President’s Message

Influencer. As a manager, are you an influencer? If your answer to that question is “no”, you’re WRONG! Just like being an essential worker in our industry, you are absolutely an influencer, and never let anyone tell you differently! I see you on social media. I see it in industry publications. You influence the board of directors you serve as your client. You influence board members in their decision-making process. You influence the owners in the community you serve by guiding them through projects, assessments, budgeting, accounting questions, covenant compliance, or non-compliance. You influence the work that happens within the community. If you sit on industry boards or committees, no matter the organization, you’re an influencer.

Industry partners, you too, are vital influencers. You influence the board and/or management on what needs to be done in the community, how best to accomplish it, how best to forecast unforeseen challenges. You are influencers.

Hopefully, by now, you get my point. You may know it, been told it, or necessarily agree with it, but you, ALL of you reading this article, are industry influencers by the fact of what you do day in and day out serving the community management and HOA industry.

CACM is trying to help you in so many ways. I was fortunate to be able to pen an agreement with Cal State University, Fullerton to offer our certification courses through their extension program. I have reached out to San Diego State University’s Extension program to open discussions for the same purpose. Our goal is to have our certification courses offered to the general public at a number of extension programs throughout California by end of next year. This potentially opens the door to future influencers in our industry!

With your help, we also influenced the industry through COVID with the development of our virtual platform, CMworld, and then being the first to hold in-person events with the successful Executive Leadership Summit (ELS) held in May. We are in the process of opening booth space registration for both NorCal and SoCal 2022 Law Seminars, and over 100 industry partners have already taken advantage of that, in six hours! In a short couple of weeks, it will be managers’ turn to show how much you influence the industry by registering and attending the CACM Law Seminars. Um, I’ve already been asked about a number of different parties at the events, but hopefully you’ll be there for the education and networking as well!

Lastly, we all helped influence legislation this year. You’ve heard about them, seen them, voiced your opinion about them. None of the bills are perfect. There’s no such thing. But the bills that need help will get the help next year after it’s on the record. That’s how it works; influence the legislators, get something on the records, or soften a bill the best we can. It’s so much easier to fix a bill that’s on the books than it is to get it on the books.

Don’t hold yourself back. Be the change. I can’t wait to see hundreds of influencers at the Law Seminars! Until then, keep being the influencer!

Thomas Freeley, CAMEx, CCAM, President & CEO