Judi Phares, CMCA, PCAM, co-founder and chief executive officer of Community Management Associates, Inc., in Plano, TX, has been named chair of the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM), the only national certification program for community association managers.

NBC-CAM awards the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA) credential.

Phares succeeds Steve Castle, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, principal of Mid-Atlantic Management Company in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Castle chaired the organization since its inception in 1995.

NBC-CAM was founded by Community Associations Institute (CAI) to establish guidelines for acquiring and demonstrating fundamental knowledge of community association management. An affiliate of CAI, NBC-CAM operates as an independent entity. More than 4,900 professionals have earned CMCA certification since 1995.

The organization also named three members to its Board of Commissioners:

• Katie Allardyce, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, vice president of community management for CFM Management Services in Alexandria, VA. She is a past chair of the CAI Manager's Committee, current member of the CAI faculty, past president of the CAI Washington Metro chapter and recipient of numerous industry awards.
• John Hammersmith, CMCA, PCAM, chief executive officer of Hammersmith Management in Golden, CO. A frequent speaker at CAI's CEO-MC Retreats, Hammersmith has served on the CEO-MC Speakers Task Force and on NBC-CAM's Ethics Review Panel, is a past board member and treasurer of CAI's Rocky Mountain chapter, and has served on the Colorado Legislative Action Committee.
• Gary Zucker, CMCA, president of Willows at Marlborough, a community association in the Boston, MA, area. He also serves as treasurer of CAI's New England chapter's board of directors.

The three new commissioners join Phares; Castle; Ellen Hirsch de Haan, Esq., an attorney with Becker and Poliakoff in Largo, FL; Sheryl Rosander, Esq., an attorney with Epsten Grinnell in San Diego, CA; and Pat Wasson, CMCA, PCAM, town manager of Celebration Community Association in Orlando, FL. Hirsch de Haan is a past president of CAI.

CMCA certification signifies that managers have passed NBC-CAM's national exam and met the requirements for managing condominium, cooperative and homeowner associations. To obtain CMCA certification, managers must successfully complete a 16-hour classroom course, the Essentials of Community Association Management, and pass the National Certification Examination. The test was developed by managers, homeowners and association professionals and is administered by an independent testing agency.

To find an active CMCA, go to www.nbccam.org/hiring/search.cfm.

NBC-CAM grants the CMCA credential to individuals who demonstrate fundamental knowledge and expertise in managing homeowner and condominium associations and cooperatives. The organization is committed to helping association homeowners protect their investment and quality of life through professional community association management.

A manager's duties typically include:

• Providing administrative, operational and managerial counsel to association boards and residents.
• Developing association budgets and financial reports.
• Enforcing community association covenants and restrictions.
• Assisting board members in the selection of contractors and insurance providers.
• Overseeing payment for community association services.
• Directing association personnel.
• Performing site inspections.

More information on NBC-CAM can be obtained by writing info(at)nbccam.org or calling (703) 836-6902.