Summary of ECA Board Meeting April 23, 2019

Board Present: Zlatan Beca, Makarand (Mak) Dehejia, Monique Fridell, Al Muller, Lyle Schwartz, Rhonda Taller, Christopher Wemple

Others Present: ECA General Manager MaryAnn Hall, Assistant Manager Romaine Cureton, Jeremy Tucker (ECA Legal Counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer)

Highlights of the meeting:

Legal:

New directors must take CCOC training within 90 days. It is an in-person 4-hour class at night or on weekends in Rockville. Online training not currently available.

Management Report

Garage Project:

General Manager is asking that work on the weekend be allowed to speed up the project. This will involve some jack hammering, beginning at 9 AM.

Budget:

1% or 2% increase in condo fee? These options were deliberated.  Mr. Beca favored 2% or even 3% increase; Ms. Taller explained her concerns that this is an old building and often in need of repair; Ms. Hall pointed out that one catastrophic flood could wipe our comfortable financial position.  Al Muller repeatedly argued for a 1% increase.  In the end, the vote was 4 to 3 for a 1% increase.

Window Cleaning:

Will take place May 2-3.

Meeting Location:

The Board discussed where to best have the monthly meetings and decided that  the West Lobby is preferable because there is more room and it gives better access to people with walkers. Fire and Safety issues were of a concern in the party room which is only rated for 49 people, and where there is only one safe exit in case of fire.

Spring landscaping:

Spring flowers will be installed the week of May 6.

Other Business

Embezzlement Report:

The Board distributed a written summary of the embezzlement reports and summarized the findings under all doors. There were three such reports: ECA, Gates Hudson, and forensic audit firm. The reports emphasized that the fraud was perpetrated by one highly placed and trusted employee of Gates Hudson and that since learning of that event, Gates Hudson has worked to tighten its internal controls as has the Elizabeth, in accordance with recommendations. All embezzled funds have been returned with interest, and all funds expended in connection with the embezzlement, to include time spent by our Counsel and our General Manager, were paid by Gates Hudson.

The Gates Hudson contract was renewed for one year in March.  It will be up to the new Board to consider an RFP for Management Companies (to include Gates Hudson) when the time comes next year.

Motion: unanimously approved some changes to the budget including a significantly large amount for elevator repair which Otis said we do not need to do until 2021. Monique Fridell asked for a letter from Otis be attached to this change.

Motion:

1% condo increase was approved 4 to 3.

Motion:

Approved unanimously the budget with 1% condo fee increase.

Committee Reports

Newsletter:

Copies are at the Concierge Desk and have been emailed from BuildingLink.

Fire & Safety:

Instructions for residents in case of fire or fire alarm sounding were reviewed by the Fire Educator.  He suggested the instructions be simplified and easy to read for people whose eyesight is not sharp or who are not fluent in English, and to use more graphics so that people  can still understand the instructions.  The Committee needs the support of a graphics artist to follow up on these suggestions. 

Additionally, it was suggested that the Elizabeth should plan a program of regular education for residents, like Town Halls, on the subject of what to do in case of a fire, or fire alarms, so that people know that it is their responsibility to prepare for such an event.  Those who need assistance evacuating in case of fire, should have an exit plan at the ready, and people ready and able to assist them.  The responsibility belongs to each and every resident.

Again, residents ask that the Management office make full  use of  BuildingLink for notification of fire status since the fire alarm often sounds for a long time and only the Fire Department can turn off the alarm after doing a full investigation.

Comments from the Floor

— Rhonda Taller spoke of the importance of the upcoming election and selecting the right individuals to serve on the Board.  Elections have consequences

— One individual mentioned that the Management Office needs training on BuildingLink.

