Upcoming Seminars
The Puck Has Dropped
CAI Upcoming Events
Community of the Month
Anniversaries
Employee Spotlight
Visit Our Website
Hurricane Ike Hits Hard
On September 13th, Hurricane Ike roared ashore in Galveston and caused damage and destruction from Corpus Christi to Beaumont, from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. All of our communities had some degree of damage but most were fortunate. We only need to look at Galveston and the areas along Galveston Bay to realize what could have happened if the storm took just a slightly different path.
Everyone has done their part in preparation for and in response to the storm. We are proud of the work of our staff and would would like to receognize a few.
- Dan Barr Jr. was an expert in marine insurance before he joined us after his first retirement. He has been invaluable handling all of the insurance claims and reporting.
- Daniel Harris was out before sunrise on Saturday morning as the winds were still gusting to check on his communities.
- Laura Tate was in her communities on Saturday and had critical contractors onsite that afternoon.
- Karla Santos helped bring our Southwest Office back online on Monday morning and spent the next two days calling board members to give updates.
- Leslie Baldwin took charge of our Southwest Office starting the Thursday before the storm when both the Branch Manager and Office Manager had to leave the evacuation zone with their families.
- Renea Miksch braved flooded roads to get to as many communities as possible over the weekend (all while 8 months pregnant).
- Ed Barnett assisted managers to prioritize emergency items, contacted critical contractors and issued work orders.
- Margaret Eckhardt lives in the evacation zone but travels through each of her communities before she left town to tie up swings, store loose items to keep them from becoming missles during the hurricane.
- Bandera Office staff coordinated efforts with Houston staff by cell phone and maintained website postings until both offices reopened.
 |
 |
 |
| Renea Miksch | Leslie Baldwin | Margaret Eckhardt |
 |
 |
 |
| Dan Barr Jr. | Daniel Harris | Ed Barnett |
Upcoming Seminars
Our updated C.I.A. Services Seminar Series is now underway for our 6th year of presenting educational seminars for our board members and other community volunteers. 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. To view the seminar descriptions and full schedule, click here or visit the Library page of our website.
Each seminar begins at 6:00 p.m. and runs 2 hours. We provide deli sandwiches so you won't have to rush to eat dinner beforehand. You'll leave with knowledge you can use immediately and a great notebook with the seminar slides, samples and reference materials.
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 each of the documents that govern the way you do business. We’ll give you an overview of the governing documents, basis of authority, conduct of meetings, elections, collections, deed restrictions, architectural control and many other important topics.
|
|
Facilities, Contracts & Maintenance
If you don't know the difference between a vacuum breaker and a vacuum head and you're not comfortable wandering around a swimming pool pump room, then this seminar is for you. We'll review your major facilities and equipment including irrigation systems, pool mechanical equipment, gate operators and explain how they work (and fail). We'll move onto the essentials of bidding major contracts. When we're finished, you'll be talking like a skilled contractor!
|
You can register at any time by calling 713-981-9000 or emailing seminars@ciaservices.com.
The Puck Has Dropped
The puck has dropped for the 2008/2009 American Hockey League Season. The Houston Aeros beat the defending champion Chicago Wolves in overtime on opening night. But, alas, our Bandera Office home team, the San Antonio Rampage lost to the Milwaukee Admirals. But we are excited about Hockey Night.
Our 11th Annual Hockey Night with the Houston Aeros will be on February 21st. We'll cheer on the Aeros as they face league newcomer, the Iowa Chops (we figured out where that name comes from - their mascot is a hog - as in pork chops - not sure the mascot is too keen on the name).
And to commemorate the opening of our Bandera Office in the Texas hill country, we are particularly pleased to begin a new tradition: our 1st Annual Hockey Night with the San Antonio Rampage. On March 7th, we'll help the Rampage kick ice against a perennial powerhouse the Grand Rapids Griffins. We're hoping a few of our die-hard Houston Hockey Night fans will join us to show San Antonio how to have a good time at a hockey game.
