Last night at our annual members’ meeting, I volunteered to be the member-at-large on our association’s board. My husband says I’m a sucker.
I’ve never done anything like this before and I figure I’ll learn as I go along, but was wondering if any Dopers were/had been board members… Anyone, anyone? Bueller, Bueller, Bueller…
My father was on a condo board. It was not his most pleasant memory. According to him the board usually consists of:
One officious know-it-all who wants to run everything and views the board as a stepping stone to political office.
One tightwad who complains about the cost of maintenance and can’t understand why the condo residents don’t just fix the roof themselves.
One person who absolutely hates children, pets, visitors, anything that smacks of decoration that can be seen through a window and wants them all banned forever.
One person who knows someone in the business and can get you a better deal on maintenance, repairs, insurance or whatever.
It’s not the work, it’s the workers.
Kunilou, I don’t know if I am laughing or just nodding in agreement with you. One does not have to live in a condo area to have that. That’s our neighborhood to a T.
( I would be the crank that hates the decorations. Hubby is the guy who can fix it himself.)
At this point, my only consolation is that it’s a one-year term.
Thanks for the happy news. Pffffft. 
I was on the board of our townhouse association for about three months.
I resigned after I called board member A who related tidbit X. Then, speaking with board member B, I repeated tidbit X (which was townhouse association information, not gossip), at which point board member B said “board member A has no right to say that.” A few minutes later board member A called me and said “why did you repeat tidbit X to board member B”?
I resigned at the next meeting.
However, don’t let my example discourage you! You can have a big influence on your community by volunteering for the board. At many meetings, when the board presents something, the association members just vote “Aye” along with the board, so you can pretty much push an issue with just two or three people agreeing with you, as long as those other people are on the board.
I tell you what, I will resign if the board is just a bunch of people sitting around making homeowners’ lives Hell. Unhappiness will also abound within me if the meetings are a waste of time. So, I just ordered a book from good ol’ Amazon.com that should help me to be a good member o’ the board.
Homeowner Associations; A Nightmare or a Dream Come True? by Joni Greenwalt, et al
Any other suggestions?
I am the president of my condo association, something that I have wanted to do for a while (I’ve lived in the place for 10 years, and been pres. for the last 2) so that I might have a say in the operations & goings-on of the building. I don’t find it to be a huge burden, and the building is community-oriented enough to realize that the decisions of the board are for the common good. We meet four times a year for about two hours & discuss the budget, management issues, maintenance & other important things but never do we gossip. I am pleased to have a say in how my condo fees are spent, and will stay in my office until I am voted out.
I am not sure what a member at large does, we have never had that office/position available in our association, but I would always encourage you to participate in the management & government of your (probably) most valuable asset.
Arnold, anything spoken at a condo meeting should be recorded in the minutes, and is therefore available to the general tenantship and can not be considered gossip. Anything whispered between private parties outside of meetings is simply idle chitchat or just plain gossip, and [should] have ho bearing on condo issues. If relevant condo business must be discussed outside of a meeting, it should be documented (email, memorandum, etc.) so that it may be entered into the minutes at the next meeting. Failure to do this would, in my view, warrant removal from the board.
As you can tell from my tone, I run a no nonsense association. Any owners or tenants who don’t like the way their fees are being spent should either come to the meetings & participate in the discussion or keep their mouths shut.
Have a nice day. 
Thanks for the encouraging words, opus! Any advice you have for me would be helpful. All I know about the member-at-large position is that I will have a vote and will need to be available to research various issues for the board.
I’m contacting our management association today for the skinny on this stuff.