Edward D. Thomas, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, chief executive officer of Property Management People, Inc., in Frederick, MD, has been elected president of Community Associations Institute (CAI), a 28,500-member, national education and advocacy group dedicated to fostering successful association-governed communities. Thomas was elected to the post by members of the CAI Board of Trustees.
Thomas, who will begin his one-year term Jan. 1, has been involved in community management for more than 25 years and has been a CAI member for nearly as long. He succeeds T. Peter Kristian, general manager of Hilton Head Plantation Property Owners' Association in Hilton Head, S.C.
An estimated 60 million Americans live in almost 300,000 association-governed communities nationwide.
Thomas and his wife, Rose, founded Property Management People in 1980. The company manages more than 25,000 units in about 75 associations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The firm is one of about 140 U.S. association management companies to hold CAI's prestigious Accredited Association Management Company (AAMC) credential.
Individually, Thomas has earned three credentials—the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA), which is awarded by CAI's sister organization, the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers; the Association Management Specialist (AMS), and the Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM), the highest designation CAI awards to managers.
Thomas is a past chair of the Association of Professional Community Managers (APCM) Board, one of three CAI member representation groups. The others represent community association volunteer leaders and businesses that serve community associations.
A frequent speaker at national CAI conferences, Thomas has served on several CAI task forces; authored numerous articles on association management, leadership and ethics; taught CAI education courses, and been active in the organization's Washington Metropolitan chapter, the largest of CAI's 58 chapters.
A Vietnam Army veteran, Thomas is the managing general partner of four privately held, real estate-based, limited partnerships that have purchased and rehabilitated more than 100 units during the past 30 years. He has served as president of the Frederick Business Exchange and is a founding member of Rotary Clubs in Fredericktown and Carroll Creek in Maryland. He is a 1976 graduate of Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, West Va.
CAI is a national membership organization dedicated to helping homeowner and condominium associations meet the expectations of their residents. CAI members include community management professionals, volunteer homeowner leaders and professional service providers who support associations. More information can be obtained at www.caionline.org or by calling (888) 224-4321.