Rose Walker: 0:00

I don't think a lot of people realize what they're walking into when they walk into boards. I think for myself, I thought I was going to be coming into something with open arms, not realizing that everybody is from a different. They look at life from a different perspective, and and it was definitely an experience, and it's still an experience. Yep. I do value the new board members we do have this year because they all bring something to the table different, right? And that's what it's about. It's about different people bringing things to the table. A

Announcer: 0:38

regular highlight of the HOA Insights podcast is our board heroes feature, where we dedicate one episode each month to celebrate the remarkable efforts of HOA board members. To us, a board hero is one of the 2 million elected volunteers who deserve recognition for excelling in a role that often goes unnoticed. Today, we're excited to spotlight one of these exceptional board heroes and share their inspiring story. If you match our definition of a board hero, or know someone who does? Please reach out to us. Our contact details and those of our sponsors are provided in the show notes.

Robert Nordlund: 1:07

Welcome back to HOA Insights: Common Sense for Common Areas. I'm Robert Nordland, and I'm here today for episode number 171 with a delightful board member I met at the recent CAI National Trade Show and Conference in Florida in early June. I was in the trade show area, and she started telling me about her challenging experience being vice president of her 106 unit deteriorating condo association. I think, is there any other kind of condo association than one that's subject to deterioration? Anyway, frankly, I was captivated, so we corresponded, and the result is the conversation we're going to have in just a few minutes. I believe you're going to enjoy hearing her story about going from chaos to calm. Now, if you're a new listener, we're here weekly with episodes to help you with the hard work of being a board member. Last week, for example, was episode 170 with regular co-host and insurance expert Kevin Davis on how big business, specifically the insurance companies and the mortgage lenders, are looking closer and closer at what you're doing at your association. In other words, the consequences of the maintenance and the budget decisions you make can have significant implications. So, if you miss that, you can catch up on prior episodes on our website hoa insights.org on any major podcast platform or on our YouTube channel. Now, if you like the show, by all means subscribe and join us on our mission to improve board member leadership all across the country, one episode and one association at a time. Subscribers and positive reviews boost the show's location and search engines, helping common sense for common areas to be found by more board members, and that helps more associations all across the country. Now, if you haven't been to our website, we have some great merch for sale, like the mug I have here on my desk, puts a smile on my face, and some great free stuff there, like board member Zoom backgrounds that you can download for your next online meeting. Now we enjoy hearing from you, responding to the issues you're facing at your association. If you have a hot topic, a crazy story, or a question you'd like us to address, you can contact us at 805-203-3130, or email us at podcast@honsights.org. But today's episode is on me, Rose Walker. My guest today became the vice president of the Windsor West Condominium Association, and quickly found it was not a cakewalk. So, Rose, welcome to the program.

Rose Walker: 3:40

Hi, thank you for having me. This is this is enlightening and therapeutic at the same time.

Robert Nordlund: 3:48

I know some of your story. I'm looking forward to kind of pulling it out and hearing the magic of it. Tell me, what state is Windsor West located in?

Rose Walker: 3:57

We're in Florida.

Robert Nordlund: 3:58

Okay, and how long have you been an owner

Rose Walker: 4:01

about a decade.

Robert Nordlund: 4:03

Okay, and have you been a board member all that time, or just more recently?

Rose Walker: 4:08

No, this is my second year.

Robert Nordlund: 4:10

Okay, makes

Rose Walker: 4:10

sense than being a board member.

Robert Nordlund: 4:13

What got you? What changed you from being a interested homeowner to being a board member?

