Condo Media - October 2016 - 48

Volunteer Spotlight

Calm in the Face of Disaster
Honoring Judy Norton, CAI's Volunteer of the Year
If you have ever purchased a new home, then
you know the excitement of moving in, getting
settled, and meeting your new neighbors. What
you have probably never experienced is what Joann
Beer did: major flooding
four weeks after your arrival
that forced you to relocate
from your new home. "I
hadn't even unpacked, and I
had to move out for a year,"
she recalls.
The disaster struck
on May 12, 2014, when a
broken pipe caused about
27,000 gallons of water to
gush down from the top of
a ninth-floor stairwell of
Crossroads on the Charles-
a Watertown, Mass., luxury
condominium property-in
about 18 minutes.
Obviously, fast action was
required. About two-thirds
of the building's 66 units
were impacted, and those
residents had to be relocated and their belongings stored or moved. Then came
the mind-boggling task of remediation and dealing with
everyone from contractors and local officials to insurance adjustors.
Trustee Judy Norton, who was then the board chair,
worked closely with the association's property management firm, First Realty Management Corp. of Boston,
Mass., to handle the situation. "She was very helpful
with the flood situation," Beer says. "To see what she
had to take on was just incredible. She put in hours way

beyond what one normally does in that situation."
Norton's fellow board member Paul Cravedi agrees,
saying, "I kidded her that we couldn't afford to pay her
overtime, because the hours she put in were like a fulltime job." He adds that, even
though it wasn't required, she
attended every meeting and every walkthrough, then reported
back to the board. "You'd be
hard-pressed to find a person
with her work ethic, diligence,
and knowledge," he says.
While total reconstruction of
the building's west wing dominated the work of the board for
over a year, other projects have
been percolating, too. Under
Norton's leadership, the Master
Deed and Declaration of Trust
have been updated, and the
Rules and Regulations are now
being updated, as well.
Several capital improvements have also been made to
the property. Updating the east
wing to match the renovated
west was a priority, as was waterproofing the plaza/garage roof. Currently, the board is engaged in restoration
of all of the balconies, a process that required diplomacy
with the residents when bids came in that were much
higher than expected and the whole process had to start
again from scratch.
The former vice president of a large bank, now retired, Norton also brings a high level of financial expertise to her role, meticulously reviewing the association's
monthly reports from First Realty. "It's almost like
having an auditor," Cravedi says.
For Norton, being a volunteer is a way of life. She was
the board chair for the condominium complex where
she previously resided for 10 years, and she also served
as president of the Women's Golf Association of Massachusetts, historian and secretary for the Women's
Eastern Golf Association, and a board member for the
Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund and the Massachusetts Golf Association.
No wonder she has been honored as CAI's Volunteer
of the Year!

JUDY NORTON

"She was very helpful with the
flood situation. To see what
she had to take on was just
incredible. She put in hours
way beyond what one normally
does in that situation."
48

CONDOMEDIA

Condo Media - October 2016

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