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Professional Designations in Community Management

Rossmar & Graham’sLifestyle Division

Community Spotlight: San Tan Heights

Community Harmony: Building Community Spirit

faLL 2011

Preserve | Protect | Enhance Property Values

communicate this opportunity to its homeowners and increase participation:

1. Send a letter or a post card to the association outlining the benefits for both the homeowners and the homeowners association.

2. Send a letter as a “ride along” in the next statement the association will be sending to the homeowners.

3. Include verbiage in the Community Corner of the next statement being sent to the homeowners.

4. Publish the information to your community website.

Our Community Managers are able to assist throughout the process and are able to provide more in-depth documentation to guarantee that signing up is fast and easy for those who want to participate.

Visit us at Rossmar.com/eStatements to learn more and sign up for this exciting opportunity!

Congratulations!

Eight of Rossmar & Graham’s community association managers recently completed Community Association Institute’s (CAI) M-100 class, “The Essentials of Community Association Management.” We congratulate the following employees on this achievement: Christina Weigman, Kamin Havens, Ken Estrada, Kristy Newman, Roger Hartzog, Sean Dewitte, Toddie Fowler and Wendy Fritz.

eStatements: Going Green, Saving GreenBy Steven Hale Assistant Controller – Client Accounting

Rossmar & Graham’s mission is to be the leader of the community association management industry by providing the highest level of service to our customers. With this in mind, we have been working feverishly to ensure that we provide the best products to our associations and their homeowners. We are pleased to now offer eStatements (electronic statements) to residents who would like to take advantage of a convenient way to access their statements 24 hours a day. This comes with great benefits including:

Convenient access: Review your eStatement anytime, anywhere. Simply login and view up to 12 months of complete online statements.

Reduced risk: Using eStatements protects users from fraud and identity theft by eliminating unnecessary paper statements that include personal account information.

Go green: eStatements reduce users’ paper consumption and carbon footprints, making this a better environmental option.

Not only are there benefits to the homeowners, but to the association as well. By encouraging eStatement participation, the homeowners association will realize a cost savings by minimizing the cost of the statements and eliminating the postage costs for each homeowner that signs up. There are many options the association can choose from to

Professional Designations in Community ManagementBy Lee Newman Vice President High Rise Division

When I first started in community management, I began to notice little letters at the end of colleague’s names on business cards, in emails, etc. Being new to the industry, I did not have a clue what they were or what they meant to a community manager. I then started learning more about these designations and certifications and where they came from. Community management is its own nationwide university, and these designations and certifications represent the different levels of recognition a community manager can attain.

almost half of the managers at Rossmar & Graham have earned some type of designation and certification, or have multiple of both. They are awarded statewide by the Arizona Association of Community Managers (AAMC), or nationwide by the Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM). The certifications include: CAAM (Certified Arizona Association Manager), CMCA (Certified Manager of Community Associations), and the designations are AMS (Association Management Specialist), and one of the most well-regarded and exclusive in our industry, the PCAM (Professional Community Association Manager). Every one of these forms of recognition requires a certain level of experience, completion of courses, and the successful completion of multiple exams. To become a PCAM, you need five years of community management experience, the successful completion of a large number of courses and exams on everything from Facilities and Financial Management to Community Governance. You are also required to complete a case study.

To give you an idea of how elusive the PCaM designation is, while there’s an estimated 60,000 community managers nationwide, a little under 1,400 of those managers are active PCAMs - just over 2 percent. Our winter newsletter announced Doug Austin as the latest Rossmar & Graham employee to be awarded the PCAM designation. He became the fifth Rossmar & Graham employee to currently hold this distinction, which is the most of any property management company in Arizona.

Rossmar & Graham is proud of all of our employees who have earned industry designations and certifications, and will continue to support and encourage all managers in their pursuit of these programs. In our business, these points of recognition set community managers apart with the highest levels of professionalism, accountability, ethics, and education.

R&G QuaRTeRLy ReVIeW faLL 2011 2|3

Almost half of the managers at Rossmar and Graham have earned some type of designation, or have multiple designations.

