Apartment Trends Magazine June 2020 June 2020 | Page 23

A Virtual Response to
COVID-19 Crisis
In March 2020 the world, and our way
of life as we knew it, changed. The
Coronavirus pandemic required not
only the AAMD to postpone key events and
education but threw the industry into a state
of confusion. The pandemic created chaos
with daily changes to the way the apartment
industry – along with virtually every other
industry - could operate in
the state of Colorado. As the
hours, days, weeks and even
months passed, the AAMD
assisted the industry by
providing guidelines, tools
and resources for our valued
members.
AAMD responded quickly
by starting a COVID-19 Task
Force, which began with
about 30 key industry leaders
meeting via Zoom twice a
week. This meeting allowed
operators to collaborate,
share information and discuss ongoing
challenges and policy changes that the
virus required the industry to adopt. This
served as platform for the industry to come
together as one. As of early May, the Task
Force was still in full force and averaged
more than 150 people on each weekly call.
Several new free virtual programs
and roundtables were launched by AAMD
in response to the pandemic. The popular
Coffee with the Lawyers is a weekly Q&A
forum with Drew Hamrick (AAMD/CAA),
Debbie Wilson (Springman Braden Wilson
& Pontius, PC) and Vic Sulzer (Tschetter
Sulzer, PC). This free forum is available to
all members every Friday. As of mid-May,
six Coffee with the Lawyers events had
been held with more 800 attendees in total.
In addition, virtual Supplier, Community,
Marketing and IROC roundtables were
added to the calendar. Like the Task Force,
these roundtables provide an opportunity
for peers to discuss challenges and
adaptations required by COVID-19.
THESE MEETINGS
WERE CRUCIAL
IN KEEPING
VOLUNTEERS
ENGAGED AND
ASSESSING EACH
CHALLENGE AS IT
PERTAINED TO THAT
GROUP
2019 - 2020
MILESTONES
The AAMD Virtual Seminar Series was
launched in April 2020. More than 20 virtual
seminars were scheduled with national
trainers from around the country. Speakers
such as Toni Blake, Lisa Trosien, Kate Good
and more developed relevant education
content to help the AAMD membership
navigate these new and different times.
More than 300 members have attended
so far. Looking forward, these new virtual
offerings will be integrated with live inperson
education to create a new hybrid
delivery method.
Leadership, Council and Committee
meetings were held as scheduled but were
transitioned to virtual meetings through
Zoom. These meetings were crucial in
keeping volunteers engaged and assessing
each challenge as it pertained to that group.
As events, education and all
in-person gatherings were
affected, these meetings
allowed for member input and
expertise to help make tough,
but well thought out decisions.
The AAMD volunteers are
strong as ever and committed
to the continued development
of AAMD’s programs.
The COVID-19 Resource
Center was created as an
easily accessible landing page
for both AAMD members
and Colorado residents. This Resource
Center was the hub for all things COVID-19
related. Part of the site is dedicated to
residents and included financial aid
resource brochures, unemployment filing
information, government aid and more.
For the AAMD members, Executive and
Public Health Orders coming from local
and state officials are available, new forms
and lease addendums can be downloaded
and several documents and resources are
easily accessible. In addition, a detailed FAQ
page for both residents and management
companies was created and is ongoing to
help address the most common questions.
This page continues to be updated regularly
as changes go into effect.
Finally, the Colorado Apartment
Association (CAA) partnered with the
Resident Relief Foundation (RRF) to create
a rental assistance fund for Colorado
residents. The AAMD matched $12,500 of
member donations allowing CAA to match
$30,000. These funds are specifically
earmarked for Colorado residents and will
be paid directly to the housing providers.
Coming together to keep people in their
homes and rent paid is a win-win for our
industry, and Colorado!
As Colorado begins to re-open in
phases, the future of how this industry
conducts business is still uncertain. AAMD
will continue to be here as a resource and
valued partner, no matter what is thrown in
our direction next.
800+
COMBINED
ATTENDEES*
VIRTUAL
SEMINAR
SERIES
ATTENDEES
VIRTUAL NUMBERS
AS OF MAY 22, 2020
*TO DATE
(6 EVENTS)
COFFEE
WITH THE
LAWYERS
LEGAL WEBINARS
33,000+ READERS
OF COVID-19 RELATED EMAILS SENT BY AAMD*
ROUNDTABLES:
165 149
ATTENDEES
ATTENDEES
SUPPLIER
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
17 ROUNDTABLES 12 ROUNDTABLES
COVID-19 TASK FORCE
COMBINED ATTENDEES*
TASK
FORCE
CALLS
300+
46,800+
PAGEVIEWS TO COVID-19 RELATED
CONTENT ON AAMD WEBSITE*
DIRECT
CLICKS
FROM EMAILS TO THE AAMD WEBSITE*
www.aamdhq.org
JUNE 2020 TRENDS | 21