Vision
Fall 2022 • Vol. 31, no. 3
President & CEO tfreeley@cacm.org
Chief Editor lbertrand@cacm.org
Managing Editor rkwon@cacm.org
Advertising mhurtado@cacm.org
| Thomas Freeley
| 949.916.2226, ext. 315
| Lynette Bertrand
| 949.916.2226, ext. 323
| Ryan Kwon
| 949.916.2226, ext. 313
| Melissa Hurtado | 949.916.2226, ext. 318
Editorial Advisory Committee
Todd Greisen, CCAM Contra Loma Estates
Andrew Hay, CCAM-ND.PM The Helsing Group, Inc., ACMC
Scott Swinton Unlimited Property Services, Inc.
Hamlet Vazquez, MCAM-HR Action Property Management, Inc., ACMC
Dean Jackson, CCAM-HR Collins Management, ACMC
Rob Buffington Gordian Staffing & East West Building Works
Jessica Melvin, CCAM
The Management Trust - Northern California, ACMC
Caroline McCormick, CAMEx, CCAM OMNI Community Management LLC, ACMC
Vision Magazine is released digitally by CACM four times annually to members, industry partners and supporters of the California Association of Community Managers.
Magazine content copyrighted 2022. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from CACM.
Opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the policies of CACM. Mention of any product or service does not constitute an endorsement by CACM. CACM assumes no responsibility for return of photos or art and reserved the right to reject any editorial or advertising materials. CACM does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of articles, events or announcements listed.
Please address comments and suggestions to: California Association of Community Managers, Inc. 23461 South Pointe Drive, Ste. 200, Laguna Hills, CA 92653 949.916.2226 | communications@cacm.org
Attention CACM members: Have you changed jobs or moved to a new location? Reach out to us at communications@cacm.org to update your profile so you don’t miss your next Vision magazine or any other important CACM communications.
on the cover
news bits
features
WHEN IT’S TIME TO REPLACE PIPES IN YOUR COMMUNITY, GO WITH A SPECIALTY REPIPE CONTRACTOR
By Eric LeckyEDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: BECOME A CERTIFIED MANAGER, MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS, MISSING A CEU? LAW JOURNAL QUIZ MAY HELP
SHOW ME THE MONEY
By Lynette Bertrand, Director of Marketing & Communications, CACM
MEET NATASHA FIERRO: DIRECTOR OF NORCAL REGION FOR CACM
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION RECAP
SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS ARE HERE
By Scott Swinton
POTENTIAL UPSIDES TO A PENDING RECESSION
By Jessica Melvin, CCAM
TOP 10 DATA SECURITY TIPS
By Rob BuffingtonFIGHTING CRIME IN YOUR COMMUNITY
By Todd Greisen, CCAM
HOW DO WE STOP THE “GREAT RESIGNATION?”
By Caroline McCormick, CAMEx, CCAM
SAFETY TIPS FOR A HIGH-RISE
By Hamlet Vazquez, MCAM-HR
MAKE TIME TO RECHARGE
By Andrew Hay, CAMEx, CCAM-ND.PM
ABC, EASY AS 123?
By Dean Jackson, CCAM-HR
SAN DIEGO GOLF TOURNAMENT RECAP
president’s message
Iam thankful. Thankful that we have finally opened our NorCal office with the amazing Natasha Fierro as our NorCal Director! Not only can Natasha talk the talk, but she also walks the walk. She’s been in the CID management industry for eight-plus years. If you haven’t met her yet, you will.
“So, now what?” Well, we’re just beginning. It’s impossible to provide all of the details of what we are researching, planning and implementing in this column, so here are the highlights. Hang on, this will be a ride!
We didn’t expand into NorCal with the purpose of one staff member. We expanded for that staff member to eventually lead a team. That team will help design educational programs and networking events in your office and locally.
While we continue to try and offer our courses through colleges, we learned that we need to start even earlier. So, we are developing an initiative to make high school seniors aware of our industry and bringing our courses to community colleges. We are also developing the CACM CID Trade School, which will have an intern program attached to it. This takes planning, so we are planning.
We are developing two Industry Partner Councils: one for NorCal and one for SoCal. The IP Councils, limited to 15 members each, will be strategic in helping design networking and education programs.
We are developing a Certified Industry Partner certification that will include ethics and components of the Basics of Association Management coursework. When a manager talks to a Certified Industry Partner, they’ll know that partner spent time learning more about what a manager does, which will help both parties better engage with each other and serve clients. The IP Councils will assist us in this endeavor.
But most of all I’m thankful that I’m offered a platform where I have the opportunity to lead a caring group of professionals dedicated to better serve you. Thankful to apply my years of CID management experience to constantly explore ways that will improve our industry and improve the experiences you have in our industry and our organization.
If we elevate each other, together, we elevate our industry.
Until I see you in person again, which I hope will be soon, thank you for all you do for your team, your company, and your clients.
Thomas Freeley, CAMEx, CCAM, President & CEOmembers in the news
IN MEMORIAM
Carra Clampitt: Mentor, Educator, Businesswoman
Carra Clampitt is remembered by those who knew her as a nurturing and savvy businesswoman with an unmatched passion for the community management industry.
Carra passed away in early September after a long battle with cancer.
Her 30-year career in the industry began at Golden West Property Management, a company she started with her mother and eventually sold to Eugene Burger Management Corporation (EBMC). Soon after she joined EBMC, she was appointed Regional Manager of the Bay Area, overseeing EBMC’s offices in that region. More recently, when EBMC changed its business structure, she was appointed President of its HOA division while also serving as Executive Vice President of the company where she worked for two decades.
“She was a mentor for many people in our company and probably other branches of the industry as well as students,” said Jay Kacirk, CCAM, Executive Vice President of EBMC and President of the company’s Rental Trust Division.
Jay, who knew her for 18 years, said her passing left 350 saddened employees behind. “She was an important player at EBMC.”
Carra was a hands-on leader who often traveled to various company offices to interact with community management staff and looked for ways to share her knowledge. She served
A believer in education, she earned several designations including CAMEx, CCAM, and specialty certifications in Large Scale, Portfolio Management and Active Adult communities.
Because of her dedication to the educational development of community managers, she was honored with CACM’s Vision Award for Educational Excellence this year.
“Carra was a top-notch instructor for CACM teaching our foundational courses as well as our financial courses like Budgeting and Explaining Financial Statements,” said Debbie Griffiths, CACM’s Director of Education and Credentialing. “She was well liked and respected by those in attendance. Carra was always willing to step in at the last minute, if needed, and was totally dedicated to ensuring that CACM courses and educational programs were top-notch for this industry. Carra will be missed.”
“She always just had the best disposition and was always a kind, nurturing individual,” he remembered. “You never landed short with her. Even if there was something difficult to get across, she did it in a kind way. She had a magnetic personality and could develop business better than anyone I knew. It was all innate for her—just who she was.”
Lori Albert, CAMEX, CCAM, also served with her on CACM’s board.
“What I appreciate about Carra more than anything else was her passion for the industry,” said Lori, CEO and President of Albert Management. “She cared so deeply about the managers in our industry and making sure they had all the support they needed to be successful. She fiercely supported them. I knew I could count on her for ideas and solutions for
Bruce Ratliff, CAMEx, CCAM-HR.CI worked with her at EBMC and served on CACM’s board of directors alongside her. on CACM’s board of directors since 2013 and enjoyed teaching CACM’s certification courses. 6 Vision Fall 2022 | cacm.org Carra with EBMC staffdifferent board members or homeowners.”
“She was all business but with an enormous heart,” Lori added. “I so admired her strength, her struggle and commitment to the industry even though she wasn’t well.”
Kendrah Kay, CAMEx, CCAM, said Carra welcomed her with open arms when she joined the CACM board. She described Carra as a mentor and a friend.
“She was passionate, articulate and not apologetic about either,” said Kendrah, Chief Client Officer at Powerstone Property Management, ACMC. “She could have difficult conversations and make even harder decisions while maintaining her professionalism and integrity. She did it all with a sense of humor and a great set of eyelashes.”
“There are not many people that can persuade me to add more to my plate over cocktails and then subsequently make me sign a napkin at 2 am so that I wouldn’t forget my newly promised obligations,” Kendrah added. “She had that napkin and would remind me of it regularly. I’ll miss that.”
The legacy Carra leaves behind is not only of her commitment to the betterment of the industry but also to the people who worked for her.
“She was an advocate for higher standards and industry accountability,” said EBMC’s Jay. “Those two things guided her choices.”
members in the news
Seabreeze Acquires CT Prop Management
Seabreeze Management Company has acquired CT Prop Management , a fullservice property management firm based in Simi Valley. “CT Prop Management is the best of the best in the Simi Valley area,” said Isaiah Henry, CEO of Seabreeze. “We are so proud to add the CT Prop organization to the Seabreeze team. Their dedication to service, their clients, and the industry makes the company a perfect fit for our organization.”
The Management Trust Welcomes Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson has recently joined The Management Trust ’s Central Coast division as the Executive Vice President. Johnson previously served as the Managing Director for Radius Commercial Real Estate, overseeing operations, agents and staff while providing commercial brokerage services to his clients. Johnson is currently based in Santa Barbara.
Congratulations to Aaron Antis on His Newborn
Congratulations to Aaron Antis of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing and his wife on their newborn, Avery Elisabeth Antis, who joined the Antis family at 4:41 a.m. on June 4. Avery came weighing in at 4 pounds, 9 ounces and 17.5 inches tall. Although this is Aaron and his wife’s third child, this will be their first daughter. Best wishes to the family!
Brian Johnson Avery and Aaron Antis Carra Clampitt with Vision Award 2022 for Educational Excellencemembers in the news
CitiScape Selected As Bay Area’s Top Workplace
The San Francisco Chronicle recently recognized CitiScape Property Management as one of the Top Workplaces of 2022. Congratulations to CitiScape Property Management for receiving such an amazing title and award.
Former Bay Area Property Services Manager Launches New Company
Melissa Hajostek, CCAM-PM.LS.ND recently opened the doors to her new company, Foundation Community Management, Inc. “Please welcome Foundation Community Management, Inc to our industry; providing solution based services to HOA Boards, management professionals, and HOA service providers,” said Melissa Hajostek, owner of Foundation Community Management, Inc. “I am thankful to all who have mentored me and helped me to learn and grow.”
Cheers to 34 Years for Berding | Weil
Berding | Weil recently celebrated 34 years of business. Tyler Berding, Esq., and Steven Weil, Esq. , came together and built what is today one of the largest construction defect focused firms in the nation. Happy 34 years, Berding | Weil!
Melissa Hajostek Steven Weil Tyler Berdingmembers in the news
Ellen Schuster Joins
Hughes Gill Cochrane Tinetti
Ellen Schuster has joined Hughes Gill Cochrane Tinetti’s corporate legal team in Northern California. Schuster currently serves on the CACM Credentialing Faculty and has also spoken at industry events and authored several articles on topics including new case law, hard surface flooring issues, reopening pools during COVID, parking lot safety, and fair housing issues. Schuster also represents HOAs and other CIDs in all aspects of their corporate operations.
Anne Rauch Joins
Berding | Weil As A Partner
Anne Rauch has recently partnered with Berding | Weil to head its appellate group. Rauch is board certified as an appellate specialist by the California Board of Legal Specialization for the State Bar of California, and her work has resulted in wins in a broad range of practice areas that include construction defect claims, real property litigation, business and partnership disputes, contract claims, insurance coverage, and more.
Karen St. Onge Joins
Adams | Stirling
Karen St. Onge, Esq. has joined Adams | Stirling as an attorney. For the past several years, Onge has enjoyed focusing her practice on community association law, assisting community managers and board members with a wide range of issues in residential and commercial common interest developments, including education and compliance with the ever-changing law that affect CIDs.
The Prescott Companies Named Best and Brightest Companies to Work For
Congratulations to The Prescott Companies for being named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® in San Diego for 2022. Winning companies are assessed by an independent research firm that reviews several key measures relative to other nationally recognized winners. “The Prescott Companies and our entire team is extremely proud of this recognition,” said Paola Scrimsher, CCAM, President of The Prescott Companies. “This award recognizes the commitment we have made to helping our employees grow both personally and professionally in a work environment that makes them feel valued and supported.”