Rose Walker: 4:18

Our community initially, there wasn't a lot of connection with the board members and the homeowners here for many years. Over time, I was able to connect with one of the people that were interested in being on the board, and I knew that person. I knew what type of person they were. I knew their intention. I inspired them to get on board. They got on the board, and they would share little bits and pieces of things. And you know, I'd always try to support. And then eventually, one of the the board members asked me, "Hey, you should look at." Looking to get on the board, you know, applying to get on the board, running for the board. Yeah, yeah, and and I thought,

Robert Nordlund: 5:06

how many board members are we talking about here? We talking five or seven

Rose Walker: 5:10

or so before I ran, there were only three on there, and then when I ran, there were five, and there were only three previously because of certain board members falling off, coming on, falling off. So, from my understanding, they didn't have a true vote because there was so much chaos going on prior to me coming on. So there were three left, and then the next the next opportunity for voting, I was able to obtain getting on the board.

Robert Nordlund: 5:46

Good for you. Now, so you got on the board. We're here at 2026 as we're recording this, and you you're in Florida, so you were talking about Hurricane Ian that came through. What was that, 2022, and that did some damage at your association.

Rose Walker: 6:05

That hurricane, it it it affected a lot of just our whole area in Florida. Very traumatizing for a lot of people. I can say that that was the door opener for our next level of chaos, right?

Robert Nordlund: 6:24

As if okay, I'm I'm from Los Angeles, so chaos for me is an earthquake. I happened to be in Florida during Hurricane Ian. I was over on the other coast, and so it was just windy and messy. But I I know the reports of Tampa, St. Pete, and Fort Myers is a little bit further south.

Announcer: 6:45

Yes,

Robert Nordlund: 6:45

help me with my geography. Okay, so we got hit pretty hard.

Rose Walker: 6:48

Yes, yes, yes, yes. We got hit really hard. Our our roofs roofs were greatly affected. I know people that I've known here in this community that had to leave because the roofs were so bad. There was water leaking in certain people's homes. There was mold. There was it was it was really really really bad

Robert Nordlund: 7:13

bad things going on. Yeah

Rose Walker: 7:15

yeah yeah it was it was well

Robert Nordlund: 7:19

from everyone listening they're saying oh poor dear! And I want to say congratulations for stepping up in that environment and saying,"I can help here, and I appreciate and applaud you saying, "Hey, there needs to be some leadership here, and I would love to pitch in and help out and see what I can do.

Rose Walker: I will say this: 7:39

I did not get involved into the board until 2024.

Robert Nordlund: 7:46

I know, but okay. I just want to make sure with that entree, you're like, yeah, this is, and people are even leaving. It's a disruptive event, and but you're saying, okay, this is my home. We're going to make it through, and by golly, someone's got a lead, and it could be me, and so you stepped up, but you dangled something in front of us all. You said the hurricane was only the beginning. So tell tell me why a hurricane is just a beginning.

Rose Walker: 8:13

Here's the thing I want to I want to say. Sometimes you can be in something and not know you're even in it. I think my community was a community that was in survival. We were just here. We were just grateful we had a place. We were just grateful, whether things were updated or not at that time before the hurricane. We're just glad to have a place to be to call home. And I think when the hurricane came, it disrupted the comfort of being uncomfortable. So really, we were uncomfortable, but the hurricane came and awakened a lot of things that we needed to review. You know, in our community that we hadn't. And honestly, the the board that was there prior to the two previous boards that we have we've had were not ready for it, nor were they prepared, nor it's unfortunate there were certain actions that were done that wasn't in the best in interest of the community.

Robert Nordlund: 9:19

Yeah, well, I gotta say, being on the board is hard all across the country, and every association has its flavor or own set of challenges and problems. Florida associations have legislation issues; they have hurricane issues. There's a lot going on. You have perhaps I can stereotype and say age-related issues, where a lot of people just want to be left alone and enjoy the warmer weather. So it takes a lot of courage. We talk about you need courage to be on the board. You need to be curious what's going on. You need to care about the association. You need to be curious, and you need to communicate. Effectively, so good for you to step in. So the hurricane disrupted the status quo, and all of a sudden opened up, loosened some things, and so tell me what what started happening there.

