The National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM) has granted credentials to 13 professionals who have completed the requirements to become Certified Managers of Community Associations (CMCA). The CMCA certification demonstrates that these managers have passed NBC-CAM's national exam and met requirements for managing condominium, cooperative and homeowners' associations, joining more than 4,000 CMCA certificants nationwide.

To obtain the CMCA certification, a manager must successfully complete a 16-hour classroom course—the Essentials of Community Association Management—and pass the National Certification Examination. The test was developed by over 1000 managers, homeowners, and association professionals, and is administered by an independent outside testing agency. Certified managers must adhere to the CMCA Standards of Professional Conduct and take continuing education courses to re-certify. If CMCA certificants do no comply with the Standards of Professional Conduct, they are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension or revocation of the credential. The CMCA certification is the first tier of the pyramid of professionalism for community association managers, which is followed by the Association Management Specialist (AMS) and the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM) designations offered by the Community Associations Institute (CAI).

NBC-CAM is the first and only nationwide organization created solely to certify community association managers and to help consumers identify managers who have demonstrated fundamental competency and knowledge in this profession. With the dramatic increase in association-governed housing over the last 25 years (10,000 community associations in 1970 versus more than 230,000 today), there is an expanded need for education in community association management.

A community association manager's duties include:

• Providing administrative, operational and managerial counsel to association boards and residents
• Developing association budgets and financial reports
• Directing the enforcement of community association covenants and restrictions
• Assisting board members in the selection of contractors and insurance providers
• Overseeing payment for community association services
• Directing association personnel
• Performing site inspection

The National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM) was established in 1995 by the Community Associations Institute to ensure that managers have the appropriate skills to effectively manage community associations. The Community Associations Institute is a nonprofit association created in 1973 to provide education and resources to America's 231,000 community associations – condominium associations, homeowner associations and cooperatives. CAI members include homeowners, associations and the professionals who provide products and services to them.

Here is a listing of newly Certified Managers of Community Associations:

• John Balda, Acorn Properties, Inc, Oak Harbor, WA
• John Beaman, Tapps Island Association, Sumner, WA
• Dale Cook, Meridian Residential Association, San Diego, CA
• Charla Galbraith, Heritage Property Management, Inc, Oldsmar, FL
• William Haifley, Professional Community Management, Oceanside, CA
• Mary Holland, Sun City Vistoso Community Association, Oro Valley, AZ
• Bonnie Jensen, Canyon Lake POA, Canyon Lake, CA
• Keith Kassees, KJK Associates, Lancaster, PA
• Stephen Lieurance, Commonwealth Property Management, Santa Rosa, CA
• Alan Metzler, Oak Shores Community Association, Bradley, CA
• Sean Sowell, Sowell Community Management, LLC, Pleasanton, CA
• Terri Whetzel, Innovative Community Management Solutions, Palm Harbor, FL
• Helen Wise, Real Properties Management Group, Inc, Henderson, NV

For more information on the CMCA program, contact: Sharon Thomas, Certification Program Administrator, 703/797-6268, Email: sthomas(at)caionline.org