Professional Community Association Management Since 1984
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Archived Newsletters

Every month, we issue an electronic newsletter, eNews Monthly, to keep clients informed about Association items, spotlight clients, answer frequently asked questions, and let you know what is happening with the company. Old issues of eNews Monthly are available on our Library page.

April 2017
eNews Monthly
Volunteer Spotlight
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Laura White - Cinco Ranch II
by Kimberly Cowart

Laura White has been a resident of Cinco Ranch II for the past 5 years. She has been passionate about empowering her fellow neighbors to become involved in her local community through volunteerism. She has volunteered at several Cinco Ranch events, including their recent and highly successful Halloween Spectacular. Laura has also been a dedicated volunteer through many other local organizations, and has previously volunteered through committees within her own company.

Recently, Laura took on a new volunteer role within the Cinco Ranch II community by becoming a trustee on the Board of Directors for the Cinco Ranch Southwest Community Council. The new role as a trustee brings her years of volunteer experience to a new level by giving her the ability to help out her fellow neighbors by assisting the council in the planning and execution of the many events and activities within Cinco Ranch. She also brings a unique perspective to the Board by giving voice to one of our “populations” of residents, those without children or children who have left home.

Cinco Ranch prides itself in being a diverse community, and one that is reflected through our Board members. Already, Laura has been a valuable asset as a volunteer in that she has brought many new ideas to the table, and has taken action to help further the offerings within the community. Dedicated volunteers like Laura are the heart of Cinco Ranch II.

Association Insurance
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Since 2014, C.I.A. Services has partnered with the insurance agency, Brady Chapman Holland & Associates (BCH), to offer a master insurance program to our communities.  With the master insurance program, our clients can take advantage of the purchasing power of a large group.  Our clients have the comfort of knowing the policies involved have been rigorously designed to address the real life perils community associations and their board members face. Here are some highlights of the program:

  • Coverage is in compliance with governing documents and applicable laws
  • The policies have been designed to eliminate the important gaps that exist in many policies
  • Qualifies board members for protection under the Charitable Immunity & Liabilities Act
  • Provides for competitive cost options for a robust insurance portfolio
  • Provides for expanded coverage that Associations have been unable to take advantage of in the past
  • Claims will be handled efficiently with BCH as our representative and advocate in the process

Since the initiation of the program, many of our communities have seen a substantial savings on their insurance costs with increased coverages.  C.I.A. Services is not associated with BCH or any insurance company.  We receive no financial benefit from your premium payments.  This program was created as a benefit to you and not as a profit center for us.

An interesting component of insurances coverages available today is the crime policy.  Traditionally, crime or fidelity policies provide coverage to associations from the internal volunteer or personnel theft of money or property. This coverage has evolved to include computer fraud and wire transfer fraud.  A very new component to this coverage and an automatic endorsement for our master insurance clients is Social Engineering Fraud.

You might wonder, what is Social Engineering Fraud?  This is the act of misleading someone to send money or divert a payment based on fraudulent information. This fraud happens daily to unsuspecting employees and volunteers.  It usually starts with a message that appears to be from a legitimate vendor, client, internal employee or authorized person that contains a variety of misleading requests and information. Frequently, the “bad guy” has infiltrated an email conversation and been able to obtain a copy of a signature section to make the fraudulent message appear legitimate. These types of attacks have increased by 55% since 2015 with more than 100,000 people affected each day!

Seminar Series
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We always enjoy presenting the C.I.A. Services Seminar Series. Each seminar concentrates on the practical aspects of the topic and provides board members with background knowledge to help them in their decision making. We consistently receive positive feedback on the content and presentation.

We recently introduced new and exciting features for this year by offering our first seminar via webcast.  The result was the same successful seminar with more advanced topics and audience participation.

We are continuing with our webcast format.  We will come to your computer screen rather than you needing to travel to us!  Each event will be broadcast live so anyone anywhere can join in.  We believe this is the most convenient way for community volunteers to be able to participate. 

