HOA Executive Hall of Fame

Nicholas Newell served as president of the Mallory Creek Plantation HOA when the community received the 2025 Community Association Seal of Distinction from the North Carolina Chapter of the Community Associations Institute. The recognition is awarded to associations demonstrating strong practices in governance, financial management, insurance, reserve funding, communications, and policy enforcement.

Newell credited the achievement to the combined work of the board, volunteers, residents, legal advisers, and professional management. His approach reflects a president who understands that a successful association is not built around one personality. It is built through shared responsibility, professional standards, and disciplined financial stewardship.

Jerry Iverson is a former president of the St. James Plantation Property Owners Association, one of North Carolina’s largest property owners associations. He has also served as a Community Association Volunteer Leader and as a member of the Community Associations Institute North Carolina Legislative Action Committee.

Iverson has advocated for balanced HOA legislation that protects individual homeowner rights without undermining an association’s ability to maintain shared property, collect assessments, enforce reasonable standards, and plan for the future. His public comments demonstrate a practical understanding that good governance requires balance rather than ideology.

Christopher Charbonneau was named the 2026 Homeowner Leader of the Year by the Foundation for Community Association Research. A longtime board leader at Black Forest Condominiums, he helped guide operational improvements, supported staff and residents during organizational transitions, and promoted transparent, resident focused governance.

Charbonneau also served in leadership positions with CAI Minnesota, mentored other homeowner leaders, supported educational programs, and advanced inclusion within the community association profession. His record demonstrates that a volunteer board member can operate with the discipline and institutional thinking normally expected from a professional executive.

Ronda Theisen was named the 2025 Homeowner Leader of the Year after more than a decade of leadership at the 1200 Riverside Drive Community Association. Her work emphasized transparent governance, resident engagement, and long range planning.

Her leadership was severely tested when a major fire displaced residents, including Theisen herself. She helped oversee reconstruction, supported affected homeowners, and provided continuity during a period of financial, operational, and emotional upheaval. Her performance illustrates the difference between holding an office and genuinely leading a community.

Joyce Sachs was named the 2024 Homeowner Leader of the Year for her service as president of the 1219 West Wynnewood Condominium Association and for her broader contributions to homeowner education and association governance.

Her leadership has extended to the CAI Keystone Chapter, legislative advocacy, finance and engagement committees, the national Homeowner Leaders Council, and the CAI Board of Trustees. Sachs represents the idea that effective board leadership requires education, collaboration, homeowner participation, and an understanding of the larger legislative environment in which associations operate.

Lyle E. McKenzie was named the 2023 Homeowner Leader of the Year. A retired United States Army senior noncommissioned officer, McKenzie brought a strong service ethic to his role as president of the Eldorado Neighborhood Second Homeowners Association.

He became extensively involved with CAI Nevada through legislative, membership, education, and grassroots initiatives. His work helped educate thousands of homeowners and board members about association operations, legal responsibilities, and ethical governance. Instead of treating knowledge as a source of personal power, he used it to develop other leaders.

Michael Traidman was named the 2022 Homeowner Leader of the Year for his financial stewardship, educational leadership, and service to the wider community association field.

During more than a decade of service to the Mira Vista Homeowners Association, Traidman helped the association maintain strong reserves, avoid special assessments, and preserve long term financial stability. He also supported legislative initiatives, homeowner outreach, educational programs, and the creation of the Desert Cities HOA Council, which expanded educational opportunities for volunteer leaders throughout the region.

Dr. Robert Rothwell was the inaugural recipient of the Homeowner Leader of the Year Award in 2021. He served for more than a decade as president of The Village Green Homeowners Association and became a prominent advocate for homeowner education, ethical governance, and informed board service.

Rothwell served on CAI committees, the national Board of Trustees, and the Homeowner Leaders Council. He also mentored volunteer leaders and worked to improve understanding between homeowners, directors, managers, and other community association professionals.

Janet L. Newcomb represents the broader class of influential HOA directors whose work reaches beyond the office of president. She served as a board member at Springhurst Townhomes Homeowners Association, chaired the CAI Homeowner Leaders Council, and served on the CAI Board of Trustees.

Newcomb helped examine the needs of homeowner leaders across the country. That work identified demand for stronger education in communications, conflict resolution, ethics, budgets, reserves, insurance, governing documents, and board responsibilities. She also emphasized that different communities require different solutions and that board leaders must be flexible, patient, and willing to explain the reasons behind difficult decisions.

Margaret Hill has served as president of the Rock Lake Homeowners Association and as a leading organizer of the neighborhood’s safety and community building programs.

Hill worked with residents and city departments to organize National Night Out activities, neighborhood watch programs, environmental projects, community events, and local sustainability initiatives. She also helped advocate for the creation of a neighborhood community center where children could gather and play safely. The City of Orlando recognized her with its Neighborhood Champion Award.

Her leadership shows that an association can do much more than enforce rules. It can connect residents, reduce crime, develop civic partnerships, support children, and build a genuine sense of belonging.