We hope this month’s newsletter finds you well, and that you and your families are staying safe and healthy during COVID-19. 

As you know, we are under “Stay Home, Work Safe” orders in recent weeks. Much of the work we do for you at C.I.A. Services is not considered essential under the orders and we have complied to keep our employees, their families and the general public safe.

Over the last few weeks, our technical teams worked quickly to set up all of our employees with the hardware and technology to seamlessly work from home. Daily conferences between each supervisor and their staff are keeping all work coordinated in this new environment. We are dedicated to continuing to handle all community business so the volunteers we work with can concentrate on their own family and health.

Do not hesitate to contact customercare@ciaservices.com if you’re in need of any assistance. We very much appreciate being entrusted with the management of your community association. Please be safe with your family during this stressful time.

Brighten the Night

We are all dealing with the rapidly changing impact on our lives and routines from the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to share with you how some are brightnening up these trying days.

A few of our community members have decided to illuminate their streets to spread positivity and strength!  They are lighting up the night with color by pulling their holiday lights out of the attic and laying them across their shrubs for all to see. 

Putting out lights in March may not work for everyone so some have opted for a different way to show their support for community, friends, and neighbors. Residents are selecting one of the images here that are meaningful to them, printing them and placing them in their front windows. On a family walk, neighbors can see how quickly they can spot any of the eight images on different homes. The message is simple for all to see:

We are not alone. We are a community. We will get through this together.

How We Are Paying It Forward

During the "Stay Home, Work Safe" orders, we at C.I.A. Services are lucky enough to continue to be able to work from home and not be financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many others in our communities are not as fortunate; over 150,000 Texans have filed for unemployment amid the closure of thousands of businesses, and many cannot afford to pay their bills or buy food for their families.

We try to employ our core values in our daily lives, and during trying times like these, the world truly needs an extra sense of community (even while social distancing!), passion, and empathy to bring strength to our loved ones and neighbors. Because of this, each employee was given the opportunity to "pay it forward" with an additional $50 added to their paychecks. We are encouraging our employees to grant this money to a person or organization in need, may it be a loved one, friend, charity, or a random person that has been impacted. 

We hope that by paying it forward, we spread some positivity through these tough times, help out those who really need it, and even inspire others to do the same! It is important, especially in today’s world, for all of us to be S.P.E.C.I.A.L. in all that we do to bring strength and light to the lives of everyone around us. 

We’re excited to hear how our employees have decided to pay it forward. Stay tuned for articles in the coming months where we share their stories!

We 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:

• April - Remington Ranch Community Association - Humble Office - Jennifer Northington
• March - Bridlewood Estates Property Owners Association - Southwest Houston Office - Kim Moore
• February - Hidden Arbor Community Association - Humble Office - Kristen Craig
• January - Heather Ridge Village Homeowners Association - Humble Office - Kaila Gattis
• December - Plantation Lakes Community Association - Humble Office - Linda Morris
• November - Summerwood Commercial Property Association - Humble Office - Kim Cowart

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 April.

• Parkway Forest Property Owners Association — 34 years
• Ridgepoint Community Improvement Association — 30 years
• Pine Forest Village Community Association — 27 years
• Sonoma Ranch Homeowners Association — 17 years
• Telfair Commercial Association — 14 years
• Southwinds Commercial Owners Association — 1 year

We have a lot of big numbers this month! Thanks to all for being a part of our success.

Stockholder Anniversaries

Rhonda Duffield is celebrating her 30 year anniversary with C.I.A. Services! Rhonda is a Maintenance Assistant out of our Humble office and spends her time supporting that department. In her free time, Rhonda enjoys traveling and watching ice hockey with her husband Lonnie.

Congratulations to Angela Douglas on her 13th anniversary! Angela is a Customer Service Manager and Community Manager at our Humble office. Angela is very tech-savvy and works with our IT department to keep everyone up and running. Outside of work, Angela enjoys reading and time outdoors.

Kristen Craig of our Humble office is celebrating her 9-year anniversary. Kristen is a Community Manager of several growing communities. Kristen enjoys spending time with her husband and three kids as well as her fur babies!

Robert Pampell is a Maintenance Coordinator in our Southwest Houston Office and is celebrating 7 years with the company!  Robert takes care of many of our Houston communities and manages to keep everything on task. During his personal time, Robert enjoys traveling and spending time with his wife.

Congratulations to our stockholders with anniversaries this month!

One Year Anniversaries

This month, we have 1-year anniversary to celebrate.

Congratulations to Shannon Farnsworth, our Cinco Ranch II Community Coordinator! Shannon plans amazing community events and classes, among other things. Shannon is a lifetime Girl Scout member and still volunteers with the organization. Her and her family love playing Pokemon Go together.   

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.