Karen St. Onge Anne Rauch Ellen Schustermembers in the news
William Naumann Named One of The Best Lawyers in America
William Naumann of The Naumann Law Firm has recently been included in the 2023 29th Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Since 1981, Best Lawyers has produced the most reliable, unbiased source for legal referrals. They highlight the extraordinary accomplishments of those in the legal profession with a list of outstanding lawyers compiled by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys.
CEO Tom Freeley Featured in HOA Podcast
In case you missed it, CACM’s Tom Freeley, CAMEx, CCAM, was recently featured in The HOA Pros Podcast, co-hosted by Mike Perlof, Director of Client Services at Fenton Grant Mayfield Kaneda & Litt, LLP and Kara Foley, Vice President of Community Management at Seabreeze Management Company, Inc. The one-hour podcast goes into many funny HOA stories, Freeley’s history in the industry, and the latest happenings at CACM. Take a listen here.
The Miller Law Firm Welcomes Two
The Miller Law Firm has recently welcomed to their firm Ashley Hibler and Brian Bonney, Esq. as the Director of Client Services and an attorney, respectively. Hibler has nearly 10 years of experience in the common interest development industry and will focus on client satisfaction and serve as the liaison between The Miller Law Firm’s association clients and legal and expert team. Bonney has 35 years of experience ranging from litigation experience to complex commercial litigation, insurance, product liability, land use, toxic tort, premises liability, construction defect, and other complex general liability matters.
Vantaca CEO Named on 40 Under 40 Awards
Ben Currin has been named on the 40 Under 40 Awards list as he demonstrates leadership and success through his role as CEO at Vantaca. For four years, the StarNews and the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to honor some of the area’s best and brightest young professionals. “We are excited for our CEO, Ben Currin, to be recognized as a person of impact in our community,” said Graham Elmore, Director of People + Culture at Vantaca. “As Vantacans we are fortunate to be a part of his smart and kind leadership that supports our ability to grow as we continue to build a world class company culture and employee experience at Vantaca.”
Ashley Hibler Brian Bonney William Naumannmembers in the news
FRONTSTEPS Announces
FRONTSTEPS , provider of end-to-end HOA management software, announced a strategic growth investment that will be led by investment firm, Onex Falcon. The investment enables FRONTSTEPS to accelerate enhancements to the capabilities and performance of its unique HOA management suite. “Community managers, board members, and homeowners deserve better technology that helps them stay connected, informed, and efficient,” said Irene Wang, Managing Director with Onex Falcon. “We’re excited to back FRONTSTEPS and their innovative vision of bringing all aspects
of community management under one roof.” FRONTSTEPS also announced that Matt DeWolf has been appointed as FRONTSTEPS’ new CEO. DeWolf is a product visionary who brings more than two decades of software-as-a-service expertise to the role. “FRONTSTEPS is on a mission to transform and simplify how communities run,” said Matt DeWolf, CEO of FRONTSTEPS. “This investment helps us deliver more powerful tools, at a faster pace, to the growing number of management companies that trust us to help them run their business.”
Honesty, Quality, Integrity. These guiding values have allowed AMS Paving to become the #1 choice for community associations in Southern California.
Holiday Parties
CACM
throughout California.
holiday parties to
holiday cheer
successes of 2022. From music and dancing to connecting with other professionals,
Southern California
DECEMBER 1, 2022
5:00 PM TO 7:00 PM
Balboa Bay Resort
1221 W. Coast Hwy. Newport Beach, CA 92663
REGISTER NOW
NorthernCalifornia
DECEMBER 8, 2022 6:00 PM TO 8:00 PM
Claremont Club & Spa
A Fairmont Hotel
41 Tunnel Road Berkeley, CA 94705
THANK YOU SPONSORS
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
PREMIER SPONSOR
Antis Roofing & Waterproofing
BAR SPONSOR
Gordian Staffing
Harvest Landscape Enterprises, Inc.
DESSERT BAR SPONSORS
EmpireWorks Reconstruction
Jim Murray Roofing, Inc.
NETWORKING SPONSORS
CiD Consortium LLC, ACMC
CM Squared, Inc.
Fiore Racobs & Powers, A PLC
Hub International Insurance Services
Professional Community Management –an Associa Co.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
PREMIER SPONSOR
CM Squared, Inc.
BAR SPONSORS
BTC Bob Tedrick Construction EmpireWorks Reconstruction
Gordian Staffing
Hub International Insurance Services
Hughes Gill Cochrane Tinetti, PC
Pacific Western Bank
DESSERT STATION SPONSORS
Frank Bonetti Plumbing, Inc.
Whit’s Painting, Inc.
NETWORKING SPONSORS
Advance Construction Technology, Inc. (ACT)
Association Maintenance Services, Inc. (AMS)
Black Diamond Roofing, Inc.
CiD Consortium LLC, ACMC
DLC Construction Management
Giuliani Construction & Restoration, Inc.
Recon 360, LLC
Signature Services
Statcomm Inc.
cacm.org | Vision Fall 2022 15 Community Legal Advisors, Inc.
yousaid it!
What a great few days with CACM! Our very own Lisa Esposito enjoyed a wonderful presentation at the East Bay luncheon, while Brandon Kanner enjoyed an intimate dinner with the CACM team, including the newest addition to the CACM organization, Natasha Fierro. As always great events by the fantastic CACM team, and a big congratulations to Natasha on her new role!
— Advance Construction Technology (ACT)
REGIONAL FALL FORUMS
Such a great turn out and a great group of humans
Thank you CACM.
— Association Maintenance Services, Inc.
Another stellar CACM event!
— Lisa Triplett, CAMEx, CCAM, Bay Area Property Services
South Bay Fall Forum
It was a great event!
— Varsity Painting
Attended my very first CACM Regional Forum today and it was fantastic! Very informative and interesting discussion about insurance from our panel. Always so lovely to see Melissa Hurtado and Natasha Fierro, as well. Congratulations on the new role with CACM, Natasha! You are killin’ it already!
— Megan Wright, Business Development, Saarman Construction LTD
Thanks for putting on a great event! Fun speakers that made the topic really engaging
— Kelly Zibell, CCAM, Divergent Consulting Group
We were happy to be a tabletop sponsor for the CACM fall forum. Thank you to CACM for continuing to provide excellent educational opportunities for our industry, and thank you to all our industry partners as well.
— CM Squared, Inc. –Architectural Design & Consulting
East Bay Fall Forum East Bay Forum speakers East Bay ForumCarra Clampitt
(See story on page 6)
Carra was truly an inspiration for all of us that worked under her. I was fairly new to the industry when I went to work at EBMC and I realized how much I had not learned in my previous HOA position. When someone stepped into her office with a question you walked away with a fount of information. I learned so much from her. Yes, she will be sadly missed.
— Mary Fausto Angelo
A huge loss in the industry Carra was a PM sensation; an educator, supporter and loving friend. We are deeply saddened.
— Alicia Perez, Giuliani Construction & Restoration, Inc.
Such a big loss for the industry. Always willing to help. Wishing her family and friends peace at this time.
— Bob Burge, CCAM, The Cooper Company
I remember my first years in the biz and attending my initial industry events. Carra was always one who stood out in the crowd. My respect for her increased year after year. She was fearless, and offered unyielding support to her team, clients, and our industry as a whole. I and so many others have learned so much from this remarkable woman. My sincere respect and condolences to family and friends.
— Melissa Hajostek, CCAM-PM.LS.ND, Foundation Community Management, Inc.
Not only was Carra my boss, she was my mentor, my dear friend and my inspiration, I really looked up to her, respected her. Such a great loss for our company, my heart is broken.
Whenever I have tough situations with my HOA’s, my first thought is always “how would Carra handle this?” She will be truly missed by EBMC and the industry.
— Sheryl Kaonis-Rochon, CCAM, Eugene Burger Management Corporation
This is such a loss. What a great woman. Myself and everyone at AVELAR will miss her.
— Meagan Svendsen, Marketing Director, Avelar
This is very sad to hear. I developed so much respect and admiration for Carra. She was an individual with loads of integrity, an amazing sense of humor and a dedication to our industry. I am so very sorry for her family and her staff. There are never the right words to say.
— Melinda Young, CCAM, Walters Management, ACMC
My heart hurts at hearing about this horrible loss. Carra was not only highly regarded in our industry and respected as a colleague she was a warm, kind, inclusive person. This is our loss and it is a huge one.
— Sandra Gottlieb, Esq., SwedelsonGottlieb
Law Seminars
Great news about the (Northern California) Law Seminar moving back to Oakland as I always preferred that location over Santa Clara!
— Lance Miller, CCAM-HR, General Manager, Top of the Mounds COA
yousaid it!
New Members
We are excited to announce that TownSq has joined CACM. We look forward to networking with their extensive list of members to offer innovative solutions to the challenges that managers and management companies face while also continuing to learn from industry leaders.
#management #networking #cacm #software #HOA
— TownSq
Thank you CACM for welcoming us into your network! We know being part of California’s Premiere Community Management Organization will be a great partnership to move the industry forward as we continue our West Coast expansion!
— Compliance View 360
from the roundtable
A MESSAGE FROM THE BOARDThis issue of Vision Magazine is focused on work/life balance. Some say that work/life balance is an oxymoron since in our industry most of us are working at all hours and days of the week fulfilling the needs of our communities, creating a challenge for having a sense of balance.
Our industry is changing and there are things that companies can do as well as individuals themselves. For example, the flexibility to work remotely even if only for a couple of days a week has created the ability to add to the balance if done correctly. Companies have adapted through improved technology where the remote working ability is almost flawless to the client so the need to be sitting in a brick-and-mortar office is becoming less and less important. In fact, some companies have taken the opportunity to reduce their actual hardscape footprint and save resources that can be reallocated to other areas of the operation.
As an individual, you can better plan your time ensuring that you are calendaring your appointments, but also your personal commitments to maximize your days and productivity.
Investment in your team member’s education is a valuable way to improve work/life balance whether it be in time management, budgeting or project management. These are steps that will help them grow in their careers and create additional opportunities to have a better work/life balance.
One of the main things that an individual can do is find a company, job or position where they like going to work every day. When a team member is not happy, they spend more time finding things that they don’t like about their position, company or team members than doing their actual jobs. This creates an environment where the leaders spend more time concerned about these individuals and less time on the business and creating successful growth at the company, which will in turn attract other successful team members.
When you like what you do it shows, not only to the client and in your work product, but also to your fellow team members. High performing team members want to work with other high performers and not with those who they must cover for as they underperform and create a toxic environment.
We see it all the time where a leader is not going to assign additional work to someone who is underperforming and thus the burden falls upon those who are high performers. This may cause those team members to look for a different company to be successful in.
Take the time to find the right place to be successful. Own your work/life balance and be a positive impact on the others on your team.
Share A Random Act of Kindness!
Joe Price, CAMEx, CCAM CACM Board Chair Powerstone Property Management, ACMCABOUT THE VISION AWARDS
The Vision Awards are the highest distinction bestowed upon California community managers. The awards program identifies those who exemplify the very best in the profession of community management; honors their contributions to the profession; and recognizes the positive difference that they have made in the lives of their colleagues, association homeowners and the communities they serve.
Submit Your Nominations for the 2023 Vision Awards!
Is there a community manager or industry partner who has gone the extra mile this year? Then submit them for a Vision Award for 2023!
Here are the award categories:
S tar (MANAGERS ONLY)
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR NOMINATION?
Nominees include community managers, management companies and industry partners who exceed the highest standards of professionalism and skill, display a commitment to excellence, and exhibit high ethical standards.
(MANAGERS ONLY)
ership (MANAGERS ONLY)
OR INDUSTRY PARTNER)
ompany Culture (MANAGERS OR INDUSTRY PARTNER)
The deadline for nominations is October 15, 2022.
Add HOURS to Your Day and Subtract STRESS
By Eric LeckyIt can be hard enough to achieve the work-life balance you crave when you’re managing a community. Things get even more challenging when you’re conducting a community-wide pipe replacement project.
For those who don’t know, every community reaches a point where one of its many piping systems can no longer be repaired by maintenance staff or a service plumber. Whether due to age or defect, the entire piping system begins to fail and must be replaced to protect the value of the property and the safety of its residents.
