PRESIDENT’ S MESSAGE
Debbie Wiatrek | SAAA 2017 President | Capstone Real Estate Services
Welcome to 2017!
What a wonderful ride 2016 was and how exciting that our very own, Marc Ross, was able to Chair the National Apartment Association. What a legacy his family started and my hope is to somehow add some sparkle to that. I have never been one who does things half way or half-heartedly, this upcoming year will be no different. The theme I picked for this year is # ALLIN. What this means is everyone, no matter who you are and what capacity you are in, vendor or owner / member, all the way from it’ s your first day as a sales associate or leasing associate or you have been the President or Vice President of your company for many years, I want you, each of you, # ALLIN!
The San Antonio Apartment Association is one that fosters the education of our members, advocates on behalf of them, and communicates to all our members and everyone in between. We have become successful in doing this by aggressively reaching out to all for increased participation in our events and committees. Without you, we cannot continue to achieve the greatness we strive to reach. This means we are totally committed to Government Affairs, by block walking, poll watching, and phone banking for candidates. By staying current on issues, by attending the committee meetings and letting our voice be heard when it counts to government persons on all levels. This brings up a great event that is upcoming; the Texas State Legislature will be in Session starting in January 2017. We are again this year going to pack the buses and head to Legislative Day in Austin. SAAA has had huge success at this event due to you. We will drive, feed you, and teach you all you need to know for this event. Please register with hector @ saaaonline. org to participate in this important event.
Another area we need to see involvement in is donating to our Political Action Committee( PAC), to help support all efforts on our home front. A donation of any amount helps the cause, no amount is too big or too small. Next, you can jump in and promote all our events and attend and / or sponsor education seminars and events. The new PEP brochure is out and has the most up to date information you need along with the class listing. The more we can educate our teams on both sides, the stronger we all become. Then, there is all the fun the membership committee has and oh, the gift cards offered! All are just icing on that sweet cake. The more members we have, the louder we can be and having a voice is what we strive to achieve.
So, how can I do all of this you may ask? It will all kick off with the PAC Clay Shoot in February. Then move right into our Member Mixer in March. This is where many new members and yes, all of the old ones like me, attend and we mingle at a location with great snacks. Then, there is the celebration of Maintenance Mania and Cook-off in March. Maintenance Mania is for all maintenance personnel and has some fun things for the kids to do as well. This is an event you have to attend. Hurry and sign up with the San Antonio Apartment Association team or if you have any questions, they can surely assist you, not just with this, but anything you may need, they have the answer. To ensure you stay connected, don’ t forget to sign up for the weekly email updates and to check the website frequently. There you will find the annual event calendar and so much more.
Thus, when I say # ALLIN, this is simply what I mean. We all should strive to be all in every day, every step of the way. I am hopeful each of you reading this will be as passionate about the San Antonio Apartment Association as I am. It is such an honor to be selected to serve in this role and I am forever humbled and grateful for this opportunity. In closing,“ All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days, nor in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration( my Presidency). Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin( now!).” John F. Kennedy I cannot even wait to meet, greet, and see each and every
one of you, as I am # ALLIN!
Debbie www. saaaonline. org | January / February 2017 7