10 minutes to complete.  Surveys should be completed by January 31, 2009.  Professor Wiseman can be contacted directly at hwiseman@law.utexas.edu or 512-232-3646 if there are any questions.  She has agreed to share her results with CAI at the completion of her study and we will pass them on to our members.

We recently completed our first six months of the EveryOne Counts Membership

Campaign and I am thrilled to report in six months CAI

has added more than 3,000 new members!  With every new member CAI

becomes a stronger organization.  You, our members, are the best

advocates for membership.  Recruit just one member and you will be

entered to win one of our quarterly prizes and join the ranks of CAI’s

Recruiter Club.  During the first six months of the campaign more than 500

CAI members recruited nearly 1,000 new members.  Nearly half of the

recruiters during this time frame were first time recruiters.  Pass on ONE

copy of Common Ground, invite ONE client to a chapter event or send a link

to CAI’s website, www.caionline.org to a colleague.  Just have the potential

member add your name to their membership application and for each

member you recruit, you will be entered to win one of the quarterly prizes or

the grand prize of a vacation package, including airfare, hotel, rental car

and spending money!

 

A special thank you to our ONE Campaign sponsors for their generous support:

ACE DuraFlo

ATG

Reserve Advisors

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Don't think you can win?  It just takes one!  Just ask our first two quarterly winners. 

Karen Johnson, a community manager in Bethesda, Maryland was our first winner.  Karen recruited one member during the first quarter of CAI’s EveryONE Counts Membership Campaign and won a 32” flat screen plasma television. 

Kimberly Lax, CMCA,AMS, a community manager from
Tucson, Arizona  recruited one community manager in October – her first recruit and won $500 in gas cards in our second quarter drawing.

And you can win too. 

Each quarter of the Campaign, every member who recruited another member during that quarter is entered into a drawing for one of our quarterly prizes.  All recruiters from May 1, 2008 – April 30, 2009 will also be eligible for the grand prize, a vacation package including airfare, hotel, rental car and spending money!  Spread the word —make ONE phone call, have ONE conversation or send ONE e-mail.  You could be a winner just like Karen and Kim.  And remember each new member makes CAI a stronger and more effective advocate for all members—community, managers, homeowners/board members, management companies and business partners alike. 

This past summer, Virginia has became the most recent state to adopt a licensing and certification requirement for professional community association mangers.  The law will provide homeowners with the assurance that their community association manager has a minimum set of qualifications needed to handle the complex and challenging task of community management.

 

Under the law, management companies and other covered entities must make an application for a provisional license to manage communities in Virginia by December 31, 2009. After this deadline, the full requirements of licensure will become effective. CAI has set up an information resource page where you can find a copy of the licensing application as well as information on the new law.  You may find that information here.

 

By statute, persons holding a CAI or NBC-CAM certification will be considered to have met the individual certification requirements and companies holding an AAMC will have met the qualifications for corporate licensure. In adopting the CAI/NBC-CAM family of certifications and designations the legislature has deferred to the experts on management, including the many CAI volunteers who’ve worked to develop these programs over the years.

CAI PMDP instructors Mike Packard and Rob Felix and I had the unique opportunity to spend 10 days in Dubai recently as the guests of Emaar Properties. 

Emaar is one of the largest developers in the world and is currently constructing some of the largest, most complex, and most unique developments in Dubai.  Their Burj Dubai project will include the Burj Dubai Tower, the tallest building in the world, along with the Dubai Mall, with over 1,200 stores, a hockey rink, a 10-million-gallon aquarium, and the usual theaters, restaurants, and other attractions, plus 30 additional residential, commercial, and hotel buildings, many over 30 stories tall.

CAI was asked to travel to Dubai to help educate the managers of Emaars' various residential properties on best practices in community management.  Mike and Rob delivered a M-100 program to 35 members of Emaars' Residential Management Department and administered the CMCA exam as well.  The class included managers from Emaars' community management operations in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. 

We were all very impressed with the education, commitment, and skills that the Emaar managers brought to the course and the many projects that they are managing.

We also had the honor of attending and speaking at the first ever Dubai Community Managers Forum, where we had the chance to meet many other members of the Dubai community management industry including developers, management companies, and government regulatory officials.

I have posted some other photos from our Dubai excursion.  Just click on the "Photos" folder in the right column and then click on "Dubai". 

Some other thoughts, impressions and observations:

- There is construction literally everywhere.  If there were a state bird it would be the construction crane.  As a result, it is frequently hazy from all the dust.  And hot and humid too....98F in late October.

