From the President
Board of Directors
By Gene Sullivan | CAI-MN President
G
oogling your name on the Internet. Tell me if this isn’t something you’ve done. It can seem a bit immature, perhaps, a bit narcissistic; but if we are to be honest, it’s something we have all done at one time or another. Why do we find ourselves doing this? Before I go any further, let me be the first to say, I don’t think it necessarily stems from either immaturity or narcissism. Deep down, for most of us, what we are experiencing is something very basic to our human nature. A desire to have some living proof that we are both significant and important in the lives of others. That we have made a difference! That is why it is so important for us as an industry to take a moment, as we do each year, to acknowledge and show our appreciation to those outstanding folks with the Annual Vision Awards Ceremony. The numbers of those actually recognized that evening do not even begin to represent the legion of others who work diligently to make a difference. So let me take a moment to try. I must admit that as a member of CAI, I am proud to be associated with a group of colleagues who take their profession and ethics so seriously. To all those who work in this industry, the managers, attorneys, CPAs, and other service providers, thank you. And next, and certainly not least, we have to take a moment to recognize all who volunteer to serve their association community by being on the board. These folks, without pay or recognition
President
(or perhaps I should say “positive” recognition) serve their communities year in and year out, running multi-million dollar corporations, in order to provide necessary services for the operation of approximately 20% of the housing stock in our country. Not too shabby!
Gene Sullivan Phone 952.922.2500 gene@ncmgi.com
And as I mentioned at the Awards Dinner, according to an extensive study recently done by the American Enterprise Institute: If it were up to municipal and city government to perform the work done by all-volunteer boards for free, the conservative cost estimate is $850 million.
Matthew Drewes Phone 952.835.7000 mdrewes@tn-law.com
In addition, the cost of the services being provided to those HOAs making up that 20% of our national housing stock would increase the taxation burden to local government to the tune of an additional $40 billion. And the crowning statistic from that AEI study that every association board member should be proud of – 90% of all residents polled stated that they truly believe that their board of directors works hard to protect their interests and their property. No city, state, or federal government can even come close to those approval numbers. That is our story! That is CAI! As the percentage of homes in HOAs continue to grow, so does our relevance and significance as an organization.
Directors JoAnn Borden, CMCA, AMS, PCA Phone 763.746.1196 jborden@developcommunity.com
Joseph Fadell Phone 952.392.9208 fadell.joseph@gmail.com Russ Lis, CMCA, AMS Phone 612.805.6111 rlis@reconstructionsolutionsgroup.com Crystal Pingel, CMCA, AMS, PCAM Phone 952.277.2703 Crystal.Pingel@fsresidential.com Nancy Polomis, Esq. Phone 952.941.4005 npolomis@hjlawfirm.com Jim Rezek Phone 763-424-9984 jimrezek@comcast.net Halo Stafford, CMCA, AMS, PCAM Phone 952.944.2237 edenplacemgr@pinnaclefamily.com Joel Starks, CMCA Phone 952.698.2053 joel@sharpermanagement.com Michelle Stephans, RS Phone 763.754.5500 michelle@reserveadvisors.com
One of the reasons I believe HOA living connects with so many people is because it is so basic to the values that our nation was founded upon. The American Dream, which means our freedom provides us with the opportunity for
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Committee Chairs CAVL
Lynn Boergerhoff Phone 651.308.1461 lynnab7@gmail.com
Communications Chair
Carin Rosengren Phone 952.432.3722 CRosengren@kellerpm.com
Charitable Outreach Committee Chair Cliff Kurth Phone 763.248.1047 cliff@aemn.co
Education Committee Chair Nigel Mendez Phone 651.287.8640 nmendez@carlsonassoc.com
Golf Tournament Chair
Membership Chair
Kris Birch Phone 651.481.9180 krisbirch@birchlawn.net
Janice Pyka Phone 612.801.1229 janicepyka@gmail.com
Legislative Action Chair
Social Committee
John Dorgan Phone 612.721.4116 jrd@jdorganlaw.com
Jenna Wright Phone 303.547.7848 jwright@bensonpc.com
Trade Show Committee Chair Michele Ramler Phone 763.231.9809 mramler@cedarmanagement.com
Vision Awards Chair Jane Bristow, CMCA, AMS Phone 952.277.2722 jane.bristow@fsresidential.com
November | December 2014
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