The Township Community Master Association, Inc. (T.C.M.A.) is a Castle Group managed HOA located in Coconut Creek, Florida. With a wide variety of amenities surrounded by Lake Tacoma and breathtaking views, T.C.M.A. is comprised of 5,307 units, 36 sub-associations and is home to over 12,000 residents of all ages.
The Challenge
Like many other HOAs across Florida, The Township Community Master Association, Inc (T.C.M.A.) regularly holds elections such as their Board of Directors election at their in-person, Annual Owner’s Meeting. However, due to a decrease in meeting participation, T.C.M.A. has been unable to achieve quorum over the past several years, nor have they been able to conduct their Board of Directors election as a result.
Aware of the negative impact this has on the association, the T.C.M.A. Board of Directors knew they had to do something different for their upcoming Annual Owner's Meeting if they were to achieve quorum and conduct their Board of Directors election.
During their review of current meeting procedures and internal discussions about potential ways they could improve meeting participation, the group quickly realized that their inability to achieve quorum largely stemmed from the ballot submission processes.
Understandably, ballot security is a top priority amongst Property Managers, Board Members, and owners. As a result, T.C.M.A. owners have traditionally been restricted to submitting their election ballots by either:
- Submitting their vote in advance of the meeting by either mailing or dropping off their completed paper ballot to their property manager's office.
- Bringing their paper ballot to the meeting in person.
While widely viewed as secure methods of submitting election ballots, these methods also lack efficiency. For owners, these submission processes are very inconvenient, and as a result, many owners have opted not to submit a ballot altogether in recent years. In addition, distributing, collecting and tabulating paper ballots is a time-consuming task for meeting facilitators and is also prone to errors, especially for large HOAs such as T.C.M.A.
During their review of meeting procedures, the group also recognized that in-meeting attendance had decreased over recent years, mainly because of the inconvenience and limited accessibility of in-person governance meetings.
Aware of the pain points, the T.C.M.A. Board of Directors determined that transitioning to a virtual meeting and utilizing an electronic voting platform would be the most effective way of improving efficiency, accessibility and making the overall process more convenient for owners for their upcoming meeting.
With a clear understanding of what they required and determined to achieve quorum and conduct their Board of Directors election at their upcoming Annual Owner's Meeting, the group began their search for a virtual meeting and electronic voting solution.
The Solution
Shortly after beginning their search for a virtual meeting and electronic voting solution, the group quickly recognized that they required more than just a secure, reliable platform if they were going to conduct a successful virtual Annual Owner's Meeting.
T.C.M.A.'s population is largely made up of an older demographic that had little to no experience participating in virtual meetings or using electronic voting tools. As a result, the initial idea of conducting their Annual Owner's Meeting and Board of Directors electronically was understandably met with some hesitation amongst owners.
This meant that in order to put owner hesitations at ease, they would need a full-service solution that would provide both a secure, user-friendly platform and the support and expertise required to ensure owners felt comfortable using the platform throughout the process.
Aware of how crucial selecting the right service provider for this meeting would be, the T.C.M.A. Board of Directors met with Castle Group Regional Director, Rey Nunez, to discuss their desires for the upcoming Annual Meeting and Board election. After their discussion, Rey decided to reach out to GetQuorum.
Pleased with his previous experience working with GetQuorum at another Castle Group managed association, Rey felt that their full-service solutions would provide the user-friendly platform and level of support T.C.M.A. needed for their upcoming meeting.
After conducting their initial platform and procedures walkthrough with GetQuorum, the group was impressed by what they saw.
On the product side, GetQuorum's Hosted Virtual Meeting solution provided them with a secure, user-friendly platform, precisely what they needed to conduct their Annual Owner's Meeting virtually. Their Voter Certificate and Consent service streamlined the distribution, collection and submission of voting certificates, and the GetQuorum voting platform provided owners with a secure, convenient way to submit their ballots both before and during the meeting. And while pleased with the platform's security and ease of use, what truly stood out was GetQuorum's full-service approach and the expertise that their team had demonstrated throughout their encounters.
Throughout their initial encounter, the GetQuorum team was professional and responsive; they answered all of the group's questions and leveraged their experience to share the best practices and tips to ensure that their meeting would be a success.
Their full-service approach also meant that GetQuorum's team of experts would be readily available to assist them throughout the Annual Owner's Meeting and related procedures. From the distribution and collection of voting certificates and advance proxy ballots to in-meeting moderation and electronic ballot scrutinization, GetQuorum's team would be available to support the T.C.M.A. team and their owners throughout the entire process.
The Result
The Annual Owner's Meeting couldn't have gone better. GetQuorum's full-service approach and its user-friendly platforms made the process of conducting a virtual Annual Owner's Meeting simple for all parties involved from start to finish.
The ongoing support, user-friendly platform, and streamlined procedures quickly curbed any owner hesitations and made the process of participating in the Annual Owner's Meeting convenient and straightforward.
Owners appreciated the improved convenience, efficiency and accessibility that comes with conducting an Annual Owner's Meeting and Board of Directors election electronically. As a result, T.C.M.A. saw a significant increase in advance proxy ballot submissions and meeting attendance that led to quorum being achieved, meaning that T.C.M.A. could conduct their Board of Directors election for the first time in several years.
"GetQuorum was simply amazing to work with and provided an all-in-one virtual hosting and online voting experience for our residents that was user-friendly and easy to use," said Rey Nunez, Regional Director, Castle Group. "I would definitely recommend GetQuorum to any community looking to utilize an online voting platform."
Looking ahead, T.C.M.A. plans to utilize GetQuorum's services for the foreseeable future.
If you'd like to learn how using our Hosted Virtual Meeting solution and Electronic Voting service can benefit your community, click here.