August Ciaa Newsletter

“Our Profit is Your Success”

August 2007

An Affiliate Of

And the Award Goes to... Congratulations to Keith Denner, President of Professional Property Management Inc. for receiving the International Crime Free Gerda Suess Landlord of the Year Award. Keith was nominated for the award by Officer Jeff Hartshorn of the West Des Moines Police Department for Keith’s and his staff at Sun Prairie Apartment’s involvement in the Crime Free Housing Program. Sun Prairie’s management was the first community to join the program back in 1988 and due to their involvement and participation in the program the number of police calls to Sun Prairie has been cut in half since Keith and his staff became trained in the program.

Upcoming Events August 15th General Membership Meeting Ryan’s Steakhouse Clive August 16th

If you would like more information regarding the Crime Free Housing Program - you can contact Officer Hartshorn at the West Des Moines Police Department.

Vendor Council 4:00 PM Chicken Coop West Des Moines

Trade Show Coming in September!

September 20th CIAA Trade Show

September 20th is the date for the CIAA Annual Trade Show. The event will be held at the Sheraton Hotel at 50th & University in West Des Moines. Mark your calendars...this is one you won’t want to miss! There will be food, prizes, refreshments, fun, and most importantly...VENDORS! Last year we saw over 100 apartment personnel at the event. Everyone on your staff should attend. This is an ideal opportunity to network, share ideas, and find solutions to any number of problems we face in our daily operations. This year promises to be bigger and better than ever. Save the date, and watch for more exciting details coming soon!

Sheraton Hotel West Des Moines October 2007 NALP Education Course

Inside:

CIAA Board of Directors PRESIDENT

VENDOR COUNCIL CO-CHAIRS

Melissa Johnson, Olde English Village

Tom Newton, Gorman Roofing

VICE PRESIDENT & LEGISLATIVE CHAIR

Rocky Sposato, Tub Wrx

Rick Koontz, Signature Place

PUBLIC RELATIONS CHAIR

TREASURER & EDUCATION CHAIR

Deb Lanpher, R & R Realty

Mary Spain, Apartment Finder

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIR

SECRETARY

Lesley Sweet, Knapp Properties

Jennifer O’Brien Konior, TAB Properties

TRADE SHOW COMMITTEE CHAIR

Michelle Ogden, Timberland Partners

• • •

Committee News

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2007 NAA Conference Update

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August 15th Meeting Registration

• • •

Vendor Members

CIAA on the Web Vendor RegistrationTrade Show

New Members Promotions and Postings

COMMITTEE ANNOUNCEMENTS Education Committee Update The Education Committee will sponsor the NALP National Apartment Leasing Professional course in late October and early November. It will be a four day class held one day per week in selected weeks. The subject matter is more than just basic leasing as it covers areas such as Time Management, Goal Setting, Teamwork, Loophole Free Leases, Handling Emergency Situations, Prohibited Practices, Promoting Your Web Address and much, much more. A national NAA designation will be awarded upon completion. Look for detailed information to be issued next week under separate cover.

Mark your calendars you won’t want your leasing staff to miss this one!

The CIAA on the Web To be a guest blogger, please submit your article in MS Word or PDF format to [email protected]. Share you ideas and experiences with your industry peers! Website: www.ciaahq.org

Email: [email protected]

Blog http://blog.ciaahq.org

Vendor Registration - Trade Show When: Thursday September 20, 2007

4:00-7:00 P.M.

Where: Sheraton Hotel, 1800 50th Street, West Des Moines, Iowa

The theme this year is Las Vegas so choose your booth style and giveaways appropriately. There will be an award for Best Vendor Booth. Vendors will provide a $25.00 prize for the drawing portion of the event. There will be a Grand Prize Giveaway sponsored by the CIAA, and vendors. There will be a segment of Maintenance Olympics from 5:00-6:00 P.M. where events can be won by members of maintenance staffs. Refreshments and food will be served throughout the event. Decorations of the room are provided by the CIAA trade show committee. Table sizes will be 6 foot by 30 inches unless you request additional table space, additional table $100.00 payable with registration. If you are bringing a pre-made booth please get with chairs about the space you will need and possible price adjustments. Booth amount is $350.00 for CIAA Vendor Members and $700.00 for non members. Electric for any booth will be an additional $20.00 payable with registration. Wireless Internet for any booth will be an additional $50.00 payable with registration. Table assignments will be made based on the order registrations/checks are received, with those arriving first receiving top locations. Cut off for registration is Post Date September 5th 2007. After that date a fee of $100.00 will be assessed.

Registration form provided on Page 6 Page 2

That’s Vegas, Baby!!! The NAA Conference was held this year at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on June 28th-June 30th with more than 6,000 people in attendance. I was fortunate enough to go this year, and I thought I would share with you my experience. On the first day, the Kick-Off Celebration was led by The Apartment All-Stars, these ladies are a lot of fun, and they succeeded in getting everyone pumped up and ready to go. Then it was time for the first of over 50 education sessions the NAA offered to attendees. I chose to see the always-entertaining Dan Thurman, who started his session by doing a couple of back handsprings and a back flip. That’s a great way to get people excited; too bad we can’t do that when people walk through our doors… The speakers the NAA chose were professional, top-notch public speakers, and they offered inspiration, education, and motivation to all. The Key-Note Speakers were Archie and Peyton Manning, Leslie Stahl, and my personal favorite, Chris Gardner and were worth battling the crowds to see. After each day’s education sessions, I attended the NAA Trade Show. Every vendor you can think of participated in the show, they had games like “Dumpster Diving”, the “Money Booth”, and even “Deal or No Deal”. Cort Furniture was really fun and shot off a money gun every fifteen minutes. The NAA itself; gave away prizes like a Plasma TV, a Tiffany Diamond Ring, a Sony Laptop, and the Grand Prize of $30,000 cash!!! The evenings also had plenty of activities. Thursday night was the Maintenance Mania, were maintenance specialists competed for the top prize of NAA Maintenance Mania Champion. This was hilarious, definitely a must-see for all. The Opening Party on Thursday night; and the Closing Gala on Saturday night were glittered with Vegas style and wonderful food. On Friday night, the Vendors held private parties throughout the Mandalay Bay resort; I liked the Apartment Guide party at The House of Blues. In closing, I would have to say that attending this conference gave me opportunity to gather with individuals that are as passionate about this business as I am, to meet and mingle with vendors that gave me a plethora of ideas, and to listen to speakers that at times brought tears to my eyes and a laugh to my lips. Hopefully, next year, we will have a large presence of CIAA members benefit from this experience the way I did. Lori Young, Marketing Manager Winwood & Country Club Village Apartments

