December 3-December 16, 2014—
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 25
303-940-9442
I
t can be a little frighten-
ing to raise your hand and
volunteer for leadership in
your professional organization.
The obvious deterrent is the lack
of disposable time that we all
experience in our everyday lives.
Who wouldn’t hesitate to raise
their hand for more responsibil-
ity? The less obvious obstacles
to volunteering have to do with
the uncertainty of the job, the
team and the future. What will I
be asked to do, and who will I be
working with? How can I commit
when I don’t knowwhat next
year might bring?
The following is a given: Life
eventually will get in the way
of a volunteer’s ability to fulfill
long-term commitments. It is
not productive to try and avoid
it. Instead, it is better to focus on
how an organization can continue
to serve its members and the
industry when a volunteer is dis-
tracted by life.
As my year as president of the
IREMGreater Denver Chapter
comes to a close, it seems pru-
dent for me to address this issue.
This year represented my fourth
year in leadership of IREM
Greater Denver. I was installed
as president in November 2013,
and in January I started a new
job, which increased my travel
beyond my expectations. In April,
I began the process of moving my
family to San Diego, and I joined
them in September. Life threw
me some of those unpredictable
curves, and my availability and
accessibility changed overnight
with respect to my volunteer
commitment. I was present for
teleconference board meetings
and managed to complete my
national obligations as president,
but I relied on my team to main-
tain the everyday leadership of
the chapter. It was very gratifying
to see that
this teamwas
up to the task.
It is impor-
tant to note
that because
the Denver
chapter spent
the previous
years develop-
ing a strong
administrative
structure and
attracted a
team of vol-
unteers that
represented
exemplary skill and commitment,
my unforeseen absence did not
require the chapter to detour the
strategic plan. The teamwas able
to carry on with business as usual
with zero impact to the members.
Providing seamless service to our
members was a direct result of
the following:
1. Employing or contracting a
professional administrator who
ensures the administrative struc-
ture and maintains continuity.
2. Implementing a clear
strategic plan that propels the
organization forward in a way
that serves the organization as a
whole.
3. Attracting engaged volun-
teers to understand and grow the
strategy over time, rather than
leaning on the ideas of a new
individual every year.
4. Developing and enforcing
policies that provide guidelines
and boundaries that keep new
and existing volunteers from hav-
ing to re-create the wheel.
The ability to navigate around
the curves that life throws vol-
unteers requires planning and
dedication to a process. I am
humbled to be on a teamwith
stellar professionals. I have every
confidence that they will con-
tinue to grow the IREMGreater
Denver Chapter and the property
management industry as they
fulfill new roles in 2015. The 2015
IREMGreater Denver Chapter
leadership includes:
• Mark Polatsek, CPM,
president
• Julia Paluka, CPM, president-
elect
• Patricia Hutchison, CPM,
treasurer-secretary
• Judy Houchins, CPM candi-
date, member at large
• Scott Goldammer, CPM,
member at large
• Lori Moore, ARM, member
at large
• Justin VanLandschoot, CPM
candidate, member at large
As you welcome in the New
Year, don’t be afraid to raise your
hand and volunteer to serve your
professional organization. Even
when life gets in the way, the
rewards can be limitless!
Timothy Herrin,
CPM, CAPS
Regional vice
president, Resource
Residential,
San Diego
less than six months.
Also recognized at the event
was 1670 Broadway, a local
building that is projected to save
more than $128,000 per year in
energy costs thanks to a new
energy-management system
that monitors, controls and opti-
mizes building performance.
The project is anticipated to pay
for itself in less than three years.
In six months from its comple-
tion in January, the property
saw a 20 percent reduction in
overall electrical use as well as
a 25 percent reduction in overall
district steam energy use.
Measuring energy use and
investing in efficiency is a win
for building owners because it
identifies and informs strategies
that owners can use to establish
a continuous cycle of improve-
ment benefitting both the bot-
tom line and the environment.
Research from the Environmen-
tal Protection Agency (EPA)
shows that building owners
who benchmark their build-
ings are more likely to make
energy-efficiency improve-
ments and, on average, reduce
energy use by 7 percent over
three years.
Benchmarking and invest-
ments in energy-efficiency
improvements aren’t just for
the private sector. Denver is
leading the way, having com-
mitted to reducing the energy
use of city-operated buildings
(representing more than 6 mil-
lion square feet of space) by 20
percent from a 2011 baseline
by 2020.
As the city helps more build-
ings unlock energy savings, the
next steps for DCEP include
trainings on how to benchmark
and how to access Xcel Ener-
gy’s energy efficiency incen-
tives. Denver is also working
to provide better access to
capital and reduce barriers to
investments in energy-efficient
buildings. DCEP will meaning-
fully engage with stakeholders
throughout the project.
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