2019 Candidates for the Elizabeth Board—Recommendations

On April 15, 2019, the Elizabeth Condominium conducted its annual Meet the Candidate event to allow those running for the ECA Board of Directors to publicly  state why they are running for the Board and what they hope to achieve. Peg Downey served as the moderator and Stephanie Olshan assisted in organizing written questions that Ms. Downey would ask the candidates. Gary Costello acted as timekeeper. Each candidate was given three minutes for an opening statement, 2 minutes for a closing statement, and 2 minutes to answer a question.

Six candidates are running for three seats. All are resident owners, two are currently sitting Board members up for reelection (Beca & Muller), one is a former Board member who quit before her term was up, and three would be newcomers to the Board. Everyone running was present at Meet the Candidates. Their statements can be seen at: http://theelizabethcondo.blogspot.com/2019/04/2019-meet-candidates-remarks.html.

The candidates are:

Zlatan Beca

Babs Eisman

Molly Frantz

Alfred Muller

Elisa Siegel

James Whalen

Thank you to the six candidates for running for the ECA Board of Directors. Being a Board Director is usually a thankless task/challenge so I want to be sure at least one thank you is voiced to those running.

I have been owner since 1978 and regularly attending monthly board meetings since 2007 when I noticed how rundown our building had become. I have been writing this blog since 2008 when I realized that communications in the building were lacking and I have served on the Board as a Director. With that experience, I offer my recommendations for these three candidates because I see them as the new leadership for our future—all are professionals who bring valuable skillsets, expertise, and experience: Zlatan Beca, Elisa Siegel, and James (Jimmy) Whalen.

Here are my reasons for picking these three:

Zlatan Beca is a sitting Board member who has served as president for two years. His performance record demonstrated that he sincerely wants to balance the budget and “improve the health of the Reserve Fund.” Under his leadership, we have seen aggressive pay down of our large loan. He has said in his Meet the Candidates statement that he supports projects, like hallway renovation, which will help improve our property values, while also taking care to keep the condo fees “steady and in line with the Cost of Living Adjustment.” After all, we know that you can only make repairs and building improvements with adequate funding.

Elisa Siegel currently manages a $10 million budget and leads a team of 55 professionals as well as contractors and vendors. Ms. Siegel brings 40 years of experience in communications, reputation management, and public relations, a valuable skill set not yet represented on the Board. She has pledged to apply her expertise to restore our damaged reputation, including development of a public website to better position our condominium in the real estate market. At Meet the Candidates night, she said,  “If elected, you can count on me to take a fiscally responsible approach to balancing the essential needs we have today with the important work we must continue to sustain our future, including rebuilding our reserves, completing necessary repairs to our infrastructure, undertaking preventive and regular maintenance, completing much-needed renovations to our hallways, and rebuilding our brand as a luxury building.” As she said in her opening Candidate’s statement, “These steps are all essential to improving our property values, which is one of the Board’s primary fiduciary responsibilities.”

James (Jimmy) Whalen is the current Chair of the ECA Budget and Finance Committee. Since taking this position, he has managed to conduct meetings that run efficiently by promoting a good culture in meetings that avoid non-productive activities and negativity. His accomplishments include reconstruction of the Monthly Financial Reports so that they are more concise and easier to understand. He has helped build an investment strategy that includes a laddered CD portfolio to get interest from our reserve cash. Jimmy Whalen is already making a difference relative to our finances. He would be a welcomed addition to the Board.

Here are my reasons for why these candidates are not the best choices:

Babs Eisman as a 30-year resident has made contributions to the social well-being of our community and I would urge her to continue her participation with ECA committees. The candidates I am recommending bring a greater set of skills and experience than Ms. Eisman’s statement indicates.

Molly Frantz and Alfred Muller have both served on ECA Boards and have records that need to be taken into account.

