Hello! My name is Gayle Hasley and I am a community association manager. I’ve been thinking about writing these articles for a couple of months now … the topics, the “perspective”, the tone, and the length, all considerations for interesting reading. I decided the first article would best be one of introduction. Who am I and what do I bring to the table to share in a management blog?
I live in the 116 unit condominium association which I also manage. I have lived here for 30 years (eek!), and began serving on the board of directors in 1982 when I was still in the Navy. I am a retired Senior Chief Petty Officer who worked as an Air Traffic Controller for 14 years, then, since I was “so good at telling people where to go”, became a management consultant, beginning in the Human Resources system in 1977. I retired from active duty in 1984 and began my own consulting firm, continuing to serve on the my association board until 1987 when I resigned and began managing the property. I also manage a small 12 unit condo complex (and have for the past 9 years).
I believe in relationships. We’ve had the same landscaper for 20 years, the same janitor for 18, the same attorney for 12 and the same accounting firm for over 27 years. Sure, we’ve lost some folks, fired others and argued some. I honestly believe however, that one of the biggest problems in our industry today is turnover – in boards, in management firms and managers, and in vendors. Most associations today have little or no history, nor a sense of real attachment to what the “community” in community associations means anymore. We’ve become a society of transients.
I believe in communication… you can’t be “married” for that many years without it. Living here means I know the residents. Our lowest owner occupancy in the last 30 years was 75% and it has remained over 80% for the last 15. Every owner and tenant gets a newsletter with their name printed on the label, every month. I’m proud to say that over the last 18 years, we’ve only missed getting that newsletter out 10 times! And when it is missing, we hear from people asking where it is.
Recruiting board members is easy because I have direct, personal experience and communication with them over time. We are neighbors. And, yes, there have been several board members who ran for the board for the express purpose of getting rid of me. One thing you learn early in this business is not everyone will like you.
Of course, I believe in planning. It’s hard to be an air traffic controller or a consultant specializing in Strategic Planning and managing large systems change without that bias! We create landscaping improvement plans every year, use our reserve study as a management tool to help plan and manage projects and cash flow and our vendors are always eager to provide insight and information for projects, problem solving and future planning. And of course we go out for competitive bids on any large project. Somehow, our vendors always seem to bend over backward to give us the extra service at the lowest possible price. And when there is a problem, they are there to fix it. They also help keep us abreast of new products, technologies and issues in their particular industry which has helped us enormously over the years.
All of this helps in our budgeting and financial management. We haven’t had a special assessment since the late 80’s and often come in at the end of the year within 5% of our projected budget despite the ever present “unforeseen” issues that arise. This year, we have been hit extremely hard by the sub-prime foreclosures, yet, we’ve been able to complete a major asphalt replacement project and completely renovate a pool this year, literally from the ground up… replacing electrical, upgrading plumbing, replacing all the concrete, fencing and resurfacing of coping, tile and fiberglass – nearly $130,000 in projects.
I mentioned a varied background. After my military and consulting business, my association management business grew to 9 clients at one point without ever advertising. My clients were large PUDs, attached town homes, detached single family dwellings and condos. Their documents, property, and residential mix was just as varied and often complex. When I sold off the greater portion in 1997, they got to interview companies I selected who were interested in managing them and they selected my successor.
I developed a powerful and comprehensive database program to help manage every part of my job. I couldn’t operate without it and still use it today (see www.campro.us for more information.) Since I don’t do the “bookkeeping”, I developed a program that does everything else!
I was among the first 300 CCAMs in the State of California and co-taught the CAI M100 course here in California in 1993.
I have worked with developers in new construction, managed reconstruction projects after structural defect litigation, read blueprints, and have lots of experience drafting preliminary job and project specifications. I recently retired after a 4 year stint with a non-profit organization as the Chief Operating Officer, helping them create and implement foundational systems and processes to support some explosive growth. Through it all, we’ve kept the same phone number for the associations, responded to every phone call within 24 hours and have a comprehensive history of every work order, rule violation, project, vendor and deadline going back nearly 15 years.
Have I made mistakes? Plenty! More than I care to admit… and yet, it is in admitting my mistakes that I believe I have gained the respect and trust of my boards and residents. I’ve written letters of apology, asked the board and my staff for help with my major weakness (I transpose numbers badly - especially with dates!). I can be arrogant, defensive, judgmental and rude at times; and I work hard to catch those moments, owning them as truly only about me, looking at why I responded that way, learning from them and making amends. I am also generous, kind, experienced, organized, effective, efficient and diligent. We all bring positives and negatives to the table in every job. The challenge is to build on those positives and find ways to reduce the impact of the negatives. That’s why managing is almost always achieved best with teams!
Most of all, I focus on appreciating people and acknowledging them for helping me learn, grow and bring stability to the communities I serve. My intention is to share a couple of blogs each month about “a day in the life” of a community manager. The challenges we face, the solutions we find, and the celebrations we share when know we’ve succeeded in doing what can often feel like a thankless job. I hope you will enjoy them and truly appreciate your comments and feedback as we begin this journey.
Gayle J. Hasley,
Community Association Manager
Community Association Homeowner
gayle@campro.us
www.campro.us
