By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
June 2025

Palooza & May Meeting Recap
Last month, we gathered in Hood River for another successful Property Management Palooza. Thanks to the participation of both in-person and virtual attendees, as well as generous sponsors, we raised over $4,000.00 to support the growth and development of the Mid-Columbia Rental Owners Association (MCROA). A heartfelt thank you to our instructors—Violet Wilson, Christian Bryant, Jason Miller, and me—and to our dedicated helpers: Veda Bell, Tanya Dean, Chuck DeSeranno, Rain Maryott, and Ben Seamans. Special thanks also go to our sponsors, Columbia River Property Management, Rental Housing Support Services, and ORHA Education, Inc. We couldn't have done it without you!

The board meeting on Saturday was also well attended and we received updates from our committees and legislative team. One of the great things we do at these meetings is take a few minutes to share what’s working for our associations and learn from others what’s working for them. It’s a great time to share ideas for speakers and processes and get an idea of where each association is in their growth to provide them with feedback and suggestions.

Reflections on my Presidency
As I pen this final message, I reflect on the journey that began with my election in July of 2021. At the close of my first term, I outlined goals and updated everyone on the state of our association and how we had addressed challenges such as losing our office and transitioning to a new operational model. I'm proud to say our board made significant strides in achieving these objectives. Here’s a list of board achievements over the past two years and forecasts for the future:

• Bylaws & Policies. We completed a second round of updates to our bylaws and policies under the leadership of Vice President Cloud Miller; however, incorporation into the official documents is still in progress. We hope to finalize the changes and send those out soon to association leaders.
• Education & Mentoring. Under the leadership of chair Jason Miller and vice chair Rain Maryott, our education committee has flourished. Violet Wilson handed off leadership to focus on teaching and creating the "Train the Trainer" series which has empowered members to teach, fostering a culture of mentorship. Additionally, Violet is teaching regular LAARC classes for real estate licensees, and plans are in place to offer at least four state-sponsored training courses next year with a variety of teachers. Mentoring may remain as a subcommittee of Education or may become a subcommittee of the Marketing and Membership Committee, but regardless, I will be taking an active role in a more proactive mentoring model, so if your association has fewer than 100 members, expect a call!
• Finance Committee. The Finance Committee made up of Chair Dennis Chappa, Treasurer Dan Griffin, and member Chuck DeSeranno, continue to adjust our budget and GL accounts to provide better apples to apples comparisons of our expenditures, and Bookkeeper Lori Black continues to explore different options for reporting to help board members understand where we’re at with our finances. When my presidency began in July of 2021, our books were disorganized; now, we’re on more solid footing than ever before with a healthy reserve and proper oversight and tracking from our financial team. Thanks to Ben Seamans, we have a multi-step approval process for payments before any money goes out the door. Between hiring a third-party bookkeeper and using Ben’s system we have created greater transparency and virtually eliminated the possibility of theft.
• Forms Committee. The ORHA Forms Manual – Edition VII is now complete. The complexity of Eugene's Phase II renter protections as well as recent changes in state law necessitated the creation of new forms and instructions, a task we've successfully accomplished along with incorporating other forms and instructions created since the last manual, so get your orders in.
• • Law Book. With the completion of the Forms Manual, the Forms Committee is pivoting its attention to the 2026 Law Book. Our goal is not only to update law changes since the last iteration of the book but to add chapters of law that we haven’t previously included such as Small Claims law, Collections law, and even laws regulating fence line disputes.
  • We are committed to a 2-year cycle for each manual moving forward.
• Forms Store. Thanks to Technology Committee Chair Cloud Miller and our partners at Central Oregon IT (COIT), the Forms Store now auto-populates tenant information into rental agreements and addendums, simplifying the process for our members. Work has been ongoing with QC testing to ensure our online forms work on all digital platforms. Future plans include log ins where members’ tenant info and prior forms can be stored, incorporating video class sales, and expanding our CD subscriptions to more property managers around the state.
• • Digital Access to Forms Manual and Law Book: Efforts continue to explore the technology that would allow us to provide members with electronic formats of our Forms Manual and Law Book.
• Legislative Advocacy. With the passing of the Landlord-Tenant Coalition several years ago, our model for legislative input changed dramatically causing us to pivot to a new model. Starting July 1, our sole paid legislative representative will be lobbyist Shawn Miller. This change reflects the evolving landscape of legislative advocacy, where individual organizations now rely on their lobbyists, with committee members and association leaders participating in workgroups as needed.
• • Shawn will continue to rely on volunteers in the Legislative and Rapid Response Committees moving forward, as well as the ongoing involvement of the board and our Independent Contractor for the ORHA Office Ben Seamans who coordinates e-blasts to our members across the state. Thanks, Shawn, for being willing to take on a bit more! And thanks so much to Legislative Director Jason Miller and Deputy Legislative Director Ben Seamans for their hard work keeping on top of various bills and distributing calls to action to let our members know when to get involved.
• Member Surveys. Thanks to Survey Committee Chair Tanya Dean and Independent Contractor for the ORHA Office Ben Seamans, they successfully conducted and analyzed a member survey, providing valuable insights to guide our initiatives. Former Chair Alex Wilkins left big shoes to fill, and they did an admirable job in their first effort. We look forward to more, and to those members who respond to our surveys - keep it up!
• Operational Efficiencies. Independent Contractor for the ORHA Office Ben Seamans pushed to create process improvements across all aspects of our mission, including tracking membership dues, providing timely and incredibly detailed board reports, and finding new ways to serve and support our local associations. The opportunity for us to have a young person of his caliber and professionalism leading our office is the best. He is always looking for ways to help us do things more efficiently and access information more easily. Without prompt, he created an ORHA FAQ where members can find what they’re looking for, he maintains an updated ORHA Calendar helping us track what’s coming, he got us back on track with membership dues, created an easy process for the locals to submit their reports, and his one-on-one meetings with locals struggling with technology have proven to be fantastic. I’ve said again and again, Ben makes us look so good. I don’t know how I or ORHA would have done or where we would have been right now without him. Thank you, Ben, you are making a huge difference!
• Training. Although participation in Sunday morning training sessions has been modest, recordings are available for staff training. Topics have included Wild Apricot, technology utilization, staffing a landlord helpline, and last month Ben Seamans taught a great class on using the free platform Canva to create visual design and document creation. These training courses are designed to help our local associations integrate with new technology and offer greater value to their members, so make this a priority! If you miss a class, they’re available upon request – contact the office.
  
  

Acknowledgments
None of these achievements would have been possible without the dedication of my fantastic Executive Committee:

• Vice President: Cloud Miller
• Secretary: Chuck DeSeranno
• Treasurer: Dan Griffin
• Advisor: Dennis Chappa
• Advisor: Violet Wilson
• At-Large Member: Joanne Williams

With their support, we've made significant progress, and I am confident that under incoming president Violet Wilson's leadership, our momentum will continue.

Looking Ahead
While I am stepping down as president, my commitment to the association remains steadfast. I will continue to serve as a delegate from the Lane County Rental Owners Association, next term as Past President on the Executive Committee, and will continue chairing the Forms Committee. This role will allow me to focus more on developing new forms, scheduled updates for our manuals, educational resources, and mentoring smaller associations.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Here's to continued growth and success for our association!

Warm regards,
Tia Politi, President
Oregon Rental Housing Association