Are There Any CAI Members

Golly, I am new to this, and quite scared. I am taking over for a Board of Director, after he became ill. The first thing I'm asked to do is find out if it's worthwhile to be a member of CAI. Is there anyone out there? There's so much I don't know, and I'm afraid to ask the other board members because they just might think I am stupid. HELP ... HELP ....

Cathy,

Our Association does not belong and does not pay for any CAI memberships.

Personally, I don't agree with all of CAI's lobbing efforts (which made for great debates when a past President of CAI was serving on our Board). Therefore, I wouldn't support the organization personally. However, I do admit that CAI does have some good resources for Associations. Of course, so do other sites.

As for the Association belonging to CAI, I would raise objection to that as well. However, that would be because of finances and not for any personal beliefs toward CAI. Although our Association is fine financially on paper, there are projects (tree trimming, cleanup of wooded areas, etc.) that should be done that are continually being put off and I believe that available funds should go toward addressing those projects than into an organization that the Association would unlikely receive any direct benefit from.

I believe that this is going to be what you find. Differing opinions and you will simply need to make your own decision. You may want to contact your local chapter of CAI and ask them directly how the Association can benefit by being a member. Then research those benefits and, like any financial decision, see if the Association can gain the same or similar benefits elsewhere for less.

Cathy,
High five to you for stepping up in a time of crisis, and never be afraid to ask a question directly to your board, be honest with them on what you know or don't know. Your new at this and if you want or need some direction they should be happy to help you.

I agree with Tim's remarks regarding the CAI. For myself when I needed an education on being a HOA board member, I found all kinds of good free advice online, a lot of those links were shared here on this forum.

It's been awhile since I've looked at it, but study their "features/benefits" and see how many of them would benefit your HOA.

Actually, it's $114 (the extra $10 is optional). However, it's also per person.
And there are discounts for signing up multiple individuals (well Board members at a time).
Rates are from $200 for two people to $500 for 7.

Bravo to you for realizing you need some training to be President. There's no need to join CAI. Just go to the CAI bookstore and order some of their very inexpensive books on almost all aspects of association management. You can educate yourself.
Jeanne

I was our association’s CAI rep when I served on the board. Mostly we used it for education – I’d go to some of the local chapter’s seminars and share that information with the board along with articles from Common Ground, CAI’s magazine (which has some good stuff in it).

As far as the political lobbying is concerned, our chapter hasn’t done a lot of it because it’s expensive and time consuming (and our state legislature seems to be a lot more interested in dumb stuff anyway). It is beginning to get more active because there have been some interesting laws proposed in recent years – some good, others not so much.

So, you may want to see if there’s a local chapter and attend an event or two (you’ll have to pay a small fee as a non-member) and then decide if you’d like to join. If not, you can still buy some of their manuals and I think you can also subscribe to its magazine, although it’ll cost you a little more as a non-member. Personally, I think the Association should pay for the membership, but if it doesn't, get a few manuals anyway to educate yourself. Or check your local library to see if it has any books and you can read those for free!

By the way, don’t worry about asking questions – how else will you learn? I’m glad you’re thinking enough about the position to recognize that you don’t know everything and want to get educated so you can be an effective board member. If another board member seems to be condescending towards you when you do ask the questions, don’t worry about it (chances are, he/she doesn’t have a clue and until now, no one’s called him/her on it). Good luck!

I completely agree.

We are in Nevada and belong to CAI. Out of our board of 5, I'm the only one who utilizes the national or state chapter information. Every once in awhile another board member will accompany me to an educational seminar.

Personally and as a board member, appreciate the information available to us.

Cindy