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Learn more about your role as a BOD Member.
What Is a Board of Directors?
The Board of Directors is the group of elected homeowners responsible for governing the Element Condominium Association and making decisions on behalf of the Association.
Think of the Board as the Association’s governing body. Individual directors participate in discussions and votes, but the Board acts collectively when making official decisions.
The Board’s responsibilities can include overseeing the Association’s finances and reserves, adopting budgets, considering contracts and major projects, establishing and enforcing Association policies, overseeing professional management, addressing matters involving the governing documents, and planning for the long-term maintenance and protection of the condominium.
What are the Director Roles?
President: The President is the principal leadership officer of the Association and helps ensure that the Board carries out its responsibilities in an organized manner. Key responsibilities: presiding over Board and membership meetings as provided by the governing documents; helping establish an orderly meeting process; working with management on Board-directed matters; ensuring matters requiring Board consideration are brought before the Board; helping communicate authorized Board direction to management; and performing other duties assigned to the President by the governing documents or Board. What the President is NOT: The President is not the “owner,” CEO of the building, or sole decision-maker for Element. Being President does not give one director the authority to override the Board.
Secretary: The Secretary helps ensure that the Association's official actions are properly documented. Key responsibilities: overseeing the maintenance of appropriate corporate records; ensuring minutes of Board and membership meetings are prepared and maintained; ensuring official Board actions and resolutions are properly documented; assisting with required notices and corporate documentation where applicable; and ensuring Association records are maintained as required by the governing documents and law. Important distinction: HomeOwners Advantage may perform much of the administrative work involved in preparing minutes, maintaining files and distributing notices. That does not eliminate the Secretary's officer-level responsibility for proper corporate documentation.
Vice President: The Vice President provides continuity in Board leadership and must be prepared to perform the President's functions when required. Key responsibilities: performing the President's duties when the President is absent or unable to serve; assisting with Board leadership; remaining informed about major Association matters; participating fully in Board discussions and votes; and performing additional responsibilities assigned under the governing documents or by the Board. A Vice President should therefore remain familiar with financial matters, major projects, contracts, legal matters, policies and current Board business rather than becoming involved only when the President is unavailable.
Treasurer: The Treasurer provides Board-level oversight of the Association's financial affairs. Key responsibilities: reviewing financial statements; monitoring operating income and expenses; reviewing budget-to-actual performance; monitoring reserve funds; reviewing assessment income and delinquency information; reviewing significant expenditures; participating in annual budget development; understanding the Association's financial controls; and helping the Board identify financial issues requiring attention. The Treasurer does not necessarily personally collect assessments, write checks, pay invoices or perform bookkeeping. Those administrative functions may be handled by HomeOwners Advantage and the Association's financial professionals. The Treasurer's role is primarily financial oversight, while major financial decisions remain decisions of the Board when Board approval is required.
Your Responsibility as a Director
Board meetings are not simply informational meetings. Directors should arrive prepared to participate in Association governance.
That means reading the meeting packet beforehand, reviewing financial information and proposals, asking questions when something is unclear, disclosing relevant conflicts of interest, listening to other directors and professional advisors, and making informed decisions based on the Association's interests and governing obligations.
Board service requires participation—not just attendance.
What Is a Board Meeting?
A Board meeting is a formal meeting of the Element Condominium Association Board of Directors where directors discuss Association business, review information, make decisions, and take official action on matters affecting the community.
Board meetings are where much of the Association's governing work takes place. Directors may review financial reports, discuss building projects, consider contracts and proposals, address enforcement or policy matters, receive updates from management and professional advisors, and vote on matters requiring Board approval.
Open Meetings vs. Executive Session
Not every matter should be discussed publicly.
Some sensitive matters may need to be handled in an executive or closed session, depending on Element's governing documents and applicable Georgia law. These can involve matters such as legal advice, litigation, certain enforcement matters, confidential owner information, personnel issues, or other subjects requiring confidentiality.
Being elected to the Board therefore means candidates must be prepared to protect confidential information learned through Board service.
What Happens at a Board Meeting?
Not every matter should be discussed publicly.
A typical Element Board meeting may include:
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Calling the meeting to order and confirming a quorum
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Reviewing and approving prior meeting minutes
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Receiving management and financial reports
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Discussing maintenance and capital projects
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Reviewing vendor proposals and contracts
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Considering Association policies and governing-document matters
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Discussing owner requests or other Association business
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Making motions and voting on matters requiring Board action
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Assigning follow-up items to management, committees, or professionals
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Providing an appropriate opportunity for owner participation when required
What All Officers Have in Common
Regardless of title, President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer remain members of the governing team. A title does not give an officer unlimited individual authority.
