As Some Leaders Depart, PHADA Wants You!
PHADA President David A. Northern, Sr.
Two longtime members of PHADA’s Board of Trustees recently retired so I wanted to recognize their valuable service to the association. At the same time, I want to reiterate a point I mentioned in my last column. We need – and want – the support and participation of members and more leaders to ensure PHADA remains an effective advocate and provides the types of services desired by the membership.
Jody Geese, Belmont Metropolitan Housing Authority.
Jody Geese was with the Belmont Metropolitan Housing Authority (BMHA) in Ohio since 1989 and served as the Executive Director since 1998. BMHA was consistently rated a high performer under her stewardship. In addition to her role with PHADA, Jody was a member of NAHRO and Past President of the Ohio Housing Authorities Conference (OHAC).
An accountant by training, Jody was particularly helpful to PHADA over the years on issues such as asset and cash management. She is a fervent advocate for our programs, who testified on a variety of legislative matters several times before the House of Representatives housing subcommittee. Jody and her husband, Randy (a former ED, also retired), were always great ambassadors for PHADA. We will miss them both very much and wish them all the best.
JKen Vaughan, Jefferson County Housing Authority.
Ken Vaughan is one of my neighbors in the Birmingham, AL region, serving as Executive Director of the Jefferson County Housing Authority. Ken began his career in public housing in 1992 as Deputy Director for the Troy Housing Authority. He moved to Jefferson County in 2013.
Like Jody Geese, Ken was a longtime Trustee and was active on our Membership Committee, helping to promote PHADA’s agenda especially within the southeast region. In addition to his role with PHADA, he was with the Alabama Association of Housing & Redevelopment Authorities, (AAHRA) serving as president in 2007-08. Among other contributions, Ken helped raise a lot of youth scholarship funds for his state and PHADA, helping organize charity/golf fundraising events over the years. We wish Ken well in retirement.
We Need More Leaders Like Jody and Ken
In my last column, I noted that we have seen a wave of retirements in our industry though a natural progression of the calendar. More are coming. PHADA has been fortunate that more members have stepped up over the last few years to become more involved in the organization. They have done so because they see value in it for their professional careers and it benefits the industry too.
There is a lot going on in Washington as evidenced by the other reports in this edition of Advocate. In fact, many of us believe we are at a crossroads where the stakes for our industry could not be higher. Consequently, it is vital for members to help PHADA take the future into our own hands to shape a new and positive direction for our programs.
As a truly member-driven association, we urge all our members to share their expertise to help influence the future and set the priorities for the coming decade. In return, you will gain valuable opportunities to hone your professional and leadership skills, network with a wide range of colleagues and leaders, and further your expertise in your areas of interest.
We have our annual IN-PERSON Commissioners Conference coming up this January in San Diego. This is a great opportunity for members to get more involved. The committee meeting schedule is available here. Almost all those meetings are open to members so please feel free to attend as we discuss some of the most important and timely matters at the onset of a new year.
If you cannot make it to San Diego, but want to get more involved, please take a moment and complete and submit the form, available here. Our staff will then make sure you are placed on a PHADA committee. Thank you for your interest and participation.