Oct_2017_Conf

Attention Board Members: Here’s Why Your Fellow Homeowner Leaders

Recommend JOINING CAI-NJ By CAI-NJ Membership Committee

A s volunteers of CAI-NJ’s Membership Committee, we are often asked by prospective members about the pros and cons of joining CAI-NJ (spoiler: there are no cons). What we have learned from having hundreds of these conversations is that the most effective tool in explaining the benefits of CAI-NJ is for the prospective members to hear directly from those in the same membership class as them. For example, a Homeowner Leader (HL), will likely have a better understanding of the benefits that CAI-NJ can provide him/her by hearing it directly from a fellow HL, rather than from a business partner or manager. With this in mind, we spoke with many of our long-time HL members about what CAI-NJ has provided them and why they recommend CAI- NJ membership to board members and communities alike. In general, HLs point to a laundry list of reasons when asked why they continue being members of CAI-NJ. Mostly, however, the HLs we spoke with felt that CAI-NJ member- ship is necessary for them to best represent and serve their communities. “I wanted to help my community and be a better board member,” said Valentine Valdman. “It gives me pleasure to work with various professionals in the field, to help them with providing a board member’s/homeown- er’s insight, and at the same time, to learn from them.” For Jean Bestafka, it was her ability to interact with other board members and learn about how they are addressing various issues. “As a board member I get to meet with members from other boards, managers and business partners to get first-hand information.” Ms. Bestafka recommends CAI-NJ

“As a board member I get to meet with members from other boards, managers and business partners to get first-hand information.”

mem- bership due

to its “outstanding Legislative Action Committee which pro- tects and advocates for our needs.” HL Deana Luchs believes that without CAI-NJ, “it is easy to get stuck in a vacu- um, meaning that you only hear the opinions of your board members and the professionals you hire.” Ms. Luchs continued, “with CAI- NJ, it opens you up to an

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entire industry of opinions and insights. Like anything else, there is more than one way to approach an issue and CAI- NJ’s educational resources provide HLs with the tools to determine what is best for their community.” From the wide variety of educational programming such

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