Each year, we invite 500 of our community volunteers, employees and friends to join us to watch the Houston Aeros play a division rival. We'll have lots of door prizes, our collectible cowbells and programs for hockey newcomers. Everyone has a great time watching a fast-paced and really cool game. Click the photos below to see fun from the last few years.
 |
 |
 |
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
 |
 |
 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
As we get closer, we provide more details and a personal invitation to our community volunteers and board members. Until then, mark your calendars for February 21st in Houston and March 7th in San Antonio. However, if you can't wait, feel free to reserve your tickets now by sending an email to HockeyNight@ciaservices.com.
CAI Upcoming Events
The Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a national trade organization for the community association industry. Houston has an active local chapter. Two events of interest are coming up which are open to the public.
CAI Trade Show
This is CAI's annual local event where you can visit with over 70 vendors who provide services to community associations. It is a fun event with refreshments and lots of door prizes given throughout the day. There is no charge to enter the show and pre-registration is not required. |
|
CAI Casino Night
Tickets are available now - $30 per person or $45 per couple. The ticket price includes dinner, two drink tickets and "play" money. Dinner will be served from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Gaming will begin at 7:30 p.m. Make plans now to have an evening of fun, fabulous food and prizes, prizes, prizes! Prizes already donated include a television, GPS system, gas grill, margarita machine and much, much more! There will also be a silent auction with some fabulous gifts. Contact Leslie Baldwin at 713-981-9000 or baldwin@ciaservices.com. |
Community of the Month
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:
- October - Inwood Northwest Neighborhood Association
North Office - Shelly Brady, Community Manager - September - River Mist Homeowners Association
Southwest Office - Margaret Eckhardt, Community Manager - August - Ideloch Maintenance Fund
North Office - Shelly Brady, Community Manager
To see the full story on these communities and to see the past winners, visit the Community of the Month page on our web site.
Anniversaries
Every month we appreciate the communities that are celebrating their anniversaries with us. Here are our clients that started with us in October.
- Indian Shores Property Owners Association — 21 years
- Bowling Green Garden Homes — 20 years
- Ashcreek Homeowners Association — 18 years
- Kirkmont Section 2 Association — 15 years
- Traces II Community Improvement Association — 12 years
- Belleau Wood Civic Club — 7 years
- Rivermist Homeowners Association — 5 years
- Summerwood Community Association — 3 years
- Fairway Pointe Community Association — 2 years
- Cypresswood Lake Community Association — 1 years
- Courtyard-Westway Homeowners Association — 1 year
- Hunters Green Homeowners Association — 1 year
Our goal has always been to create a positive, long term relationship with all of our client communities. We are very proud to be managing all of these communities.
Employee Spotlight
- Welcome to new Southwest Office employees Kathleen Thames who joined us as a Community Manager and Alexandria Smith who is an Administrative Assistant.
- Congratulations to Penny Hill and her husband Trey who graduated on September 27th from the University of Phoenix. They both received Bachelors degrees in Business Administration. Penny is an administrative assistant at our North Office.
- And welcome to another future C.I.A. Services executive. Marley Jewls Miksch entered the world on Saturday, October 4th at 7 pounds 0.5 ounces and 19.5 inches tall. New mom Executive Vice President Renea Miksch is doing very well along with father Todd and Marley's sisters, Morgan and Maggie.
 |
 |
|
| Kathleen Thames | Alexandria Smith |
 |
| Penny and Trey Hill |
| C.I.A. Services, Inc. www.ciaservices.com Toll Free: 866-219-0563 |
||
| Southwest Office 9800 Centre Parkway, Suite 625 Houston, Texas 77036-8294 Phone: 713-981-9000 Fax: 713-981-9090 |
North Office 8811 FM 1960 Bypass, Suite 200 Humble, Texas 77338-4023 Phone: 281-852-1700 Fax: 281-852-4861 |
Bandera Office 465 Bear Springs Road Pipe Creek, Texas 78063-3178 Phone: 830-535-6222 Fax: 830-535-4265 |
(c) 2008 C.I.A. Services, Inc.