President’s Pen Growing up in England it seemed like sometimes our only seasonal shift would be cold and rainy to cold and windy. What an adjustment it was to move to North Carolina, a state that can throw Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter at you in one week! Aside from this tongue in cheek anecdote, it does feel like Fall has arrived in NC. The crisp cool air feels invigorating on our fading sun-tanned skin, and the end of 2018 is just around the corner. The shifting of seasons also means my tenure as your Triangle Apartment Association President is approaching its end. It has been an incredible honor to lead our association this year, and in my final President’s Pen I want to share with you some accomplishments and goals that have been reached by the TAA. First, I need to point out that it is through our volunteers that the TAA is capable of offering a wide variety of classes, events, and community outreach programs. This year we saw a marked increase in our members that became involved, and I am thrilled to share the immense growth in volunteers because of this. We started out the year with approximately 174 volunteers, and as of today we have 346 members helping out. That’s almost 100% increase in member engagement! As a result of the increased number of volunteers we were able to host eleven events in 2018. This included four After Work Networking events, Trade Show, Casino Night, Golf Tournament, Maintenance Mania, TAAEF Reverse Trade Show, and a New Lease on Life 5k Race fundraiser. In addition, the Board of Directors gave back to the community by spending an afternoon volunteering at the Raleigh Food Bank. As of today, we have had over 3,000 members attend the events held in 2018! TAA also had a record number of new National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) credential recipients this year. In 2018, 17 members received their CAPS certification, 34 received their CAM, 5 received their CAS, and 17 received
their NALP. It should also be noted that 6 of these graduates were awarded full scholarships from our TAAEF Scholarship program. In addition to the NAAEI credential courses, TAA hosted several seminars to increase knowledge of the industry such as, Show Me the Money, AANC Lease & Review, Fair Housing, NAA Lease and Review, Legal Issues, and Certified Pool Operator classes…whew! At the conclusion of 2018 over 800 members will have taken advantage of the fantastic array of classes the TAA has to offer, increased their knowledge of the multifamily industry, and expanded their circle of industry peers. Behind the scenes, TAA spent a significant amount of time advocating on behalf of our legal interests. A number of legislative issues arose this year that could have significantly affected the revenue apartment communities collect during evictions, however TAA stepped in and gave voice to these concerns. One example of legislative action was the passage of SB224, which enshrines into law the ability to collect fees incurred during the eviction process. TAA worked in collaboration with AANC and other affiliates to successfully advocate for the passage, resulting in our ability to continue to charge legal fees incurred from evictions and lease defaults. In addition, the Government Affairs Committee saw increased participation both in its committee meetings and at AANC’s Legislative Days, with 100 TAA members participating in more than a dozen meetings with NC Congress. Staying in the legal vein, it cannot be overlooked that the Government Affairs Committee raised $5,000 for TAA-PAC at Casino Night, making it the largest single fundraiser in TAA Political Action Committee history! Fiscally speaking, our Association has never been stronger. Annually, a strategic plan is created by the board, and in recent years the goal has been to save for capital improvements while maintaining a
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