CAI-CV 40th Anniversary Interviews with Past Presidents

By Mike Mastropietro

MIKE TRAIDMAN (CAI-CV PRESIDENT, 2019, 2020)

Mike Traidman is the President of Mira Vista at Mission Hills HOA. He is also CAI-CV’s Past President, and is a Director and serves on the Executive Committee for the CAI-CV Board. Mike is one of only two Chapter presidents who has served two terms. Mike is also on the CAI National Homeowner Leaders Council, where he represents community board members with the CAI National Board. Additionally, Mike is the President of the Desert City HOA Council, a group of 650 community board members in the Coachella Valley who have met for the past ten years.

Q: What are a couple of your major memories about the industry and CAI-CV from the years you were president?

A: The beginning of the pandemic was traumatic with our having to cancel so many live events. However, we were able to survive due to the Chapter’s growth and extraordinary participation during my first year as president. In 2019, the Chapter won ten CAI National

Achievement Awards and grew to become one of CAI’s largest chapters. The momentum we built leading up to 2019 is what kept us going through the pandemic. I know our future is bright.

Q: What were some of the goals for the Chapter you might remember or some of the challenges you faced?

A: Our goal was to elevate the industry through education. Even during the pandemic, we were able to double our education, and more important, offer most classes for free to our members. We also pushed hard to make sure our business partners were able to survive by reinforcing the importance of keeping association projects on target. However, keeping the Chapter alive without revenue was tough.

Q: What do you think were your and/or the Chapter's greatest or most significant achievements?

A: Winning so many awards really was wonderful and shows the effectiveness of our committees. More important was that our awards were directly related to our strategic plan that was implemented by the board and passed on to the committees in the form of board goals. It really worked and CAI-CV provided leadership to many CAI chapters as a result.

Q: Have you stayed involved in the industry and CAI-CV?

A: Yes, I am still on the board and very active with CAI National, and with the Desert City HOA Council. I am also chairing the Chapter’s Legislative Support Committee this year.

Q: What changes have you most noticed in the industry and CAI-CV, and what do you think about those changes?

A: I think the legislative changes impacting HOAs have made the need for education for homeowner leaders and managers critical. Most legislation is introduced needlessly because legislators don’t understand our industry. We need to focus on building relationships with our elected officials and helping them understand how HOAs work, and that the majority of homeowners value their associations.

Q: Have CAI-CV and the industry evolved to where you thought they would be today?

A: It is getting tougher and tougher for HOA board leaders. They rely on our education more and more but the responsibility and personal risks of serving on an HOA board are increasing. If residents refuse to serve on their HOA boards, our communities will fail. We have a lot of work to do.

Q: Do you have any comments or suggestions to the current board and members, or to the industry?

A: Advocacy issues are important, and we need to get more people involved in educating and helping our legislators with the upcoming bills. I hope everyone involved with our industry will take the time to meet with their legislator to let them know that the HOA model works.

TAD BLACK (CAI-CV PRESIDENT, 2015)

Tad Black is Regional Director of Field Services for Associa and Associa OnCall. He served on the CAI-CV board for six years and has been actively involved with Chapter committees. During his presidency, Tad helped the Chapter transition, introducing CAI-CV to a new financial system and targeted strategic planning. He also started Oktoberfest and Board Member Workshops (BMWs). Many of you know Tad because he emcees the Chapter Awards and other Chapter events, always willing to share his wit and humor.

Q: What are a couple of your major memories about the industry and CAI-CV from the year you were president?

A: I remember thinking what an honor it was to serve this chapter that had become such an integral part of both my professional and personal life. I recall not being sure I knew what I was doing but served with a great board, so I had confidence from their support and experience. Cal was still new as Executive Director, so we learned a lot, together, but we had seen some of his vision and I was excited about the opportunities that lay in front of us and could already start to see us differentiating CAI-CV from other chapters.

Q: What were some of the goals for the Chapter you might remember or some of the challenges you faced?

A: The Chapter was in a state of change, which I suppose it always is to some extent. I recall feeling like the opportunities to help keep the Chapter moving forward, given our great membership, leadership and need to keep things fresh was the goal of the entire board. We had utilized outside resources to evaluate our finances and procedures we needed to change, we were adding new events and educational opportunities, including adding more educational lunches during season, changing our sponsorship and marketing agreement, updating software and it always felt like we had a lot of balls in the air, which I think is the idea. I give credit to Cal Lockett, the office staff, and the board, but I do remember it being an exciting time for sure.

Q: What do you think were your and/or the Chapter's greatest or most significant achievements?

A: I wrote in my final Quorum President’s Message that the year flew by and I hadn’t felt like I accomplished nearly as much as I had hoped, but looking back, I feel good about the achievements we had. There were a few inaugural events that were implemented in 2015 including the first BMW (Board Member Workshop) event and series. We strategically scheduled that event to precede our second annual Corks-for-CLAC event, which was a big success and a lot of fun. Let’s be honest, offering a free wine tasting event for all attendees of the educational event likely boosted attendance! We also implemented an initiative in which we had a CAI-CV board member as a liaison on each committee, in order to ensure better continuity, communication and alignment of goals. That year also saw a software enhancement of “Your Membership,” an association management system that included an updated, more interactive CAI-CV website.

Q: What changes have you noticed most in the industry and CAI-CV, and what do you think about those changes?

A: With my most recent role at Associa the past few years, I have not been as intimately involved with CAI or the industry directly, but I have been impressed, especially in this last year with how the Chapter and industry have had to pivot and evolve with challenges from not only the pandemic but also the continued shifts in technology, legislative barriers and the industry as a whole. The Chapter and industry are not the same as they were ten, five, or even one year ago, and it is a testament to the people that support them to see how they have thrived.

Q: CAI-CV is always looking to increase diversity, both in the organization and in the industry. Any suggestions?

A: I would simply suggest that we look to our membership. This is something many of our member organizations have been successful in doing and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. It is imperative that we ask our constituents what they want, need, and what we should be doing differently. We sometimes get stuck in the rut of “that is how we have always done it”, which was something I resisted while I was on the board, even though it was not always the popular sentiment. As I said before, the Chapter and industry are different now and we need to be willing to evolve internally and externally.

Mike Mastropietro is Director of Client Services for OCBS. He can be reached at (714) 453-6300 or by email to Mike.Mastropietro@ocbsonline.com.