Each should be prepared to:
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Prepare — Read Board packets, reports, proposals and financial information before meetings.
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Participate — Attend meetings, ask questions, discuss issues and vote when appropriate.
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Protect — Safeguard confidential, legal, financial and owner information obtained through Board service.
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Disclose — Identify potential conflicts of interest and follow the required process for handling them.
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Use Professionals — Recognize when an issue requires advice from management, Association counsel, engineers, accountants, insurance professionals or other qualified experts.
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Think Association-Wide — Consider the Association's governing obligations and community as a whole rather than using a Board position to advance an individual owner's interests.
What Are a Director’s Responsibilities Outside of Board Meetings?
Serving on the Element Board involves more than attending scheduled meetings. Directors have responsibilities between meetings so they can arrive prepared, provide appropriate oversight, and make informed decisions when the Board meets.
Staying Informed & Preparing
Directors should keep up with Association business between meetings. This may include reviewing Board packets, financial reports, management reports, contracts, proposals, project updates, correspondence, and other materials provided for Board consideration.
Board meetings are where much of the Association's governing work takes place. Directors may review financial reports, discuss building projects, consider contracts and proposals, address enforcement or policy matters, receive updates from management and professional advisors, and vote on matters requiring Board approval.
Directors should review materials before the meeting, rather than seeing important information for the first time when a vote is requested.
Financial Oversight
Directors should remain familiar with Element's financial condition throughout the year—not only during budget season. This can include reviewing financial statements, monitoring operating expenses, understanding reserve funding, reviewing significant or unexpected expenses, monitoring major projects, and asking questions when financial information needs clarification. The Treasurer may take a more active role in financial review, but financial oversight is ultimately a responsibility of the Board—not just the Treasurer.
Building & Capital Project Oversight
For a condominium like Element, directors may need to stay informed about significant building matters between meetings, including elevators, life-safety systems, access control, structural or exterior components, common-area repairs, major equipment, insurance matters, and planned capital projects.
That does not mean directors personally diagnose problems or supervise contractors. Management coordinates operations, while engineers, contractors and other professionals provide specialized expertise.
Reviewing Proposals & Contracts
Management may send directors vendor proposals, contracts, bids or recommendations that require review before the next meeting.
Directors should take the time to understand:
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What work is being proposed
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Why it is needed
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The anticipated cost
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Whether funds are budgeted or available
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The scope of work
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Management's recommendation
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Whether legal, engineering or other professional review is appropriate
Communicating With Management
Directors may communicate with HomeOwners Advantage between meetings regarding Board business, questions, requested information and implementation of authorized Board decisions. However, directors should respect the difference between oversight and day-to-day management. A director generally should not become a second property manager by individually directing staff, supervising vendors, promising outcomes to residents, or attempting to personally manage routine operations.
Responding Appropriately to Homeowners
Residents may approach directors outside meetings with complaints, requests, questions or concerns.
A director's responsibility is not necessarily to personally solve the problem. Depending on the issue, the appropriate response may be to direct the resident to management, ensure management is aware of the concern, or identify an issue that may require future Board consideration. Directors should be careful not to promise that a fine will be removed, a rule will be waived, a project will be approved, or that “the Board will do this” before the Board has actually acted.
Maintaining Confidentiality
Board members may receive information that is not appropriate for general distribution, including legal communications, delinquency information, violation matters, owner information, contract negotiations, personnel matters or other confidential Association business. That responsibility continues outside the Board meeting. Information learned through Board service should not become hallway conversation, social-media discussion, or information shared with friends and neighbors simply because a director personally knows them.
Managing Conflicts of Interest
If a director has a personal, business or financial interest connected to something being considered by the Association, the director should disclose the potential conflict and follow the appropriate process. Conflicts should not be hidden simply because the matter is being discussed informally or outside a scheduled meeting.
Committees & Special Projects
Directors may also serve as Board liaisons or participate in committees and special projects. Depending on what is happening at Element, this could involve reviewing information related to capital projects, insurance, budgets, architectural matters, community policies or other Board initiatives. Committee involvement does not automatically give an individual director authority to make decisions reserved for the Board.
