Apartment Trends Magazine July 2017 | Page 29

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