Note from the Editor’s Desk

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

NEW YEAR?! DIDN’T WE JUST HAVE ONE OF THESE A FEW MONTHS AGO? LET’S TAKE IT A LITTLE SLOWER THIS YEAR, SHALL WE? JANUARY IS NAMED AFTER JANUS, THE ROMAN GOD OF BEGINNINGS, TRANSITIONS, AND DUALITY. TRADITIONALLY, JANUS IS PORTRAYED WITH TWO HEADS FACING OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. IN HONOR OF THAT CUSTOM, THIS FIRST ISSUE OF 2023 OFFERS A TWO-SIDED APPROACH TO SEVERAL CHALLENGES FACING HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS AND OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS. LOOKING AT ISSUES FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES PROVIDES BALANCE, A MORE THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING, AND ALTERNATIVES FOR US TO IMPLEMENT TO SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE COMPLEX CONDITIONS.

We begin the issue appropriately with an introduction to our 2023 CAI-GLAC Board of Directors, led by 2023 President Eric Rivera, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®. Following the Board, we have our current Committees’ roster and descriptions. Now is the perfect time to see what interests you and join one of our busy and productive committees. They are an essential component of the Chapter’s success, and the connections and insights learned from serving on a committee are a valuable bonus to every volunteer. Our feature article, Whose Business Is It Anyway? offers different perspectives on the upsurge in home-based businesses in HOAs and their impact on communities, residents, and associations. Next, the critical subject of insurance is explained from two vantage points in What To Expect From Your 2023 Insurance Renewal by Alan Schreibman, ARM, from a long-time professional’s perspective on the markets and what to expect on pricing and availability, and Southern California HOAs Insurance Challenges from a community manager and management company CEO, William Yarian, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®, offering ways to deal with being on the receiving end of the insurance industry’s shakeup. Manager Nicole Peterson follows with, Virtual, In-Person, Or Both? — the pros and cons of the virtual versus in-person meeting conundrum. Business partner Geoffrey Lloyd and association manager Joy Steele combine their viewpoints in Developing and Maintaining Good Vendor Relationships to provide a list of best practices for HOAs to use in creating strong, mutually beneficial relations with their vendors. Miranda Legaspi points out the essential component of any successful business—retaining their clients—in her advisory The Key to Business Success. Another of our business partners, AnneMarie Hernandez, covers the importance of planning to properly deal with maintenance, replacements, protecting infrastructure and having sufficient funds to pay for a safe and well-run association in We Can’t Live Like This Forever… Or Can We?

We include recaps of the Chapter’s recent events: the spectacular Le Cirque Awards Gala and Casino Party, annual Toy Drive, and 826LA. Don’t forget to look for the PCAM symbol somewhere in the magazine. Once you find it, e-mail Executive Director Michelle LeBlanc at michelle@cai-glac.org to tell her where you found it. If you are the first one, you win a $25 gift card. Gary Burns, President of Mulholland Heights HOA, found the PCAM symbol in the November-December issue, so sharp eyes and good luck. Finally, for our Janus-themed issue, Jocelle and I want to take this final opportunity to tell Joan what an immense pleasure it has been working with her as Chapter members and then as volunteers and now Co-chairs of the CAI-GLAC Publications Committee. We really couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for everything and best wishes for the next “Chapter” of “Joan’s Fantastic, Amazing, and Utterly Stupendous Life.” Facing forward, we are excited to start a partnership with CAIGLAC’s new Executive Director, Michelle LeBlanc and hope for her, and all our readers, a wonderful New Year.

Focus Magazine Co-editor Diane Rossiter, MBA, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM® General Manager, Bell Canyon Association

Celebrate endings—for they precede beginnings.

— Jonathan Lockwood Huia

CAI-GLAC does not necessarily endorse or approve statements of fact or opinion made in these pages and assumes no responsibility for those statements. Authors are responsible for developing the logic of their expressed opinions and for the authenticity of all facts presented in articles.