“Keystone Spotlight” is an ongoing series introducing our top performing staff who continue to go out of their way to provide exceptional service.
The sprawling Irvine master-planned community of Woodbury is home to over 4,000 residential units, including houses, apartments, and condos. The property boasts seven pools, 14 community parks, four tennis courts, a basketball court and a sand volleyball court. For Keystone Pacific’s Karen Thompson and Kayla Stephenson, community management is about more than just handling maintenance requests and organizing board meetings, it’s about turning insight into action. Their goal is to help Woodbury residents maximize their enjoyment of all the perks this active community has to offer.
“Because we’re onsite, we are able to dedicate 100% of our focus to this single community,” explains Karen Thompson, who has been a Keystone Pacific property manager for 8 years. “We can provide more attentive service to residents because we know the community inside and out. We’re well-versed in the type of association Woodbury residents would like to maintain.”
Exciting Events Close to Home
One of the ways Karen and Kayla use their expertise to help Woodbury thrive is through creative brainstorming of on-site community events that bring residents closer together. Kayla Stephenson acts as Recreation Director, using her firsthand knowledge of the community to generate fresh ideas. “I started working with Woodbury over five years ago, providing weekend support, before I moved into my current role as Recreation Director. Because I’ve been part of this community for so long, the board trusts me to come up with events that they know residents will love.”
In addition to four core annual events–including a Spring Fling, a 4th of July bash, Halloween party and holiday festivities–Kayla is given free license to generate creative ideas that make Woodbury special. “We’ve done outdoor movie nights, concerts in the park, holiday home decorating contests, a casino night and my personal favorite, a 4th of July bike parade with prizes!” she recalls. “Since most of our events have a family focus, I start by thinking about all the things I thought were fun and exciting when I was younger and take it from there.” Some events require admission and some are free, but all are a hit with the community, with more than 95% of the events reaching max capacity.
Prioritizing Convenience for Residents
As an on-site community management team, Karen and Kayla have the luxury of providing an extra touch to homeowners every day throughout the year, implementing systems that provide residents with greater conveniences and encourage the use of amenities. These conveniences directly reflect the needs of the community and anticipate needs before they arise.
Here are some of the ways Karen, Kayla, and their staff have gone the extra mile to serve residents:
- Online tennis court reservation system
- Swim diapers for pool users on sale at office
- First aid kit provided for pool and tennis courts users
- Free CPR training for homeowners, provided by Woodbury’s lifeguard vendor
- Recognition by management of the “Street of the Month” that has had no violations for 30 or more days
- Surprise thank you card and candy to bicycle riders who utilize community bike racks
Working hand-in-hand with the Board
Karen and Kayla credit much of their success in Woodbury to a supportive and active HOA board. Karen explains, “The board of directors at Woodbury has been incredible. Without their support, understanding and team approach, we couldn’t do what we do. They’re truly the cornerstone of the community’s success.” Kayla agrees. “I’ve been here for a few turnovers of the board and each group does a fantastic job of building on the gains of their predecessors,” she says. “They trust us to lead the way and look to us to make appropriate decisions for the community. Because of this, we’re given maximum freedom to serve the community efficiently and effectively.”
Though Karen and Kayla work full time handling the day-to-day challenges that arise while managing a community of this size, Karen hopes that the service they perform appears seamless to residents. “We’ve always got a lot going on down at the management office,” she explains. “But I hope that residents see us do our jobs so effortlessly that it looks simple. That’s the impression I want to give.
It’s our job to handle these things so residents and board members can focus on enjoying their community.”
Thanks for going the extra mile, Karen and Kayla–along with weekend staffers, Autumn Stephenson and Kyle Taylor. The residents of Woodbury are lucky to have you on their team and so are we.