Mamie Sneed of Heron Nest Owners Association, Inc.
by Valerie Lehr

It is my honor to introduce you to Ms. Mamie Sneed, Vice President of the Heron Nest Owners Association, Inc.  Volunteers are often the backbones of our communities, and Mamie Sneed is a shining example of the many exemplary volunteers we often have the privilege of working with. 

Heron Nest has been Mamie’s home since 2008.  Mamie believes in making the community a safe place to live and raise children. She has several important goals in mind to help her community be the best it can be.  She endeavors to: ensure deputies patrolling the streets within the community have a visible presence, close an unnecessary entrance in the community to decrease heavy traffic coming and going to surrounding communities, install speed limit signs, bridge the gap in order to increase the communication between the community and Board of Directors, and improve overall appearance in the community.  

Mamie is a retired educator and has brought many of her skills to the community, which has only worked out in Heron Nest’s favor!  Early on, Mamie volunteered to help develop ACC and Deed Restriction Guidelines for the community.  Later on, she also played a crucial role to get the association’s detention pond repaired and in compliance with Harris County Flood Control.  In 2015, she began lending her time to the community’s Board of Directors and has served as the President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and currently is the Association’s Vice President and Security & Social Committee Chairperson.  

However, though Mamie’s accomplishments are great (and she’s not done!), there are two that stand out above all others.  She was instrumental in bringing Security Officers back to the community and restoring two day per week garbage pickups.  The Association has greatly benefitted from her dedication and passion towards helping others, and these two examples show just how much she cares for her fellow residents. 

Seminar Series

We now offer each of our seminars in the form of a recorded webcast on demand for you to watch at any time! If you have missed a seminar, our seminars are available on our YouTube channel. The following seminars are now available:

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

Just go to our website, www.ciaservices.com, and click on the Resources tab. From there, select our Library and you will see the links to each webcast and other training materials or you can simply click on the links above.

Associations in Practice

We are pleased to offer the next generation of our Seminar Series!  With our Associations in Practice Series, we will be releasing short, concise videos about specific topics relative to the practical aspects of being a board member of a homeowners association. New videos will be released regularly and we will offer a video library that covers a broad range of topics for those moments when you have just a few minutes to focus on one thing.  

Our first video in the Associations in Practice Series is Super-Budgets (Condensed). This is a great introduction (or refresher) to The Super-Budgeting Process webinar offered in our Seminar Series. All of our Association in Practice Series videos will available on our YouTube channel. 

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:

• September - Aliana Community Council - Southwest Office - Deniece Reyes
  
• August - Redland Ranch Estates Homeowners Association - San Antonio Office - Sebby Regalado
  
• July - Community Associaton of the Highlands - Southwest Office - Libby Hodges
• June - Retablo Ranch Owners Association, Inc. - San Antonio Office - Brandi Brack
• May - Cypress Forest Lakes Community Association - Humble Office - Kaila Gattis
• April - Cinco Ranch Residential Association II, Inc. - Humble Office - Laura Tate & Kimberly Cowart

To see the full story on these communities and to see all of 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 the month of September.

• Valley Lodge Property Owners Association — 25 years
• Westfield Glen Property Owners Association — 18 years
• Eldridge Park Village Community Association — 16 years
• Woodforest North II Homeowners Association — 16 years
• Clear Lake City Boulevard Association — 13 years
• Fairway Place Homeowners Association — 11 years
• New Forest Homeowners Association — 11 years
• Westfield Forest Homeowners Association — 11 years
• Lakeridge Homeowners Association — 6 years
• Treasure Island Homeowners Association — 6 years
• Aliana Commercial Association — 4 years
• Rancho Verde Community Association — 4 years 
• Bandera Landing Townhouse Owners Association — 4 years
• Country Commons Owners Association — 4 years
• Charro Legacy Trails Cell-4 Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The Crossing at Quail Creek Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Cedar Springs Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Culebra Crossing Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Canyon View Association — 4 years
• Deer Hollow Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Deerfield Owners Association — 4 years
• El Sendero (San Antonio) Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Fieldstone Association — 4 years
• Hunters Chase Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Hidden Heights Homeowners Association — 4 years
• HSE Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Magnolia Heights Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Northwest Park Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The Overlook Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Orsinger Lane Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The Oak Trail Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Palo Blanco Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Pembroke Farms Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The San Antonio Pembroke Village Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Redland Oaks Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Redland Ranch Estates Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Retablo Ranch Owners Association — 4 years
• Redland Springs Association — 4 years
• San Antonio Oak Crest Homeowners Association — 4 years
• San Antonio Quail Ridge Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Shavano Forest Owners Association — 4 years
• Sierra Vista Homeowners Association — 4 years
• San Antonio St. James Place Homeowners Association — 4 years
• San Antonio Stonecrest at Lookout Canyon Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The Summit Mutual Amenities Association — 4 years
• Tezel Trails Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Twin Creek  (San Antonio) Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The Villas of Oakcreek Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Westover Forest Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The Woods at Fair Oaks Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Walden Meadows Homeowners Association — 4 years
• Westover Valley Homeowners Association — 4 years
• The Wilderness Oaks Owners 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. Thank you for your loyalty and being a part of our success!

Employee Anniversaries

We love to celebrate special milestones with our employees. In the Employee Corner of each eNews issue, we will list all employees that have reached their first anniversary with our company.  Additionally, once employees reach five years, we recognize them each year on their anniversary month.

This September, our President Ralph Troiano celebrates 34 years since C.I.A. Services was created on September 29, 1984.  Ralph is an approachable leader that provides expertise within and outside of the company. As the creator of our software, he continues to enhance it regularly, allowing the program to be more efficient and in turn enabling the company to provide outstanding service.  Ralph can frequently be found on the ice playing his favorite game of hockey!

Congratulations to Debra Bearden, who is celebrating her 6th anniversary with C.I.A. Services this year.  As the Accounts Payables & Receivables Team Leader, Debra Bearden is a valuable member of our accounting office.  She works closely with the team to ensure that all community invoices & payments received are handled in an efficient and timely manner!   She and her husband, Chuck, live in Pipe Creek with their very loved corgis and horses.  She enjoys gardening, reading and spending time with friends. 

Jenny McCarthy is celebrating her 1-year anniversary this month.  Jenny is a Maintenance Coordinator from our San Antonio office.  Jenny is our "go-to" person for gated communities and knows about the various gate systems forwards and backwards.  She is a NASCAR fan and enjoys spending time with her kids and her mom in her free time!

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.