If you decide to use your plumbing service provider for a repipe, bear in mind that it’s a construction project. In addition to your plumber, you’ll have to hire and oversee other contractors, communicate with residents, keep things on a strict schedule, navigate complex building codes, and so much more. It’s a recipe for long days, weekend work, and unhealthy stress.
Or you could choose the much easier way—using a specialty repipe contractor. A repipe contractor gives you a single source for end-to-end services that minimize your involvement (and stress levels) throughout the project.
Here are some ways a repipe contractor helps you strike a harmonious balance between your major pipe replacement project and your life outside work.
DELEGATING PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
On a repipe project, constant project management—including a comprehensive resident-centric communications program—is one of the main tasks that tips the scales more toward work than life. A top-notch specialty repipe contractor will have you covered by providing a dedicated onsite project manager for resolving project and resident issues on the spot, communicating with you daily, and conducting regular job status meetings.
For resident outreach, your project manager will work with you to tailor a set of templated communications for your community, and they’ll tell you when to distribute the communications through normal community channels like a newsletter, email, and bulletin boards. The project manager will also conduct and record town halls with question-and-answer sessions to help ensure that residents receive timely information.
Then, your project manager will post notices on each resident’s front door so that they know exactly what’s happening in their units and when. For example, the project manager may post:
• A pre-construction walk notice—often used in high-rise communities—stating a time when the contractor will walk through the unit to discuss work areas with the resident.
• A color-coded floor plan showing precisely where residents can live and store their items.
• A “work in progress” checklist that the repipe team updates at the end of each day to indicate what work was completed.
Of course, some repipe contractors may also offer a custom resident web portal or mobile app for larger projects so that project contacts, schedules, and notices are easy for residents to access from anywhere.
Finally, when the unit work is done, the repipe contractor walks the unit with the resident to ensure they’re satisfied.
CUTTING DOWN YOUR TO-DO LIST
A significant advantage of a specialty repipe contractor is clear: The more work you give to someone else, the less you’ll have to do yourself.
A repipe contractor employs an in-house team of drywallers, painters, tile-setters, carpenters, and other tradespeople beyond plumbers needed for a repipe project. That means you don’t have to solicit bids and coordinate multiple schedules and players.
FINISHING FASTER
The sooner you finish a major undertaking like a repipe, the sooner your work and life can return to normal. Specialty repipe contractors understand how to structure a project schedule to expedite progress. They’re also dedicated to working on your repipe project and nothing else. Compare this with using your regular service providers, who may not be expert at sequencing work across multiple crews and will likely remain on call for other jobs.
SAVING MONEY
You might think you’ll have more negotiating power by opting to use your service providers for a repipe project, but any savings gained usually disappear due to project delays, unanticipated costs, and—lately—supply chain issues that drive up the price and delivery time for construction materials. Specialists work with their suppliers to factor all scenarios into their timelines and budgets.
AVOIDING UNPLEASANT SURPRISES
The last thing you want to face at the end of a repipe project is a failed inspection that extends the project by weeks or months. Repipe contractors live and breathe local building codes. What’s more, they’re bonded and insured to cover the full project scope and cost, for added peace of mind.
FIND YOUR BALANCE WITH A SPECIALIST
You have enough on your plate each day to challenge your work-life balance. Don’t let a community repipe tip things over the edge. Get the stability you deserve by choosing a specialty repipe contractor to keep satisfaction high and stress levels low every step of the way.
Eric Lecky is Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer at SageWater, North America’s leading pipe replacement contractor. SageWater is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with offices nationwide. Over the past 30 years, they have replaced more than 35 million feet of pipe in over 100,000 occupied residential units. Learn more at sagewater.com.spotlight on spotlighteducation education
Missing A CEU?
Have you been frustrated to learn that you are short just one or two CEUs for recertification and had to apply for an extension? Well, look no further! The Education and Credentialing Team have brought back the Law Journal exam.
How will this work? Simply read an issue of the Law Journal, pass an exam, and earn 1 CEU. A maximum of 4 CEUs can be earned per year. The cost for the exam will be $50. For more information, reach out to education@cacm.org.
Become a Certified Manager
The Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM) is the only state-specific certification for community association managers in California. As the foundational certification offered by CACM, the CCAM is the gateway to further professional development, including eligibility to pursue higher-level certifications from CACM, such as specialty certifications, the Community Association Management Executive (CAMEx), and the Master of Community Association Management (MCAM).
The CCAM is recognized by the California legislature as fulfilling the Business and Professions Code §11504 as a Certified Common Interest Development Manager. In addition, managers holding the CCAM are recognized by employers, board members, homeowners and clients as highlyprofessional individuals, upholding CACM’s Code of Ethics and Professional Standards and well-versed in changing legislative, regulatory, and best practices in community management. CCAM holders are required to earn 30 hours of continuing education, including participation at CACM’s annual Law Seminar and Expo, and refresher classes in Ethics.
Applicants must successfully complete the following foundational courses no longer than three (3) years prior to application submission:
CMM101-102 CMM121-124 CMM130
Basics of Association Management
California Law Series
Foundational Ethics for Community Managers
Upon completion of all required courses, applicants must obtain their own individual Manager Pro or Manager Pro Plus membership, as well as submit a CCAM application, associated fees, and recommendation forms from the following: Board/Committee Member, Employer, and Service Provider/Vendor.
An alternative path is available to prior CCAM holders and current holders of the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) certification from the Community Association Managers International Board (CAMICB). Eligible applicants must contact the Education Department for more information.
BECOME A CERTIFIED COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGER NOW!
For more information or to obtain a CCAM application, please contact the Education Department at education@cacm.org.
Meet Our Instructors
Mark T. Guithues, Esq. is the founder and managing partner of Community Legal Advisors, Inc. A former community manager himself, he earned his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and has practiced CID law for many years.
Mark has been instrumental, not only in teaching, but also in creating many of the courses here at CACM. Some of these courses include Basics of Association Management, California Law, Effective Meeting and Tools, Ethics, Assessment Collections, New Development, and Commercial and Industrial Management.
Keith Lavery, CCAM, is the Senior Vice President of Associa-Desert Resort Management located in Palm Desert. Keith has held his CCAM designation since 2003 and is a long-time supporter of CACM.
Keith has taught many of CACM’s courses including
foundational courses for new managers, board administration, financial management, as well as our courses for specialty certificates such as Human Resource Management and Portfolio Management.
Steven Roseman, Esq. is the founder and managing partner of Roseman Law, APC, a business and real estate law firm specializing in Common Interest Developments.
A member of CACM since 2002, Steven is a regular speaker at our educational events, including the annual Law Seminar and
Expo, and Regional Forums throughout California. He also serves as an instructor for many of our foundational courses, including Basics of Association Management.
Robin Romo, CAMEx, MCAM-HR is the Chief Operating Officer at CitiScape Property Management Group LLC, ACMC. She also holds both CAMEx and MCAM designations from CACM, our two highest designations for CID executives and managers, respectively.
A highly-regarded manager and executive, Robin has been a part of CACM’s instructor cadre for many years where she teaches many of our courses, including Ethics, High Rise, and Foundational Ethics courses for CCAM and CAFM certification. Robin combines her wealth of knowledge and experience with her great enthusiasm in each class she teaches.
CACM AND INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS WORK TO REVISE DAMAGING BILL
By Jennifer Wada, Esq.The 2022 legislative session has adjourned until December. As always, there was no shortage of action in the CID space, but CACM and our industry partners were able to hold off the most egregious proposals this year.
At the front and center was Assembly Bill 1410 (Rodriguez), which ran the gamut with regards to overreaching proposals that would have handcuffed HOAs. As a quick reminder, this bill was first introduced in 2021 and contained a wide array of problematic provisions: prohibiting an HOA from restricting personal agriculture anywhere on an owner’s lot; prohibiting rental restrictions; prohibiting an HOA from enforcing any violations during a state of emergency, including imposing any monetary penalties; and prohibiting an HOA from sending courtesy notices for violations during a state of emergency, among other things. The list went on and on. We were able to stop this bill in 2021 but since California operates on a two-year legislative cycle, the bill was revived in 2022.
Slowly but surely, we kept at it and were able to chip away at the bill. After many discussions with the author and policy committees, we got the personal agriculture piece removed from the bill and clarified that rental restrictions are not prohibited as provided under current law. We were then able to negotiate that courtesy notices can be sent and HOAs are only prohibited from enforcing violations during a state of an emergency IF it was the declared emergency that made it unsafe or impossible for the homeowner to either prevent or fix the
violation. These were improvements, but we still had concerns that kept us opposed to the bill.
One significant issue was AB 1410’s requirement that directors and employees take a course in ethics and harassment prevention. CACM was strongly against this, as HOAs already struggle to find candidates to run for the board. After discussions with CACM’s legislative committee and attempts to replace the course requirement with a mandatory code of conduct, it became apparent that any attempt to “fix” this provision was unworkable. In the end, CACM worked with all interested parties to get this provision completely eliminated.
AB 1410 is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting action. The good news is that in the event he does sign it, the bill now only does three things: 1) prohibits governing documents from prohibiting a member or resident of a CID from using social media or other online resources to discuss association issues (which governing documents could not anyway); 2) prohibits associations from preventing owners from having roommates in owner-occupied properties and clarifies that such roommates cannot violate any provision of the governing documents in the separate
interest or common areas, including, but not limited to, parking restrictions and guest access to common facilities; and 3) prohibits associations from taking any enforcement actions against an owner during a declared emergency, except for those relating to a homeowner’s nonpayment of assessments, if the emergency made it unsafe or impossible to either prevent or fix the violation.
Most other bills we were watching were amended into other topics that posed no concern to the CID industry. It was a successful legislative session in terms of solid defensive plays. However, we should be ready to play offense in the coming legislative sessions given the emerging issues of aging CID infrastructure and the rising costs of insurance. CACM had numerous discussions with the Legislature and executive branch throughout the year on both topics. While there is general agreement as to the significance of the problems, there are widely varying views on how to fix them. We will be engaging in discussions over the fall to prepare for the 2023 session. But for now, let’s breathe a sigh of relief that we were able to kill a number of proposals that would have harmed associations throughout California. Some other bills of interest that were passed
by the Legislature and await action by the Governor include:
AB 2097 (Friedman) - Prohibits public agencies from imposing minimum automobile parking requirements on specified residential, commercial, and other developments located within one-half mile of public transit.
AB 2011 (Wicks) - Enacts the “Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022” to create a ministerial, streamlined approval process for 100% affordable housing projects in commercial zones and for mixed-income housing projects along commercial corridors, as specified. The bill would also impose specified labor standards on those projects, including requirements that contractors pay prevailing wages, participate in apprenticeship programs, and make specified healthcare expenditures.
AB 2221 (Quirk-Silva) - Clarifies ambiguities in existing law to accelerate ADU development.
SCA 2 (Allen) - Places a repeal measure on the 2024 ballot that, if passed, would repeal Article 34 of the California Constitution that was passed in 1950. Article 34 requires development, construction, or acquisition
of publicly funded low-rent housing projects to be approved by a majority of voters in a city or county. SCA 2 is intended to prevent wealthy neighborhoods from vetoing affordable housing.
SB 6 (Caballero) - Enacts, until January 1, 2033, the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, which establishes housing as an allowable use on any parcel zoned for office or retail uses.
The Governor now has until September 30th to sign or veto all bills on his desk.
Remote Staffing Solutions Designed for Community Managers
SHOW ME
THE MONEY
IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS, BUT PAY RANKS HIGH IN TODAY’S TIGHT JOB MARKET. STILL, FLEXIBILITY, TRAINING AND OTHER PERKS ALSO MATTER.
By Lynette Bertrand, Director of Marketing & CommunicationsIn today’s job market, it’s become increasingly hard to recruit. With record low unemployment rates, there are more jobs available than workers to fill them. In addition, the pandemic drastically changed workers’ job expectations. Add to that all-time high inflation and it’s clear that compensation and benefits are key puzzle pieces to not only hiring but retaining staff.
“There are so many openings right now, it’s competitive,” said Kevin Chudy, CAMEx, CCAM, Executive Director of Woodbridge Village Association in Irvine, a large-scale community that employs up to 250 staff in the busy summer months. “The bigger issue for us is hiring. We have a pleasant environment so we are able to retain pretty well.”
