The Plaza on New York Community Association is a 154-unit association located in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The Challenge

Since their inception, the Plaza on New York Community Association and the Plaza on New York Rowhomes' Association have been deeply intertwined. From sharing numerous amenities, and interchangeable board members to a sense of unity amongst owners, the two associations have often worked in unity throughout their operations despite being separate entities.

That is why after careful consideration and guidance from their legal counsel, the boards of the Plaza on New York Community Association and the Plaza on New York Rowhomes' Association determined that merging the associations together would be the best course of action moving forward and the group quickly began the planning for a Membership Merger Meeting.

Aware of the importance of these meetings, the boards of both associations knew that having maximum owner participation would be crucial to achieving their goal and moving forward with the merger. And after some internal discussions and reviewing their options, the group determined that holding their upcoming Membership Merger Meeting virtually would be the most effective way to get the required participation they needed for their upcoming meeting.

So with a plan in place and a goal in mind, the boards of the Plaza on New York Community Association and the Plaza on New York Rowhomes' Association began their search for a viable solution they could use to run their upcoming meetings.

The Solution

Shortly after beginning their search for a virtual meeting platform to run their Membership Merger Meeting, the group quickly recognized that they required more than just a secure, reliable platform to host their meeting if they were going to succeed in moving forward with the merger.

Despite the increased accessibility holding the meeting virtually would provide owners, the group knew that a percentage of owners would still be unable to attend the meeting. To ensure they would get adequate participation to proceed with the merger, they would also require a dynamic solution that would allow owners to securely and conveniently cast proxy votes ahead of the meeting, making standalone webinar software wholly insufficient.

Unsure of where to begin their search for such a solution, the Plaza on New York Community Association President, Lynne Johnson, decided to reach out to their trusted legal counsel, Patrick Costello, for suggestions, who instinctively recommended GetQuorum.

Intrigued by what they heard, Lynne and the group decided to reach out to GetQuorum directly to learn more about their Virtual Meeting solution. And after their initial encounter with the GetQuorum team, the group recognized that working with GetQuorum would be imperative to the success of their meeting and accomplishing the goal of merging the two associations.

On the product side, GetQuorum's Virtual Meeting platform was exactly what they needed; a secure, user-friendly platform that would allow owners to join and participate in the meeting seamlessly from anywhere. At the same time, the GetQuorum voting portal would provide owners with a secure, convenient way to submit live votes during the meeting and proxy votes beforehand. And while impressed with the technology and its capabilities, what truly stood out for the Plaza on New York Community Association and the Plaza on New York Rowhomes' Association team was GetQuorum's client-first mentality and the expertise that their team had demonstrated throughout their encounters.

The GetQuorum team was knowledgeable and experienced; they ensured the group felt confident using their solution by walking them through the process from start to finish while answering any questions they had along the way.

Their full-service approach also meant that in addition to meeting moderation and ongoing technical support, the GetQuorum team would also provide ongoing pre-meeting administrative support to ensure they would achieve the necessary participation. From collecting owner consent for electronic communications to sending numerous reminders to their 150 plus owners to submit their proxy votes, the GetQuorum team would relieve the group of crucial, time-consuming administrative tasks. While actively monitoring and adjusting their pre-meeting campaign to ensure their meeting would succeed.

The Result

The Membership Merger Meeting couldn't have gone better with the Plaza on New York Community Association and the Plaza on New York Rowhomes' Association successfully passing the bylaw to proceed with the merger.

The ongoing support, user-friendly platform, and streamlined procedures made for a seamless meeting and voting experience for all those involved. And there was unanimous consent across the Plaza on New York Community Association and the Plaza on New York Rowhomes' boards that using GetQuorum was integral in achieving their goal.

Looking ahead, Lynne and the rest of the group view GetQuorum as a trusted, go-to resource that will play an integral part in helping the association achieve their goals at future governance meetings.

"GetQuorum provided extraordinary support and an amazing experience for accomplishing our merger of two associations. We wouldn't have attained our goal without their devotion and commitment as they worked professionally and diligently to support our Board with guidance, meetings, training, and continual communication with us and our homeowners. GetQuorum is an efficient and excellent organization that can help you accomplish whatever you need to get done for your community or company. We are forever grateful to their amazing team!" - Lynne Johnson, President, Plaza on New York Community Association

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