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Kristen Hollander, CMCA, AMS I’ve spent most of my motherhood raising two children on my own. While some may pity single parents, I found it rewarding and I have gained a deeper sense of respect, not only for my own mother but for myself. It definitely wasn’t easy picking myself up and getting to where I am now. Finding the right balance between being a good mother and being a Community Association Manager (CAM) is more than a full-time job, but I am proud to have been able to show my children that I was able to do it.


I also think that being a mother has aided me in my work. As many of us know, working as a CAM can be taxing. We never have an empty inbox because we are constantly putting out fires (figuratively and semi-literally) and more often than not, we catch ourselves working long hours away from our families; A successful CAM requires compassion, hard work and dedication, all of which come with being a mother. I also know that I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am now, nor be able to deal with the stresses of these things, without the understanding and fortitude I was taught by my own mother.


For practically my entire life, my mom has fought one illness after another. She has had to live in crippling pain everyday for as long as I can remember but regardless of how she was feeling she always tried to stay positive. Still to this day, even when she feels like she wants to give up, she never does. She has shown me what it means to push through the hard times and cherish the good ones. My mother is a fighter and I am happy to say that she helped make me one too.


Andrea Goodmansen


When I think about community associations in Washington State, I think about the people who live in those associations. From first time homeowners to families to retirees, community associations are just that, communities of people. I am consistently in awe of the women I meet through WSCAI: Homeowners and Board Members, Association Managers, Building Consultants, Lawyers, Insurance Brokers, Bankers, and other women in Construction. Many are leaders at home and in their professions and all have a big influence on the dynamics of living and working within communities.


I was raised by a mother who was not allowed to be part of the management of her family’s business. That position was given to her younger brother. However, she taught me that leadership starts at home. As a mom, she lead by example, making sure that if chores needed to be done, she was doing them, too (“Don’t ask someone to do something you’re not willing to do yourself.”). Leadership means doing what you say you’re going to do, making decisions that affect others, and being accountable when things don’t go as planned. These are the standards I hold myself to each and every day as a business owner. More importantly, these are the traits I try to pass along to my three teenage daughters.


I realize not everyone had this experience growing up, but I believe more often than not, it was similar. My hope is that this Mother’s Day each and every mom is celebrated for the influence they provide and the leaders they are.


Melissa Musser, CMCA, AMS


I will never forget my first after-hours emergency call. I was at home sitting at my dining room table on a Saturday morning, coloring with my daughter who was about nine at the time. Being brand new to Association management, I was in panic mode. Before the days of Google, I had to find my manager binder and try to figure out who to call: sudden and accidental, leaking roof, insurance claim. Call the roofer, “Go make the water stop.” Call a Board member and let them know what’s happening. Call insurance and open a claim. After about seven phone calls I sat back down and finished coloring my Superstar Barbie’s dress hot pink. As most curious ten-year-old kids do, many questions followed. Who did I call? What was insurance?


Over the next few years, I have attended many insurance classes and seminars and I am serious when I say, “I love insurance.” Ask anyone who has worked with me, I geek out over risk management. Coordination of benefits and assignment of responsibility is fascinating. I look forward to phone calls and lunches with my association’s agents to learn more about changes to state statutes and how they will affect coverage provisions. There have been dozens of additional calls with dozens of additional “Carly questions.”


Imagine the pride in this mom’s heart when I was told by my daughter, who is now all grown up, that she had received her license and was now selling insurance. That agent I called on that rainy Saturday was Brian Seth with my local Allstate agency. Coincidently, Carly started as a receptionist in that same small agency and has now become an agent. Now, on Saturday mornings we both geek out over things like HO-6 policies and water losses that fall under the deductible.


20 Community Associations Journal | May 2017


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