October 2011
People Working Together to Help Each Other
The Cooperator
The Newsletter of CSI Support & Development Services
Old Court Estates – Our Newest Co-op Old Court Estates, the third phase of the Randallstown campus in Baltimore, Maryland, opened on June 29, 2011. Financed under the HUD 202 program, the 50 apartment units were fully leased in two days, thanks to the tireless work of the member-driven leasing committee and CSI staff. This three story, fully accessible, single elevator co-op includes amenities Old Court Estates officers on Election Day. From left to right: such as a secure, state of the art Secretary Kay Barbour, Treasurer Julia Hines, Vice President building entry system, laundry rooms Vivian Sellman and President James Henry. on each floor, a large community room, floor lounges with balconies, a library with small computer lab and a large outdoor sitting porch. Units are sized between 550-650 sq ft and feature large open floor plans, walk-in closets, wall-to-wall carpeting and satellite television. The bright color scheme is complimented by upgrades such as wood-based molding throughout the building and ceramic tile in the common areas. Within the first 45 days the co-op held a spirited campaign to elect floor representatives and co-op officers—successfully filling every position. Almost immediately the members came together to hold house fund fundraisers and a community cook-out, and even sent 8 members to the Maryland region management conference that was held only 2 weeks after their elections. Currently, the co-op has a 70% attendance rate at co-op meetings along with over 10 high-functioning committees. The energy and excitement of all 50 members is visible in the high participation rates, general pride they take in their building and strong relationship the existing Randallstown co-ops have fostered with their new neighbor. Old Court Estates is thriving, and after weathering an earthquake and hurricane in their first two months, there is nothing this co-op can’t handle.
The Cooperator
2011 Management Conferences: Green It! The management conferences this year were a success and filled with member involvement and creativity. The theme was Green It! The theme truly reflected the direction in which our co-ops are going. Reduce, reuse, recycle became the mantra of the workshops that were presented during the three informative, interactive and fun-packed days in all regions. From mechanical systems to the efficient budgeting of co-op projects and activities, “going green” was the hot ticket item. The members learned how to reduce their co-op’s carbon footprint and improve recycling efforts.
Participants take a workshop on Getting to Know the CSI Staff.
Fashionable “green” jewelry made by our members.
The California region members expressed their excitement and eagerness to share their talents during the conference by leading four workshops: Line Dancing presented by So Moon Jung from Meadowlark Manor, Making Your Own Jewelry presented by Zemfira Davtyan from Magnolia Towers, Chair Exercise presented by Rebecca Kim from Gardena Valley Towers and Making Your Own Organic Cosmetics presented by Marianne Kim from South Park Manor.
Learning to line dance.
Members attending these member-led workshops enjoyed learning from their peers and have requested to include member-led workshops for the following year.
Making organic cosmetics.
In addition, members had a great time during entertainMembers were also thrilled ment night, where they were to demonstrate their creativable to re-live their prom ity during their co-op presennight or experience their tations and show how their Learning new ways to keep active very first prom. They were co-ops “Green It!” able to take a token of such through chair exercises.
a memorable event by taking “Senior Prom” pictures with other members and staff.
made everyone take pause that perhaps going green may actually really be returning back to green.
This year in Maryland the newest co-op, Old Court Estates, sent 8 members to the conference despite it being less than 90 days since the building’s opening. This new Staff as the Wizard of Oz characters looking for the courage, energy combined with the brains and heart to go green. seasoned experience of the other 9 co-ops made this The Michigan management conference memorable. conference this year was fun Variety show M.C., Carol Belle from Bishop Co-op, provided humor and and timely as members and a walk down memory lane staff focused on the signifibetween acts. cant topic of going green. Two fabulously attended member-lead workshops were presented: Leasing Tactics by Ray Lantis and Richard Coin from Royal Old Court Estates, the newest Oak Manor Co-op and co-op, sings a song inspiring House Funds by Lois everyone to recycle. Hoskins from New Horizons Riverview Co-op craft project for Co-op. the opening session.
MI conference co-chairs, MD conference co-chairs, Ethel Betty Harris from Dearborn Heights Young of Walker Co-op and Scotty Co-op and Joann Maggard from Mackay of Highlandtown Plaza Bellevile Co-op. Co-op, kept the crowd entertained.
In addition, the staff theme that centered on the Wizard of Oz, and following the “green brick road,” kept the atmosphere fun and creative.
The conference ended with a “professionally” choreographed dance number by the CSI staff fashioned after the late great Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” called “Green it.”
The variety show was entertaining as always as our members presented skits from the day in the life of our co-op buildings, a fantasy closed council meeting, sing- MI Region members and staff get their groove on dancing. ing, poetry and a skit that
People Working Together to Help Each Other
The Massachusetts Region offered live-interpretation for our native Spanish speaking members during general assembly, in addition to providing full Spanish workshops. Our Spanish speaking members are still raving about it!
direction capturing priceless moments on film. We had two professional photographers with us throughout the morning, afternoon and early evening on our second day, and you would have thought our members had always been Hollywood celebrities—working and creating while the cameras just faded into the background like secondary props‌Brilliant!
Massachusetts' conference attendees.
There was also time for laughter and co-op social interaction with trivia games, disco night, a magic show, CSI staff skits, t-shirt sales, gift cards, grab bags, and a beautiful alfresco dining experience our first night (barbecues never looked so classy!)
