2021 is now behind us and it was another busy year at C.I.A. Services. Great management flows from a foundation of doing all the small things well. Our dedicated staff members kept up with the thousands of daily details associated with managing communities. Here are a few statistics from the past year.

• Our home improvement request coordinators processed 12,107 home improvement and new construction requests for our communities. That is an average of 46 per workday. That number includes 7,994 online submissions (66%) through our online HIR application system, the percentage of which continues to increase every year!
• Our maintenance coordinators issued and tracked 6,022 work orders and projects for our communities. That is an average of 23 per workday. A work order can be anything from having a sign fabricated & installed to developing specifications & soliciting bids for a contract to having a new roof installed on a clubhouse. Each work order includes a large amount of communication with contractors in advance as well as follow-up. That is an impressive amount of work.
• Our accounting department processed, verified, and paid 58,273 invoices for vendors in our communities. That is an average of 223 per workday. It takes great organizational skills to coordinate that many bills, obtain reviews and approvals, meet the due dates, and keep the vendors happy. All that while keeping impeccable records that CPA auditors love to see.
• Our customer service staff helped 1,644 owners set up payment plans for their delinquent assessments.
• Our community managers, administrative assistants, and inspectors tracked and resolved 95,370 deed restriction violations by issuing 90,925 letters. Our deed restriction management efforts continued to be successful with 85.5% of all violations getting resolved before a certified letter was needed.
• In December alone, our accounting and administrative staff received and deposited $13,866,250 in assessments in 20,280 individual payments.
• We received 169,993 incoming phone calls in 2021! This averages out to about 651 per day!

All of these tasks and little details equal up to great management. We pride ourselves on providing excellent service at every level. Thank you to all of our committed employees for pushing through and maintaining our success during 2021!

Jim Green of Plantation at Woodforest
by Adam Bruce

Jim Green has been a Board member at Plantation at Woodforest for over 20 consecutive years. Jim has volunteered his time serving as the treasurer for the community. His careful stewardship of the community’s finances along with current Board members Lupita Rodriguez, Walter Merchan, Robert Colbert, Lucia Bates, and Jerry Allen has allowed the Association to make strategic improvements to the community while still keeping their annual assessments at a reasonable rate. For example, Jim volunteered to be the point person for the large-scale perimeter wall repairs in order to ensure the continued increase in the aesthetic value of the community.

Before Jim volunteered to be a Board member, Jim worked in oil and gas for over 30 years. After his retirement, Jim was called to ministry as a Pastor of Administration for a well-known church in the Houston area for 18 years. Jim’s generosity in serving his community is a testament to his long years of service as a Board member. Other Board members agree; Lupita Rodriguez states that “Jim is an integral part of the Board and we thank him for his service of over 20 years.” Also, new Board member Walter Merchan states that “for the short time that I’ve been a member I recognize his teamwork and ownership."

Jim and Sharon enjoy spending time with their family of 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren. In their spare time, they have enjoyed traveling to see the beautiful scenery of Africa and the United States.

We are proud of every one of our communities!  We like to spotlight special and exciting happenings.  To see the full stories on these communities and many others, visit the Community Spotlight page on our site.

Here are the most recent selections:

• January - Lincoln Green Estates Community Association Houston
• December - Reserve at Clear Lake Community Association Houston
• November - Lake House Community Association Houston
• November - The Community Association of Cielo Rio San Antonio
• October - Walker Ranch Homeowners Association San Antonio
• October - Aliana Community Council Houston 
• September - Cinco Ranch Southwest Community Council Houston
• August - Stable Gate Homeowners Association Houston

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

• Hunterwood Village II Association — 36 years
• Homeowners Association of Timber Forest — 25 years
• Eastpoint Section 4 Homeowners Association — 11 years
• Reserve at Clear Lake Community Association — 7 years
• Hidden Arbor Community Association, Inc. — 6 years
• Harper Oaks Homeowners Association, Inc. — 6 years
• BGR Property Owners Association, Inc. — 5 years
• Katy Pointe Community Association — 4 years
• Southwinds Residential 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.

Stockholder 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, we recognize them each year on their anniversary month.

Congratulations to Charlotte Bulcken on her 26-year anniversary with C.I.A. Services! Charlotte provides staff and corporate support at our North Houston Office and is always there to help us with special projects. Outside of work, Charlotte loves to spend time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also enjoys going to the theater and traveling.

Kimberly Terry is celebrating 9 years this January! Kim was a team leader at our Bandera Office but recently relocated to the San Antonio team as an Administrative Assistant. She is also a member of our Marketing Executive Committee. Outside of work, she enjoys time in nature and with her family.

New Stockholder Anniversaries

We also have some new stockholders to celebrate this month! An employee becomes a stockholder at C.I.A. Services when they reach their 5-year anniversary with the company.

Congratulations to Kelsey Ballard of our North Houston Office, Administrative Assistant of master-planned and commercial communities. Kelsey and her boyfriend Adam enjoy spending time with their nieces and nephews.

Tra’Neshia Williams is a Community Manager in our West Houston Office. She is always willing to assist anyone and is very much a team player. Outside of work, Tra’Neshia loves trying new restaurants with her husband and 2 sons.

One Year Anniversaries

We also have a one-year anniversary to celebrate!

Congratulations to Velissa Pena, an Administrative Assistant from our North Houston! Velissa is very friendly to everyone in the office and is a joy to work with. She has one son and one daughter and enjoys spending time with them, her husband Richard, and their pets. Her and her husbank enjoy working on home improvement projects.

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 are interested in one of our seminars, they 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

To watch any of the webcasts, simply click on the links above.

Associations in Practice

Our Associations in Practice Series is an offering of short videos with very specific topics.  Our newest video is Texas 87th Legislative Session.  The 2021 session of the Texas legislature produced significant changes to the Texas Property Code affecting property owners’ associations. This video explores those changes and provides specific follow-up recommendations. 

C.I.A. Services, Inc. has a long and proud history of providing up-to-date news on our company happenings, industry news, and association governance.  Each month, we are pleased to share with you our eNews Monthly.  Each issue is loaded with great information! 

We have broadened our social media presence to include LinkedIn and Facebook. With these additional layers of communication, you can always find the latest information about our company, employees, association management, and other related news.  

If you are not already following us, please ”Like” us on Facebook and “Follow” us on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on all things C.I.A. Services and beyond.

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.