Letter from the CEOJust this week, I was riding in a car on the freeway, and within the span of 5 minutes I looked up a restaurant on my smart phone, mapped it, called and made a reservation, sent an email, forwarded an email with a spreadsheet, and checked my bank account. What an amazing world of technology we live in! I wouldn’t have been able to do that a few years ago, we enjoy many benefits from those who have broken barriers and created and enhanced many new services and products. I remember a time before cell phones and laptop computers were available, how things change.

about the only constant in business these days is change. at Rossmar we are very serious about staying on the leading edge with products and services, always on the lookout for ways to help our communities. As Ghandi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. We continue to look for ways to improve and wanted to share with you a few recent changes at Rossmar:

eStatementS We now offer all our communities the ability to provide electronic statements to their homeowners instead of paper statements. This option saves the community money and is also eco-friendly in saving paper, envelopes, and postage.

Online Payment FeeS We negotiated a reduction in fees charged to homeowners who make payments online. If a homeowner pays their assessments using the re-occurring eCheck method through PayLease online, the fee went from $1.00 per transaction to free.

leadeRShiP additiOnS As a result of recent growth, we have added the following individuals to our leadership group:

Shelley Kitts: Shelley joined us as CFO and brings with her extensive experience and knowledge from the real estate and property management industry.

any Ferrell: Any joins us as Senior Vice President. She comes to us from San Diego where she was Executive Vice President of a successful Community Management Company. any has over 15 years of experience in the industry in progressive leadership positions.

Ken estrada: Ken was promoted to Vice President – Central Division. Ken was previously Director of Client Services at Rossmar and is a key member of our team.

Kirk Kowieski: Kirk was promoted to Vice President – Lifestyle Division. Kirk was previously Director of the Lifestyle Division at Rossmar and has been an integral part of building that division.

lee newman: Lee was promoted to Vice President – High Rise Division. Lee is our superstar in the high-rise division and brings unique leadership for high-rise communities.

inteGRated WebSiteS Rossmar Connect (our web based community information portal) is now integrated with other leading HOA web providers including AssociationVoice.com and AtHomenet.com. This allows seamless integration of homeowner data, calendars and more. Many HOa’s use these web providers and can now have RossmarConnect data synchronized and accessible in their current website. We have also negotiated volume pricing with these vendors.

It is interesting to note that many of our best suggestions and ideas come from you! Listening to our homeowners and board members and implementing the best suggestions has helped Rossmar maintain our position as the #1 HOA Management Company in Arizona. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please share them with your Community Manger, we love innovative ideas and feedback on how we can make your community, or the management thereof, better.

Thank you!

Jason Proudfit Chief Executive Officer

R&G QuaRTeRLy ReVIeW faLL 2011 4|5

Operation Benevolent Heart

Through this charitable program, Rossmar & Graham asks board members to nominate deserving families in their communities. Each month we draw one name from all the nominees and pay up to $300 in delinquent assessments, fines or fees on their behalf. Last quarter the following communities had a homeowner who benefited from this program:

June – maya Condominiums July – Foothills Club West august – Suncrest at augusta Ranch September – Fiesta Park Village

Please contact your community manager to nominate a homeowner in your community!

Supporting Our Troops

Rossmar & Graham employees adopt soldiers who are serving in the military away from home. employees donate items to send in a care package every other Friday to one of our sponsored soldiers. Last quarter we had the pleasure of sending care packages to the following soldiers.

Houston Jensen, USMC Carlos Lopez, USN Kevin Holt, ARNG

Rossmar Gives

« Sgt. Houston Jensen, USMC

Net Promoter Score (NPS) SurveyThank you to all of our Board Members for participating in our NPS client survey over the last few months. We take great pride in our relationships with each of our board members. The feedback we received from this survey will help us better understand and appreciate the needs of our clients. We realize that each of you has volunteered your time to make your community a better place, and we are honored to be part of your association.

What iS nPS? The Net Promoter Score®, popularized by Fred Reichheld in his book “The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth”, is one of the simplest loyalty measures. Customers are asked “How likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?” and then provide a rating from 0 (“Not at all likely”) to 10 (“Extremely likely”).

http://blog.vovici.com

Thank you to all of our Board Members for participating in our NPS client survey over the last few months.

