The drawbacks of serving on a board are well known. For one thing, it’s a lot of work. Hours of work, of poring over spreadsheets, of talking to  property managers and vendors and residents and tenants when you could be  watching the big game. And what compensation do you get for all your blood,  sweat and tears? Not a penny. Up front, that’s a lousy deal—labor and emotional investment with no reward.  

 Then there are the social aspects. You’re a trustee on the board, so you have power –or, at least, you’re perceived to have power.  

 People treat you differently. Some of them recoil like you’re Darth Vader. Others polish your apple, in hopes of future as-yet-unnamed favors or special treatment. And some, upon seeing you in the lobby, innocently retrieving your mail, seize the opportunity to grouse,  complain and bellyache over anything and everything that might be wrong with  the property –or what they believe is so.  

 And then there are the risks. While insurance does insulate a board memberfrom most sticky situations, short of fraud or gross negligence, serving as a board member does expose you to litigation more than, say, not serving as a  board member would. The fewer subpoenas in your life, the better.  

 Serving on the board is a difficult job to be sure. And yet people all over New  England, in every community association in the region, willingly populate the  boards of their HOAs. Why do they do it? Has “The God-father” muscle man Luca Brasi put them up to it, made them an offer they can’t refuse? Are they doing penance, atoning for some fiduciary sin? What possible  benefits can there be to taking such a thankless job?  

 When board members and trustees are asked about the benefits of being on the  board, their first response might be a joke. “There are none!”  

 But after the initial humorous reaction has worn off, people come clean. There  are some tangible benefits, as it turns out. Here are some of them, in no  particular order:  

 Protecting Your Investment

 Every major religion in the world stresses the importance of charitable works.  New Age writers preach likewise, albeit in different terms. What the Pope would  call charity, the Hindus call karma, and others call “outflow.” It's all the same thing: you give because, on a cosmic scale, it benefits you  to do so. In short, it’s good for the soul.  

 But here’s a more mercenary reason for serving on the board: you’ve invested a big chunk of change in your residence, and you’d like to protect your investment. What better way to do that than by getting  intimately acquainted with every decision that could affect your home?  

 Bob Shepard, board president at River Colony in Guilford, Connecticut, became re-involved in the board there  precisely because he was worried about property values at the 59-unit complex on the Connecticut shoreline.

 Shepard had first served as presidentfor a couple of years in the mid-‘80s, shortly after the rental complex had been converted into condos.  

 “Over the years, the complex had developed a reputation as a good placeto live. But it was faced with the same problems of every complex that gets to  be 30 years old – heavy-duty maintenance issues, wood rot, water leaks, all that kind of stuff,” he says.  

 About four years ago, Shepard became increasingly concerned because, he says, maintenance issues that were affecting the community’s property values weren’t being addressed. Shepard then ran for the board, became president and notesthat “we ended up embarking on a $700,000-plus renovation project.”  

 With support from his property manager and other board members, Shepard  initiated a major project in which they replaced rotted wood, fixed leaks, repaired interior damageand replaced decaying balconies, among other items.

 In addition, Shepard says they did some landscape renovation, built up their  capital reserves, and developed long-range maintenance plans along with “the ability to do the capital financing necessary.”  

 “We’re just about done,” says Shepard of the restoration project.” Theproperty, he says “looks good.” Also looking good is the value of Shepard’s unit, which has undoubtedly bounced back after all the work put into the  community.  

 Good Career Builder

 Yet another bottom-line reason: serving on a board can be good for your career – whether you’re employed or not.

 For those who are out of work, the experience offers invaluable networking opportunities, according to Andrew Brown, president of Career Ventures  Consulting Services Inc., in Boston. “When you’re involved and networking, you’re meeting people. You’re developing new contacts whenever you volunteer for any board. They get to  know who you are, what you’re about, your skills and so forth.”  

 The business contacts that board members make are especially valuable because “you develop a nice relationship with them. They respect you and you respect them  in return and one hand washes the other. You develop a network and move  forward,” he says.  

 Also not to be overlooked, says Brown, are better contacts with other condo  owners, many of whom may own businesses or have job leads. When you’re on the board, Brown says, “People will take note of who you are. In a condominium, you get to know the  various people who live there. So that’s always a nice networking advantage,” he says.  

 For those who are employed, serving on a condo board can be a career-booster because it gives board members hands-on experience in a multi-million dollar business, says Brown. “If you’re on the board you’re talking about understanding the books and the budget. If you’re on the board you’re dealing with public relations, how to keep everybody happy. You’re talking about maintenance and grounds keeping and dealing with contractors. You’re probably doing some advertising. You’re figuring out if things have to bedone, how do you raise money? So you can’t beat that experience.”  

 The experience that board members get can help them even if it’s not directly related to their field of employment, Brown says. For example, he says, someone  who works in information technology who learns about budgetingfrom his or her board work can apply that to their job. “Every department has to have a budget; they will be able to go into their (IT)  budget and look at the line items and know how to utilize those things. It’s an excellent opportunity,” he says.  

 Friendship and Fellowship

 Is serving on the board fun? Yes andno. But one of the benefits is getting to know people you might not otherwise  get to spend time with.  

 Diane Roberts, board chair a Starlight Village in Ashland, Massachusetts, says she has gotten to know hundreds of people through her 12-year involvement with her condo. “Before I became a board member, I was on various committees. I was on every committee the condo had at one time or another,” she says.

 Roberts has also developed social contacts as chair of the JAC (Joint Advisory  Committee), a loose coalition of Ashland condominiums that discusses common  issues, and holds a variety of social events, including a large fall annual cookout attended by  about 400 owners.  

 Shepard echoes many when he says the friendships he developed on the board have proved to be unusually rewarding. “I enjoy working with ­people that are motivated and help-ful and interested and qualified,” he says.  

 Sense of Accomplishment

 Whether a learned societal response, or a deep-seated aspect of our DNA, the idea of duty, utility and  accomplishment is a prime motivator. This, then, is another benefit of being on  the board: sense of accomplishment.  

 That sense of accomplishment can behuge, especially when board members can look around where they live and see the  results of their painstaking efforts. And, notes Shepard, “On a day-to-day basis, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. But when you stop and look around, you  can see things are better off because of your efforts, and that is a good  feeling.”  

 Shepard says that volunteering for a condo board is quite different than the traditional working world – where many people labor for large companies and rarely see the results of their work. “The difference is night and day. You can clearly see the problems that existed  are being solved,” he says.  

 Greg Olear is a freelance writer, novelist, and a frequent contributor to New  England Condominium magazine and other publications. Managing Editor Jim  Douglass contributed to this report.