Rally Day at the Texas Capital
by Jennifer Northington and Kimberly Cowart

Did you know that more than 6,000 bills have been filed in the Texas legislature this session?  Texas Community Association Advocates (TCAA) and Community Association Institute (CAI) are committed to keeping abreast of the nearly 200 bills filed that effect community associations.  TCAA actively partners with state leadership to ensure that Texas community associations function properly for the benefit of all residents, property values are protected, and that associations are well governed and properly managed to serve homeowners across Texas.  

C.I.A. Services is a proud member of CAI and TCAA. Vice President Kim Moore currently serves as a committee member on the Houston TCAA Advisory Panel. The role of this panel is to serve as a communication link between TCAA, management professionals, business partners and property owners here in Houston. This important link serves to provide education on bills being proposed and what action needs to be taken. We encourage all members to stay involved by joining CAI, listening for “Calls to Action”, and voicing your opinion if these bills move forward into committee for consideration.

Nearly 300 management professionals, board members, community volunteers and business partners from the Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas endured a driving rainstorm and came together for the 2015 TCAA Rally Day at the Texas Capital to meet with legislative staff to show their support of effective community association laws in Texas. Industry professionals are committed to working with lawmakers to establish laws that protect homeowners and allow community associations reasonable business practices and enforcement processes.  Board members and volunteers explained how important fair and equitable legislation is to ensuring their ability to solicit community involvement.

C.I.A. Services was well represented at the rally with Executive Vice President Kim Moore; Community Managers: Libby Hodges, Kimberly Cowart, Brenda Ellington, Valerie Lehr, Jennifer Northington, and Sandy Castro; New Forest board members: John Jones and Osborne Williams; Sonoma Ranch board members: Bonnie Strickland and Sylvia McDonald; and Woodmark community volunteer Jennie Stephenson in attendance.  What an enlightening observation of our state’s government in action!

Manager Earns International Certification

Community Manager Megan Lamb of our Bandera office has been named our newest Certified Managers of Community Associations (CMCA®) by the Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB).

The board administers the CMCA examination, a rigorous test that measures knowledge of community management best practices. Megan joins more than 11,000 CMCAs worldwide who have demonstrated the skills essential for managing homeowner associations.

The CMCA is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and complies with the NCCA’s stringent international standards for a professional certification program.

CAMICB is an independent board that sets the standards for community association managers worldwide. It is the first and only organization created solely to certify community association managers and enhance the professional practice of community association management.

Megan is proud to join the list of CMCAs working diligently for our company and our clients. Congratulations!

For more information, visit www.camicb.org.

Our 2015 schedule for the C.I.A. Services Seminar Series is now available!  We will again present seven classroom seminars and one webinar throughout the year - each at multiple locations with a total of 28 training sessions.  Click here to read the seminar descriptions and see the schedlue.  

Our core group of seminars will be back. Each seminar concentrates on the practical aspects of the topic and provides board members with background knowledge to help them in their decision making. We consistently receive positive feedback on the content and presentation.

• Board Member Orientation
• Advanced Topics for Board Members
• Meeting & Records - The Legal Requirements
• Understanding Collections & Financial Reports
• The Super Budgeting Process
• Practical Deed Restriction Management
• Essentials of Architectural Control
• Community Website Administrator

Each two-hour seminar begins at 6:00 pm and we provide deli sandwiches in case you come straight from work.  You’ll leave with a wealth of practical information and a notebook for future reference.  You can attend our one-hour webinar right from home! 

Board Member Orientation

This seminar is a must for all new Board members and a great refresher for seasoned veterans. It will help you get up to speed quickly by understanding your responsibilities and authorities. We’ll review the documents and laws that govern the way you do business. We’ll give you an overview of the governing documents, basis of authority, organizational roles, responsibilities & authorities, conduct of meetings, and we’ll cover insurance and taxes.

Space is limited and advance registration is required. To register, please send an email to seminars@ciaservices.com.

Practical Deed Restriction Management

Deed restriction management is one of the most difficult tasks handled by homeowners associations because it involves subjective decisions, homeowner’s property and emotions. This seminar covers the steps in deed restriction management and how a process can contain “intelligence” and common sense. We discuss the relation between deed restrictions and architectural control and give you examples of well crafted guidelines. We’ll provide the best approaches for handling the toughest problems. Practical deed restriction management requires clear communications and reasonable requirements.

Space is limited and advance registration is required. To register, please send an email to seminars@ciaservices.com.

Summerwood Community Association

We are proud of every one of our communities so it is always hard to find just one to highlight. We start by having each of our Community Managers write a nomination for one of their communities. We then read them and take a vote. Here are our most recent selections:

• April - Summerwood Community Association - North Office - Laura Tate
• March - Diamond Ridge Property Owners Association - Bandera Office - Megan Lamb
• February - Riverwalk Propery Owners Association - North Office - Linda Morris
• January - The Lakefront Association - Southwest Office - Gina Victor
• December - The Lakes at Edgewater Estates Homeowners Association - Southwest Office - Nicole Toland
• November - Kenswick Trace Homeowners Association - North Office - Jennifer Northington

To see the full story on these communities and to see the past winners, visit the Community of the Month page on our site.

Every month we appreciate the communities that are celebrating their anniversaries with us. Here are the clients that started with us in April.

• Parkway Forest Property Owners Association — 29 years
• Ridgepoint Community Improvement Association — 25 years
• Pine Forest Village Community Association — 22 years
• Sonoma Ranch Homeowners Association — 12 years
• Telfair Commercial Association — 9 years

Welcome Baby Del Rio!

Congratulations to Alma Reyes and Ghire Del Rio on the birth of their daughter!  Alma is an Administrative Assistant out of our Southwest office.  

Although not expected until the end of February, Zarina Del Rio made an early appearance on December 29th. Little Miss Zarina weighed 4lbs 4 oz and was 16.25 inches long at birth.

Baby and mom are doing great and Alma recently returned back to work from maternity leave. Congratulations to the happy family and welcome back Alma!

Employee Anniversaries

Congratulations to Rhonda Duffield, Maintenance Assistant at our north office.  Rhonda is celebrating her 25th anniversary with C.I.A. Services!  Over the years, Rhonda has remained a valuable employee and has worked at all of our Houston area offices in a variety of positions.

Congratulations to Nancy McGinnis on her 10th anniversary with C.I.A. Services.  Nancy is our Customer Service Manager and also serves as the Office Manager in our North Office.  Nancy has been instrumental in creating our customer service initiative.

Congratulations to Angela Douglas on her 8th year anniversary with C.I.A. Services.  Angela serves as our Corporate Website Administrator and provides support to all of our executive staff.

Congratulations also goes to Mary Lynn Duffy on her 5th year anniversary.  Mary Lynn is one of the cheery voices you hear when calling our Customer Care team and our newest stockholder!

Every month, we issue an electronic newsletter, eNews Monthly, to keep clients informed about Association items, spotlight clients, answer frequently asked questions, and let you know what is happening with the company. Old issues of eNews Monthly are available on our Library page.