Molly Frantz

—On Financial Matters

Those who regularly attend monthly board meetings have often had to suffer through endless questions from Ms. Frantz that hold up our monthly board meetings. Her line of questions usually indicate that she does not understand the answers given. On April 10, 2017, Ms. Frantz challenged the audit prepared by Jeremy Powell of Goldklang Group CPAs. On April 20, 2017, owners were provided the auditor’s response to her claims via an email from BuildingLink.  The auditor wrote that based on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and his own cash flow analysis, he concluded, [her] “… analysis contained several material omissions and errors in her formulation which lead her to an improper finding.”

Among the errors in Ms. Frantz’s analysis cited by Mr. Powell were the following:

·      “Notably, and as discussed below, Ms. Frantz’s analysis does not take into account payments to vendors and to the bank that flow from the balance sheet.  

·      Further, as I explained to the community, the loan payments are not reflected expenses on the income statement, because the payments reduce an existing liability. 

·      We also found it difficult to follow Mr. Frantz’s analysis and conclusions in certain places, as she combines reports which reflects information calculated differently, but we did our best.”

Mr. Powell concluded, “… Ms. Frantz’s analysis incorrectly combines different financial reports, which calculate the financial position of the Association differently, to arrive at her conclusion.  Based on our review, all funds are properly noted and reconciled in the Association’s financial statements.”

This is just one example of her inability to understand and communicate financial matters.

—On Working with Others

In 2011, Ms. Frantz quit the Board saying that the Board was too toxic to work with. She stated in her resignation letter dated August 16, 2011, that she experienced, “A board replete with personal ill-will, petulance [sic] behavior, hidden agendas, and a penchant for taking offense at the slightest opportunity…The personal toll of working in such a dysfunctional environment has been enormous.” This seems to indicate that she does not have the necessary temperament to serve on any board of directors.

—On Our Current Auditors

It should also be noted that Ms. Frantz stated in her Meet the Candidates question and answer session that she would like to replace the Goldklang Group as our auditors because she feels they didn’t do enough to prevent the embezzlement that took place by a trusted senior employee of Gates Hudson. It is important to understand that it was one employee who carried out the fraud and not the company. In fact, this company showed integrity by immediately notifying the Elizabeth of the embezzlement, rapidly returning all funds with interest, paying all associated expenses, and taking step to further tighten their internal controls.

At the time of that discovery, Jeremy Powell and Howard Goldklang spoke at a Board meeting about the difference between regular auditing of financial statements which their firm does for us, and forensic auditing which is a detailed examination that looks for irregularities in accounting and financial procedures. The bottom line is that embezzlement is a sophisticated crime perpetrated by one or more trusted and often highly placed employees who have access making it possible for them to circumvent controls in place. As such, it is difficult at best to detect.

—On Our Current Management Company

Ms. Frantz also stated she wished to replace Gates Hudson, our property management group, for its role in the embezzlement. As stated above, this was a fraud perpetrated by a single individual. Gates Hudson had no role in the embezzlement. It’s rare that monetary restitution happened so quickly for ECA and that an organization like Gates Hudson enacted new safeguards without hesitation. Unfortunately, embezzlement happens all the time. CNBC reported in 2017 that workplace crime costs US businesses $50 billion per year.  In 2019, a former Montgomery County official was sentenced in a $6.7 million embezzlement scheme.

Alfred Muller

—On Our Reserve Fund

In 2013 as a Board member, Alfred Muller supported drawing down the existing reserve fund which soon led to a Reserve Fund balance of approximately $1000. This is a position he has continued to defend. This action resulted in the Elizabeth almost losing our master insurance, making it impossible for us to secure FHA certification, and making our building unattractive to prospective buyers due to our poor financial profile. Worse, the lack of sufficient reserves placed the condominium at great financial risk in the event of a costly infrastructure or equipment failure. The line of credit could not be used for anything other than the replacement of our windows and balcony doors as stated by the terms of the loan.

According to Condominium Association Institute (CAI) guidance on reserves to board members, “Setting aside adequate reserves for the future is an extremely important part of the board’s responsibility. It is important to remember that boards that fail to adequately fund their reserve accounts have breached their fiduciary duty to the association.”