Chudy’s association provides all homeowner services and maintenance in-house, so his positions are wide ranging and include everything from lifeguard and swim instructors to recreational director, pool technicians, carpenters, accountants,human resources and maintenance staff.
To remain competitive Chudy researches pay rates. He recently purchased CACM’s 2022 Compensation & Benefits Study, which provides average salary and benefits for California community management professionals and staff.
He also reaches out to other large scale managers in Southern California to ask how they determine compensation.
Chudy says pay has become increasingly important in attracting new hires. “You have to be realistic about compensation,” he said. “Paying less and not having employees or poor employees doesn’t do much good.”
REMOTE WORK & RETENTION
According to CACM’s 2022 Compensation and Benefits Study the reported average annual salary of a community association manager in 2021 was $73,091. That’s up from $67,553 in 2020. The study also noted that almost all employees are provided health insurance, and more than 80% report that employee dental and vision are also available. Employee life insurance is offered to roughly 70% and long-term and short-term disability are made available to about half of community association professionals in California.
One of the findings that stood out from the last time CACM conducted this study in 2013 was the remote/virtual work benefit, which has a much higher proportion–almost 90%--reporting using this benefit when it is available.
Margo Crummack, CAMEx, CCAM-ND, CEO of
Crummack Huseby Property Management, Inc. in Lake Forest, said providing remote work as an option has helped her retain staff.
“We are one of the most aggressive companies when it comes to remote,” she said. “Seventy-five percent of my staff is remote. We were getting ready to do that before Covid. But that provided the opportunity and we got rid of our secondary suite. We were able to condense and set everyone up with the same technology at home and clients have been perfectly fine with it.”
She acknowledges that implementing remote work at her company, which employs 50, was not as arduous as it would be for a larger firm with hundreds of employees. Still, that meant gearing up for the change and setting up a system that involved technology changes.
“We seek results. As long as client satisfaction is high, we don’t have any issues,” she said. “Butts in seats—I’m not a believer in that. If you trust people and treat them fairly and pay them a fair wage for a reasonable amount of work, it’s a win-win.
“This has been a global change,” Crummack said about remote work. “It just happens to work extremely well in our business model.”
Crummack points out the importance of work/life
balance and giving employees the flexibility they need to manage their lives without feeling guilty–and driving less is part of that. It reduces stress and potentially health issues related to that.
For Paul Collins, CAMEx, CCAM, employee commutes is also something he considers. The CEO of Collins Management, ACMC said the reason he has multiple offices–in Hercules, Walnut Creek and Brentwood–is to keep commuting times down to a minimum.
“We’ve done a lot as far as decreasing the amount of commute times,” he said, “including having a hybrid model where a percent of time is working from home. The managers and assistant managers are able to work from home about half the time.”
Collins said he values the teamwork that happens in person, which is why he hasn’t gone 100 percent remote.
“We don’t want to lose the team aspect,” he said. “They need to interact and you need to have the ability to lean on colleagues for training and support and flow of information. But at same time, we recognize times have changed and if you are too strict on the work schedule, how the managers work, to me it’s hard to retain talent.”
Onsite general managers noted that remote work isn’t an option for their staff.
DATA MATTERS, SO DOES PAY
When it comes to determining compensation, executives point to the importance of data in driving those decisions. They look for industry reports like the one published by CACM. They consult with peers and colleagues. They look for national data. And some look for local data as well.
“I look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website,” said Collins. “They have the rate of inflation for the Bay Area and I go by that. During budget season, I say, ‘Hey, this is the CPI (Consumer Price Index) for the Bay Area and this is the increase we will be asking for. We do our increases in line with CPI and the managers get paid on a commission structure. The other employees, like administrative or accounting, I give them a CPI increase every year.”
Collins said it’s important to keep compensation in pace with inflation because otherwise, employees essentially get a pay cut as cost of living goes up and are likely to “jump ship” for another better-paying job.
Marla Miller, CCAM, General Manager of Niguel Shores Community Association in Dana Point, says her HR committee looks at various data
MEAN SALARIES BY POSITION (2021)
CEO/President/Owner
CFO/Controller
General Manager
Vice President
Human Resources
Director of Community Management
Assistant General Manager Community Association Manager
Property/Portfolio Manager Accounting
Assistant Community Manager
AA/Executive Assistant
$136,834 $132,054 $132,048 $129,761 $102,680 $85,467 $81,536 $73,091 $72,068 $63,250 $61,792 $53,290
points including surveys by CACM, CAI, CMIA and even city governments. Her community has a lot of architectural work and issues so she has an architectural manager on staff to deal strictly with compliance.
“We do a lot of research,” Miller said. “You sometimes have to look outside of the box or industry.”
“In my community, I think pay is the most important,” she added. “Currently, we’re looking at 6 percent budget and possibly a mid-year increase of another 3 percent, and workload has been a major consideration.” Miller said her association has a staff of 10 who service a nearly 1,000-unit community.
She says she re-evaluates job descriptions periodically and adjusts pay accordingly. Since many of her employees have long tenures, by adjusting their job roles, she’s able to provide a raise regularly. Otherwise, it’s easy to hit a salary cap on most titles.
92% 87% 81%
BENEFITS AVAILABLE
Employee Health Insurance
Employee Dental Insurance
Employee Vision Coverage
Employee Life Insurance
Dependent Dental Insurance
61% 51% 47% 38% 31% 28% 7%
Dependent Vision
Long-term Disability Insurance
Short-term Disability Insurance Dependent LIfe Insurance
Long-term Care Insurance Accident
Auto Insurance
OTHER BENEFITS AVAILABLE
CACM specific education
Professional Dues/Fees
Cell phone/tablet/laptop
Other education reimbursement
Travel/expense account
Vehicle lease/allowance
“But there’s a strong possibility we will propose both–a cost of living increase across the board and a merit pool as well, which is substantially more than what the community has experienced in the past,” Chudy said.
Continues on page 28
12% 12%
Meal allowance Fitness center Housing
cacm.org | Vision Fall 2022 27 Chudy of Woodbridge Village Association agrees. He said compensation has always been important, but now even more. He says raises are provided from a merit pool–and that pool of money is distributed to staff as fairly as possible based on performance.
ANNUAL SALARIES BY REGION (2021)*
FLEXIBILITY, TRAINING & OTHER PERKS
All executives interviewed for this article noted that flexibility is crucial for retention and hiring of staff. Flexibility in terms of hourly schedule, remote work, number of communities managed and types, and paid time off.
Providing training and support also goes a long way toward keeping stress and burnout–especially for community managers–at bay. Often, leaders say they step in when their support is needed, like vetting accounts and limiting bad client behavior or addressing it before it becomes a bigger problem. Sometimes, that means getting rid of a client rather than losing a valuable employee.
“People think that [community] management is the game, but it’s not, it’s the talent,” Collins said. “Our focus will be recruitment and retention of the best and brightest and that will be the mission of my company. As a side benefit, we should have happy clients.”
To lighten the load for his community managers, Collins has added project managers to his payroll. Coupled with technology, these tactics have improved efficiency.
Company birthday parties, holiday lunches, happy hours, holiday bonuses–activities to increase the fun and engagement–help build community and loyalty while showing appreciation.Find ways to honor and recognize your employees for a job well done and reap the rewards of a loyal and tenured crew.
Elevate your access control with LiftMaster’s Smart Video Intercom-M
We are excited to announce our line of Smart Video Intercoms is expanding. Powered by myQ, LiftMaster’s award winning Smart Video Intercom-M is a cloud-based, scalable access solution with video monitoring capabilities ideal for medium size multi-family properties. Designed with both property managers and residents in mind, this system helps streamline the management of entrances and provides clear visuals for safety and convenience.
For more information, visit myQ.com/Community
Lynette Bertrand, Director of Marketing and Communications, CACM myQ® Community Web platform for community managers myQ® Community Mobile app for residents Smart Video Intercomachieving professional excellence
Congratulations Managers
It is with great pride that we recognize managers who have taken the next step in their professional career by pursuing advanced educational opportunities. Congratulations to our newest Certified Community Association Managers (CCAM), CAFM, and Specialty Certificate recipients for the period of March 27, 2022 through September 8, 2022.
NEW CCAM s
David Alva, CCAM
Karen S. Canone, CCAM
Jeff Caponera, CCAM
David Cerruti, CCAM
Kevin Chu, CCAM
Cesar Cortez, CCAM
Tiffany Cribbs, CCAM
Aontae A. Davis, CCAM
Mindy Dent, CCAM
Marrichrist Evangelista, CCAM
Emiley M. Flores, CCAM
Andrea G. Godoy, CCAM
Coryn Henderson, CCAM
Chontel S. Hernandez, CCAM
Richard Hobbs, CCAM
Charles Humphrey, CCAM
Danielle A. Irving, CCAM
Yadira Jaime, CCAM
Lynn A. Jensen, CCAM
Skyler D. Jewell, CCAM
Yasmine S. Johnson, CCAM
Genesee H. Jordan, CCAM
Hollis R. Liebe, CCAM
Dawn A. Livingston, CCAM
Bryant Marin, CCAM
Brittany Martinez, CCAM
Jade Mawhinney, CCAM Krista McConnell, CCAM
Raymond A. Melero, CCAM
David Mickaelian, CCAM Richard Millican, CCAM
Mandy J. Munoz, CCAM
Kylia Neal, CCAM
Tina Nelson, CCAM
Mele V. Ofa, CCAM
Adrian Rivas, CCAM
Duane Rohrbaugh, CCAM
Joe Romero, CCAM
Veronica Salgado, CCAM
Joseph E. Sheerin, CCAM
Laura C. Stevens, CCAM
Marcella Tagaban, CCAM
Jennifer B. Tavares, CCAM Meghan Torres, CCAM Jennifer L. Turriciano, CCAM
Jessica L. Vogt, CCAM
Joey A. Williams, CCAM
Pam Winslow, CCAM
Jonathan Wolkowicz, CCAM
NEW CAFM
Christina French, CCAM-LS, CAFM
Katherine Meyer, CAFM
Sam D. Tcharkhutian, CAFM
SPECIALTY CERTIFICATES
HIGH RISE
Daniel S. Carvo, CCAM-HR
LARGE SCALE
George Ross, CCAM-LS
NEW DEVELOPMENT
Al Cui, CCAM-HR.ND
Melissa A. Hajostek, CCAM-PM.LS.ND
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Winnie Wang, CCAM-PM
Heather Panek, CCAM-PM
Lori Lacher, CCAM-PM
serving your communities
New Industry Partner Members
CACM members further their success in the industry and benefit by partnering with colleagues to share new ideas and best practices. Join us in welcoming these new members from the second quarter of 2022 (April 1 – June 30.)
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
BINGOS BBQ Glory Menifee | (800) 484-2038 www.bingosbbq.com
Degenkolb Engineers San Diego | (619) 515-0299 www.degenkolb.com
EEE Advisor Los Angeles | (805) 312-8513 www.eeeadvisor.com
Jim Murray Roofing, Inc. Orange | (714) 744-4476 www.jimmurrayroofing.com
K & D Landscaping, Inc.
Watsonville | (831) 728-4018 www.kndlandscaping.com
King Roofing
Santa Ana | (714) 882-0416 kingroofingca.com
Nano Banc Irvine | (949) 560-0212 http://nanobanc.com/
Quickel Paving
Laguna Hills | (949) 582-1515 www.quickelpaving.com
Rentokil Oviedo, FL | (251) 533-7336 www.rentokil.com/
Splash Plumbing Anaheim | (714) 688-0804 www.splashplumbing.com
VERT Environmental San Diego | (619) 888-6210 www.vertenviro.com
INDUSTRY PARTNER PLUS
Blackstone Construction Services, Inc. (BCS) Danville | (925) 553-7443 www.bcsincsolutions.com
Elite Maintenance and Tree Services Clovis | (661) 201-0586 emtscorp.com
Hub International Insurance Services Monterey | (831) 295-1285 www.hubinternational.com
Premier Choice Restoration & Building Services San Diego | (619) 259-0304 www.premierchoicesandiego.com
Pro Star Mechanical Services Anaheim | (714) 999-1177 www.prostarmechanical.com
San Diego Roof Doctor San Marcos | (760) 471-7131 www.sandiegoroofdoctor.com
Meet Natasha Fierro:
Director of NorCal Region for CACM
We are excited to introduce you to Natasha Fierro, CACM’s newest team member and Director of the NorCal market. In this newly developed role due to CACM’s expansion, Natasha will work with the CACM team to assist our existing and prospective NorCal members with their educational and certification goals, localized events and networking opportunities.
