We are always looking for ways offer additional benefits and savings opportunities for our clients. We believe we've found the answer which is INNOVIA! INNOVIA is the first ever Management Company Cooperative formed by CCA Global Partners (www.ccaglobal.com), a specialist in the implementation of national cooperatives (Carpet One is their flagship) throughout the U.S. The idea was the brainchild of our CEO (my father) Lou and Howard Brodsky, CEO of CCA Global. The purpose of INNOVIA is to bring together property management firms from across the U.S. so the aggregation of goods and services can be achieved at a much greater discount then by doing it on your own. As one of the 12 founding members of INNOVIA (and growing) we've already achieved 12% saving on our trash hauling costs and have seen the opportunity for 10-12% savings in energy procurement (gas/electric). We expect to see additional savings opportunities in office products, insurance, mortgages, pest control, and flooring among many others. There are plans to have a homeowner component to the platform where there will be savings on just about anything the consumer could need or want from restaurant discounts to discounts at national retailers. INNOVIA is a game changer in our industry and nothing like this has ever been done for management companies. We are proud to be a part of this exclusive group and look forward to offering these savings to our homeowner / condominium association clients. Justin Gargiolo is the senior vice president and director of corporate operations for Great North Property Management Inc., Boston.