Increasing Your Turnout at Annual Meetings

Just about every community manager, and most board members, have experienced the disappointment of not obtaining quorum at the annual meeting. It can be very frustrating to go through the effort of preparing the notice, proxies and ballots just to learn that no one seems to care what the board or manager are up to. Then, you are faced with having an adjourned annual meeting, or maybe two or three, until quorum can be obtained. This certainly is a waste of time, and may result in additional attorney's fees, management fees and room rental fees. Below are some ideas that may work for your community, so that perhaps this year you will not need to adjourn your annual meeting for lack of quorum.

1. Request that local merchants donate gift certificates or prizes that are raffled off to members in attendance. They can be small prizes like a free cup of coffee or a scoop of ice cream. If that is unsuccessful, consider asking the association's vendors for small prizes. Landscapers can give you potted plants. Your pool service provider may donate a raft. Your collections company may give you a gift certificate. Just don't alienate your vendors by asking for something every year or for every association.

2. Provide a modest amount of food or beverages, such as finger sandwiches or cookies. Alcohol is usually not a great idea.

3. Ask a local bakery or restaurant to donate food for the event.

4. Have the annual meeting before a social event. If it is a small community, consider a pot luck. If it is larger, invite some of the local teenage bands to play or ask young musicians in the community to play. Consider a fashion show organized by a local boutique. Or perhaps try a dog fashion show where people dress their pooches in their favorite outfits.

5. Invite experts that are of interest to the membership. The local police station should have a community relations officer who can discuss security. The insurance agent can discuss insurance options for owners. The pest control company can discuss ways to eliminate household pests. The landscaper can discuss backyard garden maintenance. A city official can talk about improvement projects in your neighborhood. This is a great way to occupy people while the ballots are being counted.

6. Mention in the notice that something controversial will be discussed at the meeting. Some items to consider would be redecoration of the clubhouse, new exterior paint colors for buildings, hours of operation for community facilities, new landscaping schemes, and possible assessment increases for the upcoming year.

7. Make sure the board is organized. The board should consider a dress rehearsal of the annual meeting at the prior board meeting. This makes the board and management look good. The treasurer should give a financial report. The president should discuss all the things that were accomplished over the last year. Committee chairpersons should discuss the committee's contributions and plans for the future.

8. Consider giving out awards or certificates of merit to those that have contributed over the last year. This may be the person in charge of the fifty books in the clubhouse, the maintenance committee who performed walk-thrus, the regular attendees at the board meetings who have made great contributions or recognition of past presidents in attendance. This type of recognition makes people want to contribute their time and gives your community a smaller, more welcoming feel.

9. Introduce new members of the community if your association is small enough that change in ownership is noticed.

10. Explain what all the committees do and have sign up sheets available. Volunteerism is contagious and the more people who become involved, the more other people may want to participate, even if it means just by showing up.

11. One retirement community I know of invites Marines from Camp Pendleton every year to use the pool and spend the day with the members. The election is performed and then everyone begins the task of setting up the clubhouse and pool area for a party. Many homeowners make snacks for their military guests. I think I have even seen grandparent members with their 20 something single granddaughters in what appears to be an informal dating service where the grandparents play matchmaker to granddaughters and Marines!

12. Have the association's attorney develop a three-year proxy for quorum purpose only.

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