Associated or disassociated?

Before I begin lets visit our old friend Webster

associated

One entry found.

Main Entry:

¹as·so·ci·ate

Pronunciation:

\ə-ˈsō-shē-ˌāt, -sē-\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

as·so·ci·at·ed; as·so·ci·at·ing

Etymology:

Middle English associat associated, from Latin associatus, past participle of associare to unite, from ad- + sociare to join, from socius companion — more at social

Date:

14th century

transitive verb1: to join as a partner, friend, or companion2obsolete : to keep company with : attend3: to join or connect together : combine4: to bring together or into relationship in any of various intangible ways (as in memory or imagination)intransitive verb1: to come or be together as partners, friends, or companions2: to combine or join with other parts : unite

synonyms see join

disassociated

One entry found.

Main Entry:

dis·as·so·ci·ate

Pronunciation:

\ˌdis-ə-ˈsō-sē-ˌāt, -shē-\

Function:

transitive verb

Date:

1603

: to detach from association : dissociate

— dis·as·so·ci·a·tion \-ˌsō-sē-ˈā-shən, -shē-\ noun

The last post about community was great and well researched, great post!
Recently, while reviewing the newsletter Boyne Property Management staff put out I had some thoughts about communication among association members and the challenges we face.

First, let us start with the current situation. Currently, if I want to speak with any other member of my associations, who I do not personally know, I cannot.

Now in residential associations this is not an issue. You can either, go door to door to introduce yourself and begin a conversation or you can drop a letter or flyer in a postbox.

Your neighbors may want to talk to you, they may not, but at the very least you should have the ability to communicate unimpeded. Your neighbors may choose to listen to you, or ignore you, but your right to free speech within your community exists.

Now I will admit I have been encouraging the Boards of my associations to create a directory of members. The focus of this effort is to give all owners the right to speak to their neighbors, should they choose or the right of owners to ignore their neighbors should they choose.

The Presidents summary clearly states that the purpose of the Owner’s council is to foster good communication of issues that are common to all properties. To “garner higher level of owner input into the planning process and discuss issues on the company level. It is important to communicate back to the owners with the Presidents summary.”

Now in theory that sounds great! However, how does the process work? What is the flow chart for communication? Who is on the owner’s council? How do you get on the owners Council? What authority does the owner’s council have? Where do they meet? Have you ever been invited to attend one of their meetings? If you cannot speak with other owners how do you know what the issues are? Boyne Newsletters? I digress so let me refocus.

To foster good communication one must be able to communicate through some medium, unimpeded. i.e. person to person via phone, email, or online communities or via letters with the U.S. Postal Service.

It is through this communication among owners / members that issues are discovered, solutions, ideas and resolutions found.

Now the issue of privacy is a concern of all. I enjoy my privacy and the right to it as much as the next person. Furthermore, just like my home and neighborhood I would not give out my neighbor’s personal information. However, if a determined individual or company wants your information all they have to do is go to the county tax records to find out who owns that property and from there your personal public information is just a few records checks away.

I guess my point is I do not fear my neighbors nor their knowledge of my name or how to contact me in fact I encourage it. I do however, distrust those who impede my neighbors’ right to free speech / communication, with me or anyone else in my associations, whether I agree with that speech or not

Just ask yourself this, what is the name of your next-door neighbor of the street you live on? Now ask yourself who owns what used to be 500K investment next to yours at Boyne?