Apartment Trends Magazine June 2020 June 2020 | Page 8

FROM THE PRESIDENT
SCOTT KIRKWOOD | GRIFFIS BLESSING
Collaboration and Adaptability Continues to
Define Our Association and Industry
Who could have predicted some of the
challenges during the term? Last July
there wasn’t a hint we’d be concluding
this fiscal year during a pandemic. But there
were plenty of challenges this year long before
the word "COVID", "pandemic" or "quarantine"
became a part of our daily conversations. It's
the collaboration amongst our membership and
industry leaders that have gotten us through
these challenges.
We began the year with a collaborative effort
and ended with one. It started with a major
restructure of the AAMD/CAA Government
Affairs department. A focus group of past
presidents and industry leaders was established
to develop a series of leadership qualities and
priorities for the next department Vice President,
culminating in the hire of Drew Hamrick, who
has proven to be a tremendous addition to the
s t a ff .
The collaboration continued with outreach
to the three other NAA affiliates in the state
(Southern Colorado, Northern Colorado and
Weld County). The goal was to look for political
support in the fight against rent control measures
at the state and local levels of government. Led
by NAA Region VIII VP Rocky Sundling and
CAA President Terry Simone, the team was able
to secure $100,000 in funding through NAA for
a political campaign educating state and local
legislators against the perils of rent control. The
group held a Housing Summit in early October
that gave the industry a seat at the table with
state legislative leaders and helped defeat a
proposed bill for the first time since the 2018
election.
Then came the COVID-19 crisis. If this
pandemic did nothing else, it showed that
our Association and industry is adaptable to
changing, even under extreme circumstances.
A small group of industry leaders gathered
to discuss the CARES Act and the impact on
management operation strategies. We shut down
operations to protect employees and residents.
Long standing business norms were changed
and a potential rent strike was averted. That
small group of leaders began to expand with
many industry professionals joining the COVID
Task Force to discuss how to shut down and
deal with legal challenges. This has allowed
our industry to share ideas about how to get
through this together, and has been one of
the most productive groups. Now as many as
100 participants are discussing how to stage
the reopening of our businesses. Similarly, in
April we created “Coffee with the Lawyers”,
which is a weekly legal zoom format offered to
assist members with legal questions and issues.
Finally, we were the first apartment association
in the country to partner with the Resident
Relief Foundation, and as of this writing- raised
over $100,000 for this important cause. These
examples of cooperation show the power of our
Association and make me proud of my affiliation.
Despite the obvious and dramatic lows of
the year resulting in the inability for AAMD
to hold countless events and education, we saw
and celebrated plenty of highs! We relaunched
our Economic Conference which had nearly
500 people there. We had successes with our
Apartments Giving Back Campaign, being a
finalist for an NAA Affiliate Excellence Award
and raising nearly $40,000 for charity. The
AAMD office was wrapping up construction and
expansion, and we officially launched our new
Hands On Maintenance Education (H.O.M.E.)
Room, which was gaining momentum in January
and February. We continued to focus on JLAC and
political threats to the industry with the theme
of expanding the circle of influence to include
other parts of the state and industry affiliates in
northern Colorado and Colorado Springs.
COVID-19 had a huge impact on our
residents, employees and investors. The road
ahead for the Association will be bumpy without
a doubt. There are uncertainties none of us have
answers for at this time. The mounting mass of
revenues lost from the inability to gather for
education and networking events is substantial.
But just as I said a year ago, I’ll repeat again- it’s
time to “Saddle Up!”.
SAVE THE DATE - JUNE 25, 2020
6 | TRENDS JUNE 2020 www.aamdhq.org