Condo Media - June 2019 - 64

Ask a Busy Person
How did you get involved in association management? My career path
wasn't a straight line. After earning an
MBA, I went into sales, working for a
company that sold industrial cutting
tools. But when a recession hit the manufacturing sector, business dried up and
I had to find something else to do. I was
president of the board of a condominium
I had bought in my early 20s. The developer of the community had noticed what
I was doing and offered me a job helping
to manage the new condominiums he
was creating. I went to work for him and
was doing well, but then the real estate
recession hit and I was unemployed
again. With a baby on the way, I needed
to work, so I took a part-time job at
a local deli.
The manager there said,
"What are you
doing here,"
and told me to
send my resume
to her mother, who worked for a credit
card processing company. The company
was expanding and needed someone to
direct facilities management. I worked
there for several years, and then took a
similar facilities management position at
a growing placement firm. I enjoyed the
work, but I was living in New Hampshire,
and the commute to the Boston area
every day was wearing. So when a New
Hampshire condominium management
company offered me a job, I jumped at it.
Your job experience didn't seem to
be a training ground for condominium management. Actually, facilities
management and association management have a lot in common-both
involve managing people, places and
things. Also, I had served as president
of my condominium association for
several years, so I had that background.
But I think it's my personal history,
more than anything, that made association management such a good fit. I grew
up in a small town and my family was
very involved in the community and
in philanthropic activities. It always

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CONDOMEDIA June 2019

depending on me. I had some preparation because, in my first sales job, all
the corporate officers were killed in
a private plane crash. I drew on what
I had learned from that tragedy to
handle this one, and help bring
stability to the company.

PAUL OKONAK, CMCA, AMS
VICE PRESIDENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES,
THE EVERGREEN HARVARD GROUP,
AN ASSOCIA COMPANY
impressed me how they managed to
combine work with their commitment
to making the community better.
That philosophy is part of my DNA
and it's why I respect association board
members and enjoy working with
them. Most board members volunteer
because they want to make their communities better.
What do you enjoy most about your
work? The people. We're in the
people business. Taking care of the
infrastructure is easy; it's the people
aspect that makes our job challenging
and interesting. I love sitting in meetings, reading between the lines of what
people are saying to understand their
real motives. Once you understand why
people are saying what they are saying,
then you can get things done.
What do you enjoy least? Night
meetings-and people who pretend to be
smarter or more important than others.
What's the biggest challenge you've
faced? Stepping up to run Evergreen
when its owner, Tom Ducharme, died
suddenly. That was frightening and
humbling. There were a lot of people-
employees, their families and clients-

You've been active in CAI-NE for
many years. What's your current
focus there? I serve on the New
Hampshire Legislative Action Committee (NHLAC). I'm not an attorney, but
Evergreen is one of the largest management companies in New Hampshire,
so I think I add a useful perspective.
I also do a lot of speaking at seminars
and conferences. I try to provide helpful
information to attendees but I also learn
a lot from them. Everyone has stories to
tell and relevant experiences to share.
What does it take to be a good association manager? Patience, the ability
to multitask, and the ability to talk to all
kinds of people. You have to be equally
comfortable talking to a landscaper
and to a board member who is the head
of a multi-million-dollar company.
Good managers are also proactive-
they shouldn't be order-takers, waiting
for instructions from the board. They
should aggressively identify issues and
suggest plans for addressing them.
Do you think at
all about what
you might like
to do after
you retire?
Perhaps sit
on another condo
board to give back to that
community. But if I weren't doing what
I'm doing, I'd probably drive a dump
truck. I'd pick things up and put things
down; someone would tell me what to
do and where to go, and at the end of
the day, I'd go home feeling satisfied that
I'd helped to build something tangible.
I wouldn't be the decision-maker, but
I'd know I had contributed to the project in some way with lasting effects.
Condo Media - June 2019

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