Gaughan Managers Attend HOA Trade Show
Gaughan Association Management managers recently attended the Community Associations Institute -Minnesota Chapter Trade Show. The event provides informative education for our managers, as well as a great opportunity to meet vendors who can assist with our clients’ needs. Thank you, CAI, for a wonderful event filled with great education and networking! We look forward to this event every year.
Association Team Joins in for Toys for Tots
The Gaughan Association Management team attended the recent Community Associations Institute – MN Chapter holiday party. It was a great event to network with vendors, and we got to support a good cause by supplying donations for Toys for Tots. Happy Holidays!
Demolition Begins for Lakes Area Youth Service Bureau’s New Home
On Saturday, December 3, a group of volunteers from Gaughan Companies, the Forest Lake community and area youth gathered together to begin demolition at the site of the Lakes Area Youth Service Bureau’s new space. LAYSB is moving from their current building to the Town Center building in the heart of downtown Forest Lake. The plans for the new space include an education center, group rooms, counseling room, office spaces, reception and staff areas. Gaughan Companies is excited to help LAYSB be able to continue their mission to help the youth in our area.
LAYSB began in 1976 by local law enforcement, teachers and concerned citizens in the Forest Lake, Minnesota community in an effort to help young first time offenders from violating the law again. Since its creation, “the programs have evolved to include Youth Enrichment & leadership, Jobs Plus Programs, Mentoring and Family Support in addition to early intervention for youth, ages 9 to 18 years.” The bureau serves the Forest Lake School District and all of Chisago County.
HOA Board of Directors: A Volunteer
If you have ever served on your HOA’s Board of Directors, you can understand the amount of time and effort that goes into preserving your neighborhood and protecting community property values. A long time House Speaker once said, “All politics is local.” With that said, what could be more local than a democracy practiced within the community you live?
Today, there are approximately 68 million Americans living in about 338,000 homeowner associations, condominiums and other planned communities. More specifically, there are about 1.5 million residents and about 7,500 associations here in Minnesota! Needless to say, the amount of volunteers needed for associations in Minnesota is about 30,000 dedicated owners.
A volunteer can be described as a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task. The key to this definition is freely. For many of the volunteer board members, this is a second job that takes time from their families, evenings and/or even their weekend. Many times, if something doesn’t go as designed, fingers are first pointed at the Board of Directors, but often it can also be a lack of communication when an owner buys into a community or misinterprets the association’s governing documents. Generally, one of the great attributes of being a volunteer is reliability, so being there for owners when called upon can show a great deal of trust and commitment to your community.
A board member’s job can be full of challenges, issues and opportunities, some of which can be controversial. As a board member, the role can be both rewarding and thankless. If given the opportunity, please share a simple note of thanks to your board members. It could be at the next board meeting, annual meeting or in a simple e-mail. Chances are, as you are settling in for the evening for your favorite home remodeling show or to catch your favorite sports team in action, your board members are enduring a 60 to 90 minute board meeting, reviewing the upcoming budget, looking at additional bids, or reviewing pending architectural change applications. Most board members have a great deal of integrity as there is a big responsibility with the community’s resources, facilities and homeowner correspondence.
For more information on how to become a board member, how Gaughan Companies can help your community, or for general questions in regard to your community and/or Board of Directors, please visit us at www.gaughancompanies.com/hoa.
CAI-MN has additional resources, too.
Getting Social for the CAI Show
We all know that a solid social foundation is the cornerstone of any community association. So what better way to prove that than sponsoring the networking reception at the last trade show for the Community Association Institute?
The Gaughan Companies team was well represented at the latest CAI-Mn show on Feb. 20th at the St. Paul River Centre. Our team was on hand to bring Gaughan’s offerings to new vendors, management companies, and association board members alike. We’re always happy to take any opportunity to engage with our professional community and make the connections that have made us a preferred partner in the HOA industry.