Like many, Natasha’s start in the industry was not intentional. “It kind of fell on my lap,” she said. “Before that I was in storage management. I saw the opportunity at one of the national firms and thought I would give it a try.”
She took an assistant community manager position, where not even a year later she was asked to assume more responsibility as a community manager.
“I liked that I was always learning,” she recalled. “Right away I was interested in learning as much as I can about the industry. I love that I was doing something different all the time.”
Natasha moved up quickly at the company in the following years, becoming Regional Director and managing large scale and more complex communities as well as overseeing managers and their accounts. In that role she supported managers and ensured they were receiving the education they needed as well as communicating with their boards to establish a good relationship between the two.
Working with managers is what Natasha really enjoys and is excited to continue to do now at CACM.
“I’m super excited because I feel like what I’m going to be doing is what I loved about what I was doing before. I love working with managers and being supportive of them and their education and certification,” she said. “I want to help educate folks who don’t know about CACM. The more they know about us, our advocacy focused on managers and management companies, and our certifications and continuing education, they will want to be part of it.”
She says that one of the biggest takeaways no matter what position you have is to communicate–often.
“You have to find different ways to connect and as much as possible. Maybe that’s not just an email or phone call but in person. You never want to be surprised by a manager saying they want to leave or a board who wants to give notice. You always want to be having those check-ins and know what’s going on. You want to have an understanding for how everybody’s feeling.”
Natasha, who’s married and has a teenage son, enjoys sailing and recently she and her husband became certified by the American Sailing Association. In addition to being out on the water, she loves spending time outdoors with her family hiking, backpacking and camping. She’s also an avid sewer highly skilled at crafting costumes for special events.
Natasha works out of CACM’s newest office in Pleasanton and can be reached at nfierro@cacm.org or (925) 217-0089.
CACM Celebrates NorCal Expansion
In August, CACM officially expanded into Northern California, opening a local office in Pleasanton and hiring a dedicated NorCal Director, Natasha Fierro, to actively engage with CACM members and potential members in the region. Forty two percent of CACM members are based in Northern California.
“While we have served our managers, management firms, and industry partners in NorCal for many years, it’s long overdue to have a physical presence there,” said Tom Freeley, CAMEx, CCAM, President and CEO of CACM. “Natasha will help open doors to community colleges for our certification courses, develop local events, help our managers coordinate educational classes, and basically, be the face of CACM in NorCal.”
To celebrate the expansion, CACM invited managers to gatherings at Topgolf in San Jose, Da Boccery in East Bay, La Rosa Tequileria in Santa Rosa and The Bank in Sacramento.
CONQUERING CALIFORNIA
Nearly 900 miles from point to point and with nearly 40 million residents, our great state is unlike any other. At this year’s event we celebrate California’s greatest treasures, from its beaches and mountains to its central valley farmland, Mojave Desert and the center of the Hollywood entertainment industry.
Join us at the 2023 Law Seminar and Expo where you will:
• Connect with industry professionals that provide services and legal insights in the CID industry
• Collaborate with other community managers who face similar challenges
• Celebrate your peers’ achievements at our annual Vision Awards
• Contribute to conversations that promote the growth of our industry
WHY ATTEND
1. Build Your Career
The strategies you learn at the CACM Law Seminar will enhance your professional skills and help you to successfully guide your communities.
2. Connections With Colleagues & Mentors
If catching up with colleagues and mentors is on your high list of priorities, then you can look forward to the largest gathering of California community management professionals at the Law Seminar. Expand your professional network and build powerful relationships.
3. Geographic-specific content
CACM’s Education team has pulled together California’s best and brightest to lead this year’s educational sessions. Although content is relevant for the entire state of California, these experts will focus their teachings on either the Northern California or Southern California regions making the conversations unique to the area in which you serve communities.
4. Earn up to 12 CEUs*
Attend the Law Seminar & Expo and receive 8 CEUs for recertification. Take one of our two Ethics courses being offered the day before the Law Seminars to earn an additional 4 CEUs.
CACM EXPO HALL
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Like in previous years, we will offer our Ethics Courses the day prior to the Law Seminar including:
• Advanced Ethics
• Ethics Mastery
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Here’s a look at the sessions at our two-day event include:
• When Crime Comes to Your Community
• Back to Basics: Association Committees
• Fair Housing Pitfalls: How to Avoid Lawsuits
• Is it Harassment? Common Types and Taking Action
• Mental Health and HOAs
• When Neighbors Aren’t So Neighborly
• For the Record
• Special Assessments: It’s All About Communication
• Elections and Virtual Meetings: What’s New?
• Balconies: Beyond the Inspection
• Manager Roundtable
• The Secret of My Success
• New Case Law
Marvel at all that California has to offer – from its beautiful beaches and surf culture, to its wine country and movie and theatre backdrop, to its world renown state and national parks – as you walk the Expo Hall floor and discover California’s leading industry partners. The Golden State is unique and the Expo will highlight its many treasures. CACM is proud to continue our leadership role hosting the largest Expo for the California community management industry that features a vast array of exhibits, all while networking with the “who’s who” of the industry.
Special Assessments Are Here
By Scott SwintonWould the Roman Emperors have ruled differently if they had known that the Visigoths were scheduled to rush in from the east before the end of the first century? Probably. A retrospective look at history is patently unfair, but it is worth imagining how they might have tweaked their governing model and curtailed their world domination tour if the sacking of Rome had been somewhere in their imagination.
The same fairness must be applied to the multifamily reconstruction crisis playing out in so many HOAs across California. It seems like every condo and townhome community is being faced with unprecedented and unforeseen repair bills. Many homeowners are facing special assessments higher than what they would want to pay for a new car.
But, just as it is naïve to critique the Caesars for ruling poorly, it is also unfair to unduly critique the last generation of builders, board members, and owners for the current reconstruction woes experienced by so many California HOAs.
Why? At the inception of the CID explosion, there were poignant pressures and innovations that negatively affected the construction of the 1960s - 1980s multifamily structures:
Sociological (Increased demand for affordable housing with the accompanying haste and graft)
Political (Clean Air and Clean Water legislation that fundamentally changed what products and process could NO LONGER be utilized in housing developments)
Industrial (Introduction of inexpensive tube-applied caulks and plywood siding)
TIME TO HAVE THOSE HARD CONVERSATIONS AND FIND SOLUTIONS FOR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.
Too often those pressures encouraged designers to improvise or value-engineer in their designs and nudged builders and city building departments toward lax methods and oversight. Not only that but rot and pest resistant oldgrowth lumber was harder to find, power tools were increasing production speed, and cheap caulk in a tube was becoming the alternative to craftsmanship and accuracy.
With that historical thumbnail in mind, remember that the HOA industry was infant in the 60s and 70s. Davis Sterling didn’t coalesce until the mid-80s. Reserve funding and building maintenance that should have begun immediately was naively assumed unimportant if necessary at all.
There were more exciting ways to spend money, or as often, dues were kept low and no money spent at all. Reserves for these “unnecessary” maintenance issues were of course postponed if not ignored. Monthly assessments and savings accounts were kept low for a generation, and all the while, a bigger issue was growing behind the thin paint and veneers.
Today, 15% inflation is being discussed in the news and condominiums are levying $30k, $60k, and $90k per door special assessments to catch up with decades of deferred maintenance.
Possibly, “deferred maintenance” is more derogatory than is fair. Much of what is being discovered wouldn’t have been prevented with any amount of maintenance. The rot and decay was inevitable.
Extensive repairs are needed in thousands of communities, and the path forward isn’t obvious or easy for many. The lucky ones saw the warning signs and launched repair projects in the last decade. Meanwhile, those who missed the COVID cut-off are faced with construction costs easily 25% higher than they would have been.
The lesson: delay is never going to be a wise strategy. Entropy and inflation are the allies of delay in their own group of mischief. Squarely facing and funding the “50-year-problem” that plagues so many communities today is the only way to get out in front.
The freight train of entropy and inflation has been rolling for 50 years and is accelerating. Now is the time to address the problems. Sitting around and casting blame may be cathartic, but funding a project simply won’t be easier next year. The project will be larger and the cost higher.
I see some boards catching on. They are making the hard decisions. It’s rough, but they are doing the hard work of keeping their property values up. I see the light coming on for others. The conversations are shifting away from why and moving toward how.
It’s naïve to think the problem will go away, but it’s also naïve to lose hope and assume the worst is unavoidable. The solution requires some hard conversations with the customer. It also requires a willingness as a vendor, manager, or management company to speak truth with confidence.
Often, the right step is to put your foot down and say, “No, I can’t assist you in settling for a path that will only twist the dial a little harder on the time bomb. I can’t abet loading this liability onto the unassuming next generation.”
The problem has been enroute for 50 years. It’s pulling into the station right now, and it’s up to the industry professionals of today to face the problem with resolve and creativity.
Help your boards understand the current conditions and the historical reasons for them. Call the experts to your defense and then insist on positive forward motion from your boards. It’s their time to make a difference in their community in a big way. History is watching.
Scott Swinton is the General Contractor and Certified Construction Manager at Unlimited Property Services, Inc.
Now is the time to address the problems. Sitting around and casting blame may be cathartic, but funding a project simply won’t be easier next year. The project will be larger and the cost higher.
During the unbelievably long rollercoaster ride of the last few years, many association management companies are facing challenges that haven’t been seen since the Great Recession. Are we heading there again? Quite possibly!
Staff left in droves during the more recent Great Resignation for higher salaries, meatier benefits, and more flexibility in their schedules. Clients became more fearful and often more demanding, and we are left with large voids to fill within the industry.
Can we rise above the colloquial terms of the times and face the real issues of nauseum on this ride? Grab your Dramamine!
Potential Upsides to a Pending Recession
By Jessica Melvin, CCAMWHO ARE YOU?
Most of us fell into this by complete accident or brute force and decided we enjoyed making order from chaos. At the very least, we can all admit that we enjoy the really funny stories to tell at parties. That being said, according to Zippia.com the average age for an association manager is 45.
Further breaking down the demographics shows that the industry is female dominated at 61% with a median salary of $51K for women and $56K for men (or more accurately women earn 92 cents per 1 dollar a man earns). Sixty eight percent of our field nationwide is comprised of Caucasians, 17% for Latino, 8.2% for African American, 4.7% for Asians, and the remaining numbers being listed as American Indian or unknown.
It seems there is a large imbalance of diversity in the industry that can easily be rectified. Perhaps engaging younger workers or seasoned professionals in different regions or locales could help even the industry and bring the much needed newcomers with fresh perspectives into the HOA industry.
WHERE DID YOU GO?
The office has changed a lot lately, hasn’t it?
People are still remote – if not all the time, partially. Some people just disappeared. Where did they go?
With a bustling economy and a shortage of labor, many of our weathered friends left to work with industry partners like vendors and law firms. Some went to other management companies for those previously mentioned perks, and some left our industry entirely. As for the folks comprising the upper end of the median age for our industry, they retired.
There is a lot of seasoned talent walking out the door for higher wages with a lot less stress or finally reaching the golden age of retirement. Less and less people are coming behind them to fill their positions.
HOA management seems more palatable when times are tough but struggles to entice when the economy is soaring. The unique situation we are all in now has more to do with the old guard retiring and already trained younger employees leaving for better paying options.
Now is the time for the industry to take stock of how it structures fees and base contract charges, so manager and support staff salaries can be more in line with retention efforts. And
maybe one day, we won’t be an emergency occupation and instead become a coveted one.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
So, you have large gaps where your staff have retired, gone off to be the legal assistant to your favorite attorney, or is now selling service contracts for your largest landscaper. Resumes to fill these gaps are few and far in between and often are from candidates who can spell HOA but don’t really have direct experience in the field. What do you do now?