Rose Walker: 10:14

On my end, it seemed before I got on the board. It seemed you know, like I said, that the the by the person I did know who now is our president. He was going full speed ahead, working on a lot of things that were happening in our community. And once I was, once I got on the board, I was able to get a front row seat to everything that was going on. And what I can say is there were so many open fires that they had been in go mode for so long they didn't know how to slow down the the previous board they didn't know how to slow down and really or bring the the other two board members that had just got voted on into it. It was almost like, okay, just just just come on the board and and and and you'll figure it out.

Robert Nordlund: 11:08

Yeah, help. We got so much to do. Yes, so much

Rose Walker: 11:11

going on.

Robert Nordlund: 11:11

Pitch in and grab something and try to make it better.

Rose Walker: 11:14

It was almost like you should already know what

Robert Nordlund: 11:17

to do. Okay,

Rose Walker: 11:18

right. It was that kind of experience for me, and because my background is team and like business strategy and things, it was almost like, okay, when are we all gonna sit down and really talk about you know what is where we're going, what's gonna happen? So it was more like getting on a train that was going 1000 miles per hour, and learning as you go, learning about all the court situations we were dealing with, learning about the the you know some of the issues in the community that were occurring at the same time, trying to put you know a schedule on certain things because things were happening so fast.

Robert Nordlund: 12:04

Figure out the priorities. Yeah, you didn't. Okay, I'm gonna stereotype here, and I'm gonna think. Okay, how how old is Windsor West? 100 plus units. We're talking 20 years old, 30 years old.

Rose Walker: 12:17

No, no, no, 7272, 1972. Yeah, 1970 years old. old, and 1979. It became a condo association. It was a common complex at first.

Robert Nordlund: 12:29

All right, so we're in the almost 50-year-old range. Okay, so it's got some legacy issues, some significant deteriorated assets, a few cycles of roofing and painting and asphalt and all that kind of stuff, and then it gets hit by a hurricane, and you're getting involved, and it's okay. Now I'm getting a grasp of it. There's a just a lot going on because the nature of a property, and then you learn something new.

Rose Walker: 12:56

Right. So when I came onto the board, I I thought I thought I was just coming onto a team,

Robert Nordlund: 13:03

right?

Rose Walker: 13:04

And what I what I realized was that it wasn't necessarily a team. It was certain people that were on the board that were. I'm gonna say they were doing the best that they could on what they knew and the situations that we were in. So I didn't know a lot of what was actually going on until I continued to be on the board, and I would get bits, and I would I would be learning as I was going.

Robert Nordlund: 13:29

So busy doing that you didn't have time to see the big picture,

Rose Walker: 13:32

right? And and also understand the value of knowing who's on your board and what values those people can bring, because sometimes when you're used to not being on a team, you don't know how to even that you don't even know how to utilize the team that you have. That what value they bring. So the board as a a team, it's it's like you have this person, this person, this person, this person. Some people on the board are always working. They have a full time life. They may not be as accessible. Some people are retired. They don't have anything else to do but the board. Some people may be in a situation where they have a partner and that that husband takes care of this and this is their extra thing that they do. And this person may have this, and then you may have the the mother who's a single mother who's like, oh, let's be a team, and it's like, wait a minute, what is what is all of this, guys? Let's calm our nervous systems. Let's let's let's work on that and let's work together as a team. But what I will say is, from my experience, one of the biggest things I learned was that people are still looking at people through the lens of their own personal judgments of people, instead of looking at people as equality, looking at people as a team, looking at people as okay, you were voted on. Let's see what we can do. My experience was sometimes being seen as not. My value wasn't seen because some people's personal perception of of myself, right? Yeah,

Robert Nordlund: 15:18

you're a young female. How can you know anything,

Rose Walker: 15:21

right? Right. Yeah. Solo. Yeah.

