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 community. 

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

Thank you to the following employees and all veterans for your service! We appreciate you.

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 inhospitable 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.

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 brought him to Houston, where he ultimately came ashore at C.I.A. Services.

Zack Fore, Maintenance Coordinator, served in The United States Navy from 2011 until 2016 as an E-3 Navy Corpsman.  While stationed at the Naval Health Branch Clinic in Capodichino, Italy, Zack worked as the Supply/Equipment Manager at the family practice clinic.  At Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Zack was a Tactical Combat Casualty Course Instructor teaching 800 Department of Defense personnel to save, treat, and evacuate patients on the battlefield. He was also an Advance Trauma Life Support Course Coordinator teaching tactical battlefield treatment.  During the course of his service, Zack was honored with the Global War on Terror Medal and the Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Leticia “Letty” Burchard, of our San Antonio Office, 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.

Col (ret) John W. Probst of Retablo Ranch
by Brandi Brack

Col (ret) John W. Probst has served on the Retablo Ranch Owner Association Board of Directors for 6 years, with 4 years as President. During his tenure on the Board, he was determined to find a solution to the internet service deficiencies in RROA. He spearheaded extensive research and corresponded with several internet service providers to facilitate an impact study in RROA Retablo. With his determination, RROA was able to purchase an approximate 50’ internet tower that is now providing high-speed internet to the members of RROA. The tower was completed in April 2020, just as COVID 19 “stay at home mandates” were put into place, when everyone began to really rely on the internet. The members of RROA will forever be grateful for the determination and time Col. Probst put in to make their high-speed internet utility services possible.

Not only is Col Probst a community servant, but he has also served 40 years with the United States Air Force. He served on active duty from 1971-2013. From 1971-1981 he held the roles of law enforcement specialist, military working dog handler, trainer, and instructor. John holds an A.A., Admin of Justice, Los Angeles CC, B.A., Anthropology, from Univ of Texas at San Antonio, M.P.A., Resource Management, Golden Gate Univ, and has completed AF Police Administration Course, Eastern Kentucky Univ, SOS, AWC, and the FBI National Academy. John has been chapter vice-chairman and chairman and served on AFSFA Board of Directors 1995-1996; National President 1996-2000 and 2007-2011 and is the current Executive Director.  

It is with great pride that we salute and give our gratitude to Col (ret) John W. Probst for his service to his community as well as our Nation. Thank you for your service Col (ret) John W. Probst!

Last month we announced our plans to build a 15,000-square-foot, single-story building in the Atascocita area.  This building will serve as the permanent location of our Houston region headquarters. 

We are excited about the progress that is being made!  Since the ground breaking, the property has been cleared, with careful attention to preserve as many trees as possible.  Most recently, the foundation was poured and we have some up-close photos as well as some really interesting drone photos of the property to share with you.   

We will continue to provide updates throughout the process.  We are so thrilled that we will soon have our own location in such close proximity to many of our existing communities.

Construction is estimated to be completed in June 2021. 

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 - Deer Hollow Homeowners Association - San Antonio Office - Abbey Autry
• October - Artesian Lakes Community Association - Humble Office - Linda Morris
• September - Cinco Ranch Residential Association II - Humble Office - Laura Tate & Kim Cowart
• August - Valley Lodge Property Owners Association - Southwest Houston Office - Brenda Ellington
• July - Sunrise Pines Homeowners Association - Humble Office - Kaila Gattis
• June - Indian Shores Property Owners Association - Humble Office - Brenda Ellington

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 — 29 years
• Lochshire Maintenance Fund — 27 years
• Community Association of The Highlands — 23 years
• Plantation at Woodforest Community Association — 20 years
• Oak Park Ridge Homeowners Association — 17 years
• The Stable Gate Homeowners Association — 16 years
• Heron Nest Owners Association — 13 years
• Bridlewood Estates Property Owners Association —  10 years
• Dancing Bear Property Owners Association — 10 years
• Riverpark on the Brazos — 9 years
• Avondale Residential Property Owners Association — 7 years
• Glenmont Estates Property Owners Association — 7 years
• Walker Ranch Homeowners Association — 5 years
• Plantation Lakes Community Association — 3 years
• Sunrise Pines Homeowners Association — 3 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.

Stay Plugged in With Webcasts

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

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 one-year anniversary with our company. Additionally, we recognize stockholders on their anniversary month.  C.I.A. Services employees become stockholders after they have been employed for five years.

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.