You may have learned in school at some point that John F. Kennedy was our youngest President elected to office when he was just 43 years old. But what you may not have learned (or maybe you are like me and didn’t remember this), is that his wife Jacqueline (“Jackie”) Kennedy was only 31 years old when she became First Lady and was just 34 years old when JFK was assassinated while sitting beside her in the Presidential motorcade on that fateful day in Dallas, Texas nearly 60 years ago.  

After all that she endured, she was able to move forward. She remarried, and in addition to raising her two children, Jackie Kennedy Onassis worked in publishing as a consulting editor at Viking Press and later as an associate and senior editor at Doubleday. She also maintained her interest in the arts and in landmark preservation. She was once quoted as saying, “I think my biggest achievement is that, after going through a rather difficult time, I consider myself comparatively sane.”

We all inevitably will have hardships or setbacks as we navigate through life and work, hopefully not as catastrophic as Jackie Kennedy Onassis', and sometimes it feels like we are constantly bombarded with negativity – from the news, from homeowners, and just the world in general. When I start feeling overwhelmed by things that don’t go my way or by the “negative Nellies,” I stop and think about my wonderful team at AAM and the amazing things we accomplish each and every day. I think about how fortunate we are to work in an industry that continues to weather all kinds of economic climates. I think about little things to look forward to like cooler weather (I had to say it - AZ is HOT), a good book, a morning walk through the home office to say hello to members of the greatest team on Earth, seeing my dogs at night when I get home, or a phone call with a friend or sibling.  

Negativity and challenging times have swirled around us since the beginning of time, but humans are amazing creatures. We have in us all what it takes to prevail and to stay “comparatively sane.” So, look for the silver linings, focus on the positive, expect good things to ensue, and appreciate each other.

Together, I don’t think there is anything we can’t overcome or do, and I am so very grateful for you all.

Phase 1 Testing of AAM’s E-Learning Platform set to Begin

The Training Department is pleased to announce the pending rollout of Phase 1 testing of our state-of-the-art e-learning platform, L.A.U.R.A., aka Learners and Users Resource Academy. Phase 1 testing is tentatively set for August 18, 2023, with rollout tentatively scheduled for mid-to-late September 2023.

The name L.A.U.R.A. is an homage to AAM Founder, Laura Ziff. The platform will feature custom crafted training and performance support solutions for AAM’s Community Management and Administrative Services personnel. The still to be determined launch of our initial comprehensive testing will begin with our Financial Management course.

Once operational, L.A.U.R.A. will ensure that AAM’s training apparatus remains one of the HOA industry’s most cutting-edge e-learning and microlearning platforms in the HOA space. Additionally, L.A.U.R.A. will offer a wide range of customized learning solutions to make our trainings the most customized learner engagement offerings of their kind, featuring:

• Custom eLearning and Microlearning
• Expert-Led Learning (Virtual & Classroom-based)
• Blended Learning
• Gamified and Game-Based Learning
• Desktop and Mobile-based Applications Simulation (Show, Guided Try, and Test modes)
• Video-based Learning

L.A.U.R.A.’s backend management experience will feature a manager-focused view of AAM’s LMS learners. It will allow our trainers to access learner’s relevant data in a simplified and user-friendly workflow. The manager experience enforces a concept of a user hierarchy, where we can define the relationship between managers and the learners they oversee instead of having to use the department hierarchy for user management. Further, managers will be able to access an overview of enrollment data for their learners, along with user-specific training results which can be filtered to display the most relevant scope of data.

Stay tuned for future updates as they become available.

IT Is Getting Ready to Fly

By now, most people are familiar with drones as their footage is becoming ubiquitous in media presentations and marketing collateral. Our IT department is always on the lookout for new technologies that can offer value to our communities, so getting into the drone game made sense as we started to receive inquiries into drone footage for community websites. 

We are happy to announce that we now have our very own in-house FAA-certified drone pilot, Rick Black, who has a passion for drone flying and can now work with our web design team to implement drone footage into your community website. If your community is considering a website refresh, we would be happy to provide a quote, get out there, and implement the video into the community website. 

As an in-house team, we would be able to beat the pricing of third-party drone companies and engagements are typically sub-$1,000.00 for footage and video editing. 

Here is an example of a video of a website in the works: https://vimeo.com/844417191/cc47df5fbc?share=copy and another AAM website with the drone video already live: https://dwctoday.com/. 

If you are interested in more information, please email [email protected].