Cultivating Thankful Owners

Community association board membership can be thankless and stressful work. Owners often do not appreciate their board because its work is not perceived or poorly understood. The board is usually only contacted by owners who have a problem concerning their property or a complaint about how the association is being managed. The board must sometimes endure unfair criticism and even litigation relating to its decisions and to issues facing the association that are out of its control. This can make it difficult to attract and retain new board members with useful skills and good judgment.

The board can minimize these difficulties by regularly communicating with the owners regarding its contributions to the community. The board should describe the specific ways that each board member and the board as a whole has benefited the association. For example, board members who have volunteered their time to find the best contractors, to provide bookkeeping services, or to organize community events should be publicly thanked in an email to all of the owners and at the annual meeting. Owners who know the ways that the board has served them are less likely to express harsh attacks and more likely to give the board the benefit of the doubt. They might even feel gratitude towards the members of the board for their service.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the community association board members who generously volunteer their time to make a positive impact in their communities.