From the Fall 2020 Issue
President's Message
Lessons Learned
It has been a few years since I have had the opportunity to write to all of you as President of the association. I want to start by expressing my sincere gratitude and admiration to all of the past presidents and members of the ACMO Board of Directors, and especially to Audrey McGuire, for her leadership and dedication over what has been an extraordinary 2020.
These unprecedented times have presented many new challenges to the condominium management profession. For the first time, managers have had to focus as much on the health of their community as on managing the property. Managers became “essential workers,” demonstrating the professionalism, adaptability and flexibility that lies under the surface of what we do every day.
The health and wellness of the community became of paramount importance. Many living in condos stopped focusing, even if only for a moment, on the validity of rule
changes, or the inherent right to access amenities and instead gave consideration to others. They focused on social distancing and recognized the risk to the cleaners, staff and management who keep their communities operating when much of the rest of the world was shut down.
In time, we will settle into a new normal – one which will likely include virtual meetings and AGMs, larger venues for public gatherings, limits on amenity use, and a commitment to cleaning and sanitary practices that will necessarily affect costs for those living in condos. It may also include a heightened awareness of the remarkable
capacity that we have to react to the unknown and the passion and commitment that we bring to the role of protector of the communities that we manage.
I hope that this newfound awareness and knowledge is the lasting legacy of 2020, something that we lived and learned as a profession in the past four months. I also hope that the profile and value of condominium management have taken a step up the ladder in the eyes of the public, our owners and residents, and serves to inspire a future generation of much-needed condominium managers.
