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J U L Y , 2 0 1 6
LOOKING
FORWARD
LARRY THOMAS, PCAM
| CAI-NJ CHAPTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A
fter reading Steve Kroll’s excellent article “The
Benefits of CAI-NJ Membership — A Community
Association Volunteer Leader’s Perspective” in the
June 2016 issue of
Community Trends
®
,
I came to the
realization that all of our community leaders and profes-
sionals need to be relevant in order to properly serve our
communities.
The governance and management of our community associ-
ations is an ever changing industry. Whether we are dealing
with legislative issues, mortgage reform, delinquency matters,
aging buildings and amenities or fair housing/ discrimination
issues, the landscape changes daily. In order for all of us to
remain relevant in our roles as community leaders, it is import-
ant to keep abreast of what is happening that can, and will
affect our communities. CAI-NJ is constantly researching these
matters and coordinates several educational opportunities
for all of our members. Our monthly magazine,
Community
Trends
®
,
presents timely articles pertaining to community
issues. These articles are written by members who are experts
in their respective fields. Here are my suggestions on how to
stay up-to-date and maintain your relevancy in the community
leadership arena. Steve mentioned most of these in his article
last month.
1. If you are a board member
• Make sure you and your board read all of CAI’s printed
materials. These include
Community Trends
®
(produced
monthly by CAI-NJ), and
Common Ground
(produced
semi-monthly by CAI National’s office).
• Attend any and all in-person educational events present-
ed by CAI-NJ. These include any legislative updates
(CAI-NJ sponsored four updates in 2016), the CAVL
Roundtables, the Annual Senior Summit (held this year
on July 14th at Renaissance at Manchester), any of
Staying Relevant
our lecture series held at the CAI-NJ Headquarters in
Freehold (see the calendar on the facing page for future
lectures).
• All board members should attend the Annual Conference
and Expo (this year it is being held on Wednesday,
October 26th, in Somerset NJ). This is the one event
that brings together all of our professional vendors and
service providers. With over 160 exhibitors and several
educational classes, this is the one “must attend” event.
• Make sure your professionals are relevant. CAI and
CAI‑NJ have a vast contingency of community industry
focused professionals you should contemplate when
considering a service provider or vendor. Look for law
firms that have a staff solely dedicated to community
associations. CAI awards the CCAL designation to
attorneys who meet educational and experience require-
ments in the community association field. Consider
an engineering company that specializes in community
associations. These firms can be located in our annual
directory or on our website. Reserve schedules are a
vital function in the success of your community’s well-be-
ing and should not be left up to a firm that isn’t adequate-
ly experienced in this field. CAI awards the RS (Reserve
“In order for all of us to
remain relevant in our roles
as community leaders it is
important to keep abreast of
what is happening that can, and
will affect our communities.”
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