Letter from the President

By CHRISTY RODRIGUEZ, 2022 HAA President

THE APARTMENT INDUSTRY IS A FORWARDTHINKING INDUSTRY WHERE INNOVATION AND INGENUITY THRIVES, which is why it’s critically important we continue to develop leaders because young leaders want to make a difference in the world and they’re passionate about what they believe in.

This year, I’m chairing the National Apartment Association’s Next Gen Committee. Like HAA’s NEXT, NAA’s Next Gen is a group of young professionals in their 20s to early 40s. I’m deeply passionate about our young professionals. The next generation of leaders are emerging right here, right now. I want to encourage our young leaders to leverage the opportunities, resources and tools HAA offers.

From experiencing a global pandemic to witnessing heightened social injustice over the last few years, our young professionals are passionate about changing things for the better. Many organizations are prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion to include more opportunities to groups who may have been marginalized in the past. In fact, we continue to see diversity at our HAA events and it’s important that we continue to embrace the inclusive and equitable networking and educational opportunities that HAA offers.

As new leaders emerge within HAA, it’s so important to me that everyone understands how to take advantage of all the resources and opportunities HAA offers. Now that we’re on track to continue to offer events through the year, attending an event is an easy way to leverage HAA for your success. There are opportunities for leadership, peer-to-peer networking and/or education at every HAA event.

This month, as an example, we are hosting two major events that are networking and teambuilding focused. Those events are the Spring HAA Political Action Committee Fundraiser at TopGolf (see Page 23 for more information) and Sports Challenge (see Page 72 for more information). Both events are so much fun and they’re perfect for teambuilding.

Burnout is still very present across our industry and while the labor shortage persists, the best way to address both issues is to show your teams you appreciate them. Sign your teams up for any one of the fun HAA events we have coming up this month to keep the excitement going. You can register for these events at www.haaonline.org/events or use the QR code at the bottom left. You can also email events@haaonline.org if you have any questions.

Another way to show appreciation for your teams is to nominate them for the 2022 HAA Honors Awards. You can nominate your team members and peers up until April 29 at www.haaonline.org/nominate or use the QR code at the bottom right (and see Page 16 for more details). And, depending on when we went to press this month, you may have time to nominate your apartment property. Nominations for properties were due March 29. If there’s still time, you can nominate your property at the link above.

As leaders, taking the time out to nominate your teams is a tremendously impactful way to give back to the people who deserve it the most right now. It’s also, by the way, a really great exercise to fill out the nomination form.