First and foremost, assess how much training and certifying an individual costs. This includes assessing the buy in with technology, education and licensing, hours for senior level staff to perform one on one training, and the cost to current clients when those senior level employees are spending time elsewhere.
If you decide to invest in an employee, creating flexibility, upward growth plans, and an adequate (or even robust) support system is a must. New players in the HOA game need more than a laptop and training videos. Accountants, customer service reps, senior managers, and executive staff should all be available to provide assistance and historical reference to your new managers.
Consider adopting a buddy system where a seasoned veteran of your company is in regular contact with the new manager as a direct guide and liaison to your unique company culture. Organizing training into easy to consume modules and continuing education throughout their tenure is also a great way to keep new employees engaged and supported.
TRIMMING THE FAT OR ADDING VALUE?
Some companies have started to realize they are bloated with excessive employees and created positions. Recently, the larger tech firms are trimming their ranks, and this trickle effect of layoffs is coming down the track.
The biggest benefit to association management is the fact it is (for the most part) recession proof. Homeowners must pay their assessments, and boards must govern; this means we must manage them and assist in that governance. Because of this fact, related industry professionals often turn to our sector when the going gets tough.
Real estate agents, escrow coordinators, loan officers, and the like flock to the much safer association management industry. This can
be a great boon for some companies, but it also means when the pendulum swings back to a buzzing economy, they will be the first to leave for more cash green pastures.
Are these transitional economic players a good addition to the HOA game? That depends on your individual company composition and how much you need managers or support staff. If you do find yourself adding these professionals to your roster, do everyone a great favor and thoroughly train them. Even one more real estate agent who understands HOAs is invaluable.
Jessica L. Melvin, CCAM, is the Portfolio Community Manager for The Management Trust, Nor-Cal division, serving Yolo, Solano, and Contra Costa counties since 2016.
The world is getting more digital. While we’re not at WALL-E levels yet, it’s also not as humorous as it once was. Every week we get a notification telling us how much screen time we used last week and we cringe.
While all of this connectivity is great, it also means that when someone gets into your digital life, they have access to everything if you’re not careful. The greatest danger is no longer accepting that friend request from a high school alum that has an exciting new opportunity for you.
You may think that data security and private networks are for Fortune 500 companies and banks, but the truth of it is that in the HOA industry, most of us have access to millions of dollars of client funds that can be vulnerable if we are hacked.
While our industry isn’t in the crosshairs yet, I predict that in the next five years, we will get on the radar of some aggressive groups who realize how much access
an HOA management company really has. So without aiming for a degree in internet security, here are 10 things that you can do in 10 minutes or less to make you a much less vulnerable target:
1. USE A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE VPN LIKE NORD OR CYBERGHOST.
Basically, a VPN is private network formed between your computer and the recipient site that hides the data packets that are being sent. Once you are connected to a VPN, it changes your IP Address to a new one which usually is a different location from where you are currently at.
This makes it almost impossible for anyone, even for people that are connected through the same network to intrude and use your personal data. Nord or Cyberghost go for about $5 per month. If you use it for 10 years, you’ll spend around $600. Far less than a single fraudulent spree by hackers with your bank info.
2. USE A TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATOR LIKE AUTHY FOR EVERYTHING THAT OFFERS 2FA (AND MOST DO).
Two-Step Verification is an added layer of protection whenever you access your account online. We’ve all gotten the prompts and texts when logging on to our banks, but you can add this to most programs.
Using a program like Authy or Google Authenticator generates a random code every 30 seconds that needs to be entered for new logins. Statistics show that about 90% of passwords can be cracked in less than 12 hours. Adding a 2FA backup means exponentially increasing the strength of your systems.
So if you use it for 10 years, it will cost you $360. Compare that with a single unauthorized purchase or ACH transfer.
4. KEEP YOUR ANTIVIRUS UP TO DATE. Yes, it’s annoying, and yes, you can do it tomorrow, but the truth is that Malware is not a static threat. Every day, there are new attacks and new defenses. Simply updating your McAfee or Norton when prompted will protect you from a lot of threats.
5. BACKUP YOUR DATA EVERY 30 DAYS. There are a lot of programs that will automatically back up your data storage for you on a regular basis. This can limit ransomware from being effective and even reduce the chance of accidentally deleting a file that you will need later.
6. DON’T USE PUBLIC NETWORKS IN PLACES LIKE AIRPORTS/CAFES.
While 5G has reduced the number of deadzones, we’ve all been tempted to logon to “Guest Wifi” or “Anytown Public Network.” At the risk of breaking out the tinfoil, you don’t want to use those networks unless you are positive that they are secure.
A startling number of people send secure information on these networks, not realizing that hackers have setup an “Evil Twin Hotspot” (Yes, that’s what they’re called) and are siphoning information from them. Set up your phone as a mobile hotspot or ask someone on staff what the correct network is.
7. DON’T OVERSHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
Social media is the single greatest threat to data security today. Except in this instance, you’re freely giving away information to people. First pet’s name? Let’s scroll through your history. First job? Let’s create a post asking people for their first job. Good time to attack your work system? Let’s see when you’re checked in to a concert or a ball game.
Most email programs allow you to mask your outgoing domain, so it appears to be coming from the correct sender. But an easy way to solve this is never click on the links contained in the email. If it’s coming from Chase, go to your browser and type in Chase.com. This prevents people from getting your logins when you access their fake site.
9. USE DIFFERENT EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS.
Another simple way to protect yourself is to partition your access between email accounts. Have several different emails with varying access levels.
For example, I have one email that is only for free signups, inquiries, filling out forms, etc. If someone hacks that account, all they’re getting is a lifetime of spam. I have another for family stuff like Amazon, Shared Calendar, my kids school newsletters, etc. I have one that is only for bank logins, and I only access that from my office computer or laptop, never from my phone, iPad, and never on an unsecure network.
Doing this ensures that if someone hacks into one email, they don’t get access to everything.
10. TURN OFF THE “SAVE PASSWORD” FEATURE ON BROWSERS (GOOGLE CHROME, SAFARI, ETC.).
This just takes a second. On the list of difficult to hack, public browsers are towards the bottom. Don’t put all of your eggs in their basket. Turn off the save password feature and move them into something more secure like Lastpass or 1pass.
While no system is going to make you 100% impenetrable, these steps will drastically increase your security. Keep in mind that most hackers are lazy; they buy lists of exposed password and cross reference them against every site.
Sadly, the three most common passwords are still 123456, 123456789, and qwerty. Most people don’t want to spend the mental energy to think of and remember new passwords, so we end up using the same 3-4 passwords for everything.
This is one of the most dangerous practices that needs to be changed, because when you sign up for a free trial of that Instagram filter software, that password will get sold or hacked easily. Hackers will then use your login email and attempt to log into the 500 most popular sites with that email and password combination. Sadly this works a lot more than you would think.
Changing this doesn’t need to be difficult. Install a password manager that has a Chrome Extension. My team uses Lastpass which not only generates 16 character random passwords but can also autofill your passwords in Chrome, Safari, or your phone apps. It will also tell you if you’ve reused these passwords on other sites. Again, this is $3 per month.
Keep in mind that everything you put on the internet is there for the entire world to see and is there forever. Even if you delete the post, someone can use the Wayback Machine to look at old archives.
I’m not advocating shutting everything down (though some of you could use time limits), but change your security settings to Friends or Friends of Friends and stop filling out surveys that are designed to gather your information. Don’t underestimate the data mining capabilities of hackers. It is a multibillion dollar industry.
8. BEWARE OF CLICKING LINKS AND DOWNLOADING ATTACHMENTS.
Phishing emails have been around long enough that most people can spot the signs: poor grammar, mismatched URL and email domains, and vague statements with consequences if you don’t act immediately.
The odds of a Hollywood-esque group of hackers in a dark room with 90s grunge music playing in the background, specifically targeting you, are very small. So lock down the basics, and the odds of you being hacked are greatly reduced.
Rob Buffington is the Owner of East West Building Works and President of Gordian Staffing, both of which are located in San Jose.
3. USE A PASSWORD MANAGER WITH A RANDOM PASSWORD EXTENSION LIKE LASTPASS TO VARY YOUR PASSWORDS.
Ask homeowners or association managers about crime, and they’ll likely say that it is on the rise. It doesn’t matter if it’s a gated community, highrise, or open neighborhood with easy access. According to Statista, property crimes are almost 5 times more likely to occur than violent crimes. Larceny and burglary are the most common among these crimes, but associations and their residents deal with other misdemeanors such as trespassing and petty/package theft.
Increasing homelessness, although not the sole cause, creates desperation for those who otherwise would not consider criminal behavior. Nearly one-third of the U.S. homeless population lives in California.
FIGHTING CRIME IN YOUR COMMUNITY
By Todd Greisen, CCAMEven when caught, low-level crimes often go unpunished. Prosecutors are not likely to pursue these crimes, so law enforcement may not even make arrests in these cases. The result is that associations carry more of the burden of crime enforcement, and they should, because case law indicates to take action to protect residents to the best of their abilities. Boards should consider physical improvements to security and use civil authority given to them to enforce rules that affect resident safety when possible.
It’s worth the cost to hire security consultants that can help quantify an association’s needs and identify its weak points. They can produce detailed reports of crimes within the area affecting residents and specific recommendations to improve security.
These may include:
Even gated communities can have weak points in fencing or walls that can be climbed over or penetrated by determined criminals. Thorned-bougainvillea or rose bushes can be placed in these areas to deter potential intruders. In other areas, a hedge row may invite criminals by providing hiding spots. Consider low-level or less-dense alternatives.
LIGHTING
A drive around the building or neighborhood at night looking for dark or poorly lit areas will help identify needed light upgrades. Are all the parking areas well-lit? Modern LED and halogen technology helps keep the cost of electric expense lower for these improvements.
PRIVATE SECURITY
Is unarmed security sufficient for your needs? Neighborhoods where law enforcement response may be slow or limited in other ways, may require a stronger security presence.
ENFORCEMENT
As mentioned before, civil recourse that may already be in your CC&Rs can be a powerful tool to help maintain security for residents. This could be the case when residents and/or their guests are involved in minor crime that affects the quality of life for other homeowners. For example, a resident hosts a party from where an intoxicated guest drives into a parked car of a nearby home – there’s property damage that the HOA, with enough evidence, can help the victim owner recover damages.
PARKING CONTROLS
Speaking of parked cars, are there enough controls in place to know what and where vehicles belong or don’t belong? Some residents find parking controls, such as parking permits, an annoyance. When explained that the controls are for their safety, it can help with understanding the need. With good controls in place, suspicious vehicles parked on property in violation can mitigate potential HOA crime.
SECURITY CAMERAS
Do you have architectural modification policies in place for resident-installed cameras? In addition to doorbell cameras often installed by homeowners, what common areas need coverage? How are they monitored? High-end camera systems have monitoring algorithms that can alarm unusual behaviors or events. Does local law enforcement have camera access?
Todd Greisen, CCAM, is the General Manager of Contra Loma Estates in Antioch, California.HOW DO WE STOP THE “GREAT RESIGNATION?”
BY TALKING ABOUT THE “GREAT RETENTION” By Caroline McCormick, CAMEx, CCAMToday more than ever, the association management industry faces growing pressures that will further tax its capabilities to meet growing consumer demands. Significant staffing shortages are one of the overarching factors.
Overcoming this challenge will require that leaders of association management organizations seek creative strategies to improve and maintain high employee morale to retain employees as a key factor in the pursuit of success.
The behavior of individuals employed by an organization is more influenced from the top down than from the bottom up. There is no single factor that consistently explains good or poor morale. Morale may be thought of as a group phenomenon but an individual matter. Group morale depends on the morale of everyone in a group.
To improve the morale of a group, “throw away your clipboard and whistle,” said Melissa Hajostek,
CCAM-PM-LS.ND, Founder of Foundation Community Management, Inc. “Check in with fun and friendly support vs micromanagement and scorekeeping. That is the difference between a supporting supervisor and your manager feeling a thumb on their head.”
Regular check-ins are key, especially in a post COVID remote or hybrid work environment. Hajostek said, “Meet on a one-to-one basis to review manager’s workflow, their work/personal life balance, identify challenges, and brainstorm solutions together. This is a great time to set small and achievable goals.”
