CAI-NJ Nov. 2019(w)

LOOKING AHEAD LARRY THOMAS, PCAM | CAI-NJ CHAPTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

S omeone told me that when summer is over, things slow down. Definitely not true at CAI-NJ! I will use this article to update our members on some of the things currently happening at the chapter. First off, a few changes here at the office. As you know by now, Chelsea Donnigan has joined the CAI team as Manager of Membership and Marketing. Chelsea is a welcome addition to our office and has caught on very quickly. Brooke and her husband Matt had their first child, Harrison Matthew Nevins. All three are doing well and Brooke is due back sometime in December. Angela celebrat- ed the birth of her second granddaughter, On October 5th, Angela’s daughter welcomed Giuliana Grace (8 lbs. 9 ozs.) into the world. So you can see, we have a lot going on here at the office. On to chapter updates. We set a record for committee sign ups for 2020, we had over 175 applications, whereas we usually get around 140 applications. With the addition of the “Woman’s Leadership” committee, we were able to place everyone that applied on a committee. It’s very refreshing to see such an interest in our members taking an active role in our chapter. I can say without hesitation that every one of our committees did an excellent job this year. It’s a very important function of our chapter and as a side benefit allows for our members to create business relationships and personal friend- ships that extend way beyond their committee interactions. Our F.A.S.T. committee held a new event this year to celebrate and acknowledge the always successful F.A.S.T. Olympics. F.A.S.T. organized a breakfast to present this year’s donation to our local Make-a-Wish chapter. Over 150 attended the event which was held at the Make-a- Wish castle in Monroe Township. It was a fantastic event and I can tell you that those that attended and did the tour of the castle left with tears in their eyes and a new appre- ciation for all that Make-a-Wish does. Our Membership Committee is reaching new record membership numbers every month. As of September 31,

“It’s very refreshing to see such an interest in our members taking an active role in our chapter. I can say without hesitation that every one of our committees did an excellent job this year.” 2019, we are at 2,325 members. This is up 435 from last year at this time. More and more of our communities, managers and business partners are seeing the value of what we can provide and are joining at a record pace. The Membership Committee also created the “Ambassador Program”. These “Ambassadors” are present at all of our functions and can provide information to new members as well as our older members who are new to some of our events. Look for the blue button and if you have any Our PAC had a very successful Day at the Races event this year and raised over $8,000. PAC has one more event to schedule since their “Nine and Nosh” golf outing was cancelled twice due to bad weather. Please read George Greatrex’s article this month that provides a very thorough overview of proposed bills S-2425 and A-3851. Our LAC is always looking our for our members and col- lectively spends hundreds of hours discussing proposed legislation and meeting with our elected officials to make sure these proposed bills are crafted in the best interest of all of our community associations. It is with heartfelt sadness that I have to mention the passing of two very important CAI-NJ colleagues. Bruce Kunz was a fairly new member to CAI, but in the short time that he was involved with us, he made a huge CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 42 questions or would like to be introduced to other chapter members, they will be happy to help.

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