Washington Metropolitan Chapter Community Associations Institute

A Magazine for Community Association Volunteer Leaders, Professional Managers and Business Partners

CommunityOutreach

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

License to Drink

Why You Should Be a Memberof WMCCAI

... and more!

OCTOBER 2011

OCTOBER 2011 | 5

CONTENTS

Reader comments and suggestions are welcome.Address your comments to: Quorum7600 Leesburg Pike, Suite 100 WestFalls Church, VA 22043

We also wel come ar ti cle sub mis sions fromour members. For author guide lines, call(703) 750-3644 or e-mailpublications@caidc.org. Articles may be edited for length and clarity.

OCTOBER 2011

Printed on Recycled Paper An Environmental Commitment

WMCCAI MISSION STATE MENTAdvocating and providing better living throughcommunity associations.

12 Reaching Out and Fostering a Sense ofCommunity By Julie Virnelson

There is currently a show on NBC called “Community.” It is a comedyabout an unlikely group of students who have formed a study group ata local community college. It’s a funny show and the message is good… that together we are better than we are alone.

MANAGER’S COLUMN

16 Getting the Word Out SociallyBy Airielle Hansford, CMCA, AMS, PCAM

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

17 License to DrinkBy Douglas S. Levy, ESQ.

18 WSSC—Mixed-Use Property Billing ChangesBy Jason E. Fisher, ESQ.

SERVICE SUPPLY COLUMN

20 Relationships MatterBy Jason Cushman

21 Think PinkBy LaTonya M. Young-Clayborne, CMCA, AMS

22 Tips for Recording SecretariesBy Laura Hovenier

23 Navigating the Wide World of WebsitesBy Sasha Russo, CMCA, AMS, PCAM

BACK TO BASICS

24 Why You Should Be a Member of WMCCAIBy Dorian Elms

28 Records Retention PolicyBy Anne M. Sheehan, CPA

DEPARTMENTS AND MORE

3 Message from the President

6 Event Recap: Happy Times

6 Chapter Benefactor

7 Welcome New Members

7 Event Recap: Electrifying Education

8 Upcoming Events

10 People & Places

11 CAI National News

26 Community Spotlight: New Bristow Village

29 Registration Form: Annual Holiday Party

31 Volunteer Spotlight: Jeremy Tucker, ESQ.

32 Classifieds

33 Index to Advertisers

34 Cul-de-sac: E-mailing from Memory Lane

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ReachingOut andFostering aSense ofCommunity

OCTOBER 2011 | 13

By Julie Virnelson

Julie Virnelson, a resident in a planned community, works incommunity management at the Clarksburg and Villages ofUrbana, Md., offices of Community Association ServicesInc. She has also been involved in community groups, suchas the PTSA, for the past six years.

There is currently a show on NBC called “Community.” It is acomedy about an unlikely group of students who have formeda study group at a local community college. It’s a funny show

and the message is good … that together we are better than weare alone. Along these lines, I’d like to tell you a little story. Once upon a

time, there were two communities. The first, community A, wassmall and simple with few amenities. The second, community B,was a sprawling expanse of million-dollar homes, tennis courts,pools and beautifully manicured green spaces.

Community A had very involved residents who werecommitted to making their small community the very best.They worked together with their homeowners association

(HOA) to plan community events, build strong ties withcounty officials and grow their community pride through

neighborhood clean ups, a strong neighborhood watch pro-gram, supporting one another in maintaining the communityproperties and generally being involved in maintaining their smallmunicipality.

Community B constantly ran into problems. Instead of gettinginvolved, the majority of its residents kept to themselves and leftthe business of running the community to a select few. Because ofthis, the residents did not have a sense of ownership in their com-munity. As a result of not knowing the how’s and why’s of commu-nity management, the residents complained about every rule andregulation. Things were very slow to be accomplished in their com-munity because there was dissent at every turn. There was a percep-tion that the committee members were nitpicking about everything,rather than trying to better the community.

Not surprisingly, the residents in A were much happier and had ahigher rate of satisfaction with their community. Despite living in amuch more modest area, they were involved at every level of commu-nity management and that made a huge difference in the quality of lifein their little community.