—On Financial Management

By way of background, ECA boards approved a zero percent (0%) increase in condo fees in 12 separate years during the period July 1984 through 2009. This failure to adequately provide sufficient funds to maintain the property led to the deteriorating infrastructure that we suffer with today.

As an example, in FY 2009, Al Muller voted for a zero percent (0%) increase in condo fees. In fact, as he did in the Budget Town Hall meeting April 10, 2019, he has continued to push for the lowest possible increase in condo fees (1%) than what is currently being considered (2%-3%) by the Board Treasurer and Budget & Finance Committee. (Note: the increase in condo fees has not been voted on yet.) It appears that Dr. Muller thinks that keeping assessments from going up is the primary obligation of a director rather than ensuring that there are sufficient funds to properly maintain the community.

Montgomery County Commission on Common Ownership Communities (CCOC) in its chapter entitled “The Wrong Way to Budget” counsels that keeping condo fees down at the expense of maintenance and upkeep is transparently foolish because everything structural and mechanical requires more maintenance and repair as it gets older. The CCOC further advises that this practice will “diminish the appearance of the community and make it a less desirable place to live. This will adversely affect its resale value relative to nearby communities that are better maintained.” This is precisely what happened to the Elizabeth.

As his record shows, Al Muller works to keep condo fees down at the expense of adequate maintenance and sufficient reserves. For these reasons, I do not think Al Muller is the right person to lead us to improved property values and a financially stable future.

You are urged to vote for Z Beca, Jimmy Whalen, and Elisa Siegel—owners who will work to improve the financial position and infrastructure of The Elizabeth, our property values, and our quality of life.

-->

2019 Meet the Candidates Remarks

In the interest of the short window of time we have before the May 1, 2019 election of three new directors, I am posting opening and remarks received from three of the six candidates who spoke in the April 15 Meet the Candidates night. As time allows, I will post additional comments. What follows are comments from: Zlatan Beca, Alfred Muller, and Elisa Siegel. NOTE: added are statements by James Whalen. by Babs Eisman, and by Molly Frantz.

ZLATAN BECA

OPENING STATEMENT 

Good evening everyone, great to see you all.  For those of you who don’t know me, I am Zlatan Beca and also go by “Z”.  According to my 9 year old son, my candidate bio is longer that everyone else’s and therefore, no one is going to read it.  For that reason, I will keep my opening statement brief.  I’ve had the honor of being the Elizabeth Condominium Association president in 2017 and 2018.  I sat in front of you two years ago and promised that if elected, I would run the Elizabeth like a $5.4MM/year business, would work on changing the culture of the building, would assemble strong teams to help the management get us over the financial bump, would work on reinforcing the building infrastructure and would do our best to take the Elizabeth into the 21^st century technologically.  Those two years really gave me a great opportunity to decipher the building into small details, compartmentalize, encounter all the different players, personalities and influencers, get my bearings in and paint a pretty clear picture of the direction we should be going in.  The assessment of all of the listed categories lies with each resident individually but one common denominator we all can agree on is that we are in a better place than we were 2 years ago.  The push made by the boards and the residents before us was just built upon further and we need to keep that momentum going.  Although the aforementioned challenges are still very important and will continue to improve further, my campaign today is all about the future, especially the next 3-5 years. 

The biggest challenges facing our community today are the following:

1.     Assuring the rest of the building is more in line with design of our lobby before the Amazon wave hits the area.  That means completion of the garage, hallway, gym and pool projects within reasonable means and time frame.

2.     Abusive behavior toward staff.  We need to continue handing out swift fines until people really start to feel them.  Eventually it will stop. 

