November 11th is Veterans Day, which honors all American veterans, living and deceased, but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.  

The military men and women who serve and protect the U.S. come from all walks of life; they are parents, children, grandparents, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and are an important part of the communities. Here are some facts about the veteran population of the United States:

• 16.1 million living veterans served during at least one war.
• 5.2 million veterans served in peacetime.
• 2 million veterans are women.
• 7 million veterans served during the Vietnam War.
• 5.5 million veterans served during the Persian Gulf War.
• Of the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, about 558,000 are still alive.
• 2 million veterans served during the Korean War
• 6 million veterans served in peacetime.
• 5 veterans are employees of C.I.A. Services.

We would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank the veterans that we have the honor of working with daily.

Ed Barnett, Maintenance Coordinator, served in The United States Navy for 24 years. Joining in 1974, Ed served as a Damage Controlman Chief Petty Officer (Surface Warfare Specialist). He made his first overseas tour soon after joining and quickly received his first Sea Service Bronze Medal. Every 5 bronze medals earned equals 1 Silver Star and Ed ultimately earned 2 Silver Stars over a total 10 year period of sea service. Over the course of his service, his duty stations were varied, including Amphibious Assault Ships, Destroyer Duty, and Ship Repair. Ed’s final tour bought him to Houston, where he ultimately came ashore at C.I.A. Services.

Patrick Sheffield, Maintenance Coordinator, enlisted in The United States Army as an Infantryman in June of 1980 at the age of 17. He served until October 1983 with the main responsibility of specializing in small arms combat training in all types of weather and terrain. Patrick’s basic training took place in Fort Benning, Georgia and he was assigned a duty station in Fort Stewart, Georgia. He ultimately earned the rank of Private First Class and traveled to some very unhospitable places for training, including Alaska, the Florida Everglades, and countless nights in the woods in Georgia. Patrick attributes his teamwork skills and willingness to try his best at everything to his time spent in the Army.

Carson Treybig, Maintenance Coordinator, served in the United States Air Force from 1988 to 1997. During that time, he served overseas at RAF Lakenheath, England, USAF Europe Headquarters at Ramstein Air Base, NATO Air Base in Vicenza, Italy, and at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. During his time in service, he served in conflicts Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Somalia and Bosnia Herzegovina. Carson earned many service recognition awards for the conflicts including the Meritorious Service Award with 2 Oak Leaf clusters. Carson left the Air Force in 1997 as a Staff Sergeant and remains involved in veterans affairs and supports many other charitable organizations in Matagorda County, where he was born and raised.

Leticia “Letty” Burchard, Front Desk Coordinator, served in The United States Coast Guard for 4 years from 1980 to 1984. Letty attended boot camp in New Jersey and was stationed in Long Island, New York. As the “police on water,” the Coast Guard would stop boats to inspect for illegal cargo. Letty oversaw the radio and provided assistance to boaters, responded to accidents, and investigated items in the water with her crew.

Charles Driskell, Maintenance Coordinator, joined The United States Coast Guard in 1983. He was being trained as a Store Keeper E1 but was released due to medical issues.

Ernest Hatter of Kirkmont Section II HOA
by Catina Hunter

Let me introduce Ernest Hatter, Vice President of the Kirkmont Section II Homeowners Association. Ernest moved to Kirkmont in 1990 from Galveston, TX and was elected to the Board in 1991 while attending his first annual meeting. Ernest has served on the board for 27 years! He is and has always been eager to volunteer to do whatever is needed for the community in whatever capacity he is needed.  

Ernest has three children and is retired from BP Amoco. He is a Master Mason, Shriner, and a Scottish Rite Mason. He volunteers annually for the Thanksgiving Food Drive and the Annual Christmas Toy Drive.  

You can always count on Ernest meeting you with a smile and giving you a good laugh. Kirkmont is lucky to have such a great volunteer who has brought such an outstanding contribution to their community. It is truly an honor working with Mr. Ernest Hatter.