Robert Nordlund: 15:24

Team dynamics, but there's something you keep alluding to. And there was chaos at at the association. There was chaos on the board. They've gone from three people. You're now up to five. But you got so much going on that it's like grab a broom, you know, go go go. Rather than okay, what are our priorities? What is our vision for the future? What roles are we each going to take that fits us well? It seems like it was just go go go. I get that, but I I keep hearing a sense from you that there is this desire to reach a more peaceful place in the midst of this. Where can we find everyone doing the right things, finding jobs that suit them, getting to a conclusion, leading this association well? And you introduced that to me when

Announcer: 16:10

yeah

Robert Nordlund: 16:11

we had our first conversation about getting from chaos to calm. But tell the audience about one more thing about what was disruptive there at the association, before we take a break, we

Rose Walker: 16:22

had a lot of people here that weren't supposed to be here

Robert Nordlund: 16:26

on the board or at the association.

Rose Walker: 16:28

In living in this community, we had a lot of, and that was one of the areas that had to be dealt with as far as cleaning up the community. Hence, when I say there was so much chaos. There were things going on that, like I said, the hurricane brought to light with the new board members coming on and making sure the place was safe, making sure that the people that were in this community were willing to abide by our laws and things like that. So that definitely was a part of us getting to a certain level of calm to where we are now.

Robert Nordlund: 17:06

Got it. Just kind of bringing law and order to wild, wild west.

Rose Walker: 17:10

Right. Yeah. And then, and we, gosh, some of the example. I can give you an example. I think we had a. I know. We we had a home where someone was literally housing, just housing tons of people, and it was so bad that once we're able to go in and see what was going on, it was nothing but a house but beds, and it was just like bussing people in and out of wherever they were bussing them from, and they were using this plat. They were using this crash pad as a crash pad, but it was a lot of different people, opposed to also people that should not have lived here because of their backgrounds and past experiences that they've had as well. So we had a lot of cleaning up to do in this community, a lot.

Robert Nordlund: 18:00

Okay, now there are going to be people here who are thinking, "Well, our problem was our flowers died quicker than we thought they would last, and they're all of a sudden realizing, "Oh, gee, I'm glad we didn't have roses problems at our association. Well, let's take a quick break now and hear from one of our generous sponsors, and after that, we'll be back with some more common sense for common areas. Hi,

Kevin Davis: 18:20

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Robert Nordlund: 18:48

and we're back. Well, we're describing a situation at Rosa's Association where she stepped in, and it was busy, busy. There's projects to do everywhere, problems everywhere you looked, dragons to slay alligators at your ankles, and that was just normal days at Windsor West. So, what started to turn the corner? Were you was it another circumstance, or was it you and the other board members? What was the the event or the dynamics that started to change things?

Rose Walker: 19:19

So, so here's what I want to be. I want to clarify and and be transparent about. I truly believe that the people that were on the board prior to me were there for a reason and a season. I believe that the work they did was not for me to do, and I couldn't do it in that level of chaos.

Robert Nordlund: 19:41

Okay,

Rose Walker: 19:41

when I got on the board, and I saw that amount of chaos, court battles, people-you having to to to really, really, you know, get it out of the system. We didn't have a pool. We didn't have a gym. I've been here a decade, and we didn't even have a gym for a

Announcer: 19:55

decade.

Rose Walker: 19:57

Our pool had been closed for years. There were so many moving parts. We had so many condos open, you know, but it's just left and right. the the the The place was falling apart. Just so many different things, and the the board before me, that group of three, were valuable to that chaos.

Robert Nordlund: 20:16

Yeah,

Rose Walker: 20:17

me coming on in the midst of that chaos. I am not a chaotic person, so me coming on, I believe, was to start to help in the chaos, but also be clear that we want to shift out of the chaos.

