Pictured are Steve Moriarty, Treena Gibson, Maureen Baker, Doug Rosier, Bob Hage and Gary Beveridge  /  Photo courtesy of Doug Rosier.

Community Associations Institute (CAI) has created a CAI chapter in Southwest Virginia, bringing to 61 the number of chapters chartered by CAI. Headquartered in Roanoke, the chapter serves the entire region of Southwest Virginia including, but not limited to the New River Valley, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Roanoke Valley, Salem, Smith Mountain Lake and as far east as Appomattox, and as far west to Bristol, Virginia.

Members of CAI chapters are automatically members of the 32,000-member international organization. Founded almost 40 years ago, CAI provides education, tools and resources to the homeowner volunteers who govern associations and the professionals who provide management expertise and other types of services. CAI members include community association board members and other volunteer leaders, professional community managers and management firms and other product and service providers.

“We are excited to be involved with the start of a local CAI chapter,” said Treena Gibson, CMCA, AMS, one of the industry leaders responsible for creating the chapter. “The number of community associations has continued to increase in Southwest Virginia in recent years. Our chapter is evidence of that growth and demonstrates our commitment to providing effective governance and management to the thousands of residents who live in these communities.”

More than 60 million Americans—about one in five U.S. residents—live in an estimated 320,000 homeowners associations, condominium communities, cooperatives and other planned communities.

Gibson says the chapter’s long-term goals include:

• Becoming a credible and reliable source for information about common-interest communities throughout Southwest Virginia
• Providing educational programming for homeowner leaders and industry professionals
• Sponsoring networking events for chapter members
• Helping homeowner leaders find professionals who can help them manage their communities

“We’re pleased these leaders took the initiative to establish a chapter in Southwest Virginia,” said Crystal Wallace, CAE, CAI’s vice president of membership and chapter relations. “The formation of this chapter will bring the benefits of CAI education, networking and collective advocacy to the thousands of Virginians who live and work in common-interest communities.”

For information about the Southwest Virginia chapter, email info@caiswva.com. To learn more about CAI visit our website at www.caiswva.com.

Submitted by Doug Rosier.