Book excerpt: I wrote this book to serve as a "primer" on the basics of what you can do to: - Make your personal time on the board more satisfying - Produce value for the homeowners in your HOA - Encourage other homeowners to volunteer to make their HOA a better place to live. This is a "foundation" book. I want you, as a volunteer board member, to have a foundation of knowledge in what a homeowners association is and how it should work. I have seen too many homeowners associations in which new board members have no basic knowledge in association best practices and they get caught up in the emotions of making decisions for their neighbors. Their volunteer time turns in to a frustrating experience and the existing problems persist with the association. With a good foundation, I believe you will be able to learn more about community associations and the common issues that confront them. With this book, you will have an outline that will help you organize your thoughts, build on a solid framework and make your volunteer time valuable to you and to your neighbors.