3.     Replacing MaryAnn and Hollis with qualified professionals once they are ready to retire. 

4.     Having a healthy reserve and continuing to make drastic contributions to the payout of the outstanding loan.

5.     Keeping the condo fees steady and in line with the Cost of Living Adjustment.

6.     Improving communication between the board, management and the residents.

7.     Coming up with fresh new community engagement ideas.

8.     Underutilizing in house resources.

You notice that I did not say anything about the Fire Safety protocol and Storage & Bike Room Audits.  That is because I fully believe those are in line to be taken care of within months from now. 

In summary, we want to act as a channel that unifies the front.   I’ve said this before and I will say it again.  There is absolutely no reason why Elizabeth shouldn’t become the flagship building in the Friendship Heights pocket.  We are certainly a step closer now but if given the chance, I would continue to fight the battle and hopefully contribute to the effort of eventually getting us there.   Thank you.

CLOSING STATEMENT 

Fellow residents, please keep in mind that you are not casting your vote for an individual, but the best possible team that once assembled, will protect your interest, champion improvements and strive to move condominium well-being forward.  It is our fiduciary responsibility to organize a team that will co-exist as a cohesive unit and address all issues facing our community effectively, and logically.  Again, I stress the term unit.  I have always been a huge proponent of team work because I have seen greatness achieved when teammates striving toward a common goal are given ability to think freely and creatively.  I would love to see this type of culture further implemented here and believe I could be a great buffer for doing just that.  In my estimate, the Board spends more than half of its time fighting little meaningless battles. If I could help table that, the entire board could actually focus their entire time and expertise on Elizabeth’s affairs and improvement projects.  Now that would be nice. Our destiny is in our own hands. You need to look for leaders and candidates of strong character. Those are the type of people that will represent you to the best of their ability and for the good of all.  Everyone here has been around long enough to recognize those qualities.  It is up to you to decide if you want to continue building upon what we’ve started or go in the opposite direction.  You have seen the repercussions of some of the past choices we’ve made.  An experienced pair of eyes with a firm and fair perspective would not be a bad thing for the Elizabeth.  The problems facing our condominium were stressed in my opening statement.  The best way to resolve those is by assessing the issues at hand, prioritizing, evaluating recommendations from qualified experts, listening to the residents and staff, and working in unison with the Board and the management to reach adequate balance between the operating budget and the fund for capital improvements.  It’s been an honor serving here for the past two years. If given your trust again, I would be honored to help contribute to the team that will get us to the next level.  Thank you. 

ALFRED MULLER

OPENING STATEMENT 

When I was a medical student--- many years ago--- I was taught that one of the most important ways to make a correct diagnosis was TO TAKE A GOOD HISTORY.  Listen carefully to the patient and collect all the information you can without jumping to conclusions.

I have tried to follow that sensible advice in relation to my non-professional life, including years of volunteer service, for 26 years as our village Mayor, --- when we paid off an inherited $2 million debt, while simultaneously creating 2 parks, a shuttle bus service and a community center,  AND lowering the tax rate to the lowest permissible by law.  I have followed that advice in service to The Elizabeth for the 27 years I have lived here,  both as a non-Board member (working on committees), and at other times as the Board VP or its Treasurer. 

In all these positions I have gained much experience, and have specific institutional memory which can prove helpful in future discussions on the Board. I know our successes and I know our failures.  We can learn from both.

I have tried to diagnose problems in our building by listening and respecting the many diverse opinions but also trying to collect facts and not be swayed by personalities or cliques. I compliment others when I think they have done a good job, and I offer constructive suggestions when I think there can be improvement.

A major responsibility of the BOD is its fiduciary responsibility. I have always stressed the need to keep three goals in mind regarding this responsibility:  1) to maintain, repair and replace our building infrastructure;  2) to have adequate reserve funds for capital improvements and unexpected emergencies, and 3) to assess condo fees which are fair for our owners and competitive regarding sales and rentals.

(I was raised by parents who lived through the Great Depression and have always been a proponent of " pay as you go".  I believe we should borrow only in rare times of an emergency, not simply to do a capital expenditure 1-2 years earlier than when reserves would so allow.)

