By Bob Gourley “That government is best which governs least” – Thomas Paine Thomas Paine was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and dubbed “Father of the American Revolution” by historians. He was born in 1737 and lived a remarkable life that spanned the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and life in…
Search Results for: governance
Using Your Newsletter to Explain CIOA to Your Community Association
By Bob Gourley Using your condominium newsletter to discuss CIOA with members of your community association can be a vital component to a sound overall communication program. Interestingly, CIOA laws are designed for the protection of individual homeowners. Yet, unless an individual homeowner is aware of the changes to the law or hires an attorney…
Using Better Communications to Attract Community Leaders
By Bob Gourley Excellent community governance is the difference between a good community and a great one. Poor community governance can lead to the downfall or outright collapse of a community association. Finding and keeping qualified and interested volunteers within your community is a real challenge. Are you using your communication tools to help with…
Community Communications in the Age of CIOA Revisions
By Bob Gourley I have had the opportunity to moderate numerous discussions between community association attorneys and concerned members of Boards of Directors from condominium associations about the impact of the revised Common Interest Ownership Act, commonly known as CIOA (pronounced like the state of “Iowa” with a hard “K” in front of it). In…
Explaining How You Govern Your Condominium Association
By Bob Gourley In a speech to the House of Commons in 1947, Winston Churchill said: “No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Leaders like Winston Churchill…
Elected to the Board… Now, What?
If you think it is simply enough to “do your best” while serving on the Board, you may be in for a rude awakening.
My Year of Living “Legislatively”
By Bob Gourley “The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they’ll sleep at night.” – widely attributed to Otto von Bismarck, German aristocrat and statesman “Decisions are made by those who show up.” – fictional President Josiah Bartlet on the TV show “The West Wing” Before I begin, I…
Are Community Leaders Politicians?
By Bob Gourley According to Merriam-Webster, the word “politician” is defined as follows: 1: a person experienced in the art or science of government ; especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government 2 a: a person engaged in party politics as a profession 2 b: a person primarily interested in…