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O C T O B E R , 2 0 1 7
LOOKING
AHEAD
LARRY THOMAS, PCAM
| CAI-NJ CHAPTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
"This is the one event that boards
should not only allow but should
encourage their management
teams to attend."
I
t’s that time of the year again, summer is winding down
and the kids are back to school. This is also the time of
the year that all of us should be making plans to attend
the annual CAI-NJ Annual Conference and Expo. For those
that attended last year, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that
that this was one of our best conferences in recent years.
I can tell you that the Conference and Expo committee
has worked very hard to provide you with an even better
experience. Pat McGlone as Chair and Cheryl Rhine as
Vice Chair met with the committee monthly to discuss the
days event and rest assured, they along with the commit-
tee, Angela as staff liaison and Mohammed Salyani and
Donna Belkot as Board liaisons have covered “all the
bases” to make this a great day for all of our members.
I am asking that everyone “spread the word” among their
colleagues and industry connections. This is the one event
that boards should not only allow but should encourage
their management teams to attend. I’m sure that your main-
tenance staff will also benefit from attending. The operation
of your community will not be severely affected by their not
being at their desks for the day. We make this a free event
for board members, this includes your committee chairs
and committee members as well. There is no better way
to show potential new board members what CAI is about.
As you may know, prior to becoming the CAI NJ Executive
Director, I was the Senior Manager for Renaissance at
Manchester. I invited two of the community’s key volun-
teers to attend the 2015 Conference, they are Kathy and
George Middleton. Kathy is editor of the monthly maga-
zine (and a host of other volunteer positions) and George
is the Chair of the Recreation Committee. I met them at
the entrance when they arrived and the first words from
both of them was how much they were amazed at the size
of the conference. They spent the entire day visiting the
exhibitors, asking questions and sitting in in the education
seminars. I received an email from both of them the next
day telling me how impressed they were with the event and
what CAI- NJ has to offer. Renaissance has since registered
George as a CAI member. My point here is that Kathy and
George are key contributors to their community and prior to
attending the 2015 Conference had no idea of the many
benefits CAI can provide to them. So please, get your
board, committee members, and management team togeth-
er, pack up your cars and spend the day with CAI-NJ.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center at Raritan Center
Edison, NJ