If you give me the privilege to continue service on the BOD I promise to continue listening to every opinion and come to conclusions only after an impartial analysis of all the facts that I can obtain.  I shall remain an independent voice on your BOD and continue to work very hard on your behalf.

CLOSING STATEMENT

Thank you all for attending this important meeting. I urge you to evaluate the following four qualities in the candidates for Director:

1) experience:  mine is institutional memory from living in the building for 27 years and serving at times as VP or Treasurer of the Board of Directors where I learned the financial and intrastructure challenges of the Elizabeth;

2) hard worker: all my present colleagues on the Board have worked extremely hard; many of you have witnessed my hard work in bringing the smoke free amendment towards approval; I would work equally hard to see corridor renovation completed during my term on the Board;

3) analytical: my training as a physician has taught me to base decisions on reviewing all facts carefully before arriving at a conclusion, and not rely on emotional appeal;

4) independence: I have voted with a majority of the Board more than 90% of the time, but am not hesitant about voting in the minority when I believe it is in the best interest of owners;  I am not part of any of the cliques in the building who have their own agenda. I weigh each issue on its merits, not on who is supporting or opposing it.

If you agree that these attributes are important for a Director to possess and that I have demonstrated them for many years, please vote for me. I will do my best to vindicate your support,

ELISA SIEGEL

OPENING STATEMENT

Good evening. I’m Elisa Siegel, and it’s my honor to run for The Elizabeth Board of Directors. 

I’ve owned my unit, 1813, and lived in the building since 2015.  When I was looking to downsize from my home on Leland Street, The Elizabeth, with its beautiful lobby and prime location, amenities, and sense of community, lured me in.

 

The four years since then have been difficult ones, with a lot of repairs and disruption.  I also personally experienced the effects of the building’s disrepair when a flood nearly destroyed my unit, just as I was completing a top-to-bottom renovation. 

Like many of you, I’ve watched our property values decline, and our condo fees go up as the board took the necessary steps to turn The Elizabeth’s finances around, stem the constant water damage, and make sure we maintained our insurance. 

While these changes were difficult, they were essential.  So I am grateful to recent boards for their courage and the steps they have taken to restore the building’s financial stability and crumbling infrastructure.

I am running for the board, because there is another important step we need to take – restoring The Elizabeth’s reputation as a well-managed, vibrant, luxury community in the heart of Friendship Heights.

If elected, I would contribute my skills and experience from a 40-year career in communications and marketing to tell the story of The Elizabeth’s renaissance.  Together with my colleagues on the board, and other interested residents, we could develop a new brand for The Elizabeth that positions us much more competitively with our neighbors at The Carleton, 4620 N Park Avenue, and The Willoughby.

I also would improve The Elizabeth’s online presence by developing a mobile-friendly public website and improving our social media reviews.  Currently, The Elizabeth does not have a public website, and our reviews on social media are poor.  If our building is to remain competitive with our neighbors, and compete successfully for new Amazon employees, we must have a better online presence.

We have a great story to tell, but we need to tell it ourselves; not leave it to others.

Before we can do this, however, we must renovate the hallways as well as improve the condition and maintenance of our lobby and other common areas, which are now showing signs of wear and tear.

These steps are all essential to improving our property values, which is one of the board’s primary fiduciary responsibilities.

But even with our problems, The Elizabeth is a great building.

So I am very optimistic about our future.  I believe we have a unique window of opportunity to increase our property values by continuing to restore the building’s infrastructure, finances, hallways, and then, our reputation as a vibrant luxury community in the heart of Friendship Heights.

Thank you for listening, and I hope I have the opportunity to serve you as a member of the board of directors.

CLOSING STATEMENT

As owners, we have important choices to make in this election for the board, and we are fortunate to have candidates who offer diverse skill sets and experience. 