Because the seminars are broadcast live, we have the added bonus of the presenter being Ralph Troiano, our company president.  If you have never had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Ralph, you are in for a treat!  Ralph is a dynamic speaker with a true passion for what we do.

We’ll still ask participants to register in advance so that we can get the sign in information to you in advance. To register, please send an email to seminars@ciaservices.com.

You can view the full schedule of all of this year’s webcast seminars here.

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Board Member Orientation

This seminar is a must for all new board members and a great refresher for seasoned veterans. It will help you get up to speed quickly by understanding your responsibilities and authorities. We’ll review the documents and laws that govern the way you do business. We’ll give you an overview of the governing documents, basis of authority, organizational roles, responsibilities & authorities, conduct of meetings, and we’ll cover insurance and taxes.

Advance registration is required to ensure you receive the log on instructions. To register, please send an email to seminars@ciaservices.com.

04/24/17 - Monday

6 – 8 pm

Webcast

 

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Practical Deed Restriction Management

Deed restriction management is one of the most difficult tasks handled by homeowners associations because it involves subjective decisions, homeowner’s property, and emotions. This seminar covers the steps in deed restriction management and how a process can contain “intelligence” and common sense. We discuss the relation between deed restrictions and architectural control and give you examples of well crafted guidelines. We’ll provide the best approaches for handling the toughest problems. Practical deed restriction management requires clear communications and reasonable requirements.

Advance registration is required to ensure you receive the log on instructions. To register, please send an email to seminars@ciaservices.com.

05/15/17 - Monday

6 – 8 pm

Webcast

 

Community Spotlight
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We are proud of every one of our communities, so it is always hard to find just one to highlight. We start by having each of our Community Managers write a nomination for one of their communities. We then read them and take a vote. Here are our most recent selections:

  • April - Cross Creek Ranch Community Association - Humble Office - Renea Miksch and Kristen Craig
  • March - Aliana Homeowners Association - Southwest Houston Office - Deniece Reyes
  • February - Steeple Chase Terrace Townhouse Association - Humble Office - Valerie Lehr
  • January - Plantation at Woodforest Community Association - Humble Office - Brenda Ellington
  • December - Cinco Ranch Commercial Association - Humble Office - Laura Tate and Kimberly Cowart
  • November - Dancing Bear Ranch - San Antonio Office - Brandi Brack 

To see the full story on these communities and to see all of the past winners, visit the Community of the Month page on our site.

Community Anniversaries
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Every month we appreciate the communities that are celebrating their anniversaries with us. Here are the clients that started with us in April.

  • Parkway Forest Property Owners Association — 31 years
  • Ridgepoint Community Improvement Association — 27 years
  • Pine Forest Village Community Association — 24 years
  • Sonoma Ranch Homeowners Association — 14 years
  • Telfair Commercial Association — 11 years

We have a lot of big numbers this month!  Together, these communities represent more than 100 years of management! Thanks to all for being a part of our success.

Employee Corner
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Anniversaries

We love to celebrate special milestones with our employees. In the Employee Corner of each eNews issue, we will list all employees that have reached their 1 year anniversary with our company.  Additionally, once employees reach five years, we recognize them each year on their anniversary month.

Rhonda Duffield is celebrating her 27th year anniversary with C.I.A. Services!  Rhonda is a Maintenance Assistant out of our Humble office that has worn many hats during her long employment.  Congratulations to her!

Congratulations to Angela Douglas on her 10th anniversary! Angela is the Office Manager at our Humble office and has also filled a multitude of positions for us.

Kristen Craig of our North office is celebrating her 6 year anniversary.  Kristen started her employment with us as an Administrative Assistant and was quickly promoted to her current position, Community Manager. Congratulations!

We are also pleased to congratulate Molly Turner as she celebrates her 1 year anniversary!  Molly is an Administrative Assistant at the San Antonio Office and an integral part of the team.

Read Past Issues of eNews Monthly

Every month, we issue an electronic newsletter, eNews Monthly, to keep clients informed about Association items, spotlight clients, answer frequently asked questions, and let you know what is happening with the company. Old issues of eNews Monthly are available on our Library page.