Continuing Education
Good Board service also requires learning. Directors should become familiar with Element's Declaration, Bylaws, rules and policies, as well as the basic legal and financial responsibilities associated with condominium governance. Directors should also pay attention to changes in applicable Georgia law and guidance from the Association's professional advisors.
What Board Members Should NOT Be Doing Between Meetings
This part is especially important for your candidate orientation: Being elected to the Board does not make a director a property manager. Directors should not use their position to give themselves or friends special treatment, independently waive rules or fines, personally authorize Association spending without authority, direct vendors outside established procedures, interfere with management staff, disclose confidential information, promise residents a particular Board outcome, or present their personal opinion as an official decision of the Board.
A Director's Job Between Meetings
READ → REVIEW → ASK QUESTIONS → STAY INFORMED → PROVIDE OVERSIGHT → PREPARE TO DECIDE
The goal is not for directors to personally run the building every day. The goal is for directors to remain informed enough to govern Element responsibly when Board action is required.
Before You Decide to Run, What Else Should Candidates Know About Serving on the Board?
Serving on the Element Board means accepting responsibility for decisions involving other people's homes, Association funds, building operations, contracts, rules, major repairs and the long-term interests of the condominium. It is a volunteer leadership position, but it carries real responsibilities.
You Represent the Association — Not Just Yourself
Once elected, a director is no longer participating only as the owner of their individual unit. Board matters may require considering what is appropriate for Element Condominium Association as a whole, even when the decision is unpopular or different from what the director personally prefers.
Directors should also understand that disagreement among Board members is normal. The responsibility is to discuss the issue, review the available information and participate in the Board's decision-making process professionally.
You Will Handle Sensitive Information
Board members may receive information that ordinary residents do not receive, including delinquency information, violation matters, legal communications, contract negotiations and other confidential Association business. Being friends with another resident does not automatically give that resident access to information obtained through Board service. Confidential Board information stays confidential.
You Need to Read — A Lot
Board service can involve reviewing:
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Financial statements and budgets
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Reserve information
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Management reports
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Contracts and proposals
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Insurance information
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Legal correspondence
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Engineering reports
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Governing documents
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Meeting packets and minutes
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Policies and enforcement matters
Candidates should be comfortable saying “I don't understand this yet—please explain it” rather than voting on something they have not reviewed or understood.
You May Have to Make Unpopular Decisions
Board service is not always about choosing improvements residents will enjoy. Directors may have to consider assessment increases, reserve funding, expensive repairs, enforcement matters, insurance costs, major contracts, access requirements or other decisions that some owners dislike. A director should be willing to review the facts and governing requirements even when the easiest or most popular answer is different.
You Cannot Promise Results Before the Board Acts
Candidates should be particularly careful about campaign promises such as:
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“Elect me and I'll get rid of that rule.”
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“I'll make sure your fine gets removed.”
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“I'll stop that project.”
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“I'll fire that company.”
One director generally does not constitute the Board. A candidate can explain issues they want the Board to examine, but should understand that Association action may require discussion, proper procedure and a Board vote.
Board Service Requires Time Between Meetings
Candidates should expect responsibilities outside scheduled meetings. There may be emails to review, meeting packets to read, proposals to examine, questions from management, committee work, project updates, special meetings, emergencies or matters requiring timely attention. Someone should not run for the Board under the assumption that the entire commitment is one meeting per month.
Board Members Must Respect Management's Role
HomeOwners Advantage is there to professionally administer Element's operations. Board members provide governance and oversight. They should not unnecessarily become another layer of property management by individually directing employees, independently instructing contractors, interfering with routine operations or creating conflicting instructions. A particularly important rule for candidates to understand is: Board oversight does not mean individual director control.
Once the Board Decides, There Is One Board Decision
A director may vote against a motion. That disagreement can be properly reflected in the Association's records when appropriate. But directors should understand the difference between disagreeing during deliberation and subsequently attempting to undermine or countermand an action properly taken by the Board. Professional Board service requires being able to disagree without turning governance into personal conflict.
Georgia's Regulatory Environment Is Changing
Candidates joining the Board now should also understand that Georgia enacted the Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act (SB 406) in 2026. Some provisions became effective July 1, 2026, while significant additional provisions—including an Association registration framework and additional owner protections—take effect January 1, 2027. The Georgia Secretary of State says condominium developments are included within the covered owners' associations. That makes continued education particularly important for the incoming Board.