Community Associations Institute is proud to be recognized with four EXCEL Awards by Association Media & Publishing, a premier membership organization serving the needs of association publishers, communication professionals, and designers.
Association professionals from around the country gathered in late June for the 2023 EXCEL Awards, the largest and most prestigious annual program that recognizes excellence and leadership in nonprofit association media, publishing, and communications. Now in its 43rd year, the 2023 EXCEL Awards program presented 211 awards across 74 categories. CAI has earned at least one EXCEL Award nearly every year for the past 16 years.
Community Manager newsletter was awarded a gold in general excellence, an honor that recognizes the publication’s high editorial and design standards. The bimonthly newsletter covers news, trends, and topics relevant to individuals in the community association management profession, including best practices, management strategies, professional development, and career advancement. In 2022, Community Manager kept CAI members informed on condominium safety legislation, sea level rise, mental health, drought, Hurricane Ian impacts, cybersecurity, and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
CAI's digital publication Ungated, originally launched in 2005, was awarded a bronze for best overall blog site. Since relaunching in 2018, CAI's Ungated blog has focused on covering news, tips, and trends important to community associations. In 2022, Ungated published 43 blog posts that gained more than 17,000 views. Some of the main topics covered were building safety and repairs, community conflict, insurance challenges with rising rates, a series on pets in communities, and more. This marks the third straight year Ungated has won an award for excellence.
Common Ground TM magazine, CAI’s flagship publication, won two bronze EXCEL Awards—one for its July/August 2022 single-topic issue about pets in community associations and one for the design of the September/October 2022 cover story “Minding Mental Illness.”
The pets issue cover featured Mochi the cat, the winner of a photo contest that saw nearly 300 entrants. Inside, the magazine covered emotional support animals, profiles of how pets helped owners through the COVID-19 pandemic, reasonable rules, pet amenities, and more.
“Minding Mental Illness” was a story about how community associations can handle issues with residents who have psychological disorders. Common Ground worked with an independent illustrator to depict the delicate balance and interwoven parts—shown through puzzle pieces—that provide a path for board members and community managers to take action to avoid liability and honor the association’s obligations.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by our association peers for CAI’s continuous work to publish valuable resources used by homeowners, community association managers, and business partners serving community associations,” says Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI’s chief executive officer. “We believe our informative and engaging content is one of the reasons why community association leaders join CAI and become long-standing, highly engaged members. These efforts are essential in our quest to create communities that people are proud to call home.”
The Association Media & Publishing Network is part of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the only professional organization connecting more than 500 data, financial information, education technology, specialized content, and publishing companies.
>>See a complete list of 2023 EXCEL winners.