CAI-NJ May 2017

M A Y , 2 0 1 7

PRESIDENT’S

CORNER

DENISE BECKER, CMCA, AMS, PCAM

CAI-NJ 2017 PRESIDENT | HOMESTEAD MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC., AAMC

elcome Spring! It’s finally here and we can

bask in the sunshine after the rain… or go to

where it’s REALLY hot and bask in the glory of

being a member of the New Jersey chapter of CAI!

This year, the CAI National Annual Conference and

Exposition is scheduled for May 3rd – 6th at Caesars

Palace in Las Vegas. This is a very special conference for

me for two reasons:

1. I get to represent the CAI-NJ chapter as its President!

2. CAI-NJ will be the recipient of an Achievement Award

for its in-person Business Partner Essentials Course in the

Members Service category!

I am so proud that our chapter was selected for this award.

There are not many CAI chapters that offer this course for their

business partners. When National first approached our chap-

ter, their rationale for asking New Jersey to hold this course

was because they knew our chapter’s Business Partner mem-

bers would be right there to participate and attend to make

it a success. To date, we have twenty two Business Partners

who have earned the distinction. Check out the CAI website

for information on attending the Business Partners Essentials

Course. To quote the website: “CAI-NJ Business Partners are

indispensable to the community associations they support with

their guidance, products and services. CAI-NJ education helps

these businesses and professionals differentiate themselves in

the competitive community association marketplace.” I know

when word gets out that our chapter has received this achieve-

ment award, many more will be lining up to sign up!

This month’s

Community Trends

edition deals with effi-

ciency. As I started thinking about that, I came to a reali-

zation: life is hard. I know, I know… that’s shocking and

provocative and ground-breaking all at the same time. All

“Listen as your day unfolds

Challenge what the future holds

Try and keep your head up to the sky.”

Des’ree – “You Gotta Be”

of us are busy with work, school, family, volunteering, etc.

As I said in my first column, when you think of all that you

do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, it is a wonder that

any of us have time to either serve as a member of our com-

munity association board or be an active member of CAI.

So it is natural to think about how we can use our time

more efficiently. It can definitely challenge us not lose our

grip and become overwhelmed. I often think about what I

could accomplish if I would just have an extra hour or so:

I could work on that “to-do” list (or actually write a “to do”

list), de-clutter my desk or tackle a few of those tasks that

have been keeping me up at night. Just think how produc-

tive we would all be if we had more time!

This month’s articles are geared towards this goal, to

help make our time and lives more efficient. This issue has

articles on …

• Drone Technology

• Thar She Blows

• The Case for Board Leadership Education

• Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck: Efficiently and

Effectively Using Association Legal Counsel in the

Collection Process

• NJ Clean Energy Program Save Energy, Save Money,

and Get Paid To Do It

• Using Technology as My Hammer

I know that I will be efficiently using my time out at

National to network, go to a few seminars, but mostly brag

about CAI-NJ!

Peace and Love,

Denise