HALL OF FAME
Freda Poundstone
BY DENNIS MALONE
In 1979 and 1980 Freda Poundstone helped guide two very important issues that the
Colorado Apartment Association was working on.
First was the state-wide home rule Rent Control law which stated that rent control was
of State concern and not local concern thus Rent Control could not be mandated without
changing the State Constitution.
The second was the vital Real Estate Tax Law,
that stated all apartment property is to be
included in the single family or residential tax
rate and not part of the commercial valuation.
Sharon O'Connell
BY FOY BAILEY
It all began July 1983, She began her career in
Property Management as an On-Site Manager of
100 unit, swinging singles, adult only apartment
community in Greenville, SC for US Shelter Corp.
With a free 2-bedroom apartment, all utilities paid
and a salary of $1,000/month, she thought she had
it made- because in addition to all of that, she was
in charge of everything!
In 1987, she became Regional Manager in Atlanta
for Jacques Miller Corp, in 1993 she became a
Regional VP for Lane Company in Atlanta, and in
2001, she became a Senior Vice President with
Simpson Property Group and relocated to Denver.
She did not wait long to make her mark here at
AAMD. She has served on several committees in
both committee member role as well as a leader.
She has served on Tributes committees, Economic
Conference committees, finance committees,
nominating task forces, June Awards committees,
50th Anniversary Task Force, Executive
committees, NAA Conference Host Committees,
and as both CAA and AAMD President. In
addition, she frequently lends her knowledge and
experience to serve as a speaker or instructor at
AAMD events, AAMD Designation Classes, and
AAMD seminars. Sharon continues to serve on
many levels within the Association.
She has been awarded the most Professional
Executive Award at Tributes, and she has led
her team to win the Outstanding Management
Company multiple times. She has won AAMD
Person of the Month multiple times. She has
such a passion in leading and mentoring the new
members of this family we all call AAMD!
www.aamdhq.org
Both laws over the last 38 years have served
the industry quite well. Freda played an
invaluable role in seeing that the two issues
became laws. Although her style could be a
bit out of the norm, her passion serving CAA
was based on her passion and commitment
to serve our members thru out the State.
FREDA'S GRANDSON AND DAUGHTER WITH DENNIS MALONE
Billions of tax dollars have been saved by all
apartment owners over the last 38 years. Freda was an unsung hero of property rights and
she served us well over her career and always charged us the lowest rate in her fees as a
lobbyist which was greatly appreciated since we operated with a very low budget then. She
always had a passion for people and kids, and I could count on her every year to ask for help
in raising funds for her Christmas for Children of low income parents. She raised thousands
of dollars to make sure that these kids would get at least something nice for the holiday.
Donald
Simpson
BY DAVID PHIFER
Don Simpson has over 34 years’
experience in the development,
construction, renovation and
operation of multi-family housing
projects. He has been associated
in business with his father, Harold
A. Simpson, founder of Simpson
Housing, since 1970. In 1986, he
assumed overall responsibility for
all of the development operations
DAVID PHIFER PRESENTS AWARD TO DON SIMPSON
of Simpson Housing Limited
Partnership's (SHLP) predecessor and in 1995 succeeded to the office of Chief E xecutive
Officer of SHLP. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from John Brown University in 1969
with a major in business and a minor in construction. Don is a Certified Property Manager, a
licensed Colorado real estate broker, and a licensed Colorado securities dealer and has the
SRS designation of RESSI.
Don has been involved in the development and construction of over 30,000 multi-family units
nationwide. He served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps and attained the rank
of Captain. Don loves skiing and is a regular on the Aspen/Snowmass mountain.
JULY 2017 • TRENDS | 27