April2017

PRESIDENT’S CORNER DENISE BECKER, CMCA, AMS, PCAM CAI-NJ 2017 PRESIDENT | HOMESTEAD MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC., AAMC

“I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in and stops my mind from wandering where it will go” Lennon/McCartney – “Fixing a Hole”

T his month’s Community Trends ® focuses on articles about “Seasonal Maintenance,” which reminds me (along with the few days of warmer weather we are having as I write this in early March) that Spring is right around the corner and it will soon be time for Memorial Day picnics, the open- ing of pools, repairing gutters and roof leaks from snow and ice damage, roadway pothole repairs, power washing and painting, termite and insect inspections and proof that Spring has sprung – landscaping! For those of you – like me – who are community man- agers, we are all used to the changes from season to season; wandering around the properties performing site inspections, sending out notices for dryer vent cleaning, landscape projects, irrigation and pool maintenance, pre- paring budgets, lining up contractors to handle snow clear- ing, dealing with complaints over holiday decorations, etc. A lot of it seems like wash, rinse and repeat. In that regard, I hope this month’s articles give you some guidance and/ or new ideas as to how to attack these tasks. However, in addition to educating our associations with respect to why all seasonal maintenance is important, I wanted to remind everyone that educating ourselves is equally as important, whether we are community manag- ers, community association volunteer leaders (CAVLs) or even business partners. In the coming months, the CAI-NJ chapter has a number of events to both educate you as well as to help you find that new landscaper, roofer, maintenance company or paving contractor: Tuesday, April 4, 2017 – 2017 Community Association Legislative Update at Eagle Ridge POA in West Orange from 9 am – 12 pm (Admission is FREE!);

Tuesday, April 18, 2017 – 2017 Community Association Legislative Update at Horizons at Woods Landing in Mays Landing; Tuesday, April 25, 2017 – The CAI-NJ Lecture Series continues with another seminar at the chapter office in Freehold; Thursday, April 27, 2017 – Spring Break Networking Event at Windows on the Water in Sea Bright from 6 pm – 9 pm. Moving into May, we have the popular Manager & Business Partner Round Table event on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at Stockton Seaview Hotel & Golf Club in Galloway, NJ and the M-205 (Risk Management) in Monroe on May 18th and 19th. Finally, continuing with the education theme, I just wanted to give a quick plug to the CAI “Business Partner Essentials,” of which I know many of you have already taken advantage. Business Partner Essentials is a two-part, online course to help CAI business partner members better understand CAI, community associations and the industry at large. Individuals who pass the course and maintain CAI membership earn the CAI Educated Business Partner dis- tinction, gaining special recognition among thousands of companies and professionals who support common-interest communities, including accountants, attorneys, bankers, insurance professionals, landscapers, painters, reserve spe- cialists, software providers and many others. You can find out more on the Business Partner Essentials from CAI National’s website: https://www.caionline.org/ LearningCenter/Education-for-Business-Partners/Pages/ default.aspx . Here’s to enjoying warm(er) weather! Peace and Love, Denise

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