Have you Checked out a Link Meeting yet?
It has been quite a while since I’ve written an article highlighting RHAWA’s monthly LINK meetings as Legislative Session occupied much of my time earlier this year. Given that the Legislative Session is now over, I am excited to inform you once again about the benefits of attending our LINK meetings and share some exciting updates we have coming up.
If you haven’t attended a LINK meeting yet, you are certainly missing out on one of RHAWA’s most valuable regular opportunities. LINK meetings have traditionally occurred around the Puget Sound area. We host one in Snohomish and Pierce County and two in King County. These meetings occur on different days throughout the month to allow members to attend multiple meetings in one month if they desire. Each meeting has a different member volunteer who facilitates the meeting. They provide valuable insight into the benefits of RHAWA and how to make the most of your membership. Additionally, RHAWA provides unique content for each meeting that covers a variety of topics. From January to March, the LINK meeting content provided members with insight into the Rental Housing Association Coalition’s (RHAC) efforts fighting back against harmful policies presented by the state legislature. In some instances, LINK meeting attendees learned about updates to certain bills even earlier than we could send a call to action.
LINK meetings provide one of RHAWA’s most consistent opportunities for networking. Members from all walks of life attend LINK meetings and additionally these members will often be members owning or managing property in the same jurisdiction as you. This means that the members you are meeting are likely to be experiencing the same challenges that you are facing in your specific jurisdiction. LINK meetings connect you with many housing providers with diverse experiences who can help you expand your knowledge and provide insight on some of your most pressing questions. Building relationships with other housing providers allows you to run your rental property more effectively and can even introduce you to some new friends!
Moving on to some updates regarding LINK Meetings in 2024. First off, we will have a scheduling change regarding the Pierce County LINK Meeting. The Pierce County LINK meeting used to take place on the second Thursday of the month; however, it will now occur on the third Thursday of the month. This will allow more housing providers in Pierce County to attend the meeting. Additionally, the East King County LINK meeting now takes place at Dave and Busters Bellevue, where we have a private dining area with space for up to 30 attendees. There are currently no updates to the Snohomish County and South King County LINK meetings, but I encourage you to stay up to date on RHAWA Connections emails in order to receive updates about these meetings as quickly as possible when they arise or visit RHAwa.org/events/link-meetings to view details as well.
Another exciting update to our LINK meetings is the fact that we are planning to add two additional LINK meeting locations in 2024. If you read Melissa’s article welcoming Daniel Klemme to our staff, then you will know that RHAWA has a new staff member who will help us expand our opportunities in the Spokane County region. Daniel Klemme will assist in the development and implementation of a Spokane County LINK meeting which will have its first meeting later this year. Our membership in Spokane has expressed interest in getting more involved in RHAWA’s legislative efforts as well as expanding their knowledge about the association and a LINK meeting in their area will assist them in doing both. Once again, stay tuned to RHAWA’s emails to have the most up to date information on this new meeting. Information will also be available on our website and in the CURRENT newspaper when the details of this are finalized.
We consistently receive demand for a meeting location that is closer to downtown Seattle, so we will be adding one within Seattle proper, and a meeting location will be announced in the coming months.
We are currently accepting volunteers who would like to expand their influence within RHAWA membership and help their fellow members as well as RHAWA staff. Becoming a LINK meeting facilitator is one of RHAWA’s most valuable opportunities and it is also an opportunity which is rarely available. If you are interested in volunteering for this position, please email me at dbannon@RHAwa.org to be considered. I can help you learn everything there is to know about facilitating a LINK meeting and I will also be there to assist you with your first several meetings.
As always, if you have any questions about any of the meetings you can shoot me an email or give the advocacy line a call. Once the Spokane LINK meeting is active, you can reach out to Daniel Klemme with your questions! Thank you for taking the time to learn about the exciting updates to our LINK meeting lineup! I am looking forward to meeting you at one of our future LINK meetings!