August 15th Membership Meeting! We will be discussing the September 2007 Trade Show and the next NAA Education Series we will be sponsoring this fall - National Apartment Leasing Professional (NALP). Where: Ryan’s Steakhouse, 1900 NW 86th Street, Clive When: Wednesday, August 15th, 12:00 Noon (Please have plate fixed and ready to start prior to Noon) Lunch: Buffet style - self pay (gratuity included on individual check). Be sure to mention that you are with the CIAA as you pay at the check out Use this form to register no later than August 14th at noon. Please fax back registration form to (515) 327-9104.

Company

Phone

Name

Name

Name

Name

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CIAA Vendor Members A+ Lawn and Landscaping

Nationwide Office Care

Apartment Finder

Qwest

Carpet Pro by Baker Interiors

Safe Rent

Cort/Instant Furniture Rental

Sherwin Williams Carpet

Dewitt Painting

State Farm - Glenn Waterhouse

First Advantage SafeRent

Stew Hansen’s Dodge City-Jeep

Furniture Options

Stitzell Electric

Gallon, Inc.

Sudzy’s Carpet Cleaning

Gorman Roofing Services

Tenant Data

Hawkeye Legal Services

Transworld Systems

Jetz Service Co.

Tub Wrx

Vendor Members’ websites and contacts are linked through our website! To Become A Vendor Member contact Tom Newton 515-883-0838 [email protected]

Your vendor members make many CIAA events possible. Please support them!

Vendor Spotlight State Farm, Glenn Waterhouse We all know the importance of our residents having renter’s insurance and we all need to do our part to be sure that our residents are well informed of exactly what the property insurance covers and who would be responsible in any event involving damage to the property, their possessions and other resident’s possessions. Glenn Waterhouse and his team at State Farm are experts in Renter’s Insurance and are able to provide you with information for your leasing packets, move in packets and to keep on hand for your residents. Glen also has some great ideas regarding how to get your residents to purchase renter’s insurance to better protect themselves and your property. Just give Glenn a call and “Like a good Neighbor, State Farm is there.” [email protected] Phone: (515) 223-5566

A Big Thank You! Special thanks to those vendors that responded so quickly to register for the upcoming Vendor Tradeshow in September! Furniture Options - Apartment Finder - Sherwin Williams Floor Covering Sudzy’s Carpet Cleaning - Carpet Pro by Baker Interiors Page 4

7 Steps to Superb Customer SERVICE Salesmanship and Ears.

product knowledge. We’re much more effective selling the product if we know how it works.

Use them to hear what the customer wants and needs. Don’t interrupt. Do ask questions so you will fully understand.

Responsibility.

Seize it, and give customers confidence that you will help them.

Value of the product and the organization that stands behind it. Initiative and inventiveness. Courtesy. Ethics.

Doing what needs to be done and finding new ways to do it better.

Consider everyone an important customer. Don’t forget that your current resident’s are customers too!

Treating people with respect and fairness.

Welcome New Members! PROPERTIES

Bob Davis Mansions at Jordan Creek VENDORS Carpet Pro by Baker Interiors Gallon, Inc. Nationwide Office Care Safe Rent

Promotions, Positions and Postings NEW ADDITIONS

HELP WANTED Need to post a job opening?

Adam Ramirez has joined the Signature Place maintenance team. Jamie Budlong has joined Country Club Village Apartments as their new Full-time Leasing Agent. Ben Sikorski has joined R&R Realty Group as their new Head Groundskeeper.

Country Club Village is looking for a Part-time Leasing Agent to work evening and weekend hours. Please contact Jennifer McKinney at 223-1180 or email resume to

Would you like to announce a new member of your team to the apartment community?

[email protected] TAB Properties is looking to fill maintenance positions. Experience preferred but not required. Apply in person or email resume:

All you need to do is email your information to us and we will be sure to get it posted in the next newsletter!

5528 Meredith Drive - Des Moines

[email protected]

[email protected] Email: [email protected]

Website: www.ciaahq.org

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Vendor Registration Form 2007 CIAA VENDOR TRADE SHOW REGISTRATION Vendor Name __________________________________________ Vendor E-Mail _________________________________________ Vendor Cell Phone ______________________________________ Requirements: Booth

$350.00 ________

Additional Space $100.00 ________ Electric

$20.00 _________

Wireless Internet $50.00 _________ Late Registration $100.00 ________ Total Amount Enclosed $ __________

Please contact me about additional space and pricing for a pre made booth _________

The $25.00 prize I plan on giving away is______________________________________ I need a sign for my booth. Please indicate correct business name for sign.

Please use your sign from last year if available. Mail Registration with check to: CIAA 3775 E.P. True Parkway #263 West Des Moines, Iowa 50265 All Questions should be directed to Trade Show Chairs Tom Newton-883-0838 or Michelle Ogden 288-9055.

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