With my background in communications, public relations, branding, and marketing, I offer a skill set not yet represented on the board.

In addition, as I noted in my candidate statement, I have many years of executive and leadership experience for a large organization, and know how to manage a large budget and staff, as well as serve on a board. 

I believe that my career success is due to an ability to objectively consider all the facts and make decisions that take into account diverse needs and viewpoints, for the good of the whole, without regard to personal interest. I am also an excellent listener and believe strongly in the benefits of transparency.

Recently, in a board meeting for my association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, which represents all the nation’s medical schools and major teaching hospitals, someone shared a quote about the role of boards of directors that I’d like to share with you now:

The role of the board is to protect the future from the present. 

If elected, you can count on me to take a fiscally responsible approach to balancing the essential needs we have today with the important work we must continue to sustain our future, including rebuilding our reserves, completing necessary repairs to our infrastructure, undertaking preventive and regular maintenance, completing much-needed renovations to our hallways, and rebuilding our brand as a luxury building.

These are the steps we need to take to ensure that The Elizabeth once again becomes a growing asset in our financial portfolios, a community that we all enjoy, and above all, a home in which we all are proud to live.




JAMES WHALEN
OPENING STATEMENT

The Elizabeth is an incredible community. In my first year and a half living here I have met so many amazing people and begun to cultivate relationships that I know will carry on long into the future. The Elizabeth is the place I call home and I want to utilize the skills acquired throughout my career in finance to help the community and the people therein. I know that my experience in financial matters can help to improve the Elizabeth’s overall profitability and positively influence the lives (and property values) of its residents.

When I first moved into the Elizabeth in September of 2017 I shared the same concerns that many residents have surrounding our financials. I recognized that there was a significant amount of work to be done in order to bring us back to a state of profitability and positive cash flow.

I became Chairman of the Budget and Finance committee in 2018 and over the past year have helped guide the Elizabeth in financial decisions that have been crucial to our future. We have reconstructed the Monthly Financial Reports received by residents and the Board in order to make them more concise and easier to review. We have built out an investment strategy for our excess cash which includes a laddered CD portfolio. The portfolio consists of CD’s with varying maturities in order to ensure we optimize investment return without sacrificing the liquidity required for expenses. Most importantly, we have paid down a significant amount of debt and have a plan in place to further reduce our liabilities by the end of the year. 

In my career as a financial advisor, I serve as both the main point of contact as well as support to many of my firm’s most complex ultra-high net worth client relationships. I am responsible for customizing financial solutions designed to meet clients’ individual needs, goals, and wealth objectives.

I have experience in budget creation/review, investment portfolio construction, asset allocation, and plan implementation. My disciplined nature and eye for detail help to ensure exceptional and consistent outcomes. I feel that my ability to bring a personal understanding to complex situations can help ensure that the Elizabeth continues to progress both financially and as a community even when difficult times may arise.

I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Economics from Rhodes College, where I played on both the Varsity Football and Lacrosse teams and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. I am a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and passed the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 65 exam.

Outside of work, I enjoy being outdoors and participating in community service activities. I am an active member on the Board for the Autism Speaks National Capital Area and the head of recruitment and development for the Autism Speaks to Young Professionals organization. Over the past three years, I have helped to raise over $100,000 for autism and autism research.


BABS EISMAN
OPENING STATEMENT

The reason I am running for the Board is there are areas that I would like to see

fine tuned.

. Sense of Community can be fostered by having house rules that are enforced.

    For example, polite and proper behavior at meeting and dealings with staff.

. Considerate behavior in the usage of the trash rooms.

. Have an updated directory so you know who your neighbors are.

. Restart the "Conversations with the Board" committee

Part of a wish list would include:

 .User's Manual for how to handle various issues/problems, e.g. who to go to

    for the answers so we understand the roles and responsibilities of our staff.