The morale of everyone in the group must be improved, which is best achieved through the personal missionary work of the manager referred to as servant-leadership by Robert K. Greenleaf.
Greenleaf’s teachings indicate the servant-leader is servant first, after which a conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The servant-leader ensures
that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.
Rikki Richter, CCAM, of The Management Trust, who manages a staff of nine onsite at Gold River, CA says that “COVID brought us closer as a team. We leaned in to lend a hand when running errands and had a daily team huddle, specifically excluding work issues, just to connect and touch base to speak about issues not related to work.”
Morale can be the fuel that drives an organization forward, or the fuel that feeds the fires of employee discontent, inferior performance, and absenteeism. Pay attention to what needs attention. It grows. Give attention to the goodness in your company. Pay attention to the negativity as well. As clients become more unreasonable, to separate ourselves from the drama and negativity, it’s important to celebrate team members when they manage a difficult situation, according to Richter.
Morale or the lack of it is dependent upon meaningful, productive, and fulfilling relationships between staff and management. Satisfied association managers and staff display visible signs that include cheerfulness, attentiveness to the needs of their clients, the willingness to go the “extra mile,” and a cheerful outlook to those that they encounter.
Lisa Triplett, VP at Bay Area Property Services, said “I feel that to get a tight responsive team, we need to connect authentically. Since in-person meetings have become less frequent, we have adapted by scheduling one-on-one time with staff via Zoom or the telephone. This avoids leaving remote staff feeling isolated which may lead to feeling undervalued.”
A perceived lack of leadership is the most often cited cause for low morale in the work environment. Leadership-related competencies that can contribute to morale issues in employees if lacking include: communicating vision, energizing staff, trust, loyalty, and developing teams. Leaders need to create a culture of trust in an organization.
Rolf Crocker, CAMEx, CCAM, Principal of OMNI Community Management, LLP, ACMC teaches servant-leadership in his weekly staff meetings. He connects with staff in a way that is meaningful and intentional, putting the spotlight on teams and celebrating their wins, highlighting best practices, sharing why people stay, and reading aloud compliments from vendors, peers, and clients.
Crocker says, “This inspires involvement and contribution.” Quoting John Maxwell, Crocker also says, “People won’t know how much you do now until you demonstrate how much you care. It is about the journey and the relationships.”
Crocker closes his weekly staff meetings by lightening the mood playing a classic song on the guitar. Highly effective leaders like Crocker communicate their vision widely and allow their messages to be discussed in person and at staff meetings.
Leaders must remain focused on ensuring that clients receive the best care possible, and employees remain motivated and enriched by their work. Accomplishing both can be a difficult and challenging task for any leader; however, leaders who take the time to understand what motivates one individual staff member to another can energize staff by recognizing “the little things.”
Celebrating accomplishments, often through inexpensive and simple measures, and increasing the frequency of interaction among team members brings a positivity that bleeds through to day-to-day operations.
In the busy and stressful environment of association management, the “Great Retention” can be sparked by re-engaging the hearts and minds of the modern workforce.
Leaders who shape their association management workforce with the adage, “whatever you give attention to grows,” will have employees that recognize the importance of their work and stay in touch with the service orientation that initially brought them to the association management field.
Caroline McCormick, CAMEx, CCAM, is the Internal Auditor of Client Services for OMNI Community Management LLC, ACMC and has been certified through CACM since 1993.
Celebrating accomplishments, often through inexpensive and simple measures, and increasing the frequency of interaction among team members brings a positivity that bleeds through to day-to-day operations.
SAFETY TIPS FOR A HIGH-RISE
By Hamlet Vazquez, MCAM-HR,Whether it’s a homeless person, trespasser, or simply a con artist going door to door selling fake memberships, access control in a high-rise environment is vital to the well-being of your residents.
In fact, most residents have come to expect “security” when living in a high-rise, particularly ones in a luxury high-rise. While we can’t guarantee the safety of our residents (and should make sure that they are aware of that), there are steps that we can take to help create a more secure environment.
Over the previous 16 years in managing high-rises, I obviously can’t say that I’ve seen it all, but I have seen a lot!
I’ve had the relatively mundane occurrence of a homeless man sneaking into a parking garage and climbing up 22 flights of stairs to find a quiet place to sleep for the night, two young kids conning their way past the front desk to sell what ended up being fake magazine subscriptions, and the much more regular occurrences of trespassers finding a way onto the property to check for unlocked vehicles and valuables in plain sight.
Through it all I have worked with diligent boards to help minimize all incidents alike. This article is here to help you be pro-active and get ahead of incidents before they occur. While every property is different, below are some potential ways that you can help make your community a safer one, from low-bar ideas that can be implemented today to ones that will take more planning, funding, and time.
REMIND YOUR RESIDENTS WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
It is good practice to remind your residents on a regular basis that they (not the association or management) are responsible for their own safety. Whether that is done via your regular communications or as part of your annual disclosure, this is a vital first step.
Reminders regarding being vigilant and reporting suspicious individuals and activities is a good place to start. Along with such, a good reminder to give is to make sure vehicles are locked and valuables are not in plain sight. While this is commonsensical, it is worth repeating on a regular basis.
ONE CALL TO NOTIFY THEM ALL
What do you do when you need to get a hold of ALL your residents quickly to report an emergency such as a trespasser? What about if you need to just contact that one stack due to a water backup only on certain floors?
There are various apps/software subscriptions out there where with one call you can reach all the residents or whatever subgroup of residents you choose to contact. This is an important tool for your association to have at its disposal.
VIRTUAL & PHYSICAL FENCES
If your association has walls that can be climbed, then, the more diligent trespasser will find a way to climb them. In that case, you may want to consider a “virtual” fence and/or a physical fence.
A “virtual” fence is one that has motion sensors that then notify your front desk and/or security to the activity. While this fence will not actually stop a trespasser, it will notify the onsite team of the presence of a possible trespasser. I have used such a solution to great effect.
In terms of the physical fence, it will, of course, stop the trespasser, but it can be unsightly and create a sense that your association is a prison. Not the best look.
CAMERAS ARE HELPFUL
Contrary to what you may have been told, there really is no expectation of privacy in an elevator. At least, not anymore. With the prevalence of cameras all over the place, it’s unlikely that you will receive too much push back with installing cameras in elevators, if you don’t already have them.
If your elevators are programmed to only allow residents to their particular floor, the obvious security flaw is that anyone can just stand in an elevator and wait for it to be called to a certain floor. With cameras in elevators, it’s easy to see when someone is in fact doing just that and steps can then be taken to escort the individual off the property.
SECURE THAT STAIRWELL
If your high-rise is anything like the ones that I have managed, once someone gets into your stairwell from the parking levels, they can climb up and reach any of the residential floors. Some fortunate buildings have stairwell doors that are locked from the stairwell, but most don’t since those doors would need to be tied into the fire control system of the building to release upon an alarm – an expensive add-on for the builder.
What you may be able to do is install a security door in the stairwell between the highest parking level and the residential floors – this door serves as a barrier, so if someone makes it into your parking garage and starts going up the stairs towards residential floors, they can’t go past this secure door.
The key to getting this door approved by the fire department is to have that one door tied into the fire control system to release upon a fire alarm, so instead of having to do that for all of your residential floors, you just do it for this one door.
HIGH-SPEED ROLL UP DOORS
Of course, you can also just make it more difficult for someone to simply walk into your parking garage as cars drive in and out. To do so, consider installing high-speed roll up doors. After we
installed them at one of my prior properties, the trespasser incidents dropped dramatically. Even trespassers who tried to run in were in awe at how quickly the vehicle entry doors closed, much to their chagrin.
As you can see, there are several ways to better secure your property, but some of these will take some planning and most importantly, buy-in from your boards. As the manager, your responsibility is not to guarantee the safety of your associations but to be ready to present potential ideas that can in fact help create a safer environment. Leave it up to your boards to make a sound business decision as to what is implemented to help achieve that end.
Hamlet Vazquez, MCAM-HR, is the General Manager at Wilshire Terrace Co-op in Los Angeles.As the manager, your responsibility is not to guarantee the safety of your associations but to be ready to present potential ideas that can in fact help create a safer environment.
Make Time To
By Andrew Hay, CAMEx, CCAM-ND.PMWe’ve all had those days where we feel on top of the world, able to accomplish all necessary tasks with efficiency and speed, and feeling more powerful than an EV Charging Station. What makes those days different than most days? What happens to us on our worst of days where it feels like we are walking up an endless sand dune, or our brain is foggy and slow to respond?
Chances are on our good days we’ve done one or multiple things lately to properly recharge our batteries and avoid the burnout that causes our performance to suffer. It is important that you take scheduled time for self-care to avoid the burnout that many managers face.
Picture a meter from 1-10 that represents the quality of life and work that you experience and perform. What is your output and how do you feel/act when at a 10? How about a 6? What about a 3?
Human beings do not operate like most of the things we use in our daily lives. Think about your car. Does it run the same as a quarter tank as it does right after you’ve filled it up? How about your cell phone? Until you get to 5% battery life, it continues to run at the same speed and capacity as it does when plugged in.
We simply do not work that way, so the need to recharge is even more important than it is to fill your gas tank or plug in your phone. So when was the last time you recharged your battery? How often does that happen, and where was your personal meter at when you took the time to recharge yourself?
If we’re being honest with ourselves, most people would agree that we don’t (or at least don’t consciously) make attempts to recharge our batteries regularly enough. How often should you recharge? Daily, weekly, monthly, periodically, or annually? The answer is all of the above.
Here are some ideas and tips to help keep your battery recharged and keep you performing at the best possible level:
Rest
This one is very straightforward on a daily basis. It’s important that you set a mandatory number of hours of sleep for yourself every day. Minimum for adults should be 7 hours, but 8 to 9 is ideal.
Since we live in a 24/7 world always connected to our email through our phones, there also must be dedicated time where you simply don’t respond to things for a minimum of 24 hours straight each week.
Release
Ask yourself, “How do I unpack the challenges that I’m facing within my daily workload?” Who do you confide in, and how often? This step is about releasing the stress built up over time by relying on others to simply listen to what you’ve been experiencing.
Find a friend or group of friends to hang out with monthly and let them know you’re going to be blowing off some steam by sharing what you’ve been experiencing at work or at home. Use the resources of CACM to attend an event each month, taking the time to get to know those who share the same struggles as you and can understand the challenges of the job.
Be Inspired
Get involved in activities that restore your spiritual side. Find inspiration from others while engaging in meaningful activities that help you understand your purpose goes beyond what you do for a living, and you will gain new perspective on whatever issues you are dealing with.
Have Fun
Yes, play! Whether it’s joining a softball team, going dancing on Saturday nights, or kayaking on a peaceful lake, you must make time for recreation and exercise both for your mental and physical health.
Relate
Often the most overlooked and difficult item to achieve is about putting others above yourself and finding a connection to friends and family that restores your energy and helps you to develop empathy for others.
As managers, we spend so much time helping our clients and the members of the community to the point where there doesn’t seem to be much left for those who are most important in our lives. Fostering strong friendships and family bonds by focusing on them often will add energy to your life and restore your meter.
Cycling Throughthe Motion
The only way to ensure you refill that meter and avoid burnout is to be present in your attempts to complete the above items. One must consciously remember to set aside time in your life daily, weekly, monthly, periodically, and annually to do each of these items to keep your battery at an optimal level and to avoid the burnout that has claimed so many of this industry’s stars.
As managers, we are very task oriented and actually blocking time in our calendar for these items is a recommended best practice, so other demands on our time do not take away from improving and reviving ourself to the highest level of performance and happiness.
Andrew Hay, CAMEx, CCAM-ND.PM, is the Chief Executive Officer of The Helsing Group, Inc.
EASY AS
SETTING BOUNDARIES TO AVOID SCOPE CREEP.
By Dean Jackson, CCAM-HRHave you ever had friends or family who really had trouble with boundaries? Maybe, dad read your diary. Maybe, your friend is a close talker and invades your personal space. Boundaries are important, and they sometimes need to be learned. When boundaries are not enforced they cease to be important, bad habits continue, and that close talker’s breath will continue to make you light headed.
Management companies have A, B, and C clients (you may define yours differently).