- Every project and building is unique.  The attention to architectural design, materials, and artistry is simply amazing.  In addition, many projects include a significant public art component ranging from sculptures and water features to intricate designs and materials in the sidewalks.

- They are building the infrastructure at the same time as the developments.  As a result, the infrastructure (particularly transportation) is challenged to keep up with the growth in population.  In other words, traffic is terrible!!

- Dubai is a melting pot with people for all over the world who have come to help build and be part of its amazing growth and transformation.  So you can find aspects of many other cultures across the city....even an Irish pub with rugby, soccer (football), and cricket via satellite.

Special thanks are due to Jeevan D'Mello and Sameer Kulkarni, who lead the community management department at Emaar.  They were our day-to-day hosts in Dubai, ensuring that we had a chance to meet people, see the city, and thoroughly enjoy this unique opportunity.

Just returned from our most recent APCM Workshop in Florida.  While I was there I had the chance to have lunch with Bob Reinhardt and Dot Thomas at Resource Property Management in Seminole which is one of 142 Accredited Association Management Companies (AAMC) across the country.  Imagine my surprise when I pulled into their parking lot and saw this.

It is wonderful to see a company that has made the commitment to the AAMC (and by extension to their employees and clients) and is sharing it proudly with their community.  Not familiar with the AAMC program.  Learn more here.

Jeffrey Koger, previously CFO of Koger Management Group in Fairfax, VA pleaded guilty this past Monday to defrauding more than 400 associations in Northern Virginia of over $3 million.  In pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion, Koger faces federal sentencing guidelines of from six to eight years in prison.  The plea agreement also stipulates Koger make full restitution to the IRS and the homeowners associations he defrauded.

More information from the Washington Post here.

One of our functions at CAI is to encourage active and informed participation by residents in the governance of their community's. A key to building harmonious communities is active engagement of residents. So, in case you missed the near constant campaign commercials of the past few months (it only seems like years), I wanted to encourage everyone to vote on Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

Regardless of your party or candidate of choice, voting is both an honor and obligation of citizenship.  I encourage you to do so.

And don't forget, election officials in across the country are expecting record breaking turnout. Long lines for voting are likely. So plan accordingly.

Tom

Tomorrow I depart for a week in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Along with CAI members and instructors Mike Packard and Rob  Felix, we will be traveling Dubai to administer the first of what we hope will be many CAI educational courses to community managers in this rapidly growing part of the world. 

Working with one of the world's largest developers, Emaar, we will be teaching the M-100 course and administering the CMCA exam to a class of over 30 Emaar employees.  In addition, we will be meeting with a broad group of other management companies, professionals, and service providers to discuss issues and challenges facing Dubai as it continues its rapid growth.

I will be sure to post an update and photos when I return.

In addition to the upcoming November 7th APCM Workshop in Florida, a number of CAI events are open for registration.

The 2009 Law Seminar will be held on January 30-31, 2009 in Palm Springs, California.  Note: Hotel rooms are going fast, so make your reservations early.

CAI's 58th National Conference and Exposition will take place April 22 - 25, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Conference this year will coincide with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (JazzFest), one of the must unique and rewarding musical and culinary adventures in the world. 

And coming soon,

Additional APCM Workshops for Managers in Southern California and Dallas, Texas and the 2009 CEO-MC Retreat at Torry Pines, California.  More information and registration forms will be posted on the web site in the coming weeks.

And finally,

Next week we will launch CAI Connect, a new webinar tool, to provide additional distance learning opportunities for our members.  CAI Connect is a fast, convenient, and easy way to expand your knowledge without ever leaving the office and at the same time earn valuable credits for your CMCA recertification and AMS renewal.  I am very pleased to announce that our first webinar will address the new community manager licensing program in Virginia and will be presented by long-time CAI leader and chair of the Virginia Common Interest Community Board Pia Trigiani, Esq.  Every manager and management company owner in Virginia will want to attend this important program.

After a very successful debut in Baltimore this summer, the Association of Professional Community Managers (APCM) is proud to announce our next Manager Workshop will be held on November 7th in Florida.  This intensive one-day program will focus on career development, professionalism, and business acumen for community association managers.

Looking to get ahead in the industry, broaden your network, and expand your opportunities?  Then this is the program for you.  Join speakers from CAI and FranklinCovey to better understand the community association management industry and how to leverage your skills and expertise.

I look forward to seeing you there.

CAI recently completed its national election process for members to serve on our three Member Representation Groups (MRGs).  The MRGs appoint members of the CAI Board of Trustees, advise the Board on a wide-range of policy issues, and connect individuals from our three primary member groups, community volunteers; professional community managers; and business partners, with our national leadership.

