business should be limited in time. The same goes for committee members. Mix it up a bit! It’s good practice to have presentations and handouts available as some are visual learners and like following along with printed media. A good balance of agenda topics which include speakers, visual presentation, and handouts will satisfy the preference of each homeowner on an individual basis. Allow for structured Q&A. Give each homeowner an opportunity to ask questions. After all, it is the annual “owners” meeting, not just another board meeting where we happen to invite the community. You should plan on limiting the question and answer sessions in a way that fits your needs. Some communities limit one question per person at a time. Or 2-5 minutes of floor time per homeowner. Only you can figure out what works best for your community. Strive for order and avoid chaos.
Community association management and governance is ever evolving. In the post-COVID era, technology has bridged some of the gaps and created solutions to many challenges some communities have faced over the years. Before March of 2020, the virtual annual meeting was unheard of. But to continue the governance of your community in the middle of a pandemic, we had to get creative. In the early months of the pandemic, we all struggled to figure out how to best use this technology. Eventually, most fit the technology into their operations. As we slowly eased out of the pandemic, the value of the virtual meeting was ever apparent. More people were willing to participate if they could do so from the comfort of their homes or from another location. From that, most communities have invested in technologies to allow for a hybrid
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type in-person/virtual meeting to get as much participation as possible. Another new technology and service that is becoming more popular is the online voting options. Many companies have emerged to provide election services though online methods which allow for easier and safer elections. In my experience, voter participation in communities utilizing online voting has increased two-fold. It takes away the margin of error in counting votes and allows quorum to be met in communities where participation is generally low. Lean on your experts and colleagues who have implemented these new technologies and see if they fit your needs.
Before we adjourn…never lose sight of having fun at your annual meeting. You should be celebrating the community you love. Whether your community
faces financial and construction challenges, or is perfect in every way, you are all in this together. Once a year, we should be able to get together, have rational, meaningful discussions, and select the next decision makers for the community. You can make that happen by creating order, the ultimate antidote to chaos.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Sytnik, CMCA is a Regional Director with FirstService Residential, AAMC. Mr. Sytnik holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Rider University. Mr. Sytnik is an active member of CAI Keystone, participating as a committee member and frequent presenter. He can be contacted via email at:
andrew.sytnik@
fsresidential.com.
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