EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode, hosts Steve Tinnelly and Ramona Acosta sit down with Karen Kokowicz, owner of Coro Community Management & Consulting and founder of Happy Minds Network, to discuss mental health and wellness in community association management. The conversation focuses on recognizing burnout, managing workplace stress, establishing healthy boundaries, and creating a culture that supports employee well being.

KEY POINTS

• Recognizing signs and causes of burnout and compassion fatigue
• Managing emotional and mental fatigue in a demanding industry
• Creating healthy work life boundaries
• Building a workplace culture that prioritizes wellness and support
• Using wellness resources, technology, and peer support
• Developing healthy coping strategies and maintaining connection
• Supporting employee well being to improve focus, resilience, and performance

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Karen Kokowicz, CCAM, is the President and Owner of Coro Community Management & Consulting, bringing nearly three decades of experience in community association management and consulting. Beginning her career as a portfolio manager and later serving as an onsite manager, Karen has held a variety of leadership roles throughout the industry. She holds the CCAM, CMCA, and PCAM designations and is the founder of Happy Minds Network, a peer to peer support organization focused on connecting community association managers and promoting professional and personal wellness within the industry.

RESOURCES

• Watch the Video

• Read the Blog

• FindHOALaw

• Assessment Collections

• Additional Resources

In this episode, hosts Steve Tinnelly and Ramona Acosta sit down with Vicki MacHale of Community Association Standards and Advocacy (CASA) Alliance to discuss ethics and professionalism in the community association industry. Together, they explore the line between networking and undue influence, the role of gifts and incentives in vendor relationships, and why transparency and disclosure are essential to maintaining trust and professional integrity.

KEY POINTS

• Where networking ends and undue influence begins

• How gifts, incentives, and "pay-to-play" practices can impact professional judgment

• The "Follow the Candy" concept and how seemingly small benefits can influence behavior

• The growing expectations for vendors to sponsor events, dinners, and other activities

• Understanding the professional and financial implications of sponsored events

• CAMICB's Standards of Professional Conduct and disclosure requirements

• Recognizing and properly disclosing potential conflicts of interest

• The importance of avoiding commissions, kickbacks, and commission-sharing arrangements

• How managers can maintain ethical boundaries and build professional, transparent relationships with vendors, boards, and homeowners

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Vicki MacHale is a 30+ year veteran of the community association industry with extensive experience in onsite operations, executive leadership, education, consulting, and community association governance. She has held leadership roles including Division Manager, executive leader, and owner/partner, while educating community managers through California-specific certification and designation programs. Vicki has also served on her HOA board for more than 10 years, completed three elected terms on the CACM Board of Directors, and was honored with the 2015 CAI Award for Training of the Year. She has served as an expert panelist for numerous CACM and CAI educational programs and is currently the founder of the Community Association Standards and Advocacy Alliance (CASA Alliance), focused on education, transparency, advocacy, and open dialogue within the community association industry.

RESOURCES

• Read the blog
• Related Articles
• FindHOALaw
• Assessment Collections
• Additional Resources
• Watch the Video

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode, host Steve Tinnelly sits down with Ramona Acosta to discuss CAM University, a professional training and development program that guides community managers from obtaining their CMCA certification to maintaining it. CAM University leverages Tinnelly Law Group's legal and industry expertise in HOA Law to provide this one-of-a-kind program was designed with the MANAGER in mind.

KEY POINTS

• First California edition of a prerequisite course that complies with state certification requirements
• Approved by CAMICB as a prerequisite course for the CMCA designation
• California education + national certification = personalized learning on topics like:
  • Budgets and reserves
  • Governance and legal issues
  • HR management
  • Meetings and operations
  • Property maintenance
  • Ethics and more
• Approved alternative to CAI's M100 California Edition
• Earn your CMCA with California based instruction in less time and at a lower cost
• Pass your exam with CMCA Study Group
• Maintain your CMCA with over 27 hours of on-demand CEUs

Explore the CAM University virtual campus here: camuniversity.org

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Steven J. Tinnelly, Esq. is the Managing Partner of Tinnelly Law Group. He is known for his exceptional writing, analytical and negotiation skills, and providing general counsel representation to many of the firm's larger HOA clients throughout the state. Mr. Tinnelly is very active within the community association industry and devotes a substantial amount of time to educating homeowners and industry professionals about the legal issues affecting California community associations. Read more

Ramona Acosta, PCAM is the Director of Operations & Business Development for Tinnelly Law Group. Ms. Acosta directs and manages the firm's business development, marketing, public relations, and client relationship management efforts. Her success as a community manager and management company executive, coupled with her extensive knowledge of the California laws pertaining to HOAs, provides significant value to our clients and the professionals who manage them. Read more

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode Co-Hosts Steve Tinnelly and Ramona Acosta speak to Isaac Camacho and Sean Andersen on the Rising Costs of Construction

KEY POINTS

• Construction and labor costs
• Mandatory minimum wage
• Systemic inflation
• Building code changes
• SB 326 due by the end of the year
• Why HOAs need to raise assessments
• Properly maintaining assets, deferred maintenance and underfunded reserves
• Rising insurance costs in relation to liability claims