Thanks to the more than 69 candidates who stood for election among their peers.  Their willingness to volunteer and serve is one of the key attributes that makes CAI a vital and effective organization.

Congratulation to the successful candidates in this years election who will take office effective January 1, 2009 for two year terms.

ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY MANAGERS BOARD

Management Company CEO - Sue Carpenter (re-elected)

Large Scale Manager - Kathryn Danella (re-elected)

Large Scale Manager - Ted Herrle (1st term)

Manager (non-CEO/non-Large Scale) - Paula Santangelo (re-elected)

At-Large - Dennis Abbott (re-elected after gap in service)

At-Large - Lori Loch-Lee (re-elected)

 

BUSINESS PARTNERS COUNCIL

Accountant - Kevin Cavanaugh (re-elected)

Banker - Mark Nuzollo (1st term)

Insurance - Rob Barlow (re-elected)

Reserve Study - Lynn Voorhees (re-elected)

IT Professional - Mike Magnotta (re-elected)

At-Large - Caroline Record (1st term)

 

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION VOLUNTEERS COMMITTEE

Prudence Bachman (re-elected)

Jack McGrath (re-elected after gap in service)

Michael Shiflett (re-elected)

 

Just returned from the sold-out 2008 Large Scale Managers Workshop in Sunriver, Oregon and I have to report that it was a tremendous event.  More than 110 large scale managers from 26 states spent 3+ days networking, learning, and (as the large scale folks call it) "kicking the tires" in four different communities.  Topics ranged from disaster planning to irrigation to environmental issues, and everything in between.  Combined with the awesome beauty of the high desert region of Oregon, it was a memorable event.

Special thanks go out to host committee chair Bill Peck and all the staff from Sunriver, Black Butte Ranch, Crosswater, and Caldera Springs who put in endless hours to make this a successful and rewarding event for every attendee.

I have put a few pictures to give you a sense of the beauty of the Central Oregon area in the photo/Sunriver album.

As the US looks at landfall from its third major Atlantic tropical system of the season, I just wanted to remind all of our members that CAI has put together a Disaster Resources page on our website.  This page gathers many of the most frequently requested links for individuals and groups planning for or recovering from a natural disaster. 

For those of you who were wondering about next years CAI Annual Conference in New Orleans (and I have gotten a couple of calls) I can tell you that damage and disruption in the Crescent City was minimal.  According to our hotel contacts there was minimal damage from blowing debris, but the vast majority of the the hotels, restaurants, and night life will be up and running by this weekend.  Still worried?  You can take a look at the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau web page for daily updates.

Have a great weekend....Tom

Have you voted yet?  No, not for president, but for your CAI leaders.  CAI is conducting our annual election for our Member Representation Groups and there are just 2 days left.  Voting closes Tuesday August 26th at midnight Pacific Time.

So if you haven't cast your ballot yet please go to our Elections page and follow the instructions to cast your vote.  You will need your member ID and password to enter the secure voting site.

As an added bonus, all members casting their votes will be eligible to win a $50 or $100 gift card.  Eight winners will be selected randomly from among the votes cast.

McCain - Obama is still 3 months away, but CAI members are already choosing their leaders and representatives for 2009.  Our annual elections for members of our three Member Representation Groups is now open and will run until Tuesday August 26th at 11:59 pm PDT. 

Every CAI member has the right to vote for their representation on one of the three MRG's.  MRG members address a wide variety of policy issues, select representatives to CAI's Board of Trustees, and help us configure our member services and benefits to ensure that you get the greatest value for your membership dollar.  The three MRG's include:

> Community Association Volunteers Committee, representing board members, community volunteers and homeowners

> Association of Professional Community Managers Board, representing community managers

> Business Partners Council, representing CAI's wide range of professionals serving the association industry

To vote you will need your CAI member number and password.  Just visit our election page and click on the secure link to access the voting site and cast your ballot.  You will be directed to the appropriate election based on your member classification with CAI. 

Questions/problems with the election site should be directed to governance@caionline.org

The election is being administered by Votenet Solutions, an independent third-party to protect the integrity of the election, and ensure that it is valid and secure.

An interesting op-ed piece from several economists in the Washington Post today regarding housing prices nationally.

Turmoil in the housing market has led to fears that home prices will drop precipitously, particularly if foreclosures force large numbers of homes onto the market in the coming year. Recently, these fears have driven financial stocks down and led to the government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But the projected losses have been wildly exaggerated. Most Americans have not experienced any significant decline in the value of their homes -- nor are they likely to.....

The full article can be viewed here.