Make Sure to Attend a Link Meeting This Year!
LINK meetings consistently serve as one of the most engaging and beneficial monthly opportunities RHAWA provides. Sitting down with your fellow members and RHAWA staff to discuss the issues that are currently facing your area provides incredible insight into the priorities of the association as well as helping you make new connections with your peers. LINK meetings are one of the only opportunities RHAWA provides outside of our larger events where you have the opportunity to meet RHAWA staff in person and learn more about the association. I hope you make it a priority to take advantage of this opportunity in 2025.
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. This year our lineup has expanded; we host one in Snohomish, Spokane, and Pierce County as well as three 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 and can 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 April, 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 these members will often be owning or managing property in the same areas as you. This means that the members you are meeting are likely to be experiencing the same challenges that you are facing under your local rental regulations. 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 2025. We have added two new LINK meetings in the last few months. One of our most highly demanded locations, North King County / Seattle, is now active and has already fostered a consistent and engaged group of regular attendees. On the other side of the state, the Spokane Valley LINK meeting has introduced our eastside members to the concept of a LINK meeting. The Spokane meeting is a little different from the meetings on the west side, taking place as a lunch meeting – 12pm-1:30pm – instead of dinner time. There are currently no updates to our other preexisting 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 or visit RHAwa.org/events/link-meetings to view details as well. You can also find information about all of these meetings in our upcoming events section of CURRENT or on the LINK meeting featured on page 32.
Next on the agenda for LINK meeting expansion is the addition of another Spokane area meeting, as well as bringing this opportunity up north and down south to Bellingham and Vancouver, respectively. Planning for the Bellingham LINK meeting is already well under way, and we look forward to the official launch later this year.
We are still open to considering volunteers who would like to expand their influence within RHAWA membership and help their fellow members as well as RHAWA staff. We are looking to continue to expand LINK meetings across the state, and you can be the difference in making this happen in your area! Becoming a LINK meeting facilitator is one of RHAWA’s most valuable opportunities, and it is also an opportunity that 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.
We are looking forward to meeting you at one of our future LINK meetings!
As always, if you have any questions about any of the meetings, reach out to us as follows:
Western WA: Daniel Bannon | dbannon@RHAwa.org | (206) 905-0609
Eastern WA: Daniel Klemme | dklemme@RHAwa.org | (206) 905-0611