Eastman Goes Viral!

By Bill Matson

Well, not exactly, but YouTube has helped us create new ways to keep the diverse population of our community informed about happenings. With 40% of owners reporting in the 2016 Community Survey that they are not full-time residents (defined as spending at least 2/3rds of their time in Eastman), the Eastman Community Association staff took on the challenge of creating a new approach to reaching out to those who are not able to attend meetings. The answer is found in new videos, designed to educate owners on the key topics facing the community.

It started with explaining the work of the Governance Task Force….

At 450+ pages, the report from the Governance Task Force that studied how Eastman is governed was more than even the most dedicated policy wonks could absorb. Still, the changes that are proposed are important, and the ECA Council is seeking feedback from owners as representatives deliberate the recommendations in the coming year. The solution was a series of short videos (most less than 5 minutes long) that explain the recommendations and the thinking behind them. You can find them by logging on to the Eastman Members’ Information Portal, eastmannh.us.

It then moved to broader education…..

Each year, an orientation session is held for newly elected Council Representatives. Finding a time when everyone can attend is a challenge. YouTube offered a solution, with a recorded session that offers all newly elected Reps a basic orientation about how the Council works and a second module that lays out the schedule and priorities for the coming year.

ECA General Manager Ken Ryder says he is excited about how technology can bring us together as a community and he even enjoyed his role as narrator for the Council training. He hopes all owners will take a few minutes to have a look at the videos on the Governance Task Force recommendations and share their thoughts on this new approach to communicating by sending a note to admin@eastmannh.org.

To watch the GTF YouTube videos, go to www.eastmannh. us/Page/24907~730922/Governance-Task-Force.

For the Council Orientation video, go to www.eastmannh. us/page/24907~806000/Council-Orientation-Training- Program.