On paper, the residents in community B should have been happierthan those in community A. But, their pricey real estate lost some ofits appeal when the lack of community was factored in.

According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary, communitymeans a locality inhabited by a certain group. It is a place. Manicuredlawns, uniformity and continuity, snow removal in the winter andpools in the summer … all these are part of the package when youmove into a planned community.

A sense of community, however, is a very different thing. Manytimes what people moving to such developments are looking for is,perhaps, a harkening back to the Norman Rockwell ideals of neigh-borhood living … where everyone knows everyone, cups of sugar areshared over the back fence, backyard barbeques where adults sit chat-ting as the day gives way to night and the children play hide-and-seekand catch lightening bugs, and where snow days always mean apotluck dinner at someone’s house … these are what many people

Are You Communicating Effectively?Are residents aware of what is going on in their community? Web-sites and message boards are invaluable tools to effectively com-municate all of the great things that are available to your residents.How many times have you heard, “Oh, I didn’t even know wehave a neighborhood watch program here”? Residents will notonly stay abreast about those things that affect them, such asHOA policies and neighborhood happenings, but they will also beconnected in case of emergencies. Further, they will be able to findout when they are needed. Letting them know that you are look-ing for help is half the battle.

Ask Your Residents What They Want from Their HOAOnce you have established a good line of communication withyour residents, use it to survey them about what they want out oftheir HOA. Put the ball in their court and let them come up withnew ideas for HOA involvement. After all, it is called a homeown-ers association.

Establish a Volunteer Coordinator Role in Your CommunityA volunteer coordinator’s specific task is to recruit members forHOA committees. To establish a closer relationship between resi-dents and the HOA, this coordinator would provide opportunitiesfor residents to become involved in HOA activities. Instead of ajob fair, your community could run an HOA committee fair. Or-ganize a fun family event that will draw residents out and whenthey are there, highlight for them all the great things the HOAdoes for them.

Pay It Forward So, the votes are in and your residents have given you a laundrylist of what they are hoping for from their HOA. Now is the timeto talk to them about volunteering. Whether volunteering in aclassroom, helping at a soup kitchen or serving on a committee inyour community, serving your community helps others, yes, but itreally benefits you.

Talk to residents about how volunteering in their communitywill help them feel more connected. They will have a chance toget to know their neighbors. They will feel a sense of empower-ment that they have made a difference and helped to mold theircommunity. Instead of being a part of the problem, part of thehundreds of residents who constantly complain about fence lines,whose dog is pooping in whose yard, whether or not their deck isbeyond their building restriction lines, volunteering in their com-munity allows them to be a part of the solution. Sitting on anHOA committee affords one the chance to affect real changes intheir community.

Next, ask residents to be a part of things. They have sharedwhat they hope for from their HOA, now let them be a part ofputting these plans into action. Ask them if they want their com-munity to be average or if they want it to be great. A great com-munity comes about when HOAs partner with residents, becauseno one cares more about a community than its residents. The resi-dents have a vested interest in ensuring that their community is agreat place to live, and so they will go that extra mile.

It goes back to my original point, that together we are betterthan we are alone. Everyone wants a great community, but a greatcommunity cannot happen without great involvement from itsresidents. Reach out to your community and then let them showyou what they can do. You just might be surprised.

hope for and envision when they purchase a home in a plannedcommunity and buy into the American dream.

Granted, these are high ideals and things are moving at a muchfaster pace than years ago. In many households, there are twoworking parents or a single working parent and children’s sched-ules are now busier than they have ever been. These things makeit a little more difficult for people to get to know their neighbors.

One way to foster such a sense of community, however, is forpeople to get involved in their community. Even the most beauti-ful, well-planned community may be lacking if there is not an ac-tive group who is willing to get involved to make their communitygreat.

Develop an Action Plan

How Welcoming Is Your Community?Is there a perception that the HOA committee members are aclose clique of friends who often have ulterior motives? Work toensure that your committee members are a diverse group of indi-viduals who have the good of the community in mind. Goodcommittee members are those who will be discreet and whosesole purpose is to better the community, not their own agenda. Residents should always feel welcome at community meetings.Setting a tone is important and you never get the chance to makea second first impression.

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