As American as Baseball and... CAI? By Matt Drewes, Thomsen & Nybeck, P.A., Attorneys
S
ummer may feel like it’s already a long way away, but we now have new reason to look forward to the changing of the seasons when the calendar turns to 2014. In July, next year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game is coming to Minnesota. For fans of the local nine (read: Twins) and baseball in general, this is going to be an exciting year, and we’ll hope our own boys of summer play well enough for more than the obligatory lone representative to be recognized with an invitation to play in the mid-summer classic. Those of us involved in CAI like to think of our efforts as those of a team, as well. With Ewald Consulting acting as a “general manager” of sorts helping to fill out the rosters on our various committees, many people pitch in and share in making what we hope will be a successful effort to engage, energize, and educate the various members of the larger body of people living in and working with community associations. We think a number of additional parallels may be drawn between the phases of a baseball season and offseason and the annual calendar of CAI and its members, as well. So, with that in the back of our minds, and a tip of the cap to former chair (and current Board liaison) Joel Starks of Sharper Management for the idea, we on the CAI-MN communications committee are pleased to announce that we’ll have a baseball-oriented series of issues of Minnesota Community Living Magazine for you in 2014. For example, MLB organizations begin the calendar by continuing offseason efforts to construct their roster, sign contracts with free agents and arbitration-eligible players, and plan for the season ahead. The work continues as spring training begins, as players prepare themselves and organizations evaluate those 4
Minnesota Communit y Living
players. By the time summer truly arrives the baseball season will have begun. Teams look to solidify their positions and build on earlyseason successes, keeping their ballclubs and their facilities looking and performing their best. July, of course, marks the return of MLB’s All-Star Game to Minnesota, and shortly thereafter the playoff push begins. Teams vie to finish strong and, when the offseason arrives, organizations will look back to the decisions they made months earlier that resulted in whatever position they may now find themselves. A new process of budget analysis, player evaluation, roster change begins. The communities that CAI-MN seeks to serve, meanwhile, also may begin their year assembling teams of service providers to provide seasonal work such as landscapers, or contractors to provide building repair and maintenance or paving. Evaluating contracts and personnel, training and preparation, and performing an HOA’s own rite of spring (walkthroughs) are themes that correlate equally well to the baseball calendar. In the summer, the work throughout your homes and neighborhoods will be underway, and
associations will want to continue to focus on what is working within their organizations and what may need to change. CAI-MN will of course look to recognize and honor its own “stars” within the HOA field with the beginning of nominations for and selection of Vision Award winners. And as the warm weather and eventually the calendar year winds down, communities should also perform some self-reflection to consider what worked and what didn’t, including budgets, personnel, or contractors. We hope you’ll enjoy the revised layouts and features we’re including in this year’s version of the magazine. More importantly, we hope that by reviewing these themes and article concepts, you’ll step up to the plate, or pitch us your idea, and join our lineup of article authors for 2014 or find another way to get involved and become a part of the team. Take a look at the editorial calendar below for information about how we have tried to take these baseball themes and apply them to useful article topics you can contribute, or perhaps that you can use throughout the year in your own communities.
2014 MCL Magazine Themes & Editorial Schedule
Are you interested in contributing an article to an edition of the MCL? We take the time to consider each article that is submitted for publication in CAI-MN’s magazine. So if you enjoy writing, enjoy researching industry topics, or want to share your findings on a discovery you’ve made, then feel free to contact us and submit your article. Articles can be sent to montea@cai-mn.com. This year’s magazine themes and article deadlines are listed below.
January/February
Theme: “Pre-Season” Topics: Contracts, arbitration, member benefits
March/April
July/August
Theme: “All-Star Game” Topics: Promoting all-stars in HOA, honoring employees, growing business Article Deadline: May 1, 2014
Theme: “Spring Training” Topics: Training managers and board members, spring walkthroughs, bids Article Deadline: Jan. 17, 2014
September/October
May/June
November/December
Theme: “Play Ball” Topics: Operations, putting training into practice, lawn care, community Article Deadline: March 1, 2014
Theme: “Post-Season” Topics: Budgets, finishing the year strong Article Deadline: July 1, 2014 Theme: “Off-Season” Topics: Evaluating the year, analyzing strategy, looking ahead to next year Article Deadline: September 1, 2014