Robert Nordlund: 20:31

Right, Bridget, forward,

Rose Walker: 20:33

bridge, bridge it forward, and hint where I've I've always I've always as a person said that the previous board members thank you for what you've done. Now here's the thing about shifting from chaos to calm. Some people may not desire that level of calm because they are more chaos is more normalized for them, and I'm not saying that's that, but I'm saying I've learned that in my journey that it is some people that's their place of comfort, right? That is their place of comfort. So for me, working with the board when it was five of us, doing as much as we could, and just honestly, it was hoping that in the future we would get more people on, or diversity. Whether I stayed on or some other people came on to also add to the dynamics of the board. It's just like being married, right? Okay. You know, and I and I don't need you to comment. Okay, but I know you have a beautiful, beautiful experience. But it's just like a marriage. If you're partnering with this person and you're looking for a way out, and they're giving, you know, making it more challenging than it has to be, there's discomfort there, right? I know there's no perfect. Please understand this. There's no perfect, but that person that has the calm or the desire for calm really wants everybody to experience the calm. You do. You want everyone to be able to say job well done. You don't have to fight anymore. You don't have to argue anymore. You don't have to fight this court battle. You don't at least for a season. Can we have a season of calm after all the chaos, right? So what ended up happening for us is we had a very very strict way of Michael the

Robert Nordlund: 22:33

board president.

Rose Walker: 22:33

Yeah, our current board president who definitely dealt with a lot of the chaos, and I was I was more of the calm, so I was like his, you know, yeah, Batman and Robins,

Robert Nordlund: 22:45

right, right, right. You you complimented each other.

Rose Walker: 22:47

We complimented each other. I like that. Yeah, yeah. So in that in that arena, it got to the point where, like I said, I think certain seasons are over at certain times, and moving on to the next year, we had a vote, and then the vote revealed what the community wanted, and then we had another board, which is the board we have now. And probably in the first couple of months, we made some adjustments, and we ended up filling up most of the the um the the the condos that were open oh my goodness we started closing out which it was time as well it was time as well for these these these last couple of court battles to close out we just closed one actually today it the the last finally close yes and that was that was a bit of chaos as well. And it took it took a team, though. It took a team, the board as a team, to close that down, to to to get it to the place of calm. From my journey, my experience, when it comes down to chaotic associations, even you know board members that can be somewhat have that level of a little bit of chaos in them, and it also just you can feel it amongst the board as well, right? I think it's healthy to note that some people you cannot change. You do have to put protection over yourself and see how you're going to maintain yourself, and honestly, I don't think a lot of people realize what they're walking into when they walk into boards. I think for myself, I thought I was going to be coming into something with open arms, not realizing that everybody is from a different. They look at life from a different perspective, and and it was definitely an experience, and it's still an experience. I do value the new board members we do have this year because they all bring something to the table different, right? And that's what it's about. It's about different people bringing things to the table.

Robert Nordlund: 25:00

Yeah, well, you've said a few things, and some things you've said multiple times. You said seasons. Well, there's seasons at the association physically, seasons at the association operationally, seasons at the association financially, and it's nice to hear you say that yes, there was a board that was there that was able to wrestle with the chaos, and you were part of the bridge to the future, and you had an election that brought some new personalities onto the board that were able to sound like kind of go with you, go into a future where there was a season with that the dynamic of a few new personalities. You were part. You and Michael were able to say, okay, where can we go now? And you were able to say, you know, let's let's start ticking off these problems. Let's wrap up this lawsuit. Let's get some of these units sold. Let's. Can I ask? Did you get the pool opened?

Rose Walker: 25:49

Right. Yes. Well, actually, we got the pool opened. So, actually, we just got. I think we just got the email yesterday or today. So we should be opening up in the next couple of days. Yeah.

Robert Nordlund: 26:00

So you got you got a board that is like okay, we can tick these things off, and it sounds like you're bringing balance. You have the right team. I appreciate the dynamic of who you have on the board, and I I wish that you have just a wonderful season ahead of you for peace and calm as much as you can have in a condo association at Windsor West, and I think it's just a fascinating story that you bring to the table about how there are these seasons and how you can be a factor and influence. And it does take time. There's a momentum factor, and you also, I'm crossing my fingers for you, no hurricane, you know, that just throws everything into chaos right there. But

Rose Walker: 26:45

I want to add something though. I want to add something really quickly. I want to add the importance of board members making sure they're taking care of themselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically. Because once you go into you come into the environment of a board. It is not a it's not a group thing. It's you're really running. You're a part of a business. You're overseeing a company. You're overseeing people. You're overseeing financial certain things that mean something to people. And whether you have 50 people in that community or 200 or 300, that's a lot of responsibility for people. So when I say chaos to calm, I'm not just talking about the association, the community. I'm talking about the person as an individual,

Robert Nordlund: 27:40

yeah,

Rose Walker: 27:40

and making sure they protect themselves as well.

