Trestle News & Insights, Winter-2018 — The Annual Meeting Issue
Welcome to the Trestle Community Management News & Insights newsletter. This newsletter is sent to Trestle Client Board Members to keep you up to date on firm happenings, and topics that are important at the time.
Following are several short articles to help you through the upcoming Annual Meeting season.
Recruiting Board Member’s & Board Responsibilities
When recruiting potential owners to add to your Association Board, do you consider what it takes for them to be a good board member? A Board is a team representing the owners in determining the current and future needs of the Association. Owners vote for a person, or persons, who will act on, and make decisions on, their behalf. These owners who have volunteered and been elected to serve on the association’s board are responsible for making critical decisions about managing the community and money.
Trestle Nominated for Three Community Association Institute Awards
Trestle Community Management announced that it was nominated for three annual awards from the Washington State Chapter of Community Associations Institute (CAI). The three nominated annual awards were:
Business Partner of the Year — Trestle Community Management
Manager of the Year — Melissa Musser, CMCA, AMS, Trestle Suburban Growth Practice Director
Manager of the Year — Stephanie Slone-Brencic, CMCA, AMS, Trestle Senior Community Manager
Achieving Quorum at Annual Meetings with Proxies
A quorum is the minimum number of owners who must be at a meeting before business can be transacted. Washington state law says unless the bylaws specify a larger percentage, a quorum is present throughout any meeting of the association if the owners of units to which twenty-five percent of the votes of the association are allocated are present in person or by proxy at the beginning of the meeting. 25% is relatively low, but getting to it is a common problem in many associations. And that’s where a proxy can help.
Trestle Managers Earn Elite Professional Credentials
Three Trestle Community Managers have elevated their professional credentials as awarded by Community Associations Institute (CAI) to help ensure Trestle is providing expert guidance necessary to manage communities most effectively. Megan Martin, Loralynn Helm and Joy Steele…
Make Sure Members Are Heard at Annual Meetings While Preserving Order
The association’s annual meeting is the best opportunity for members to learn about this year’s events, review what took place the previous year, and get caught up on everything happening in your community. These topics often raise questions or debate and all association members have a right to be heard at membership meetings by presenting, seconding, debating and voting on a motion. A motion is a proposal that your membership must take action or a position on a specific topic or issue.
Trestle’s Suburban Growth Practice Director Presents “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design”
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is the “design and effective use of the built environment that can lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of crime, and an improvement in the quality of life.” Simply put, the way that campuses and buildings are designed and built can have a big effect on the amount of crime that occurs in these places.
CAI Saturday Seminar — Strategic Planning for the 21st Century Board
Today’s Board of Directors must look 5, 10, 20 years into the future to assure the community will meet the needs of an ever-changing community landscape. In this Saturday seminar session, board members will be given tools to recognize community needs, take their vision and put it into action, and lay a foundation for the future of their community and board members yet to be elected.