2007 Issue 2

Who is a Manager?
By Erica Edwards, AMS, CMCA

A manager is a person that wears many different hats in order to manage an association smoothly - or as smoothly as possible.

For example, a manager knows many aspects of different employment fields:

• Attorney
• Accountant
• Insurance Agent
• Financial Advisor
• Dog Warden
• Psychologist
• Mediator
• Negotiator
• Human Resources Director
• Contractor

The person will not have degrees in all these different fields, but managing an association gives the person some knowledge on how to deal with each field properly.  A manager will take classes to improve their knowledge in association management, but also other courses like, accounting, mediation, human resources.  Encourage your manager to take courses through Community Association Institute to expand their knowledge and to be informed on upcoming issues that may effect your association.

In the end, a manager is a human being.  Managing an association is not an easy thing to do.  We try our best to do our job due diligently.  We will make mistakes but we will make the correct decision.

Erica Edwards, AMS, CMCA is a property manager with the ABC Group, LLC in Willington, CT.  Erica also serves as Co-Chair of the Trade Show North Committee and is on the Golf and Legislative Action Committees as well.