Lola Saviano from Constitution Co-op leading a workshop.
Disco Night in Massachusetts!
Everett Villa and Constitution Co-op members socializing at dinner.
The whole while, staff cameras were snapping in every
As our 3-day journey came to an end, each co-op was given two vibrant pine trees representing the original twin pines logo (that symbolizes
the cooperative community) to take back to their individual co-ops where they would be planted and continue their cycle of all-embracing endurance.
Members of Blue Ledge Co-op strike a pose.
In the end, and as always, members and staff in all regions learned from one another, shared co-op experiences, provided mutual insight, and came away with a greater sense of purpose and determination to make CSI Support & Development Services co-ops inclusive, balanced, rich and everevolving. We look forward to creating more wonderful moments and memories with our members and sharing the co -op spirit along with the fruitful education that continually helps our members thrive in their co-ops!
The Newsletter of CSI Support & Development Services
CSI-Going from Being the Best Kept Secret to Being Just the Best! CSI Support & Development Services’ recently constructed Strategic Plan is the road map to increasing its public brand. The “map” contains many different segments en route to a cohesive message through all levels of the company, which will reverberate through consumers and greatly boost our exposure.
youthfulness; and green can represent health, money renewal, and/or nature. During this part we’ll also look at the tagline to see if there are any changes that need to be made to better portray who and what we are.
The first step is revamping the logo. There are generally three parts to a logo; the icon, the font and the color palette. Since our current icon does not indicate what kind of coop CSI is (as far as rental vs. “buying in”) or contain any type of housing image, those are some additions that will be greatly considered. The font will likely be kept simple, because decoration over design can be distracting to consumers. Also, we may be revamping the color palette. Whether you’re aware or not, our minds associate different colors with different feelings/emotions. For example, red can represent action, passion, strength; orange can represent affordability,
Once the logo is finalized, the building signs will be our next big project. Although our coops have nice signs, they vary so drastically that it’s nearly impossible for a potential consumer to drive by any of our co-ops and know that they are CSI properties. There may still be some small differences in design, but the overall information, such as the logo, equal opportunity and fair housing logos, co-op name and addresses, will be the consistent theme through all four regions.
For months, a group of staff members from each region have been teleconferencing to discuss our current website and what imOne of these segments is the “physical” part of the branding process. It involves the provements and/or changes need to be tangible portions, such as our logo, website, made to it. We are working with re:group, a full-service branding/marketing agency on building signs … many of the things the public will initially see. In order to reach the updating the look, feel and usability of the website. One new feature will be a section destination laid out through the strategic dedicated to development, which will inplan, these items need to convey a clear, clude project updates, a portfolio and other concise and consistent message, so the information geared to that audience. Anpublic can begin to immediately associate other feature will focus on current members. our logo and building signs from various The website and logo have a tentative improperties, as part of the ever-expanding plementation date of mid November. CSI community.
These tasks are an important part of the strategic plan and will help CSI go from being the best kept secret . . . to just the best!
Staff news: Please welcome the following new CSI Support employees: Yunkyoung (Lena) Hirukawa (Liaison, CA); Andrew Crummy (Liaison, MD) and Nina Oberlin (Liaison, MA). Ana Cordona was promoted to building coordinator, CA. More staff news: Jason Jace (Development Manager, MA) had a son; Matthew Put (Senior Accountant, MI) completed his Master’s Degree in Accounting; Summer Tabbi (Accountant Clerk, MI) was married; Ryan Sharp (Intern, MI) completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Marty Salzbrunn (Liaison, CA) retired.
October is National Co-op Month October 1st marks the beginning of Co-op Month nationwide—a celebration in which the main purpose is to create awareness of cooperatives in the United States. As voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services, willing to accept the responsibilities of membership without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination, all cooperatives seek to instill values of unity and active participation, paving the way for insightful discussions and sharing of best practices to advance growth and development. Now with 55 co-op apartment buildings across Michigan, Maryland, California and Massachusetts, CSI Support & Development Services has great reason to celebrate. A non-profit that took root in Michigan in the 1930s when enterprising couple Fred and Virginia Thornthwaite started a coop dairy that mushroomed into co-op groceries, a credit union and optical services, and then finally became an organization providing co-op apartment buildings for the
elderly of low and modest income. CSI exists to serve its members who help shape the decisions their co-ops make. In 1844, 28 workers in England (known as the Rochdale Pioneers) formed the first successful cooperative—adopting the 7 principles which define co-ops today: voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training and information, cooperation among cooperatives and concern for community. The slogan for Co-op Month 2011 is “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World,” which conveys the contributions that cooperatives make to social and economic development. We congratulate CSI’s co-ops, their members and volunteers on the occasion of National Cooperative Month, and wish them continued success in all their endeavors.
In addition to Co-op Month (and sharing the same slogan), a global celebration of cooperatives will kick off in 2012. Billed as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC), the United States will be joining countries around the world to celebrate the benefits co-ops deliver to communities which they serve.
CSI Support & Development Services 8425 E. Twelve Mile, Suite 100 Warren, MI 48093 seniorhousing@csi.coop Visit us in Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/csisupport Equal Housing Opportunity