October 2020 | Goodwin & Company

2020 has been a year of social changes due to our country’s adjustments to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even Halloween has become impacted by social distancing mandates with many traditional happenings like haunted attractions and trick or treating being hampered or canceled as a whole.

While we believe that it’s important for your association to follow its local health guidelines to quell the spread of coronavirus, we also feel that you and your communities deserve to have some fall fun.

Here are some socially distant ideas that can serve as fun substitutes for traditional Halloween events.

Schedule a Remote Movie Night

Everyone loves to watch a good spooky movie at this time of the year. While we would usually recommend a community lawn viewing with a blow-up screen and projector, this isn’t the year to do that.

Instead, your community can come together via social media and enjoy the camaraderie of a shared movie experience. While this may take some more footwork on the association’s end, your team can create an event that involves participants watching a specific movie at a planned time. They can then hop on a chat application like Zoom and have a blast talking about all of their favorite parts after the movie ends!

Create a Pumpkin Display Lane

One of the biggest Halloween traditions is pumpkin carving. This is something that families can do from the comfort of their own homes without potential exposure to the virus.

Like the movie night, set a contest date for families to have their carvings completed, then put them on display outside of the home. Families can then enjoy the feel of Halloween as they leisurely stroll through their neighborhood and take in a family friendly fall experience. Looking to guarantee involvement? Make it a contest and provide a gift card for the house with the most votes!

Prepare Fall Treats With the Family

Another way your community members can play it safe this fall is to stay inside and create traditional fall goodies for the family. Halloween themed treats like candied apples, pumpkin bread, and Trick or Treat Trail Mix are all fun, simple recipes that can keep the festive spirit in the air.

Trick or Treat…Safely

Let’s face it, trick or treating is a true tradition, and unless your location mandates that it’s forbidden, your kids are likely going to want to show off their costumes door to door for candy. As a board member, all you have to do is apply stricter guidelines to your community.

Some suggestions can be:

Everyone participating must wear a mask
Social distancing must be in effect
Encourage residents to leave a bowl of candy at the doorstep and/ or individually wrap little goodie bags of a candy assortment to further decrease transmission risks.
Request signs that ask trick or treaters to sanitize before dipping their hands in the candy bucket

Keep Your HOA Fun with the Help of Goodwin & Company

Being a leading member of your association comes with a slew of responsibilities that can easily consume your time and prevent your board from properly planning fun events for your community to enjoy.

Goodwin & Company can help lift some of the weight off of your board member’s shoulders by taking over complex responsibilities like financial collections, legal obligations, and vendor services. This frees up your board’s time to create a true community with safe and fun events that bring neighbors together. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Convenient Payment Options

One of the biggest reasons homeowners love online portals is that payments are now as simple as the click of a mouse. Portals make paying fees and dues a convenient process that eliminates the need for envelopes, stamps, and above all, time.

Your leadership can receive payments instantaneously, and quickly move on to the next important topic without the stress of extra bookkeeping.

Residents Receive Quicker Response Times

Sometimes maintenance emergencies happen and residents need a fast way to relay a message to association leadership. Online maintenance requests make it simple for owners to get in touch and report their maintenance issues and continue on with their day.

The portal is also helpful due to the fact that management can easily document and track orders, while also effectively overseeing the project and keeping owners informed via portal access.

Transparency Becomes Simple

No homeowner wants to have to wait for account information to come to them after a request. Usually, information like use restrictions or payment amounts and due dates are things that an owner would want to view instantly and on their own time.

An online portal makes transparency a priceless amenity for association members who wish to view their private information at the moment they need it.

Online Portals Bring Together an Association

Much like social media, online portals can be an outlet for community members to communicate with each other and become closer neighbors. Through forums, community calendars, meeting notes, and general neighborhood updates, no homeowner has a reason to be left out of the loop when important information arises.

Boost Your Association Technology With Goodwin & Company

Our management team believes in making your association the absolute best it can be. We utilize the latest technology to ensure that your leadership and homeowners are able to efficiently communicate and easily make association information available to any homeowner.

If you’re a member of an association board who knows their community needs professional management to help elevate its standards, Goodwin & Company is ready to help! Contact us today to learn more about our services.