Green Communities

Green has entered the consciousness of everyone these days. Green living is good for your health and it is good for your pocketbook. It is good for the Earth and all of its creatures. Green living involves making choices that have a positive impact on the environment so that the planet can continue to sustain future generations. Recycling cans and installing flourescent bulbs have become natural to us. But there are so many other opportunities.

The Community Association Institute Research Foundation has recently published a report on Green Communities as part of their Best Practices series. You can download the 80-page resource for free by clicking here. The report addresses energy management, transportation, waste, building management, governing documents, land-use and more. There are many ideas for every community.

Community green efforts can be large or small. One time or ongoing. By an organized group or by individuals. Every effort is important and creates a positive impact. Here are a few examples from our communities to give you ideas of what you can do. Notice that many of them also save money for the community.

• Brazos Lakes - Newsletters are now being distributed electronically to save money and trees.
• Cinco Ranch Southwest - The Lake House Community Center has earned elite LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification through its design and energy savings features.
• Clear Lake City Boulevard Association - Installed advanced irrigation controllers to reduce water usage by irrigating based on plant materials, soil conditions and weather conditions. Also, implemented an organic fertilization program to support soil biology, improve plant health and reduce chemical runoff into waterways.
• Colony Grant - Has photocells, override timers and timer switches on tennis courts to reduce energy use. The photocell prevents the lights from being turned on before dark. The override timer ensures the lights go off when the courts close. And the timer switch on the courts allow players to turn on the lights only when they are playing and turn off automatically after an hour.
• Hunters Green - The clubhouse uses a programmable thermostat to save energy while keeping the clubhouse comfortable while in use.
• Marina Bay Park - In addition to curbside recycling for all residents, a recycle bin has been placed at the community recreation to collect soft drink cans and water bottles.
• Pine Brook - Completed a wetlands restoration project in cooperation with the Audubon Society to eliminate invasive trees, reintroduce native grasses and restore a large, urban wildlife habitat.
• Quail Green - Sprinklers are set to come on at 4 a.m. to reduce water evaporation in the sun and wind of the day, to minimize problems with plant materials from staying wet overnight and to prevent soaking early morning walkers and joggers.
• Silver Ridge - Replaced quartz light fixtures on the entry monuments to reduce energy usage, reduce bulb replacement costs and produce a more uniform lighting effect.
• Telfair - Has incorporated extensive native wildflower areas in the landscape design to reduce water consumption, reduce pollution from lawn mowing and increase bird and butterfly habitat.
• Telfair Community Council - Holds an annual Arbor Day event with the local elementary school where children present their essays about the impact of trees in the environment and bring home saplings after learning how to plant and care for them.

The opportunities for green living are everywhere. A major impact can be made with a small effort carried out by a large number of people. For example, you may have heard facts like having every household replace just one 60 watt incandescent light bulb with a compact flourescent bulb would save the equivalent of 3 billion gallons of gasoline. If only 100,000 people were able to stop receiving junk mail, then 150,000 less trees would need to be cut down every year. These are small efforts by each individual with collosal impacts on the environment.

So look for opportunities small and large in your community to make a difference. Use energy and natural resources efficiently. Provide information and opportunities for residents. Don't leave this job to the next generation - start now.

Silver Anniversary

It all began as an idea among friends and neighbors who wanted to improve their community. Twenty five years ago, in September 1984, C.I.A. Services opened for business. Our vision was to provide the best management services available at a reasonable price. Looking back, 1984 seems so long ago.

• A first class stamp cost 20 cents.
• A gallon of gasoline costs $1.10.
• The average U.S. household income was $21,600.
• The year end Dow Jones Industrial average was 1,211.
• The Olympics held in Los Angeles were boycotted by the Soviet block countries (before the "Iron Curtain" collapsed).
• The Los Angeles Raiders won the Super Bowl. The Detroit Tigers won the World Series. The Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup.
• John McEnroe beat Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova defeated Chris Evert at Wimbledon.
• Georgetown defeated Houston in the NCAA championship featuring future hall of famers Patrick Ewing against Hakeem Olajuwon.
• Apple Computer introduced the Macintosh personal computer.
• The first CD players hit the market by Sony and Philips.
• The Cosby show debuted.
• Good guy-bad guy TV shows were very popular with Hills Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Magnum P.I., Knight Rider and the A-Team.
• Album of the year was Thriller by Michael Jackson
• All these movies came out (these don't actually seem that old since you can see many of them every week on some cable channel): The Terminator, Ghostbusters, Indian Jones, The Karate Kid, Star Trek III, Police Academy. Each of these movies had at least one sequel.

We are very pleased to be celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. We extend our sincere appreciation to all of our communities for being a part of our success.

New Seminar Series

The schedule for our popular C.I.A. Services Seminar Series was mailed to all community board members in July. To view the seminar descriptions and schedule, click here or visit the Library page of our website. This is the seventh year of our seminar series and we continue to receive very positive feedback on the content and presentation. Our goal is to provide timely and convenient educational opportunities to help you with your duties.

The Super-Budgeting Process "Super-Budgeting" is our term for preparing a comprehensive long term budget and business plan. This isn't something you do on the back of an envelope an hour before the budget meeting. We'll break the process down into understandable components and show you how assets and reserves fit in the picture. We'll start with a simple question that very few people can answer correctly: "How much money should our Association have in the bank?" By the end of the seminar, you'll know the correct answer for your Association. This is a critical seminar to take before you start looking at budgets. August 11, 2009 (Tuesday), 6:00 p.m. — North Office August 25, 2009 (Tuesday), 6:00 p.m. — Southwest Office September 17, 2009 (Thursday), 6:00 p.m. — Southwest Office September 23, 2009 (Wednesday), 6:00 p.m. — North Office

You can register at any time by calling 713-981-9000 or emailing seminars@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:

• August - Cypresswood Lake Community Association
  North Office - Kim Easterling, Community Manager
• July - Oyster Point Homeowners Association
  Southwest Office - Leslie Baldwin, Community Manager
• June - Summerwood Community Association
  North Office - Laura Tate, 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 the clients that started with us in August.

• Country Colony Community Improvement Association — 14 years
• Covington Bridge Community Association — 6 years
• Glen Park Homeowners Association — 5 years
• Hunters Glen Section V Homeowners Association — 5 years
• Telfair Community Council — 3 years
• Quail Green Homeowners Association — 2 years

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

• We are pleased to announce two promotions. Candace DeRousselle has been promoted to Community Manager at our Southwest Office and Linda Morris has been promoted to Community Manager at our North Office.
• Congratulations to our newest stockholder. North Ofice Community Manager Anna Marron is celebrating her 5 year anniversary this month.
• Congratulations to three of our North Office employees who are celebrating anniversaries with C.I.A. Services. Kim Easterling-Moore and Angie Thomas both joined us 11 years ago and Annette Escarenio, joined us 7 years ago.
• And welcome to three administrative assistants who recently joined our North Office: Jessica Orihuela, Nikki Perry and Renee Martin.

Candace DeRousselle		Linda Morris		Anna Marron

Kim Easterling-Moore		Angie Thomas		Annette Escarenio

Jessica Orihuela		Nikki Perry		Reneee Martin