What is Lifestyle? Webster’s defines lifestyle as “A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group”. At Rossmar & Graham, our Lifestyle Division is made up of premier, amenity-driven, master-planned communities, representing a broad spectrum of attitudes and values that drive each particular community’s “lifestyle”. Active Adult, country club, golf course/resort, lake, and multi-generational are just a few of the type of communities that reside within this division.

Interesting facts about Rossmar’s Lifestyle Division:

• Comprised of 25,000+ homes

• $20 million in assessment monies managed

• 150 full and part-time staff

• 85 years of combined Community Manager experience

• 78 miles between the eastern and westernmost communities (San Tan Valley to Surprise)

Lifestyle communities have unique needs and management requirements. One of the key components to the Division’s success within each community is the services provided by our Lifestyle Services Group - a specialized, focused group

made up of the Division’s Activities/Lifestyle Directors, select Community Managers, and various support staff. The Lifestyle Services Group is focused on understanding the lifestyle of each community, and delivering the special programs that enhance both life and real estate values. Communities serviced by the Lifestyle Services Group can draw on the synergy and strength of the resources that the group offers:

• Specialized staff training and development

• Continued education opportunities

• Industry certifications and affiliations

• Developing signature community events

• Organizing clubs

• Facilitating fitness and wellness programs

• Overseeing recreational facilities use

We understand that communities are comprised of much more than just the physical structures built within them. In Rossmar’s Lifestyle Division, we believe that the true strength of a community comes from the lifestyle it represents, and we’re proud to partner with our Lifestyle communities to help reflect their attitudes and values as premier communities in the Valley.

Rossmar & Graham’sLifestyle DivisionBy Kirk Kowieski Vice President, Lifestyle Division

Our Lifestyle Division is made up of premier, amenity-driven, master-planned communities, representing a broad spectrum of attitudes and values that drive each particular community’s “lifestyle”.

Community Spotlight

San Tan HeightsBy Karen A Mooney President San Tan Heights HOA

San Tan Heights, nestled at the foot of the San Tan Mountains, grew out of the desert beginning in the early 2000’s. During this period in time, the building boom vigorously overtook the agricultural land within Pinal County on the border of the Town of Queen Creek. Now, in 2011, we have approximately 3000 homes in our Community and we anticipate a final build out of 3700 plus homes. We have 2 large beautiful parks and 12 smaller pocket parks spread throughout our Community, as well as 6 miles of walking/biking trails, 90 acres of open space and 2 lovely lakes with graceful water features. One of our many attractive draws to San Tan Heights is the very wide streets with sidewalks on both sides which many Communities in our area were not developed with.

Having contracted with Rossmar & Graham in January of this year I cannot say enough about the Company and all that they’ve brought to our Community. The changes we witnessed in 8 months are truly amazing. We are getting San Tan Heights back to where it should be, one of the elite communities in the Southeast valley! We have brought in Maintenance Company that over sees all the repairs as well as just doing weekly cleanings of our playgrounds, light poles, cleaning graffiti and more. The Maintenance Company even painted our fire hydrants and has made our Community sparkle in a relatively short amount of time.

In these economic times, one of our biggest concerns was their collection of delinquent assessments. We just didn’t see how it could not cost the HOA anything, but after seeing Red Rock Financial Services in action it is truly amazing. Even

before going to “collections”, how wonderful it is to have an on site staff that continually works with homeowners to setup payment plans when folks are having a tough time in this economy.

The monthly status reports the Board receives from all on site vendors (Maintenance, Landscape & Lake Maintenance to name a few) help us to track all of the ongoing tasks and serve as a reminder of what to expect the following year at the same time. Something we feel that is very crucial to the Board in an effort to help keep the Community aware of the behind the scenes work as well as to be able to pass on the history to future Board Members.

We are also very proud to say that we have some very active members in our Community that go above and beyond to assist in making this a wonderful place to live. They have taken on our Communications Committee, Architectural Committee and Governance Committee just to name a few. They spend many hours donating their time to make this a better place to live. We even have a couple that started a Block Watch, which has proven to be a great success!

San Tan Heights is excited to be working on the development of eight acres of land that we acquired a few years ago. This project is in the beginning stages and will be phased out over time. We look forward to a time when we may finally be able to have our own Community Center with many amenities such as a swimming pool, splash pad, meeting room, craft room, exercise rooms and possibly an Amphitheatre.

