Condo Media - September 2012 - 50

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

‘Volunteer of the Year’
Maria Benway Brings Energy, Enthusiasm and Commitment to CAI-NE Activities
aria Benway could be a poster child for volunteering, which no doubt has something to do with her being the recipient of the chapter “Volunteer of the Year” award presented at the 2012 Awards Banquet. The award recognizes a volunteer “whose efforts have helped further the goals and image of CAI-NE and the industry,” a good description of what Benway has been doing since she joined the organization six years ago. That was about three years after she began working in the marketing department at ServiceMaster by Gilmore, where she is now business development manager. Steve Gilmore Sr., the company’s president, “is a huge advocate of getting out and meeting people,” Benway explains. “He views building relationships as the best way to develop business, so I started to do that.” Her efforts to meet and develop relationships with property managers led her to CAI-NE, and it wasn’t long before she was fully immersed in association activities. She credits ServiceMaster’s Gilmore and Director of Marketing, Sarah Friedman, for encouraging her involvement and supporting it. “I could never have invested this much time and energy otherwise,” she says. Actually, quite a lot happened in between. She joined the Membership Committee first, bringing her business development instincts and marketing skills to bear in its efforts to attract new members to CAI-NE.

Targeting New Members
She is also proud of her role in establishing the Emerging Leaders Network (ELN), which she co-founded last year with ServiceMaster colleague Steven Gilmore Jr. to improve CAI-NE’s outreach to new members. The primary goal, she explains, is to create opportunities for new members to connect with longer-term members, who are “committed to CAI-NE, see the value in it, and can tell new members how great the organization is.” ELN aims to provide opportunities for members to socialize and addresses another problem they identified: After joining CAI-NE, Benway says, members did not always know how to make the most of their membership. The long-standing members they meet at ELN events can serve as guides, she explains, telling new members, “Here’s where you can network [with the people you’re trying to meet] and here’s how you can become more involved in the organization.” The ELN committee sponsored two events last year, attracting more than 100 attendees. Building on what they have learned, Benway says, she and Gilmore plan to make changes this year. Among them: Piggy-backing social events on educational programs and adjusting the time of events to accommodate the schedules of busy managers. The success of ELN illustrates what Benway sees as one of CAI-NE’s greatest strengths: “It’s an organization that listens to your ideas.” ELN wouldn’t exist, she says, “if the board hadn’t approved it. They backed us 100 percent. This is an organization that lets you be creative,” she adds. “They really let you do things.” CM

Maria Benway accepts Chapter Volunteer of the Year award from chapter president Scott Wolf.

Instant Attraction
She didn’t need much encouragement. “I fell in love [instantly] with the people and the organization and wanted to get more involved,” she says. “I joined one committee and another and it just snowballed from there. The next thing I knew,” she laughs,” I was getting this award.”

In a letter nominating her for the award, it is noted that “she takes her commitments seriously and follows through to do a really great job.” Other CAI-NE members who have worked with Benway recognize the “energy, enthusiasm and creativity” she brings to every task. “You get out of volunteering what you put into it,” she responds. Looking to expand her CAI-NE volunteer activities, Benway added the Golf Committee to her Membership Committee assignments, relishing both the fun of working on the annual event and the committee’s success in raising $7,000 for “Homes for Our Troops.” “It was an amazing experience,” Benway says of her involvement in this effort. “I was very proud to be part of it.”

CONDO MEDIA • SEPTEMBER 2012

Condo Media - September 2012

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