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O C T O B E R , 2 0 1 7
A
s volunteers of CAI-NJ’s Membership Committee,
we are often asked by prospective members
about the pros and cons of joining CAI-NJ
(spoiler: there are no cons). What we have learned
from having hundreds of these conversations is that
the most effective tool in explaining the benefits of
CAI-NJ is for the prospective members to hear directly
from those in the same membership class as them. For
example, a Homeowner Leader (HL), will likely have a
better understanding of the benefits that CAI-NJ can provide
him/her by hearing it directly from a fellow HL, rather than
from a business partner or manager. With this in mind, we
spoke with many of our long-time HL members about what
CAI-NJ has provided them and why they recommend CAI-
NJ membership to board members and communities alike.
In general, HLs point to a laundry list of reasons when
asked why they continue being members of CAI-NJ. Mostly,
however, the HLs we spoke with felt that CAI-NJ member-
ship is necessary for them to best represent and serve their
communities. “I wanted to help my community and be a
better board member,” said Valentine Valdman. “It gives
me pleasure to work with various professionals in the field,
to help them with providing a board member’s/homeown-
er’s insight, and at the same time, to learn from them.” For
Jean Bestafka, it was her ability to interact with other board
members and learn about how they are addressing various
issues. “As a board member I get to meet with members
from other boards, managers and business partners to get
first-hand information.” Ms. Bestafka recommends CAI-NJ
Attention Board Members:
Here’s Why Your Fellow
Homeowner Leaders
Recommend
JOINING
CAI-NJ
By CAI-NJ Membership Committee
CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 34
mem-
bership due
to its “outstanding Legislative
Action Committee which pro-
tects and advocates for our
needs.”
HL Deana Luchs believes
that without CAI-NJ, “it is
easy to get stuck in a vacu-
um, meaning that you only
hear the opinions of your
board members and the
professionals you hire.” Ms.
Luchs continued, “with CAI-
NJ, it opens you up to an
entire industry of opinions and insights. Like anything else,
there is more than one way to approach an issue and CAI-
NJ’s educational resources provide HLs with the tools to
determine what is best for their community.”
From the wide variety of educational programming such
© iStockphoto.com
“As a board
member I get
to meet with
members from
other boards,
managers
and business
partners to
get first-hand
information.”