James Steenbergen of Bridlewood Estates
by Kim Moore

James Steenbergen is the epitome of what makes a great volunteer community leader.  James has been a leader in the Bridlewood community serving on the Board of Directors on and off for well over a decade.  James currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors where he ensures the meetings are run efficiently and the business of the Association is handled properly. He can also be found around the community taking care of small things like changing light bulbs or ballasts or anything else that is needed.  He is always ready to jump in and lend a hand.  Several years ago, the community desired to have new playground equipment at one of its parks.  James led a group of community volunteers (under manufacturer supervision) in installing the new playground system from the ground up!

Recently James was nominated for Community Association’s Institute (CAI) Volunteer of the Year for 2020.  This is an industry award whereby outstanding volunteers in community associations around metro Houston are selected and then a panel of judges selects the winner.  Winners were announced in January and all though James did not win the award, it was a fun evening at the awards gala and certainly an honor just to be nominated with so many great volunteers in our industry.

James worked for Union Carbide for 31 years and retired in 2001. He has been married to his wife, Carolyn, for 55 years and has two sons, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

His desire to serve the greater community as a whole is evident in all he has accomplished.  To name just a few, James has served on the boards of the West Virginia Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Danbury Chapter of the Salvation Army, Health Exchange Advisory Board for Oak Bend Hospital, Advisory Council for the Children’s’ Advocacy Center for Child Advocates of Fort Bend, LCISD Board.  James and his wife both did volunteer work for the Fort Bend Chapter of the American Red Cross helping to establish their major fundraiser, the Super Ball. They also volunteered for Patchwork, a major fundraiser for Oak Bend Medical Center, a not-for-profit community hospital.  James currently serves on the Water/Wastewater Impact Fee Task Force for the City of Rosenberg.  The sheer vastness of this list makes it clear that James is a man for his community.

James tells me that, “all of the positions that I have held or currently hold are my way of saying that it’s up to me to do what I can to serve the people of our community and not sit back and expect everyone else to do the work and then complain about what everyone else is doing or not doing. It’s also a great way to stay connected with the community to understand how things really work.”

James is a true steward to the greater community we all live in. Thank you for all that you do to make Bridlewood Estates a desirable place to live and call home!

Pay It Forward - Continued

Back in April, we introduced you to our company-wide "Pay It Forward" initiative, where an additional $50 was added to each of our employees’ paychecks, and we encouraged them to grant this money to a person or organization in need that has been impacted by COVID-19. This initiative has highlighted the empathy, passion, and love for community held in the hearts of all of our employees, and no matter what each individual decided to do, they were most definitely S.P.E.C.I.A.L. in doing so.

Over the last two editions of the eNews, we’ve been sharing our employee’s stories, and we still have so many to cover! Enjoy more of these heartwarming stories of generosity.

"I was so happy to help bless a friend of mine who was to start a new job last month as a truck driver but it was placed on hold. I sent him the $50.00 and he was so in awe that he almost cried on the phone." 

~ Patrick Sheffield, Maintenance Coordinator, Southwest Houston Office

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"I am so glad we provided this opportunity to all of our employees. I know as our employees pay it forward, someone’s life has been touched. 

I planned to gift the money to a gentleman that I used to co-teach Sunday School with who is a substitute teacher in the school district. His wife is a teacher at the nearby preschool ministries, and neither one of them has been able to work throughout the pandemic.

I was telling my neighbor about what we were doing and the family I wanted to pay it forward to. She is a teacher at the school he often fills in at and told me more about how great he is. She went to her purse and handed me $50 to add to the donation. What started out as a $50 donation turned to $100, and the family was very blessed that we thought of them."

~ Renea Miksch, Executive Vice President, Humble Office

"The recipient of my ’Pay It Forward’ story is a girl in Houston that I’ve known for years. She is a single mother that has 2 boys, one in college and one in elementary. She works part-time as a daycare cook so that she can be home by the time her son gets off the bus. She has always put together garage sales on the weekends to make extra money, as well as support herself with home projects, such as selling homemade chocolate-covered strawberries and other tasty treats on holidays.  

When COVID-19 hit not only did she lose the ability to make money for her family, but her air conditioner at home ceased to work. I read her post about struggling on Facebook and immediately knew that she was well deserving of my pay it forward gift. I contacted her and told her about the initiative taking place throughout our company and that I chose her as my recipient. She started crying and told me she couldn’t believe she was being blessed this way and was happy that I work with a company that gives back to the community. A few hours later she called and told me that she was able to go buy a few fans to cool her house off, and thanked me for choosing her.

It feels great to help out somebody in need, especially those as kind and generous as her. I’m glad I work for a company that cares so much about its employees and the greater community."

~ Tera Rond, Community Manager, San Antonio Office

"I decided to use my ’Pay It Forward’ money to gift large tips to service workers at fast-food and pickup-only restaurants, who have been considered essential workers during even the strongest lockdown periods. I can’t imagine the stress of being an essential worker this entire time, so I wanted to bring some light into many of their shifts. Anytime my family or I ordered takeout, picked up a Starbucks drink, etc., I’d give the person working the window a large cash tip (always with my mask on, of course!). At some point, I lost track of how much I had gifted, but I continued anyway even when I knew I was well over the $50 we were given. Seeing the surprise and happiness on everyone’s faces inspired me to gift until I was completely out of cash. Making someone’s day in a tough time is always worth it!"

~ Melody Lihou, Support Staff, Humble Office

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"I gave the money to an elderly lady that lives down the hall who lives on a fixed income. She is a very kind retired teacher who is always so pleasant to everyone, and she deserves the gift."

~ Robert Pampell, Maintenance Coordinator, Southwest Houston Office

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:

• July - Sunrise Pines Homeowners Association - Humble Office - Kaila Gattis
• June - Indian Shores Property Owners Association - Humble Office - Brenda Ellington
• May - Aliana Homeowners Association - Southwest Houston Office - Deniece Reyes
• 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

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 July.

• East Point Community Association — 30 years
• Inwood Northwest Neighborhood Association — 19 years
• Royal Palms Homeowners Association — 16 years
• Community Association of Crockett Park — 10 years

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.

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

Stockholder Anniversaries

Linda Morris is a Community Manager at our Humble Office and is celebrating 13 years! Outside of work, Linda dedicates all her spare time to her family. She routinely visits her hometown in Missouri and is constantly around her grandson Ryan, who loves visiting his grandma’s office. 

Congratulations to Cindy Hatthorn who is celebrating 8 years with C.I.A. Services! She is a key member of our Accounts Payable/Receivable team and is always crunching numbers. Cindy has lived in many places around the world, but for now, she loves small-town life. She has chickens and sells fresh eggs, and likes to sew and crochet.

Jennifer Northington is a Community Manager at our Humble Office and is celebrating 8 years! Jennifer and her husband Jeff enjoy traveling, especially to coastal areas. She spends her spare time with her family and community; Jennifer frequently volunteers at Second Baptist Church in Kingwood.

Congratulations to Jo Ann Peterson for reaching 5 years and becoming our newest stockholder! Jo Ann works in the Check Approvals section of the Accounting department.  Throughout the pandemic, she has been the designated in-office team member for months now and has been taking care of printing/mailing checks for the rest of us. Jo Ann loves spending time with her husband and daughters, and also enjoys nature and photography.

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.