50th Anniversary – A Celebration to Remember

It was a wonderful evening. On May 5th, Echo celebrated its 50th Anniversary at the Pinstripes event center in San Mateo. More than 170 old and new friends came together to share an evening with one another and celebrate the five-decades-long relationship of this wonderful association that focuses on fostering a better quality of life in HOA communities.

It was a proud evening, as Rolf Crocker gave a brief recitation of the history of Echo, introducing us to one of its founders, Doug Christison, who returned to the Bay Area from his retirement home in Arizona. Rolf led us on a journey from the past, when Echo began, to our present, where Echo is today.

The phrase engenders humanity. The words roll from one’s stark business senses and adds the element of humanity to a board: Strategic planning, execution and evaluation; mission management. The business realities should be reflective of common values of individuals in the community. Communities are imperfect – because they are made of humans. relating. Humans using. Human living. Basically, humans being being human, communities sometimes forget that management establish norms for a successful community. In a sense, the the community. Its purpose is to establish order and elevate progress and pace by establishing norms and constraints to benefit all.

It was an evening to celebrate the new Echo. Mentioned was the new Echo Board Members Club; its founding chair, Miguel Sanchez (who traveled from New Mexico), and several of the volunteer moderators and members who came to celebrate Echo. The Board Members Club is an amazing new peer-to-peer learning and connection experience designed exclusively for current and former board members to discuss issues and share ideas.

It was a night of celebration for those who see value in Echo. Don Haney of CID Consortium was celebrated as the first Echo lifetime benefactor member. In a moving presentation, Don eloquently expressed his thoughts about the industry from the viewpoint of an HOA accountant and management firm owner, and as a lifelong member of Echo. His wisdom gave us all pause and punctuated the evening with words so meaningful that many left with a deeper understanding of the HOA world and a reignited commitment to the unquestionable relevance and need for Echo now and into the future.

It is true that Echo is continuing to redevelop and adapt to an ever-changing HOA community environment. Once upon a time, when I was very young, our founders focused on putting statutory sideboards on the so-called HOA “wild west.” This lobbying effort resulted in the Davis-Stirling Act. Using this body of law for the underpinning of HOA growth, there was an explosion of housing developments in the early decades of Echo serving common interest developments. This body of laws continues today as the foundation for California HOAs.

It seems apparent that board leadership must understand owners in order to orchestrate a sense of community and generate and protect community values. The purpose of a board, therefore, build community based on common values for the good of It takes time to orchestrate a community. It takes time to know time to listen to the voices and build a vision reflective of community and you will be more effective as a board member and satisfied your reason for being on the board.

With good cheers for all and a really nice time, the evening was a celebration. The homeowners who attended expressed gratitude, and the professionals enjoyed a glorious evening that I and others will never forget. Thank you to all who took the time to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Echo with us and to show continuing support for our association of HOA communities. May 5, 2023, was an amazing evening I shall fondly remember always.

ECHO is committed to helping homeowner boards and residents ing and advocacy – this is our “raison d’etre”.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

David Zepponi Executive Director