CACM A wards First Master Certification

CACM Awards First Master Certification

Congratulations to CACM’s first Master of Community Association Management (MCAM®): Darren Shaw, MCAM-LS general manager for the Villages Golf & Country Club in San Jose. Shaw is the first community manager in the state to earn the MCAM, the highest level of professional certification in California’s community association management industry.

Shaw said he decided to pursue the MCAM designation because he believes management professionals must continue to learn due to the everchanging landscape of HOA management in California.

“As managers, we often serve as consultants for HOA boards of directors,” Shaw says. “Our credibility is sustained only when we are able to provide accurate and current information on a wide range of topics that HOAs encounter on a daily basis. The MCAM designation demonstrates to my homeowners that education is important to me because it will ultimately benefit them.”

Shaw has been a Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM®) for 12 years and has served as the general manager for the Villages since 2007. The Villages Golf & Country Club is a 55+ community with more than 2,530 condominiums and single-family homes in addition to four community centers, two golf courses, tennis complex, bocce courts, clubhouse and pro shop, stables, RV storage area, 2.5 miles of lake shoreline and hiking trails located on 547 acres of recreational hill lands.

CACM’s new MCAM certification program was unveiled in 2012 for senior-level community managers who demonstrate extensive knowledge and experience in professional management in the state of California. Shaw is the first candidate to achieve the MCAM designation, which requires solid expertise in nine key areas of community management: • California law for common interest developments • Financial operations • Leadership and ethics • Facilities and property maintenance • Effective communications with owners, boards of directors and committees • Risk management • Human resources • Polic y Governance • Meeting management and rec ords

Candidates for the MCAM must hold CACM’s Certified Community Association Manager (CCAM®) designation for at least six consecutive years prior to applying for the MCAM and must pass a three-part assessment consisting of a challenging written exam, a written thesis addressing numerous community management issues, and an oral presentation of the thesis before a review panel.

Candidates must also earn a management Specialty Certificate and maintain the MCAM designation through recertification every three years.

“The MCAM designation requires the most stringent certification process for community association managers in the nation,” says Karen Conlon, CACM’s former President & CEO. “The MCAM is the ultimate achievement in association management and represents our industry’s commitment to continuing education even for our most experienced professionals. The designation is designed to be extremely difficult to achieve because our industry must continue to raise the definition of what constitutes professional community association management. We congratulate Darren on this wonderful accomplishment and look forward to awarding more MCAM designations to equally deserving professionals in the near future.”