By Chris Parrish

Greetings - I hope this issue of Community Connections finds everyone well and business improving. I, along with hundreds of my peers in the business, attended the NCC and ULI-MHCC Forum in Las Vegas this past April and believe it was one of the best programs that the land-lease community sector has ever assembled. The real credit goes to Ann Parman and the rest of the MHI staff, along with the forum planning chair and NCC Vice-Chair, Greg O’Berry with Hometown America.

The program content and format was well received and highlighted the real issues and concerns that affect all community owners. Whether you attended this year’s forum or have never attended one, please mark your calendar for the next Congress & Expo to take place April 26-28, 2011. This is truly a must attend meeting where you will gain valuable knowledge, insight and have the opportunity to network with key industry insiders.

The MHI-NCC Summer Meeting is this July 13-15 in Washington, D.C. Not only do we conduct NCC business at the meeting, we also spend a day on Capitol Hill meeting with our House Representatives and Senators to enlighten them on the positive impact of our industry and to engage them in solving our pressing concerns.

We cannot build and foster relationships in Congress without your individual help. Although MHI staff are our tireless advocates in Washington, I cannot stress enough how important an impact each individual creates when you can meet face-to-face with your Congressman.

No matter what size or segment of the community business you are involved in, the NCC is our one unified voice and guardian of our principles. Whether it is offering assistance to states, fighting for us on Capitol Hill, or working with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or dozens of other entities dealing with consumer and community issues, the NCC along with MHI is representing our interests. But we need the industry’s support!

As always, I welcome comments, suggestions, or anything that is on your mind relative to the MHI-NCC and the land-lease community asset class. You can email me at
chris@parrishmanor.com.