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The Park Manager Tool Kit –

A Free Guide to Make a Park Manager’s Job Easier

Do you have the tools you need to be a successful manager?

Your residents count on you to provide great service and to be responsible for what happens in your park.

Being a park manager is not always easy, but with a few helpful tools you can show your residents that you are an effective manager. It’s important that people living within your park feel safe and know you are there to help. With just a few easy steps, you can create a plan that helps you create a residential environment that is friendly, relaxed and virtually free of worries.

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• Have a Plan
• Use These Tools
• Have a Goal
• Set a Deadline
• Handle the Details
• Events
  • Safety Events
  • Social Events
  • Outreach
• Communication

Have a Plan

You may have heard the saying “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” It’s very true when talking about a Community Plan for your park. You’ve already been given the role of manager, now it’s time to produce a happy, smoothly run park with content residents. Create a plan that’s working towards your residents’ best interests.

Use These Tools

The good news is you don’t have to go it alone. The Foremost Insurance Group has been insuring mobile homes for over 50 years and have put together some great tools for you to use in the role of park manager. From park events to everyday maintenance issues, they’ve got expert advice to share with you. So let’s get started!

Have a Goal

Every good plan starts with a goal. It may be getting your residents together more often than once every month. Or making sure each home has an emergency plan in place for when the severe weather strikes. Or creating more opportunities to talk about do-it-yourself projects. Or it could be a list of several objectives. Whatever it may be, make sure it’s something you feel you can accomplish.

Set a Deadline

Every plan must have a deadline. Think about how much time you can devote to your plan. A year? Six months? Maybe you’ll run a “pilot” program with your Community Plan to see what works or what doesn’t. It’s important to have a timeframe for your plan so you stay motivated to accomplish it.

Handle the Details

The success of your plan largely depends on the handling of the details. Break down the components of your plan into manageable details or action items.

For example divide your action items into distinct areas such as Events and Outreach. Further develop your events into subcategories like Safety and Social.

Now let’s take a look at the kinds of items you can put in your plan.

Events

Group outings and events bring people together. The more events you create at your park, the better your residents are going to get to know each other. And that leads to being a better neighbor. Chances are if you personally know who lives next door to you or across the street, you’ll be more aware of how your actions affect others, and more likely to be helpful when your neighbor needs a hand.

Safety Events

Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home. You and your residents have unique needs when it comes to safety, and at the same time face typical neighborhood and natural situations. The first thing you may think of is Community Watch programs that are active across the country in mobile home parks and neighborhoods everywhere. Community Watch programs help prevent crime and involve regular meetings and team captains. Typically the prevention methods involve theft and child abduction, but have now expanded to include identity theft, Internet safety and home security.

Community Watch programs are a great way to unite your park and have people look out for each other. Contact your local police/sheriff department to get involved with Community Watch. Usually a police officer provides the initial training and decals for your residents to place on a prominent home window. This is a wonderful first step to getting your park residents together. Once you’ve accomplished that, facilitate these follow-up Safety Events:

Saturday Morning Coffee and Doughnuts – This ties in with Community Watch and is a great way to pass out new information about crime prevention, or simply get together and talk. You can meet either at your home, the park office or community building, or designate a coffeehouse nearby where you can easily carpool. Create a simple flyer each week or month that addresses a safety issue like “10 Simple Ways to Keep Your Information Safe over the Internet,” or information about not allowing unidentified, unannounced service repair individuals into your home. These are easily researchable topics either on the Web, at the local library or through your local police department. Make sure to let your residents know you’re available for questions, and be prepared to answer them or refer the person to someone who can help.

Storm Safety and Planning – Mobile home parks present special challenges when bad weather hits. It’s extremely important to tell your residents they must follow evacuation orders when local authorities give them. Under no circumstances is it safe to remain in a mobile home after an evacuation order is given. Follow this order and lead by example. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. Prior to the season, hold a storm safety meeting either on the premise or at a designated location. Go through basic storm safety information like following evacuation orders and what to do once they are given. Additionally, print and distribute this important information at the meeting:

• Emergency Family Plan - Every family needs a plan when a disaster strikes. Print and hand out this information and encourage your residents to keep it handy.  

• Personal Property Inventory - An inventory is especially useful if your residents have a loss as a result of a disaster or crime situation. Download and print copies of a personal property inventory form. Also encourage your residents to review their insurance coverage every year because insurance needs change. Foremost Insurance Group provides a program designed specifically for mobile and manufactured homes.

• Emergency Kit Supply List - Every home needs a household emergency kit, and remember to refresh items every six months.

When thinking about storm safety, keep a roster of the names of each of your park residents so you can lead an evacuation or emergency action and account for everyone. Also, create a plan for elderly residents or disabled individuals who need additional assistance when a disaster or crisis develops.

