Condo Media - October 2015 - 42

LESSONS
BY NENA GROSKIND

LEARNED

CAI PROVIDES INNOVATIVE WAYS TO
DELIVER EDUCATION

If knowledge is power, education is the generator that fuels it. That is certainly true in the
condominium industry, where the challenges association managers and board members face
seem to increase in scope and complexity with every passing year.
Warren Buffett wasn't talking specifically about condominiums when he noted, "Risk comes from
not knowing what you are doing." But the comment resonates as loudly in this sector as anywhere.
"Nothing is more essential to the success of communities than educated managers and
association board members," says Tom Skiba, CAE, chief executive officer of the Community
Associations Institute (CAI). Managers have clearly gotten that message.

N

ationally, 5,000 students on
average take classroom and
online courses in CAI's Professional Management Development
Program annually; more than 3,100
students have taken those courses so
far this year and another 1,500 have
participated in online and on-demand
webinars. CAI also reports that 7,000
professionals have earned the Association Management Specialist (AMS)
designation and 2,700 managers have
earned the Professional Community
Association Manager (PCAM), the
highest designation the association
offers.
Locally, CAI New England Chapter
Executive Director Claudette Carini
reports, "More industry professionals
are seeing the importance of networking with their peers, as evidenced by the
increasing number of managers participating in the bimonthly meetings of

42

CONDOMEDIA

the chapter's managers' committee and
attending Emerging Leaders Network
(ELN) social events."
Professional managers are also attending CAI-NE educational programs,
including the popular condo forums and
expos held in all New England chapter
states. And chapter webinar programs
addressing concerns specific to New
England managers and board members
drew record numbers of participants
earlier this year, Carini says.
PART OF THE CAI MISSION
"Education is a central part of CAI's
mission," she emphasizes. "Since 1973,
CAI has been dedicated to building better communities by providing resources
and education to the professionals and
volunteers responsible for the management and oversight of condominium
communities. CAI and the New England
chapter are continually looking for ways

to educate a broader segment of the
industry and respond to a variety of preferences and requests for information."
In addition to partnering with chapter
members to co-sponsor programs,
CAI-NE has increased the number of
seminars and workshops it offers annually and added resources to its website,
including webinars and other programming options, Carini says.
"Community association board members and industry professionals have
taken advantage of these opportunities
to obtain answers to specific questions
and get the information they need to
keep up to date with the issues and
trends in a rapidly changing industry,"
she says.
Managers attending these programs
and pursuing the professional designations CAI offers are responding to the
demands of their association clients,
says David Barrett, CMCA, AMS, PCAM,
Condo Media - October 2015

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