By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
October 2024

Had a great time in Bend at McMenamins at the September Leadership Dinner and Board Meeting.

On Friday at the Leadership Dinner, committee chairs updated the group on their progress, and we also got an update from our website vendors, Brad and Brandon on the challenges with the forms store. The annual Leadership Dinner was started years ago by former ORHA President Terry Flora Turner and is just what it sounds like – a time for the leaders of the Oregon Rental Housing Association to share updates and enjoy a nice meal to thank them for their volunteer service. This year, Ben Seamans ordered nice padfolios with the ORHA logo on them as a gift for our dedicated volunteers. He also created laminated sheets with important info about ORHA and QR codes to make it easy for the local associations to find what they need.

Association leaders and committee chairs are not compensated for their services with a few exceptions for legislative work, printed forms and the forms store. This event is a great way to encourage them in their work and socialize with the other leaders. This year we had two new people Wendy L. with COROA, and Joann H., vice president of ROA-SWO. Always great to welcome newcomers with fresh ideas and perspectives. With all the activities for the weekend happening at McMenamins we didn’t venture out as they have a great venue and lots of cool places to hang out. Check out our pictures later in the newsletter.

If you want to participate in the future, the first step is to see about joining your local board. Each local association is allowed two delegates (sometimes more if they’re willing to pay for their travel and hotel, but in any case, each association is allowed only two votes) to attend board meetings and in September our Leadership Dinner. Each association’s delegates vote on important decisions at the board meetings which are held five times per year – March, May, July, September and November. November’s meeting is online only, and delegates can attend all meetings virtually, but we recommend trying to come in person to get to know the other volunteers and have some fun amidst the work.

All association delegates are required to actively serve on at least one committee. That’s how the work gets done to serve and support member landlords throughout the state. If you’re interested in joining us for fun and work get connected through your local board!

To learn more about our local associations, please visit https://oregonrentalhousing.com/about.