Social Events

Planning safety events is important, but also think about the social aspects of your park. Do many of the households socialize together? How often do children play together? Do you see people talking to each other when they’re mowing the lawn or bringing in groceries? If the answer to these questions is a resounding no, or not often, think about how you can bring the park together through simple outings and social events.

You don’t have to plan an expensive party to bring people together. Social events are contagious so chances are if you get the ball rolling with an event you’ll have volunteers to plan the next event. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you want them to be. Here are a few examples:

• Teen Night – get the young adults of your park together once per month either at someone’s home, your community building or a roller rink or movie theater. Carpool and have a few adult chaperones, or designate responsible, older teenagers as leaders. This is a great way for what can sometimes be a difficult age group to get together – and hopefully make friends. Just remember to keep the event structured. Have a start and end time and make sure there are refreshments available for purchase or provide them yourself if you’re hosting an event at home. You can also host a similar event geared towards the whole family, or design it for singles.

• Day Trips – organize a bus trip to a shopping area, sporting event or other place of interest. Many companies will plan and provide the transportation and put together a package deal for one price per family.

• Knitting Groups – knitting groups are popular once again. Have a group get together once a month or each week at a different home.

• Rummage Sales – once every spring coordinate a rummage or park sale. Post flyers or use word of mouth to get people to clean out their homes and have a “block” sale. Coordinate supplies like tables, price tags and accounting supplies, and have a few children in the area sell lemonade. This is a smart way to raise money for other social events, or provide items for the park like a playground or a community garden area. You could also pick a favorite charity and donate all of the proceeds from your sale.

The possibilities are endless. Again, when planning a social event your goal is to bring people together. Think about events that would appeal to many people and keep the expenses manageable. Keep structure to the event, but also let people have time to talk to each other.

Outreach

One of the most fulfilling things you can do is reach out to people in your community, and especially in your park. Helping others in need is also contagious. When other people see how great it makes you feel they’ll want to become involved.

Outreach events in your park are a great way to build relationships and trust. Think about the needs of people living around you. Are there elderly people who need rides to medical appointments because they don’t have family nearby? Are there new parents who would benefit from talking to other parents? Below are examples of some outreach events you can coordinate without too much effort:

• Put together a group of “First Responders” in the park. Have volunteers learn CPR and how to respond to a crisis. Know each person’s cell phone number or how to reach them in an emergency. Your local chapter of the American Red Cross facilitates workshops and training and may be available to hold a session at your park. Having a volunteer emergency group is also useful during severe weather to assist with evacuation or other emergency situation.

• Assemble a group of volunteers to assist the elderly. This could mean a variety of services including transportation, grocery shopping, snow shoveling, landscaping, or just checking in on an elderly or disabled person on a daily basis. This is a great outreach activity for young people or for someone who is recently retired.

• Offer a babysitting safety course through the American Red Cross and get young people in your park certified in CPR, both infant and adult. Post lists of available babysitters through flyers, word of mouth or by e-mail to parents in the park. This is great for parents who are new to the area and for a teenager who wants to earn extra money.

• Hold fix-it sessions once per month or week depending on interest. Mobile homes require some unique maintenance. Many issues can be easily remedied with simple instruction. Find topics for these sessions on www.MyGreatHome.com, or request a copy of the Mobile Home Fix-It Guide from the Foremost Insurance Group. Have a question about maintenance? Ask an expert at www.MyGreatHome.com.

• Find out who recently had a baby in the park and offer to connect them with other parents in the park. Having an infant can be an overwhelming experience and having a support system nearby can ease some of that anxiety.

Outreach activities are easy to coordinate and have lasting effects on the community. You might be surprised how easy it is to find volunteers when you set the example and show interest in reaching out within your park.

Communication

Communication is one of the most powerful tools you have to work with when it comes to your residents. Take advantage of the tools you have to reach each household in your park:

• E-mail – most people have a computer in their home. E-mail is an easy, non-intrusive way to get the word out about park activities. Set up a distribution list of all of your residents, so when you’re ready to send a message you can simply pick one address marked “Park” for example. Send out an e-newsletter or message once per month with a calendar of events. 

• Phone – Keep all the phone numbers of each household in the park on hand. This is vital in emergencies and also useful to spread the word about upcoming events. Ask your residents if they’d be interested in receiving a phone call when a park event is coming up.

• Flyers – post flyers on a park office bulletin board. Make it creative and call it something like the “Community Corner” where residents know they can get information.

• Newsletter – Create a park newsletter. Ask for assistance from either a student or a retired person who is interested in writing or designing. Make sure to include photographs of events. People love to see their picture in the paper!

• Office Hours - As a park manager, post office hours for a couple of hours on the weekend. Let your residents know you’ll be available in the park office or at your home. If you feel comfortable, make your e-mail address available if they have questions but don’t have time to drop by. Let residents post “comment cards” in your mailbox or at the park office with suggestions or comments.

A little planning goes a long way. But using these tips you can create a Community Plan for your park that promotes neighborliness, comfort and most importantly, safety.