Stay Plugged in with Webcasts

We now offer each of our seminars in the form of a recorded webcast on demand for you to watch at any time! If you have missed a seminar, our seminars are available on our YouTube channel. The following seminars are now available:

• Board Member Orientation
• Practical Deed Restriction Management
• Understanding Collections and Financial Reports
• Meetings and Records - The Legal Requirements
• The Essentials of Architectural Control
• The Super-Budgeting Process
• Advanced Topics for Board Members

Just go to our website, www.ciaservices.com, and click on the Resources tab. From there, select our Library and you will see the links to each webcast and other training materials or you can simply click on the links above.

Associations in Practice Series

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:

• November - Treasure Island Homes Association - San Antonio Office - Brandi Brack
• October - S.A. Remington Heights Homeowners Association, Inc. - San Antonio Office - Sebby Regalado
• September - Aliana Community Council - Southwest Office - Deniece Reyes
  
• August - Redland Ranch Estates Homeowners Association - San Antonio Office - Sebby Regalado
  
• July - Community Association of the Highlands - Southwest Office - Libby Hodges
• June - Retablo Ranch Owners Association, Inc. - San Antonio Office - Brandi Brack
• May - Cypress Forest Lakes Community Association - Humble Office - Kaila Gattis

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.

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

• Heather Ridge Homeowners Association — 27 years
• Lochshire Maintenance Fund — 25 years
• Atascocita West Community Improvement Association— 21 years
• Community Association of The Highlands — 21 years
• Plantation at Woodforest Community Association — 18 years
• Oak Park Ridge Homeowners Association — 15 years
• The Stable Gate Homeowners Association — 14 years
• Heron Nest Owners Association — 11 years
• Bridlewood Estates Property Owners Association —  8 years
• Dancing Bear Property Owners Association — 8 years
• Riverpark on the Brazos — 7 years
• Avondale Residential Property Owners Association — 5 years
• Cypress Forest Lakes Community Association — 5 years
• Glenmont Estates Property Owners Association — 5 years
• Lakes at Edgewater Estates Homeowners Association — 5 years
• Walker Ranch Homeowners Association — 3 years
• Plantation Lakes Community Association — 1 year
• Sunrise Pines Homeowners Association — 1 year

Our goal has always been to create a positive, long-term relationship with all of our client communities. We are very proud to be managing all of these communities.

Employee 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 first anniversary with our company. Additionally, once employees reach five years and become a company stockholder, we recognize them each year on their anniversary month.

Happy 19th Anniversary to Maintenance Coordinator Ed Barnett out of the Southwest Office. Ed is very knowledgeable and always willing to give a helping hand. He is very hands-on and one of our "go-to" people when something needs repaired. Many a weekend you can find Ed in the aisles of Home Depot or Lowes. 

Community Manager and Southwest Houston Office Manager, Catina Hunter, is celebrating her 6-year anniversary. Catina meets the challenge of managing an office every day with grace and poise. She lives with her husband, 3 cats, and 1 very large puppy!

Check Disbursement Team Member out of our Bandera Accounting Office, Diane Garcia, is celebrating her 1-year anniversary! Diane’s calm, quiet, demeanor fits right in with the accounting office. Diane lives with her husband and they both love going to concerts together. She is the self-proclaimed “Biggest Spurs fan around” and is now a weekend supporter of the Rampage!!    

Congratulations to these special people on their company anniversary!

Bandera Office’s 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off

In honor of National Chili Month, the Bandera Accounting Office held their “3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off” on Friday, October 26th.

The competition was fierce with six entries this year. Our community managers who were attending the Manager’s Retreat did the judging and we’re pretty sure they’ll remember this for many years to come.

Although all submissions were very good, bragging rights and 1st Place went to Rose Housos, with Cindy Hatthorn winning 2nd Place. Tina Jameson & Kimberly Terry both tied for the 3rd Place spot.

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.