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Isaac Camacho has over 10 years' experience in business development and has taken clients from positions of none-to-low brand recognition to exceeding sales goals and expectations and solid brand reputation in target markets. Isaac has strong interpersonal skills and is not only able to produce record-breaking sales himself but is also able to build and train successful sales teams that can sustain a level of desired sales revenues. Isaac is currently a sales/marketing expert with the state's fastest growing termite and pest control company, Accurate Termite & Pest Control. Read more

Sean started working at Association Reserves in 1999. He opened the regional office in Orange County in 2003. Sean has completed over 3,000 Reserve Studies for properties ranging from small community associations to large master planned communities. He earned the Community Association Institute's (CAI) Reserve Specialist (RS) designation and has the distinction of being RS #68. Sean is an active member of the CAI Orange County chapter. Sean has also been an instructor on the subject of Reserves for training courses offered by CAI. Read more

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode Host Cang Le speaks to a guest panel live from our 2024 Legal Symposium featuring Tinnelly Law Group Attorneys Corey Todd and Carrie Heieck; Mark Dodge, Regional Vice President at Associa; and Michelle Lopez, Director of Community Management at Powerstone Property Management, regarding the rights of entry for deceased homeowners.

KEY POINTS

• Exercising the right of entry provisions in the CC&Rs
• What constitutes an emergency in order to gain entry without notice
• Gaining entry when the owner is deceased
• How to seek judicial assistance
• Recouping delinquent assessments, attorney's fees and costs

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Mark Dodge is the Regional Vice President of Associa and the President and CEO of Associa - Desert Resort Management, the largest HOA management company in the Coachella Valley. His experience is wide and includes both senior management and financial positions in the publishing, sports marketing, automotive, technology, and event management industries. Read more about Mark here.

Michelle Lopez is the Director of Community Management at Powerstone Property Management and oversees the Coachella Valley office. As a lifelong resident of Coachella Valley, Michelle understands the needs and way of life in the desert. She is an experienced supervisor and senior community association manager. Read more about Michelle here.

Corey is a Senior Attorneys with Tinnelly Law Group and Alterra Assessment Recovery. Prior to Tinnelly, Corey completed an externship with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, where he clerked for the Honorable Erithe Smith. Corey also spent several years working for a civil litigation firm that built its core business on the representation of financial institutions in the servicing of both commercial and residential property portfolios.

Carrie is a Senior Attorney with Tinnelly Law Group practicing for over 15 years primarily representing corporate and institutional clients in areas including corporate formation, contracts, and real estate issues. It was by chance that she began representing several HOAs through word of mouth and discovered a niche of the law that she loves.

Duration: 52:56 | Recorded on December 20, 2022 Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | iTunes

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode Co-Hosts Steve Tinnelly and Ramona Acosta speak to Cindy Collins on the Vendor/Manager Relationships

KEY POINTS

1. Recognizing our vendors as business partners to support our mutual clients
2. Utilizing our business partners as a resource
3. The value of developing a long-term relationship
4. How to properly vet business partners

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Cindy Collins, Vice President of Community Management, has joined the PMP team in San Diego and brings over 23 years of experience in homeowner's association management in San Diego giving her a unique and in-depth perspective of the local market.Throughout Cindy's career, she has consistently demonstrated her ability to successfully lead teams that deliver results. With a wide range of expertise including new community development and construction, as well as aging communities, Cindy has made it her mission to inform and educate board members, so they have theconfidence to make the best decisions for their communities. She also served on her own HOA board for five years, giving her insight and perspective into the processes and needs of board members. Her high-touch communication style, level of care for excellent customer service, communication and direct straightforward approach to problem solving has resulted in high customer satisfaction and employee retention rates.Cindy earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College in Chicago and work towards a Master's in Public Administration with a focus on Not-for-Profit Organizations. She has been a member of the Community Associations Institute (CAI) since 2000 and served on the CAI Educational Services Committee for four years. Industry credentials include the Community Associations Institute as a Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM®), the highest professional recognition available to community association management professionals, as well as the AMS and CMCA® certifications

Read more about Cindy Collinss here

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this episode Co-Hosts Steve Tinnelly and Ramona Acosta speak to Scott Clements about new legislation regarding EV charging stations and its impact on aging infrastructures

Key Points:

• California updates Public Policy to establish the long-term goal of 100% electric vehicles in the state
• Architectural requirements for homeowner installed EV charging stations
• Aging common area and parking infrastructures
• New Building Code standards to update parking infrastructures to allow for more EV charging stations
• How to fund the installation of association controlled EV charging stations and infrastructure upgrades

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Scott is Chief Executive Officer of Reserve Studies Inc. and has a long and distinguished career in Reserve Studies and building inspection and analysis. He has personally performed thousands of property inspections, including services for reserve funding analysis, property purchase, construction defect litigation support, and cost estimation. He has authored numerous articles for CAI and CACM publications and has served on multiple committees—including CAI-OC's Education Committee, CACM's Reserve Analysts Committee, and he is a CACM Faculty member. Scott has been awarded Educator of the Year by CAI-OC, and was recognized with a Vision Award for Excellence in Service from the California Association of Community Managers.

Read more about Scott Clements here