The A clients relax and trust their manager and management companies. There is an easy rapport and little drama. These clients allow the manager to keep the plates spinning, they take advice, and they are not afraid to raise assessments or spend money on necessary preventative maintenance. Approximately 20% of clients fall into this category, low maintenance, low volume of emails and phone calls, and coasting along the minimum of angst.
By far, the biggest percentage of clients fall into the B category. Approximately 70% of the associations and their boards of directors take effort to manage. These are the associations
that may have to be convinced to pave the parking lot or replace the roofs, but once they have all of the pertinent information, they are all in.
They fall into the “trust but verify” category. It takes patience and a bit of work to keep things running smoothly. Emails or phone calls are common but not overwhelming, and the manager has to be on top of providing information, answering questions, and being organized.
B associations are the bread and butter. They make the management company earn their bread, but in the end, they know that the company is on their side and out for their success.
The C clients are usually the ones with boundary issues. While this group can be as little as 10% of the client load, if the manager isn’t careful and prepared, they can take up 80% or more of their time.
These boards of directors are mistrustful, micromanaging, and miserly. They monopolize a manager’s time with after-hour phone calls and emails. Their mistrust can lead to antagonism against the manager and vendors to the point where vendors refuse to work with them.
A C association can have the manager repeatedly looking up information, providing explanations that have been provided before, and to the detriment of their community, they often refuse to spend money, and when they do, the pennies they pinch look like they were flattened on a train track. The emails are frequent, the phone calls are long, and the responses are expected immediately regardless of the hour.
So, how does a manager and a management company rehabilitate a C association or set up a scenario in which a client learns to respect boundaries and remain in the A or B categories? Paul Collins, CAMEx, CCAM, CEO of Collins Management, offered a few suggestions.
START WITH EDUCATION
Providing advance education for a board of directors so they understand their role, the role of the management company, and the role of the manager is very important. To this end, board orientations are important. Here they learn about their fiduciary duties from their attorney, insurance broker, manager, and others.
Organizations such as ECHO provide training to boards on how to conduct meetings, how to read and understand financials, how to understand insurance coverage, and how to work with management.
With the proper education, the board of directors will be able to understand that their duties to the association are more than just saving money and that their relationship with management should be a partnership built on trust.
ENFORCEMENT
The manager needs to be disciplined. They need to learn how to set boundaries and help the board to understand why. When a board is bending or breaking boundaries, the manager should be able to guide the board to a more productive alternative.
CREDIBILITY
The manager should build credibility with the board of directors. When a task comes up at a meeting and the manager can accomplish it easily, they should offer to do it and follow through.
If the manager follows through on tasks they say that they will do, the board should learn that the manager will take care of business without micromanagement, that after-hour email or call, and the need to question every decision or action.
THE EXECUTIVE AGENDA
This is simply a meeting agenda with wellconsidered thoughts and recommendations to the board after each agenda item. This enables the board to know that the manager is thinking and planning things out ahead of time and not on the fly. The manager is being proactive, providing guidance, and actively moving things forward.
BOARD DISCIPLINE
If the manager can help a board to prioritize and choose one or two projects to focus on rather than the 10 that they may want to do, it will help them to focus and make decisions, avoid confusion, and yield demonstrable results.
The board should also be disciplined about excessive communication and having multiple directors give directions to the manager. This can cause the manager to be confused about their tasks, and the board to be confused about what directions has been given to the manager.
BILLING
Billing keeps a board honest. If the board wants the manager to do a lot of things that are outside of the scope of the contract, they should see the effect on their invoice as soon as possible. The boards should know that if they are making these requests, there is a cost. The board has skin in the game.
The manager shouldn’t establish a precedent of not billing. This does them and any successor managers no favors. The management contract is the manager’s friend. It sets out clearly the items that are included and excluded. This is not an allyou-can-eat buffet. A manager should be diligent about working to the parameters of the contract and not be shy about billing for the items outside of those parameters.
What happens when a C client can’t or won’t improve their grades?
An assessment of the expenses associated with the management versus the profitability of the account should be reviewed.
• How much management time is it taking?
• How many board meetings do they have?
• Are there a lot of violation letters or architectural applications requiring a lot of back office support?
• Is there a lot of extra billing?
• Should their management fees be raised, or should they be cut loose to make way for a bigger earner?
Ultimately, losing one C client that can’t be rehabilitated may free the manager and staff to manage several more A or B clients, improve morale, and improve the bottom line.
Thanks to Paul Collins, CAMEx, CCAM, CEO of Collins Management, and Melanie Malik, CCAMPM, Director of Operations and Education at Collins Management for their contributions to this article.
Dean Jackson, CCAM-HR is Director of Project Management at Collins Management, ACMC19, 2022
Diego,Awards
Ladies Longest Driveive
Alyssa Dominguez
Men’s Longest Drive
Fernando Beccera
Putting Contest Winner
Daniel Farrar, FirstService Residential California, LLC
Highest Score Foursome
McKenzie Ryan & Mena Team: Gianna DiBacco, Nicole Soria, Esq., Mike Allison, Robert Muratalla, CCAM, of Professional Community Management
Lowest Score Foursome
Andre Landscape Team: Chico Pichardo, Fernando Beccera and Leanne Beck of The Prescott Companies
Tournament Last Place Daniel Farrar Tournament Winners Alyssa Dominguezmaintaining high standards
New Individual Manager & Management Company Members
CACM members further their success in the industry and benefit by partnering with colleagues to share new ideas and best practices. Please join us in welcoming these members from the second quarter of 2022 (April 1 – June 30.)
MANAGER ProPlus
Joshua Jones
MANAGER PRO
Lucille Aresco-Crowley Mark Arnold Hector Bacasehua Tammy Belstadt Justine Beltran Katie Besek Nicholas Bowers Erik Brewer Kellee Bryan Mark Carstensen Sheyla Castillo Arlette Chairez Dorothy Covington Amanda Dial Edwin Elias Yessenia Felix MaryBeth Forcier Stacey Garcia David Goldstein Paul Gomez Erika Gonzalez Lisa Graham, CCAM Dianne Greenstein Fabiola Guerrero Joseph Halter Austin Henderson Anne Hieber Leyva Janeth Hill Gail Hoy
Lee Jeffrey Jeana Jenkins
Skyler Jewell, CCAM Juanita Jimenez Brian Johnson Michelet Jordan Ginger Karl Vanessa Langevin Brianna Lopez Edward Louis Derek Lowe Patricia Magdaleno Jeannie Marcano Julianna Marckwordt Greg Martinez Erik McKay Rebekah Mendoza Corinne Meredith Richard Millican Robert Mireles Hafizullah Mohmand Paul Moylan Rodolfo Munguia Mandy Munoz, CCAM Katrina Norwood Roque Orozco Tina Parkin Monica Parra Thomas Parsons Claudia Patch Amy Pavlock Marcos Perez
Robert Preston Natalie Rojo, CCAM Cassie Rook Caroline Ross Daisy Sanchez Pamela Scotto Di Rinaldi Stephanie Sena Ashley Silva Margaret Smith Paige Thorgersen Cristina Trevino Cesar Vaca Crystal Valencia Molly Valles Nicole Villegas Joe Wagner Selena Williamson Jonathan Wolkowicz, CCAM Erica Wood Chungwei Yang Eric Zeivel, CCAM
Business Skyline Property Management
San Francisco | (415) 422-9390 skylinepmg.com
Course Calendarupcoming courses
Fourth Quarter 2022 Course Schedule
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Zoom
Session 1 of 6
October 4
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Session 2 of 6 October 5
1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Session 3 of 6 October 11
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
SPC430
Session 4 of 6 October 12
1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Session 5 of 6 October 18
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Session 6 of 6 October 19
1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
FOUNDATIONAL ETHICS FOR COMMUNITY MANAGERS Zoom CMM130
Session 1 of 2 November 3
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 2 of 2 November 3
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
BASICS OF ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT
Zoom
Session 1 of 8 CMM101 November 7
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 2 of 8 CMM101 November 8
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 5 of 8 CMM102 November 14
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 6 of 8 CMM102 November 15
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
EXPLAINING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Zoom FIN220
Session 1 of 3 November 29
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 1 of 3 December 6
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 2 of 3 December 13
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
ADVANCED ETHICS: LEADERSHIP & DECISION MAKING Zoom LDR500
Session 1 of 2 December 1 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Zoom LDR400
Session 1 of 3
October 13
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Session 1 of 3 October 20
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Session 2 of 3 October 27
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Session 3 of 8 CMM101 November 9
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 4 of 8 CMM101 November 10
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
ASSESSMENT COLLECTIONS
Zoom FIN210
Session 1 of 2
October 25
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 2 of 2 October 26
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
RISK MANAGEMENT
INS200 OR INS300 PRE-REQUISITE FOR THE COURSE. Zoom INS400
Session 1 of 2
November 17
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Session 2 of 2 November 18
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
CONFLICT RESOLUTION FOR COMMUNITY MANAGERS
Zoom CMM220
Session 1 of 2 November 1
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 2 of 2 November 2
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
CALIFORNIA LAW SERIES Zoom
Session 1 of 8 CMM121 November 8 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 2 of 8 CMM121 November 9
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 3 of 8 CMM122 November 15
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 4 of 8 CMM122 November 16 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 7 of 8 CMM102 November 16
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 8 of 8 CMM102 November 17
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Session 5 of 8 CMM123 November 29 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 6 of 8 CMM123 November 30
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 7 of 8 CMM124 December 6 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 8 of 8 CMM124 December 7 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 2 of 2 December 1
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
ETHICS MASTERY Zoom LDR550
Session 1 of 2 December 8 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 2 of 2 December 8 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
ENHANCE YOUR PROFESSIONAL PRESENCE Zoom CMM200
Session 1 of 2 December 13
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 2 of 2 December 14 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
FOUNDATIONAL ETHICS FOR COMMUNITY MANAGERS Zoom CMM130
Session 1 of 2 December 15
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Session 2 of 2 December 15
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Thank you to our sponsors for the second quarter of 2022 (April 1- June 30, 2022 ) for their generous contributions. The next time you encounter a CACM Sponsor, please join us in acknowledging the work and generosity of these supportive members.
A-1 All American Roofing Co., San Diego Inc.
All County Environmental & Restoration
Alliance Association Bank
Animal Pest Management Services, Inc.
Association Maintenance Services, Inc. (AMS)
Association Prime Powered by South State Bank
AWT Construction Group, Inc.
B2R Consulting Group Beaumont Tashjian Behr Paints
Black Diamond Paving & Concrete, Inc.
CalPro Construction & Painting
CAM Construction & Painting Chapman & Intrieri, LLP
CiD Consortium LLC, ACMC
CINC Capital, LLC
CINC Systems
CIT
Citadel Roofing & Solar CM Squared, Inc.
Community Legal Advisors, Inc. Degenkolb Engineers
Duarte Construction Dunn-Edwards Paints
EmpireWorks Reconstruction Enterprise Bank & Trust
ePIPE Restoration Epsten, A PLC
Fenton Grant Mayfield Kaneda & Litt, LLP
FIRST ONSITE Property Restoration
Flanagan Law, APC
FRONTSTEPS
Giuliani Construction & Restoration, Inc.
Gordian Staffing Greenfield Fence, Inc.
Harvest Landscape Enterprises, Inc.
Heritage Bank of Commerce
HireSmart Virtual Employees
Hughes Gill Cochrane Tinetti, PC
IQV Construction & Roofing
JPA Landscape & Construction, Inc.
Kelly-Moore Paint Co., Inc. Mariposa Landscapes, Inc.
McKenzie Ryan & Mena LLP
MPS Financial, LLC
Multifamily Energy Savings Program Pacific Premier Bank Pacific Western Bank Park West Landscape Management Payne Pest Management
PCW Contracting Services
Pro Star Mechanical Services
ProTec Building Services
Pro-Tech Painting Company
Recon 360, LLC
Reconstruction Experts
Richardson | Ober Nordberg | DeNichilo, LLP
Roofworks & Construction, Inc.
Sherwin - Williams
Signature Services
Statcomm Inc
TARC Construction, Inc.
The Miller Law Firm Tinnelly Law Group
TOPS Software Vantaca
Varsity Painting
Vendor Information Verification Experts (VIVE)
Villa Park Landscape, Inc. Westlake Royal Roofing Solutions Whitney | Petchul APC