 . Have (2) people on the front desk during peak hours

 . We have a great back patio, but access is difficult

 . Odorless organic cleaning products

 .  Improving the layout of the gym - removing walls

Naturally, we have to finish the garage, but before starting work in the halls,

I want to be sure our infrastructure is sound, and that burst pipes do not undo

this investment.  Also, look into why there are such fluctuations in temperature in the hallways, which might compromise finishes.

As a long time owner with business, real estate and design experience, I ask for  your consideration.

CLOSING STATEMENT:  (best as I can remember, nothing was written)

I  want to thank everyone for coming and participating in tonight's event.  This is our home and everyone's  responsibility.  I have served on the Board of Directors for HEROES INC., Hebrew Home - including Ring House and Landow House, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.  All these Boards had the same basic goals: where are we now, how do we maintain our mission and how to plan for the future.

If anyone knows non-resident owners, please contact them to send in their votes and proxies.

Thank you for your consideration.

MOLLY FRANTZ

OPENING STATEMENT 

Let me briefly introduce myself. The Elizabeth has been my home since January

197 5. During those 44 years I have twice served on the Elizabeth's Budget &

Finance Committee and on the Board for 15 months; recently I Chaired the Ad

Hoc Committee on Air Filters and- on behalf of75 Owners- submitted the

petition resulting in the upcoming vote to change the Bylaws. This change would

require all Board Directors to be owners of the Corporation. In addition, along

with Margie McNerney, I coordinate the donations of the resident's no-longerneeded

furniture and useful household items to A Wider Circle who, in tum, gives

these items to families just moving out of homelessness. And I contribute Helpful

Hints to the residents through the monthly Newsletter.

There are those who ask me why do I want to serve on the Board at all. Others

point out that I did not complete my term on the Board and question if I would do

this again. Both are legitimate points of view. The atmosphere is quite different

than in 2011 and I certainly have no intentions to resign early. I am sure others

did not expect to resign early either.

The number 1 problem in the Elizabeth is why is the environment still toxic. This

adversely adverse impacts The Elizabeth's reputation. I believe I can help push

the Board toward even more transparency, and more opportunities for the residents

to air their concerns. The Elizabeth's return to financial stability and the recent

large capital projects and with finally getting to the much-needed hall restoration

have and will go a long way to improving our home's reputation. But it won't

solve the problem without every resident and every employee and every leader

acknowledging their role in this problem and the solution.

We all need to step back and focus on the substances and legitimacy of the

problems owners and residents raise. While it often seems the only successful way

to get resolution on one's problem is to be the squeakiest wheel, getting to that

point is frustrating for everyone involved. Having operating problems repeatedly

raised at Board meetings rightfully makes the Directors feel under attack. Ideally

Board meetings should be about major problems and policies. But what choice do

the owners and residents have if they feel - rightfully or wrongly - that their

concerns are not being taken seriously. After all, putting a "MY" before a

problem automatically moves it up the importance scale. Right!!

In the first half of The Elizabeth's life we had an Operations Committee that

serves as a buffer between the residents and management and the Board. This

group met monthly and had the time to hear the whole story, listen to see if others

had the same concerns and - perhaps most importantly - to understand why this

person was so upset - or ideally to address the concern before the person becomes

frustrated. This Committee then formulated recommendations for either

Management or the Board for action( s) to be taken. In my years living in the

Elizabeth I am constantly amazed how many others have experienced the same

problems but never raised them. And I am sure I am not alone in this feeling.

As you listen to each of us tonight and read our statements, I want to urge you to

also read or reread Z's remarks in the March Newsletter about what qualities a

Board member should have. He urges you to do your own due diligence. And

while he didn't say it this way, he is urging you not to stay in your information silo

-your Fox News or MSNBC so to speak. Ask us questions about why we have

done things, if not tonight then on a one-on-one. Board Directors have enormous

authority to make decisions impact your finances and your quality of life. This is

one of the times you get to make the decision, not assign it to someone else.