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Join us at the 2008 MADACS Awards! September 19th - MADACS Awards You are invited to the 13th Annual MADACS Awards Gala at the beautiful Depot in downtown Minneapolis (http://www.thedepotminneapolis.com/). Tickets are $69 per person. To view the invitation, click here. RSVP: 952-548-2211 or email stacey.winston@mmha.com by September 2nd.
2007 MADACS Award Winner for CIC Manager
by Steve Hoogenakker, Taylor
Made Landscape
Congratulations to Stacy Ekholm, CommonBond Communities, for winning the 2007 MADACS CIC Manager Award. Two others, Angie Fleming of Mid Continent Management, and Kate Wallin, Cities Management, were also honored at the Minnesota Multi Housing Association's annual gala, attended by nearly 900 people in the industry.
"The MADACS Award process was wonderful! CommonBond's president, Richard Hutsell, nominated me," Stacy says. "Being nominated was an honor, but winning was a greater honor. The questions asked by the MADACS award committee were insightful and very good."
Stacy grew up in Cottage Grove, and still lives there today with her husband and four-year-old child. At age 18, Stacy was interested in becoming an architect. She got a small scholarship, but it wasn’t enough to pay for college. So she started selling real estate. Even though most clients weren’t too excited about putting their real estate needs in the hands of an 18-year-old, she was still able to sell a couple of houses.
When asked for the advice she would give to others, Stacy says that a sense of humor is very important to success in her field. She also feels that you can’t take problems personally, even when residents lash out at you. And staying educated is a good way to improve your skills and make your work life easier.
One of her most memorable moments in property management came at a 300-unit site in Shakopee. An investor was renting out his unit. The tenant had two large dogs that were leaving messes on the neighbors' properties. When the neighbors complained, the tenant put up a fence around the unit, which was against the rules, and denied the dogs were making a mess. So the neighbors got together and started taking shifts with cameras -- performing surveillance on the offending neighbor! CommonBond manages more than 4,500 units in 36 communities in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin and expects to double its size in the next five years. They are the largest provider of affordable housing in the Upper Midwest. Stacy credits some of CommonBond's success to its commitment to give back. Property management fees help support CommonBond’s Advantage Service Program. Through this program CommonBond is able to help families, seniors and special needs residents through its social service programs. Programs such as: tutoring and education programs at family sites, aging in place programs at senior sites, and individual and independent living programs at special needs communities.
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