SUPPLIER PARTNERS
BY LIZ CAPONE , THE MKTG DEPT .
Turning the Page to Close Chapter 19
In a million years would we have ever imagined living through the last 18 months ? A global pandemic touching and impacting every area of our lives ; where we work , live , how we shop , how we dine out , nothing left untouched .
We stretched in ways we could have never imagined . And so here we are - a year and a half since the start of the pandemic and finally nearing the place where we can consider turning the page on Chapter 19 .
Management companies and on-site teams turned on a dime , to create socially distanced leasing experiences , provided compassion and resources to residents in various states of job loss or temporary unemployment , connecting them to valuable resources to see them through to the next month , and the next and the next .
Maintenance teams , with our other onsite essential workers , finding themselves in direct line of fire , facing the virus with those residents who are healthcare workers , grocery store teams , people living with the day-to-day threat of exposure , and the risk of being exposing themselves .
" As we turn the page , to the next chapter , the new chapter , I hope we ’ ll all take a moment to show our gratitude ..."
For Supplier partners - some of us fell into the essential category , and some of us did not - navigating a world where seeing our customers wasn ’ t possible , social distancing taking a very real toll on our ability to earn a sustainable living . 2020 was no joke and left no area of our industry unexposed to a litany of difficulty , pivoting , best practicing , and simply engaging in a very real fight to survive .
And then , there ’ s our AAMD staff . As a resident of a community , management company team member , or supplier partner , the Association was our first and sometimes last bastion for guidance and support .
I consider what our association accomplished , sometimes by sheer will power alone , I find a respect for the team that deserves to be recognized and applauded by our membership .
From weekly Coffee With the Lawyers conversations , virtual Supplier Partner roundtables , the addition of outdoor events including the clay shoot , snow tubing event , the AAMD Tailgater , and the outdoor focused Maintenance Mania , AAMD challenged the status quo to seek ways to be of service .
By migrating many in-person events to a virtual platform , we shared Lease-A-Rama nationally - reaching more than 1000 participants . AAMD also launched Supplier Partners First , shining a much-needed spotlight on to the struggle of our supplier partners in the face of a national pandemic .
The staff and leadership of AAMD have been thought leaders and go-getters during this chapter of our industry ’ s story . So , as we turn the page , to the next chapter , the new chapter , I hope we ’ ll all take a moment to show our gratitude to this team of people who didn ’ t back down , when the easy option would have been to simply wait it out . To the entire team … I say thank you , and I am looking forward to our next chapter together .
Liz Capone is the owner of The Mktg Dept ., and the Vice Chair of the Communication Committee . www . aamdhq . org SEPTEMBER 2021 TRENDS | 23