Condo Media - June 2016 - 32

Winning Ways
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
CAI-NE's Community Spirit Award, recognizing a
community that demonstrates "community pride and
resourcefulness" in bringing unit owners together, went to
Place Lane Condominium in Woburn for transforming its
lobby into a December holiday wonderland. Louis Carreiro
and Patrick Fermia, the community's superintendent and
assistant superintendent, began the decorating project,
but other owners quickly pitched in, "and we had a good,
old-fashioned holiday decorating party," Mary Kerble, a
member of the Place Lane board, noted in her nominating
form. "The lobby [became] more than a place where owners
pass[ed] by with a quick hello," she added. "It [became] a
gathering place where they and their guests stopped, joined
in a friendly conversation and reveled in the holiday spirit."
Louis Carreiro accepted the award.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
The Creative Solutions Award recognizes individuals who
solve difficult problems in nontraditional ways, and this
year's winners-Michael Tucker and Diane Bernath,
maintenance supervisor and construction specialist,
respectively, for First Realty Management-certainly
qualified, based on their handling of a massive water leak
at Crossroads on the Charles in Watertown. A broken
water pipe spewed 27,000 gallons of water into the building, forcing the owners of 44 units to relocate, some of
them for more than a year. Tucker handled the emergency
response (which included muscling his way up nine ﬂights
of stairs to reach the water shut-off valve). He and Bernath
coordinated the extensive clean-up and repair process,
with Bernath serving, in effect, as general contractor for the
project. The nomination form recommending them for the
award noted that their "commitment and professionalism,"
combined with the efforts of board Chair Judy Norton (see
her award below), turned "a trying and difficult experience
[into] a lesson in teamwork" that got dislocated owners
back into their homes and "restored a sense of normalcy in
the community as quickly and as smoothly as possible."
ASSOCIATION VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
The disaster at Crossroads also garnered an award for
Judy Norton, the chairman of the association's board,
who was named CAI-NE's Association Volunteer of the
Year for her efforts. In presenting the award, Aronson
cited Norton's "sacrifice of personal time, her patience
and her commitment in working with management,
board members, and owners." Her nomination form,
citing the key role Norton played in the community's
recovery, said her efforts "exemplify the criteria" for this
award. "She is truly one whose volunteer efforts ensure
that the best interests of their association are served and
who seeks out opportunities to improve the association
and community."

32

CONDOMEDIA

Place Lane Condominium receives the Community Spirit Award.

Diane Bernath and Michael Tucker accept the Creative Solutions Award.

Judy Norton is recognized as Association Volunteer of the Year.
Condo Media - June 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - June 2016