Robert Nordlund: 27:43

Yeah, if you get the life sucked out of you, then you have nothing more to offer to the association. So you need to put up your your boundaries, but hopefully you can have boundaries-a place where you find peace, whether it's reading a book or going to somewhere. I don't know what it is, but you need to be able to have something that you offer to the association, and I liked hearing that you and Michael started to complement each other and work as team members. And boy, I love it when I hear about a board that says this person does A, this person does B, this person oh they're wonderful at C. They've been such a breath of fresh air to our board, and and then there's old Fred who is still trouble. But we're great. We're

Rose Walker: 28:29

grateful for the we're

Robert Nordlund: 28:30

but we're

Rose Walker: 28:31

grateful.

Robert Nordlund: 28:32

Yes, we're grateful for everyone who is on the board, and you know what, we will make something great out of it. Is that fair to say,

Rose Walker: 28:41

absolutely, absolutely, cool,

Robert Nordlund: 28:43

cool. Yeah. Well, thank you, Rose. It was great having you on the program to help our board member audience see that there can be calm on the other side of chaos. You can see it, you can smell it, and you can be a part of the board actually getting you there. So, any closing thoughts to add at this time?

Rose Walker: 29:02

Just to everybody that you know that sees this. First of all, thank you so much,

Robert Nordlund: 29:07

Rose. It's a pleasure.

Rose Walker: 29:08

No, absolutely. What you're doing and just providing this platform, honestly, I think it should be a platform that is introduced to people to start to watch before they get on boards, so they can have an idea of what they're getting ready to walk into, and ask themselves, is this is this something I can do safely for myself and for my family? It's not a email thing; it's a people thing. So, you know, with what you're doing and the kind of work you're doing, I just want to make sure that you know how phenomenal and how grateful I am that I got to meet you, and for everybody that watches this, you know, take care of yourself and send love to every single person on your board. We don't know their journey, we don't know their story, but we we want to touch and agree that everybody we work together as much as we can. So that's that's my heart to everyone that watches this.

Robert Nordlund: 30:03

Fantastic, Rose. Well, this is the community association industry, and as much as it's homes, and some people think it's their castle, it is a community. And for us as leaders and board members to bring community into our association and make it a a welcoming, calm place we like to call home. That's more power to you. Well, anyway, if you want to hear more from Rose Walker, you can see here on our YouTube channel. If you search for Ms. Raw Speaks, that's M S R A W Speaks on YouTube. And with that, it's time to now say thank you very much for joining us. We certainly hope you learned some HOA insights from our discussion today that helps you bring common sense and calm to your common areas. We look forward to having you join us for another great episode next week.

Announcer: 30:58

You've been listening to HOA Insights: Common Sense for common areas. You can listen to the show on our podcast website hoa insights.org, or subscribe on any of the most popular podcast platforms. You can also watch the show on our YouTube channel. Check the show notes for helpful links. If you like the show and want to support the work we do, you can do so in a number of ways. The most important thing you can do is engage in the conversation. Leave a question in the comments section on our YouTube video. You can also email your questions or voice memos to podcast at hoa insights.org, or leave us a voicemail at 805-203-3130. If you gain any insights from the show, please do us a huge favor by sharing the show with other board members you know, you can also support us by supporting the brands that sponsor this program. Please remember that the views and opinions expressed by the podcast do not constitute legal advice. You'll want to consult your own legal counsel before making any important decisions. Finally, this podcast was expertly mixed and mastered by Stokelight Video and Marketing. With Stokelight on your team, you'll reach more customers with marketing expertise that inspires action. See the show notes to connect with StokeLight.