We are very happy to have teamed up with Rossmar & Graham and are looking forward to many wonderful years together.

Community New Business Referral ProgramWant Rossmar & Graham to help sponsor your community event? All you have to do is refer another community to Rossmar & Graham, and if we are awarded the contract we will help sponsor your event.

Have a friend call us today!

R&G QUARTERLY REVIEW FALL 2011 6|7

Rossmar & Graham welcomes Shelley Kitts, Chief Financial Officer

We are pleased to announce the addition of Shelley Kitts to our Executive Management Team.

As Chief Financial Officer, Shelley will oversee all aspects of corporate and client accounting, information technology, resale and disclosure, account integration, facilities and human resources for Rossmar & Graham. She brings over 15 years of experience in the management and leadership of accounting departments serving both publicly and privately held companies. She has a Masters Degree in Business Administration and is a Certified Public accountant licensed in Arizona.

Shelley will work closely with the Executive Team to develop new business initiatives and the strategic planning for Rossmar & Graham.

Please join us in welcoming Shelley!

Community Harmony: Building Community SpiritBy Evelyn Williams

When I was in College I was an “RA” (Resident Assistant) in the on campus dormitories. A dorm mother of sorts, though sometimes I debate who was louder, me or the residents. I would help the residents find their way around campus, connecting them with the right resources, encourage them to keep going when the classes and roommate situations got tough. I remember doing a great deal of active and passive programming for the residents.

Passive programming is seen on bulletin boards, flyers and newsletters. It provides information and can spark a conversation. It gives residents a chance to reflect on an important topic, issue or question. Active programming provides opportunities for residents to become involved and join in a group function to get to know their neighbors. Both types of programming serve a purpose; enhancing the lives of residents, creating a safe and welcoming environment and increasing retention rates. The same can happen within a homeowners association.

A few things to remember when providing active and passive programming:

1. Know your audience. When it comes to the type of event or activity it may not be wise to host a community baby shower if you live in a 55+ Community.

2. Promote your event in as many ways as possible. Website, email, bulletin board and community center postings are a few good media’s you can use to promote.

3. Think about the public relations of it all. The goal of public relations is to create a mutually beneficial relationship between the organization and its clients. Is your message frustrated, sarcastic, demeaning or boring to look at? Or is it positive, encouraging, inspiring and pleasing to the eye?

Whether the goal is education about an upcoming board meeting or, to advertise a chance to socialize with neighbors, it all starts with someone taking the time to organize and promote it. You may not be a Lifestyle Community or offer extensive amenities and events, but every association can treat their homeowners with kindness, respect and a smile. Think of the infamous character Norm on the 80s sitcom Cheers. To have a place where everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came.

9362 East Raintree DriveScottsdale, AZ 85260

www.rossmar.com

www.rossmar.com

A FirstService Residentialmanagement Company

Corporate Office9362 East Raintree DriveScottsdale, AZ 85260Phone (480) 551-4300Fax (480) 551-6000

Mesa Office1801 South Extension RoadSuite 124 Mesa, AZ 85210Phone (480) 551-4300Fax (480) 551-6000

Peoria Office15396 North 83rd AvenueBuilding B, Suite 101Peoria, AZ 85381Phone (480) 551-4300Fax (480) 551-6000

Tucson Office2120 West Ina Road Suite 103-B Tucson, AZ 85741 Phone (520) 297-3031 Fax (520) 297-5315

Office HoursMonday - friday8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Excluding Holidays

After-Hours Emergency (602) 336-2700

Executive TeamJason ProudfitChief Executive Officer

Robert FelixSenior Vice President

any ferrellSenior Vice President,Portfolio Division

Shelley KittsChief Financial Officer

Shannon Gant-MartinsonVice President,Human Resources

Curtis CoghillVice President,Northeast Division

Michael KuzminVice President,Western Division

Kathy Van HilsenVice President,Southeast Division

Mary TannerVice President,Client Accounting

Ken estradaVice President,Central Division

Kirk J. KowieskiVice President,Lifestyle Division

Lee NewmanVice President,High Rise Division

arianne ahlvinDirector,Business Development

We hope you have enjoyed this issue of the Rossmar & Graham Quarterly Review. If you have feedback or suggestions for future issues, please email us at newsletter@rossmar.com.

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